I can handle 60 degree weather.  We had a long few days of driving, and we stopped a few times along the way.  Our daughters had dinner waiting for us when we arrived, and it was delicious.

We stopped for the night in Muskogee Oklahoma and woke up to a beautiful sunrise.

Our entrance into Texas was not by interstate, we had a bit of a detour as we made a stop near Linden Texas.  I love the "Livestock Check Station" sign, I was disappointed that it was closed.

I was planning on packing my sewing machine but there was absolutely no room, we brought down the remaining items that the girls had left at our home the didn't fit when we moved them down in August.  I did bring my knitting and I made some dishcloths on the way down, plus I brought the sweater that I started way back in 2010, I plan on getting that finished or at least almost finished.

Lots to do today our first day here.  The house is quiet, Lauren went to work already and the other two girls are sleeping.  Jim's up and Sadie's been taken care of.  She was very excited to see Lauren and Erin.  The girls have a fenced in backyard so I was very excited that she has a place to play.

I'm sorry I had to delete all in my google reader.  I had way over 400 postings and I didn't even know where to begin.

Y'all (spoken with a Texas accent) have a wonderful day.

The grand-kids played a game called What's in Ned's Head.  It's a fun game for the kids and adults too.

Son Joshua showing the kids the items that are in Ned's head.  The object of the game is when you draw a card you have have to put your hand in the nearest hole, which could be Ned's nostril or ear (kind of yucky I know, but fun) and find the item that is pictured on your card.  The one to find their item first is the winner.

Ready...Set...Go!

The winner!

The kids had a lot of fun playing this game.

I'm still taking some time off but I just had to pop in and show you all how Jim and our son-in-law Bill spent a good part of a day.  The pile eventually did burn all the way down and what's left is just a pile of ashes. 

Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas, we sure did.

I'd like to wish each and everyone of you a wonderful Christmas from Jim and I here at Gentle Hearth Farm.  I plan to take a little bit of a break, as family is coming in starting tonight, and after Christmas we'll be getting ready for our trip south.  I'll try to pop in and see you all when I can.

Merry Christmas!

I was going through my recipes a few months back and came upon a recipe I got from a friend many years ago, I'd say at least 20.  Anyway, I've been craving these cookies since I came upon the recipe, so when I went to go look for it again I couldn't find it.  I put a message out on facebook to my dear friend who I got it from and she came through.  I haven't made these yummy things in years and I made a couple of adjustments.  One purposely and one accidentally.  I purposely cut back on the sugar and accidentally used white sugar instead of brown sugar.  But you know what?  They still turned out great, I had to bake them just a minute longer than stated in the recipe.  I will make these again and next time I'll follow the recipe correctly.

Ginger Thins

3/4 c. Butter

1 c. Brown Sugar

1 beaten Egg

1/4 c. Molasses

1 1/2 c. Flour

1/4 tsp Baking Soda

1/2 tsp Cloves

1/2 tsp Cinnamon

1/2 tsp Ginger

Cream butter, sugar, egg and molasses.  Add dry ingredients and stir until smooth.  Put dots of 1/8 teaspoon of dough about an inch apart on a greased cookie sheet and bake 5-6 minutes at 325°

Cool on a rack, cookies snap off if you twist the cookie sheet slightly.

Note: These should have the diameter of a quarter when baked, or else they will be tough.

Note: If you use a non-stick cookie sheet (or a well-used one) you won't need to grease the cookie sheet.

A word of caution when making these, use an 1/8 measuring spoon for the dough the size will be perfect, and by making so little cookies it does take awhile to make these...but they're worth it.

I am so glad I didn't try and surprise Mr with these.  Seeing that he wanted to wear them when he was working they had to be just so, not too long that they were in the way, and not too short that his fingers froze.  I found the pattern here where the link came from Ravelry.  This is the true color of the mitts.

We had a wonderful weekend, we got out of the house and took a drive to the nearest town.  Not our town but in the opposite direction, we actually shop in this town quite frequently.  They were giving horse and sleigh/wagon rides at the fair grounds.

On our way back home we stopped off at the stream where Jim sometimes fly fishes, just to check to see if there were any trout still in the stream, and there were, he spied one.

What snow we had is mostly gone now, the sun yesterday was pretty warm and it melted, at least up on the ridge here it's almost all gone.

How was your weekend?  Hope you all have a wonderful day.

I received this in my e-mail and thought I would share.

I found this funny.  But what's not so funny is that I could see myself doing something like this only I don't carry a gun.

My shopping is all done, the gifts are wrapped, shipped, and now I can breathe easier and just concentrate on baking, cleaning, and meal planning, which I find all so much easier than shopping.  I'm almost done with the second fingerless glove, not sure what I'll work on next.  After Christmas Mr and I are heading down to Texas for the month of January.  I CAN'T WAIT...can you tell I'm excited.

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend.

I didn't make this yummy looking bread, my wonderful husband did.  He makes banana bread often and with his fresh ground whole wheat flour.  It tastes as good as it looks :)

I was going to surprise Jim with fingerless gloves for working down in the catacombs as he calls his office.  With the wood stove going all the time and his office being in the basement the heat doesn't get down there and it gets pretty cold.  I've got one done now I need to work on the other.  I wanted them to fit and I just figured I wasn't going to be able to do that without trying them on him as I was making them.

The days are flying by and it's only 10 days now till Christmas....Yikes!  Are you all ready?

Pulled from my files.

This was taken April 2011 of a very busy granddaughter.  Sorry for the blur.