"Do You See What I See?"

"Angels We Have Heard on High" are completed as is our "O Tannenbaum!" And, that completes the decorating in this Dorrell household for Christmas 2017.  Woody and I just carried the last boxes upstairs and added them to the rest in the upstairs hallway.  Now the job falls to Woody to repack the puzzle of boxes into our Christmas closet!  Now for me to get back to the last of the sewing that I need to do.  Four more ornaments and two presents.  I'm hoping that I can find moments each day to sit down and enjoy our Christmas tree and the rest of the decorations.  The tree is FILLED with many memories.  If any of you reading this contributed to our Christmas ornaments/decorations over our 49 Christmases...know that you have been thought of while I was decorating.  Lacking this year is the star that I usually put on...I have a handpainted star at the top that a dear friend's daughter painted for us many years ago.  I am planning to make a machine embroidered lace angel for the top...this may happen before our family Christmas celebration or perhaps after.  I always enjoy making a couple of Christmas things after the rush of the advent of Christmas is over.  Or the angel might not get sewn till next Christmas...and, then there is always the possibility that she will never get sewn!

I had only the little boys for school this morning as Kathy and children went to a Christmas party at friends mid morning.  I got busy on making soup from the turkey broth that I made yesterday.  I made Turkey Barley Soup again since we liked the new recipe so much when I made it right after Thanksgiving.  Today's soup was made from the leftover turkey breasts that Woody bought not long after Thanksgiving.  This soup finishes off the turkey for this year. While I was making the soup, Woody went to the Life Care Center this morning to have Bible study with Jeff and then visit a couple of friends who reside there.  A while after lunch, Woody suggested that we both go do a little shopping.  We still had several grandchildren who were without gifts from us. Now there are fewer who are presentless...but still a couple might need to be worried!  There is a growing pile of shipping boxes stacked in the bedroom packed with things in them awaiting to be wrapped.  We still need to write our Christmas letter and get that off in the mail.  And, I need to finalize the Christmas menu for the 23rd...leaning in the direction of picnic food...that will be a change...well, at least a change when it isn't The 4th of July or Memorial Day!  Woody got a couple of Boston Butt Pork Roasts and I plan to make pulled pork with them...so that got me to thinking "picnic." We'll see where that leads me when the plans are finalized!  Everything subject to change...except probably the pulled pork! That's next on my list of "things to do" = make the pulled pork...a long day of cooking and skimming fat off and breaking up meat, etc.  But in the end the final product is well worth the effort! Now to talk myself into getting started with it! Woody went to Monday Night Prayer Meeting and is now home.  We are all settled in for a quiet end of the day. 'Tis the Season!

Not a barn...but one of the sights on our barn excursion
photography trip at the beginning of December.  We saw
lots of interesting critters!