64 and counting!

 wow! a surprise birthday party ....  for me!  nella and katie arranged with my friend, pam, to celebrate my 64th birthday at her home- complete with a gourmet luncheon and 2 cakes- one by pam and one by katie.

spinach, strawberry, hearts of palm and walnuts greeted us along with many other delicacies.

this was a sausage,cheese,apple quiche- omg!

ham with a few vegs. in a thickened broth which we ladeled into tiny pastry cups...omg

endive stuffed with veg. cream cheese... omg

table set with wedgewood plates, silver etc...omg

fresh rolls and beets with vinegar and grapefruit and grapes stuffed with goat cheese and pistacios....omg, omg!

3 layer cake with bits of peaches in the frosting...omg

                    katie's boston cream cake (my favorite cake)... omg

i look loopy after all that food. have i said omgosh enough???!!!  it was nice to have katie and nella there.

pat, me, holly and pam

the traditional" blowing out the candles " picture...

thanks for a great day ps. i got my hair cut after that ---yow!

more of the same...

nella and i went to the new" shop jr." yesterday and she snapped this shot-   whoo ooo! we then drove home in a snow storm... good times.

red squirrel jr.

hey!!! i have taken the leap and rented a small  area in kensington court- a cute antique boutique in new kensington, pa. this is pretty exciting for me because it's another creative outlet AND i will actually get paid for the things i sell!  i am official on march 1st.

  this is what greeted me last week when i went to start setting up.! as sally fields said... "they like me, they like me!"

 wish me luck (and check out the place if you're nearby). my original red squirrel shop will be reopening in april.

40 years and counting...

 the dreaded traditional "blowing out the candles" picture. this particular cake had 40 candles and put out quite a bit of heat.  think it may have singed her hair! (that's ellie in the background- she was a little excited...)

 

after cutting her cake, shannon discovered that it  wasn't any ordinary cake- it was  a smith island  cake, from smith island, md. these cakes were  made by the women of the island with multi-layers  and sent along with their fishermen husbands when they went out to  fish at sea. the thin layers separated by frosting kept the cakes moist for extended time periods as opposed to regular cakes. we were able to taste these cakes when we were traveling this summer down the east coast on our yearly trip.  



40 years and counting!

my first daughter turned 40 today!  where have all those years gone?  i think it was just yesterday when we lived in alaska  and were making that short trip to the airforce base hospital . what a  cold feb. day that was.  i remember getting into the elevator and having a contraction and wondering what was in store for me! we didn't know if our baby was a boy or girl, but i was excited to be able to hold her in my arms. the girls at my work place had given me gifts- a beautiful pink blanket and diaper service. (yes, we used real, cloth diapers back then!).  i was in a ward with 8 other ladies and we were separated by curtains. only one woman was breastfeeding ( that wasn't in vogue then).  we all thought she was a hippy because of that.
 i so remember the moment i bonded with my little baby girl. we were awakened every 4 hours to walk down to the nursery for feedings. i was sleeping and had a dream that my baby was crying out for me and needed me. i woke with a start and couldn't wait to get to the nursery room. i could see her little head from a distance as she had a full head of dark hair that stood up all over the place. she was the only one like that and the other women had all commented on her hair. i rushed over to her and felt a flood of love, protection  and relief to see that she was all right. i was truly a mother in that instant.
 when we returned home with our little bundle, we settled her down in the crib and my husband left for work. i needed to take a shower and that task took FOREVER, as i turned the water off every few minutes to listen for her.  it's amazing that all parties concerned survive their first born!
 well, 40 years have come and gone and shannon and i have experienced more than i could have ever imagined together. we started out as best friends and have ended up as best friends-- some rocky times in between, but i have a lifetime of wonderful memories with her.
 she has become a mother herself to 3 neat, interesting children and is doing her best to raise them as healthy, productive , sensitive individuals.  she is accomplished in whatever she takes on and always makes time to call me and be interested in my life.
 we look forward each year to a special trip and continue to make memories and enjoy spending time with each other.
 happy 40th birthday, shannon - life is good!

red squirrel christmas open house

our annual christmas open house was held in november for 2 days this year. we had lots of fun- lots of buying and over-all good cheer. the food was great and the shop looked so festive.  enjoy pictures of the shop....

                                                

                                                                      

                                                                      blue section...

                                                              
             "new" cupboard that i filled up with apple-pie filling, candy, jam,  and other homemade  goodies.

we fixed the dining room up in the house as part of the shop. these are the items that katie made and also sells on etsy.

                                              our" pillow and girly" corner in the dining room.

                                                          more in the dining room...

                                                  most of these things sold in the first hour!

                         i had a few items displayed on the porch before coming into the dining room.  the reason i only had 11 cups is because one was found on the porch floor- broken. some "visitor" had come in the middle of the night and disrupted things- was it an elf or pixy? -                                                                                                                                                     

NO.... i was able to actually see the culprit early in the morning of my open house. a large, brown RAT!, yes, rat, was crawling along the curtain rod on the porch. i left the door open all day- hoping he wouldn't pop out right in front of anyone at the open house. he must have gotten out, as we haven't had any more incidences on the porch.  (the exterminator came and found rat prints outside in the snow and set some traps- whew!) this is the trap we put on the porch - it was alot larger than it looks here.

a lot of work, but worth it!



christmas traditions...

    throughout the years we have had many traditions- some have lasted and some have been broken sometimes "just because".  here are several that have stuck and some have even spanned a generation now.. my mom started this one-  we bake sugar cookies and decorate them - one for each person who will be sharing christmas dinner with us. each person finds their cookie with their initials or name on it. these are custom made to suit the person's situation or personality. (several of us like cats. one loves red hots ). well, you get the idea.

this is a wreath that i made when i was pregnant with joanna- 27 years ago. each little ornament is hand embroidered and stuffed and is attached to the wreath - one each day in december. the problem this year is that i found most of the ornaments on the floor when i came home one evening.  the felines had discovered new toys and it was a free-for-all!  i was able to retrieve all but one and am still hoping that one will show up.

cookie trays for the neighbors have always been a fun tradition- especially for the elderly ones who no longer bake.

cracking up candy canes for vanilla icecream- always a favorite- even though one can now buy the real thing.

decorating the tree  - even though it's alot smaller than those of yesterday. this one was purchased  at a thrift store and has vintage-type ornaments on it. (more detail a little later).

we always try to have festive tables during the holidays. we also hang our stockings in the dining room and have an additional tree there. nella is demonstrating how we sit at the table!  just kidding.

this shows more detail of the living room tree. jojo sent this cute danish pixy- it's the only colorful thing on the tree and reminds us of her . she can tell us the real name for this sweet little one..".hagen das"??? :o)

these are just a few of our traditions- the ones i happened to capture on film.  mostly we just enjoy the christmas season with each other and the celebration of the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ.