Doll and two Recipes,

It almost feels like Santa brought me a doll for Christmas.

I will never ever forget the excitement of picking out a doll from the Sears Christmas Wish Book. It took days of looking and dreaming, to decide on the perfect doll, and Santa always brought the right one,

but this doll did not come from Santa...

Isn't she adorable?

Only once, did Santa fail to bring me the doll I had circled in the Sears Wish Book, and that was the year of the Tiny Tears doll. Every little girl must have asked for one and Santa simply ran out. That's when my daddy stepped in. He had a business trip to New York City. Not only did he bring me the perfect Tiny Tears doll, but also brought me one of the new 22" walking, "Saucy Walker" dolls.

Back to my new doll...   

she has the sweetest face, and just look at that baby fine, wispy hair

she is the size, and has the feel of a real baby

perfect to hold in my arms. I gave her the hat and booties. 

Nope, Santa didn't bring this doll. Shelby and I were in the Goodwill store in Wake Forest a few days before Christmas, and there she was, this beautiful baby doll, thrown in a plastic bin with the stuffed animals. Lucky me to have spotted her there.

and here is a very special picture...Daddy, showing me the right way to hold my doll's arms to help her walk...

and in this next picture, a birthday party for my doll...

that's me holding my baby brother Randall, and Becky, the little girl who lived next door. 

That sure is a raggedy old card table and the room we're in doesn't look much better. That room was the den, where we played and watched TV. At that age, I was torn between playing with my dolls, watching The Mickey Mouse Club, or American Bandstand, that came on every day at 4:00.  Most of the time the dolls came first.

Now to the recipe...those darn crock pot chocolate covered peanut clusters!! I could not rest until the last one was gone!! and that eight pounds I had lost, well, it's back!! 

These are absolutely delicious!! Salty nuts covered in chocolate...

(Donna, hope you try these)

CHOCOLATE PEANUT CLUSTERS

(2) 16 oz jar dry roasted peanuts

(2) 12 oz bags milk chocolate chips

(8) blocks white chocolate

Pour peanuts into crock pot

Add chocolate chips (not to touch sides of pot. chocolate will burn)

Add white chocolate on top

Heat on low for 1 1/4 hours

Stir until mixed well

Drop by teaspoon onto wax paper lined pans.

The clusters harden quicker is you sit the pans in the refrigerator for a while.

and...

BROWN SUGAR CHEW BREAD

(1) stick butter

(1) box light brown sugar

(1) tsp. vanilla (pure)

(3) eggs

(2) cups self-rising flour (sifted)

(1) cup chopped pecans

(1) cup Angel Flake coconut

Mix in order given. Preheat oven to 350. Grease 9 x 13 pan. Bake 40 to 45 minutes (til toothpick comes out clean) Do not over cook!

Goodness, what a post. Thank you for putting up with me!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

Love,

Henny 

After Christmas

Well, well, well, friends, I have tried since the day after Christmas to post something and simply cannot put it together! 

I did want to post a picture, first one ever, of a fire in the fireplace. Yep, early Christmas morning before the family got here, we got a fire going...

making the cabin toasty warm for our visitors. We haven't used the fireplace much lately, but I do enjoy a fire.

Christmas Day was wonderful! My only complaint is that, all too soon the day was over and we were sharing hugs and saying our goodbyes. As usual, no great pictures to show you. I'm a poor excuse of a photographer.

except when it comes to Dumperoo. :)

and here's a little explaining ?? and apologizing...

Friends, you know how ignorant I am when it comes to computers; knowing just enough to keep my blog going.

My Daughter Lynn, who helped me start a blog in the first place, said Mom, do you remember to check "comments awaiting moderation" on your blog? Well, no. So I checked and wow! there were several!

I apologize to those who left comments that were never published, months ago...especially to the nice person who read several of my older posts about "growing up in Robbins", and posts from the 1950's, and who had a Saucy Walker doll just like mine. I enjoyed your comments and hope  that you will visit again. I'm very sorry. I don't understand why comments go there in the first place??? 


Oops! Here's one picture from Christmas day...

Lynn and Poppy, and sweet Madison sitting with her back to the camera. If Lynn shares some of her pictures with me, I will post more.

Okay, I'm going with this for now. Hopefully, I will be back with a better post, and to show you my new beautiful baby doll.

Thank you, if you're still here. 

Love,
Henny 

 

MERRY CHRISTMAS

Eli says, "are you sure Santa Claus will stop here" ?

I've made three chocolate pecan pies, a big crock pot full of chocolate peanut clusters, and a batch of brown sugar chew bread, for a start!

a pie and some other goodies were for our sweet friend Nellie. She stopped by yesterday and brought us the crystal tree I've put here on the mantle...

and now I'm waiting for the kitchen floor to dry. Just mopped the tiny little thing with Mop & Glo, hoping to put a little shine back on the old floor before the family gets here tomorrow.

Just wanted to say to you, dear friends that I've met through my blog, I appreciate your friendship so much! Hope you all have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Love,
Henny

Another little visit

Am I getting slack? Sure hope not! I love blogging and love all you blogging friends, very much!

our very cluttered little living room with way too many patterns and textures and stuff :(

Between raking leaves and trying to Christmas shop, there has hardly been time for anything else. 

I am not a good shopper of gifts, matter of fact is, I'm awful. Why if all those hours spent humming and hawing and looking in the stores had been spent raking leaves, the yard would be leafless!

This was Lynn, last Saturday in a Durham parking lot. She was waiting for me to arrive. We planned to Christmas shop, all day! I came home with one gift, but that's okay. The best part was spending the day with Lynn, and visiting with Jason. 

But, today is another shopping day, and I have simply got to come home with some gifts! 

Before leaving...friends, I have mastered the leaf blower!!  Don't have a picture, but will get one and show you later. I, and all those leaves, must have looked like a whirlwind!! 

Hope to be back real soon.

Love,
Henny

PS. Don't know why but every time I add a caption to a picture, the next paragraph gets caught up in the picture??? :) 

A quick visit

Friends, it has been a week since my last post!! Why, we've had all sorts of weather since then!

Who was it that said, "how can you go backward when you're moving as fast as you can?"  

Well, here's one way...last Tuesday I raked leaves for five hours straight, hauling them off by the sheet load...working so hard that I could hardly drag myself back to the house.

So,  Wednesday, a cold front blew in and I do mean "blew in", with winds up to 25 mph! 

"Mama, you're not going to be happy when you see all these leaves!!"

It was disheartening, I tell you. But that's okay. I'm thankful to be able to still get out and work hard, and plan to rake leaves again today

The little bit of snow we got last week sure was pretty to watch. It didn't amount to much, but was pretty.

Better get busy! I will be around to visit and catch up! 

and, "thank you" to a new follower, Linda Eller. 

Love,
Henny

News

First, a few things I need to say...

"Thank you", new followers. I appreciate you so much.

and thank you all for the comments on my last post. By the way, my perm turned out just fine...thank you very much, Poppy!

Several of you suggested a leaf blower for all these leaves. Well, I'm ashamed to admit it but we have three. Poppy has a big old red gas powered leaf blower and I have two electric leaf blowers...or leaf vacs.

and since you've never seen inside our little junky red shed...

Several years ago, Poppy used the gas blower a lot! The last time he used it, after walking just a few feet he had such a bank of leaves stretched across the yard that we had to stop and haul them into the woods by the sheet load.

Once I took it upon myself to rake the leaves, he hung the big red blower on a nail and has not used it since.

The third and newest leaf blower.

Poppy has promised, that he will crank up that old blower and help with the leaves...he just didn't say what year!


Lets switch to a much sweeter subject...

This adorable Christmas card came to Poppy and me from Deb at justcats-deb.blogspot.com  with the sweetest gift...

three little kittens for our tree, and...

Chocolates! The beautiful card looks like Deb's yard in winter. Even the two little chipmunks look like her little Simon who lives under their old pump, with his little girlfriend. Deb keeps the birds and squirrels fed through the winter, along with the deer and bunnies, and any other hungry little animal that comes visiting. It is worth visiting Deb's blog just to meet her two cats...funny Audrey, and sweet Annie. Deb, thank you so much for the gift and for your friendship.

Hope to be back soon. We could see snow by the weekend!!! Imagine that!!!

Love,
Henny

P.S.  a note for Diane in Northern Wisconsin... I gave you the wrong email address for Shelby, well, wrong because I left out the 7...her email address is mckenziejam7@aol.com  Also, you can find their farm, Shelly Mac Farm on Facebook. Seems like she said there was something special you had to do to find them on Facebook?? Oops, I'll ask.

Shelby has figured out how to ship the jams and jellies in a way that costs less. She buys a flat-rate box from the post office that will hold six jars and ships for $13.00. There was a lady who wanted to order two jars of jam that cost $5.00 each, but the shipping cost was $5.90 for each jar. Anyhow, thought I would just mention this.

Gosh! What a post! Are you still here?? 😌




  

Leaves, Leaves, Leaves

Then and now...

The back yard in June! That's the button bush on the left.

The back yard today!

in June

Today! Can you find Weetie?

The button bush, loaded with oak leaves. That should take a good part of a day.

I can handle leaves here even though the stepping stones have disappeared.

and here behind the chicken lot.

Thought a little leaf post would be fun, yeah right!  and get it off my chest! What a difference a few months can make. 

Whew! I'm feeling better now. I may be crying later though...I'm going at 3:30 for a perm....and guess what Poppy's comment to me was, at lunch today! "I don't know why you want to go get a perm. You will come home with your hair looking worse than it does now". 

Love,
Henny

Village on the mantle

Poppy left this morning at 5:30 going to work at the deer processing plant. No way could I cut up a deer first thing in the morning...well no way could I cut up a deer, period!

Anyhow, I hardly had the front door closed and locked before the phone started ringing. It was Poppy. Mel, he said...you should get in the car and drive up to the highway to see the moon. The super moon! It is unbelievable! Should have, but didn't. Just something about going out before daylight, in the quiet cold morning, in my pajamas and driving up this dark path, alone.

and besides all that, I can't get a decent picture of the star over the mantle...and sure can't get a good one of the moon. Don't know if it's me or my little el cheapo camera?

The mood finally hit me to bring in boxes from the shop. Here's the little Christmas village on the mantle.

It was about finished when Poppy said, you know what would look good? A star in the center above the mantle. So, it was off to town! 

Stopping at the dollar stores and drug stores along the way, looking for a simple lighted star. Most of the stars were gaudy. Of course, it seems that "gaudy" is in style around here.

The little village is far from perfect, and my pictures are too dark. Things show up in the pictures; wires and light bulbs and figures out of proportion, but I like it! Wouldn't it be fun to live in a little Christmas village.

Our Christmas tree needs more work...and so does the yard! Every year there are more and more leaves. It is overwhelming, and here, the oak leaves fall through February. Yesterday, I raked leaves for three hours and hardly made a dent. Poppy suggested not raking at all. Decisions, decisions. Hope to be back soon with pictures of the knee deep, well, ankle deep, leaves. 

Love,
Henny

Maybe tomorrow

I've been wanting to decorate for Christmas for a while now and thought about bringing in the tree as soon as the dishes were washed on Thanksgiving day, but...

easily distracted, I got the tree as far as the front porch and it's been there ever since.

why even yesterday, after dropping Poppy off at his hunting spot down the power line...I came back and walked straight to the shop to bring in boxes of Christmas decorations, but...

leaning there against a big willow oak tree was the rake, handle deep in leaves, and I could not resist the temptation, so raked leaves for over an hour.  Still no decorating done.

Early yesterday I had both dentist and doctor appointments. After that, went on to Walmart for a few things. Since the day was about shot anyway, I stopped by the Safe Space thrift store and oh wow! how could one little thrift store be so packed. It was like a little Christmas village.Wish I had pictures to show you! I bought two little pieces...

the carolers!

and this little red outhouse, for setting up a Christmas village on the mantle. 

Do any of you have a toy train that you set up around the Christmas tree? I really really want one...and don't know why we've never bought one over the years. Trains are so neat!

Maybe I will talk to Poppy tomorrow about a train. Right now he is asleep in front of the TV. 

Better get things turned off in the sewing room. I've been sewing, finishing two bonnets and almost finished another Henny Penny apron. Hope to see you tomorrow.

Love,
Henny

Dinner, and a little critter update

Here's our little Thanksgiving meal...

it was just the two of us, so I  cooked small and didn't do any fancy table setting. Goodness, I could have at least sliced the turkey breast and put it on a platter before taking the picture. Not a very pretty Thanksgiving table, but it did taste good.

and here's Poppy heading back into the woods across the road, to sit in a tree. I offered to go sit in the tree for him if he would wash the dishes and walk Eli, but he said "no thanks".

Granny Marigold recently asked about all the critters, so here's a little critter update...

I am totally shocked at how fast a baby rabbit grows...

isn't she (or he) adorable? She still doesn't have a name. I call her little sweetie pie, but we've got a dozen little sweetie pies already. We need something special, and I just can't come up with one that fits.

Here's big old Bun Bun, little sweetie pie's papa. She doesn't favor him at all, does she?

then there's Fiona. Fiona does her own thing. In fact, she has been hard at work digging a tunnel. See her dirty little feet and nose? She has built a nice little storm shelter under her cage. 

Miss duck duck paddles along the bank with us when we walk. She seems lonely since her best friend Mrs. Muscovy is sitting on a few eggs on the other side of the pond. Crazy, I know.

Eli found a broken duck egg 

the babies decided to leave the heat lamp and sleep upstairs.

cozy little bunch.

and since going through molting, these hens have stopped laying. Not one egg have we found in the chicken house in two months. I've bought two dozen eggs lately. Probably the first store bought eggs we've used since moving here in 1989. 

and that sweet little Rosie. Why she has tried her best to eat every leaf that falls. See her there in the picture with the chickens...eating leaves! We had to close her up in the goat barn until I could rake the lot...

I will have to get a newer picture to show you just how fat she has gotten. She is obsessed with eating. Seriously! Wonder who she got that from? :)

We haven't seen Wilder lately. I do worry about him and hope he is safe in his own little rabbit hole somewhere. Weetie did go tearing off  after something a few nights ago when I went out to close the chicken house door.  It could have been him. Weetie like to chase rabbits and squirrels, but could never catch one.

Maybe I will sew a little tonight. Thank you for stopping by.

Love,
Henny