Blue Monday.......

Welcome to Blue Monday, hosted by our friend Sally, at http://smilingsally.blogspot.com/ This is a weekly post where some of us blogger's get together to share something blue. Thank you Sally for hosting this fun post! If you would like to join our group, or you would like more information about us, just click on the above link to reach the official Blue Monday web site........

This week I thought you might like to see my

gingerbread house. I wish I was talented like some of you and could make a real gingerbread house but unfortunately I'm not. I was very happy when I found this one. The blue for Blue Monday comes from the little gum drops on the roof. I purchased the house a year or so ago from Hallmarks. It is musical and plays one of my very favorite songs. When it plays music the little gum drops light up and sort of flash. I have attached a video at the end of this post so you will be able to see. Charli likes it as much as I do. I will scoop her up, push the button on the ginger bread house, and dance her around the room. Don't you just love all of the whimsy associated with Christmas?

I hope all of you had a wonderful and truly blessed Thanksgiving ♥

Happy Blue Monday everyone!

With warmest regards, Carol

Advent..... A time of love, hope, joy, and peace.....

ADVENT.........

Wishing all of you a blessed Advent and a season filled with love, hope, joy, and peace!

"All powerful God,
increase our strength of will for doing good
that Christ may find an eager welcome at his coming
and call us to his side in the kingdom of heaven,
where he lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.
Lord bless us, protect us from evil, and bring us to everlasting life."
Amen
If you would like to learn more about Advent just click on the Advent candle on my sidebar.
I hope all of you have a beautiful and blessed day ♥
With warmest regards, Carol

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!......

Happy Thanksgiving and many blessings to you and your families! I hope all of you have a beautiful day ♥ I just wanted to say how thankful I am for all of you! Thank you so much for all of the lovely comments you leave here on this blog.

I wish we could take a little time out of our hectic schedules to have a cup of coffee or tea together but since that's not possible please know that I will be thinking about you. You just warm my heart through and though.......

With warmest regards, Carol

Up date on Charli :>)

Good evening everyone. Thank you so much for your kind words, thoughts, and prayers for our little pooch Charli. She is doing just fine. We went to the vets today where she had a very minor procedure, and if anything at all, she may have a slight infection. She is now romping through the house doing all of the silly things she does to keep herself as well as us amused. I hope all of you have had a good day ♥ I will be over to visit with all of you just as soon as I can. Thank you again for your concern about Charli. She is blessed to have so many kind and caring people in her life.
With warmest regards, Carol and Charli

Under the weather.....

Under the weather.......

Our poor little Charli is feeling under the weather. She has a doctor's appointment tomorrow. I'm sure it's nothing serious but I wanted to let you know I will not be able to post Tea and friendship Tuesday. I hope all of you have a lovely day. I will be thinking about you.
With warmest regards, Carol

Blue Monday.......... And the lighting of the trees....

Blue Monday..... And the lighting of the trees.......

Welcome to Blue Monday, hosted by my friend Sally, at http://smilingsally.blogspot.com/ This is a weekly post where some of us blogger's get together to share something blue. Thank you Sally for hosting this fun post! If you would like to join us, or you would like more information about us, just click on the above link to reach the official Blue Monday web site.......


Have you heard the news? It's official now! Santa Claus has come to town!

This weekend Ryan and I had the opportunity to visit the Partridge Creek Mall to see the lighting of the trees ceremony. I have written about this quaint little out door dog friendly mall in the past so I won't go into further details here. The Partridge Creek mall has offered a Christmas program and lighting ceremony for the past three years. I just can't believe how many people and dogs turn out for this fun family event! Most of the dogs have blinking collars and leashes which look very pretty lit up at night. I did not bring Charli with me because of the large crowds of people who attend. I thought it was more important to keep my focus on Ryan. The parents, grandparents, and children usually meet near the outdoor fireplace to wait for the program to begin. Partridge Creek provides all glow wands for all of the children free of charge. You can just imagine how excited the children were to receive these. They held them up in the air as they listened to the wonderful Christmas music provided by the Detroit Opera Children's Choir. What a wonderful job the choir did! It was awesome to see all of the colorful wands swaying through the night air. Nordstroms provided free hot chocolate and the Cookie Factory a free cookie to all of the children who were there. Ryan and I opted to go to Starbucks instead and I am so glad we did because we avoided some very long lines. After the Choir was finished the children were told Santa would be arriving and to listen for the Piston Drum Corp to escort him into the mall area. There was total silence as the children waited and then cheers of delight as the drum corp came marching through the streets with you know who. After Santa arrived the children were told to hold up their wands, count to three, and then shout "light that tree." Then all of the lights came on. The Patridge Creek Mall has a display of over 300,000 lights and it is truly beautiful! This is where the blue comes in for my Blue Monday post. These pictures really do not do the light display justice. It's just amazing and so very beautiful! Ryan and I had a wonderful time and in the process we even got a little Christmas shopping done......

Happy Blue Monday everyone!

I hope all of you have a lovely day ♥

With warmest regards, Carol

Getting ready for the holidays....

Getting ready for the holidays........

Can you believe it? Christmas is right around the corner again. The holidays are so different these days. With a touch of a button you can go to so many wonderful sites on the Internet and order just about anything you want or need in order to have an amazing holiday celebration, but if you are like me, you still like to do a little of your own holiday cooking, baking, decorating, and crafting.....

Don't these goodies

look just yummy!....

I love the days leading up to the holiday's best of all. I like all of the family activities, holiday movies, crafts, visiting, baking, and trimming or decking of the halls. The most difficult thing for me to do is decorate our family Christmas tree. It makes me some what sad and happy all at the same time. It's really is a tree just filled with the most amazing memories of the people I love and people who have touched my life in a profound way. I feel so blessed to have known each and every one of them.

I found a wonderful site I thought you might enjoy http://www.northpole.com/

If you are looking for some great recipes or fun activities to do with your children or grandchildren I am sure you will be able to find something here.

I hope you are having a fun filled weekend ♥

Charli is even getting into the holiday spirit and helping me with a little decorating.

"CHARLI! Get out from under that tree!"

With warmest regards, Carol

Hopeful Friday.......

Welcome to Hopeful Friday hosted by Charli and Me. This is a post dedicated to positive thoughts and inspirational messages. A post to celebrate God! If you would like to join me, just pick up a button, write your post, and then leave a comment here so my dear friends and I can pop over for a visit. Otherwise, thank you so much for stopping by! I hope you have a wonderful and blessed day ♥

"When you arise in the morning,

give thanks for the morning light,

for your life and strength,

Give thanks for your food,

and the joy of living.

If you see no reason for giving thanks,

the fault lies with yourself."

-Tecumseh Shawnee Chief-

"When I first open my eyes upon the morning meadows and look out upon the beautiful world. I thank God I am alive"

-Ralph Waldo Emerson-

Happy Hopeful Friday everyone!

As I won't be posting next Friday due to the holiday weekend, I would like to take

this opportunity to wish all of you who follow Hopeful Friday a beautiful and blessed Thanksgiving ♥
May the peace and love of our Lord be with you always ♥

With warmest regards, Carol

Booking Through Thursday......

Welcome to Booking Through Thursday at http://btt2.wordpress.com/
This is a weekly post where book lovers such as myself get together to have informal discussions about literature and books. If you would like to join our group, or you would like more information about us, just click on the above link to reach the official Booking Through Thursday web site........




Today's question was submitted by Barbara and is as follows.......
"Do you think any current author is of the same caliber as Dickens, Austin, Bronte, or any of the classical authors? If so, who, and why do you think so? What books from this era might be read one hundred years from now?"

Whew.... These are loaded questions but I will give it a try. Yes, I do think there are some wonderful authors of the same caliber as Dickens, Austin, and Bronte. Certainly they're books will withstand the test of time and be read one hundred years from now. These authors are brilliant, descriptive, and colorful. They have proven over time to be phenomenal writers. I think these authors will withstand time because they write from the heart about every day life, culture, and history. These are subjects that remain of interest to most people. These types of books give us a glimpse into family life, life in a certain time period, or sweep us away on a wonderful or daring adventure. Who doesn't love to read these types of books? Some authors that come to mind are William Faulkner, Ernest Hemingway, Mark Twain, Gabriel Garcia Marquez (a brilliant writer), Sharon Kay Penman, and of course John Steinbeck.
I think Doris Kerns Goodwin is an example of one of the greatest non-fiction writers of our time.
Some books will withstand time because of the popularity associated with them like the Harry Potter series and still other books will stand out as one time masterpieces such as 'The Road' and "To Kill A Mockingbird.'
Happy Booking through Thursday everyone!
I hope you have a wonderful day....
With warmest regards, Carol

Tea and friendship Tuesday's.....

Welcome to Tea and friendship Tuesday's hosted by Charli and Me. This is a fun post that can be filled with pretty tablescapes, teapots, teacups, recipes, poems, personal stories, and interesting facts related to tea, friendship, or both. It is a place to share any thing you would like with a friend! If you would like to join me, just pick up a button, write your post, and then leave a comment here so my dear friends and I can pop over for a visit. Otherwise, thank you so much for stopping by. I hope you have a beautiful and blessed day ♥


Good morning everyone! Today I thought I would share another Thanksgiving Day tradition with you. It is my dear Aunt Rosie's date and nut bread. It would be perfect on any tea table. It's so delicious!....


AUNT ROSIE'S DATE AND NUT BREAD
(A Thanksgiving day Tradition with whipped cinnamon butter)



In a bowl combine:
one cup boiling water
one tbsp butter
1/4 tesp nutmeg
1/2 tesp salt
one tesp baking soda
one cup chopped nuts
one cup chopped pitted dates

In another bowl combine:
one cup sugar
one egg
one tesp vanilla

In another bowl:
two cups flour

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Grease a regular sized bread pan.

Alternate adding dates and nut mixture,

and flour mixture, to sugar mixture.

Bake until golden brown and a tooth

pick comes out clean when inserted

into bread. Makes one loaf.

WHIPPED CINNAMON BUTTER

one stick of softenened butter

1/4 cup light brown sugar

1/4 tesp cinnamon

Whip all ingredients together in an electric mixer.

Let set in refrigerator for approxamately twenty minutes

For me It just wouldn't be Thanksgiving without Aunt Rosie's date and nut bread.

As I bake this bread and the wonderful

smells fill my kitchen I think of my dear sweet

Aunt Rose and all of the very best of

times I had at her house. Aunt Rose and

Uncle Al had eight wonderful, caring,

and respectful son's but no daughters.

You can just imagine how welcome,

special, loved, and cherished I felt in

they're home. My Aunt Rose always

used to say she thought of me as the

daughter she never had :>)

When I was dating my husband it was my Aunt Rose who called him up one Sunday afternoon to ask him if he could take her to a department store in the area.

She didn't really need someone to take her to the store but she did want a private time

with my hubby to ask him what his intentions were :>) My aunt was a person

with old fashioned values and I think that's what I loved most about her ♥

Happy Tea and friendship Tuesday everyone!

I hope you have a wonderful day.

Thank you so much for all the lovely comments you leave on my posts ♥

With warmest regards, Carol

New guidelines for mamography via government regulated task force....

New guidelines for mammography via the government regulated task force?......

Do we really want the government controlling women's health care in this country? The government sponsored task force is recommending women now wait until the age of fifty to have routine mammogram screening. The American Cancer Society disagrees with the government task force recommendations and physicians will continue to offer they're own recommendations during routine physician visits. Who is going to pay for your next mammogram? What kind of outcomes can women expect if these new government imposed guidelines pass through congress? What are your thoughts on this very important issue?

http://www.medpagetoday.com/medpage_audio_player.cfm?tbid=17045&rURL

Blue Monday..........

Welcome to Blue Monday, hosted by my friend Sally, at http://smilingsally.blogspot.com/ A weekly post where some of us blogger's get together to share something blue. Thank you Sally for hosting this fun post! If you would like to join our group, or you would like more information about us, just click on the above link to reach the official Blue Monday web site.....

There is certainly a lot of blue in this video and I do love the song.....

Happy Blue Monday everyone!

I hope you are having a lovely day ♥

With warmest regards, Carol

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I62uwbyD2pUm/watch?v=I62uwbyD2pU?v=I62uwbyD2pU

1776 The Musical-The Egg....

1776 The Musical-The Egg.....

"Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, and John Adams discuss with one another what the new nations bird will be. A Turkey, a Dove, or an Eagle?"......
Did you ever wonder who, and why it was decided that the Turkey would not be the national bird? Just click here and enjoy.....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-OAWKTDelGU

I hope you have a great weekend ♥
With warmest regards, Carol

Hopeful Friday.......

Welcome to Hopeful Friday! This is a post dedicated to positive thoughts and inspirational messages. It is a place to celebrate God! If you would like to join me, just pick up a button, write your post, and then leave a comment here so my dear friends and I can pop over for a visit. Otherwise, thank you so much for stopping by. I hope you have a beautiful and blessed day ♥




"Love begins at home; love lives in homes,
and that is why there is so much suffering and so much unhappiness in the world today. If we listen to Jesus, He will tell us what He said before: 'Love one another, as I have loved you.' He has loved us through suffering, dying on the cross for us, and so if we are to love one another, if we are to bring that love into life again, we have to begin at home"
-Mother Teresa-
'The Joy in Loving'


Happy Hopeful Friday everyone!
May the love and peace of our Lord be with you always ♥
With warmest regards, Carol