Winter Begins

Winter has arrived of late and I've been busy, busy, busy.

I'd been thinking through November that I should blog all my favourite Christmas baking as I baked - showing the finished project and sharing the recipes, but then I went ahead and started baking and completely forgot about sharing. Already baked and squirreled away in the freezer are my Cherry Pound Cakes, Hazelnut Crescents, Lemon Shortbread and Coconut Macaroons. I think, perhaps, I'll treat a sampling to a visit to a plate and do a wee photo shoot. I suspect Nigel and Ian will help make sure that none of them have to return to the freezer...

Today though, was Jan Hagels day...



this cookie recipe was one Mum use to make years ago, and one I've made every Christmas for a long, long time. I suspect the recipe came from a magazine, possibly a Canadian Living, but I'm honestly not sure, all I do know is that it's not listed in their recipe index.

But don't despair, because I've got the recipe right here:



Jan Hagels

1 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar (I use granulated)
1 egg, separated
1 tsp. almond extract
2 cups flour (I use unbleached white)
1/2 cup blanched sliced almonds (I suspect I use more than that)
1 tbsp. sugar
1/4 tsp. cinnamon

With mixer, beat butter and sugar until fluffy. Add egg yolk and almond extract. Blend thoroughly. Stir in flour (I don't stir, but beat it in with the mixer). Turn cookie dough into an ungreased 15x10x1 inch jelly roll pan. Spread evenly to edges with spatula (for many year the pan I had was too big, so I only spread it to three edges and about 3/4 the length of the pan - use your judgement people!). Beat the egg white until foamy. Spread evenly over cookie dough (I don't use all of it, I brush it on with a pastry brush until there's a nice even coating on top), spread nuts evenly over top (I use a fair bit, probably more like 3/4 cup, rather than the 1/2 cup stated in the original). Combine sugar and cinnamon. Sprinkle over nuts (I always have a shaker full of cinnamon and sugar in the cupboard, for making cinnamon toast, I don't measure this out I just shake, shake, shake all over the top of the almonds). Bake at 350 degrees F for 25 minutes until lightly browned (hmmm...actually, I check them at about 22 minutes, and if they look and smell done then I take them out - don't let them burn). Let cool in pan on wire rack for about 10 minutes. Cut into 8 lengthwise cuts and 12 diagonal cuts (I use a pizza cutter). Cool in pan, remove with spatula. Mmmmm...

There's always a few odd, too-skinny shaped pieces that are left over for snacking. This makes Nigel very happy.



I got a tree for the landing and decorated it with a collection of vintage ornaments.



My favourite...



and the tree topper, so lovely...



Every year since Ian was tiny we've put up the Playmobil Advent calendar. It's been amusing me every year that no matter how old he gets, he'll make a bee-line for the calendar and open the little box first thing in the morning, before anything else, but today...for the first time...



...box number 1 still sits and waits.

They break your hearts for the first time at fourteen.

Madly Off Decorating

We've been madly decorating in all directions these last few days...



having survived the first nasty cold spell of the season...



and we're preparing for all the festivities of the week...



hoping the next year is sweet...



and we're all a little wiser.

My Mum made Elly part of the Dickensian Mice set by Alan Dart in honour of her first Christmas in her new place. She made six of the ten pieces (heck of a lot of work), and they turned out perfect.



Aren't they gorgeous?

On my needles, at the moment, is a quick knit for Ian's Christmas. Since I doubt he's reading my blog, I'll tell you it's this pattern from the new issue of Knitty.



I'm also partial to this and this from the same issue (but for me, not Ian), perhaps in the new year...



though I DO have an awful lot of half finished projects which I want to finish first.

I think I may have to plot a course for my knitting this year.



Also, the back splash was installed a couple of weeks ago. Our contractor put up a terrible struggle with me over my choice of tile. I believe he said at one point, "you don't want to ruin the kitchen now, when it looks so good." Can you imagine! It's a good thing I like him and have known him a very long time, otherwise I might have been insulted.

In the end, I got my way.

One by two inch pale green glass tiles installed in a brick-lay pattern.



He admits now it looks fantastic. Hoorah!

In a nod to the Christmas Ghost Story tradition, here's a walking ghoul singing a Christmas song...Enjoy!

Nearly There

Christmas is coming along almost perfectly around here. Elly arrived back home safe and sound, and amazingly only a half hour late. She had to make a change of planes at Pearson airport in Toronto on Saturday afternoon, and somehow she managed to be one of the few lucky ones who sailed through with no cancellations and almost no delay. She was very lucky. One of her friends from Dublin got stuck in Heathrow and then Seattle as she tried to travel back home to her family in Spokane Washington. Poor Kalen, I hope you managed to make it to your family by now.

I've finished all my Christmas knitting, and I've decided to show it off (I'm fairly sure Elly and Ian will be too busy over the next day to check out my blog).



For Elly I made the Celtic Cable Neckwarmer, a free pattern available from Storm Moon Knits. The pattern called for worsted weight yarn (hooray, for worsted weight - it knits up lickety split), I used Mirasol Miski (that's 100% Llama, and oh so soft to the touch) in the classic colour for cables, cream, and finished it off with three vintage vegetable ivory buttons.

***Now Elly, I know you like everything matchy-poo and I realise the buttons don't match,but if that drives you crazy we can take them off and add something else, like a matched set of wood or mother of pearl buttons, don't panic***

And for Ian, who happened to see the Fish Hat from the latest issue of Knitty and longed for one of his own.



His wish has been granted. Hooray again for worsted weight yarn. Made form Fleece Artist Blue Faced Leicester Aran in a green colourway with shots of brown and turquoise and a little bit of Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran in black for the fins and lips. This pattern was fairly easy and I think the results are quite hilarious.

I've got my fingers crossed that they'll both like the choices I made for them.

And here are two gifts to all of you.

Though I'm none too sentimental and pretty much completely irreligious, I have a fondness for certain Christmas Carols, so here's one of my favourites:



And here's This for all the kids.

Happy Christmas everyone!

A Little Christmas

Aren't these adorable little birdhouse ornaments for the tree? I was very pleased with this little purchase back in November. Sears had decided not to sell any more Martha Stewart products, so they were clearing out all of last year's Christmas stock at drastically reduced prices. I think these may have been originally marked at $8, but they were marked down to $1.94 and then had ANOTHER 75% off that! Wow! I won't bore you with the math, but I bought all they had - seven - and still had change from a five. I love a bargain, and was very pleased with myself.

'Course, you can't please everyone, and Nigel frequently shudders when I veer off to the bargain bin (I think he thinks it's beneath him). When we decorated the tree the other night I told him the story of my great bargain and there was some wise-ass remark about looking like Blitzen threw up.

Well!

I went out today to a lovely little boutique down the road, and before you could say, "they cost HOW much?", out came the Visa card,



and there are now THREE of these on the tree.

Only 'cause I'm trying to please everybody, don't you know.

I've got a little bit of last minute Christmas knitting on the needles, so I decorated a little (large) basket for myself.



And here's two snaps of what's in the works,





but no guessing as to what, or for who. You're just going to have to wait and see...

Happy Belated Christmas

Well, I had plans to post yesterday, but the day got away from me.

Here are a few snaps of the festivities:

the tree, Christmas morning, adorned and perfect,

and the stockings hanging at the chimney,



I made the stockings last year from a vintage wool blanket found at the thrift store, felted, sewn and trimmed with giant plastic and pom pom bobble fringe and needle felted monograms. I'm still not sure if I really like them, but the contrast of countrified felted wool and glam plastic makes me chuckle.

Our Christmas mornings start out very dignified, we file into the Living-room at a reasonable hour, about 8:30 in the morning, have a quick photo session of the kids under the tree (by the stockings this year) and then open our stockings. Then we break for breakfast (this year we had lox and bagels), then the gift opening begins.

Half an hour later it looks like this,



I always get a gift from a certain red fellow,



the number of gifts we give each other is completely overwhelming, so I'm going to spare you the excess. I'll just say that we all got books, Cd's and DVDs. The girls got craft supplies and tools and the boys got jammies, the kids each got gift cards and cash from the family. Nigel found some booze, and Ian got a telescope, which came with bonus binoculars with which he promptly used to spy upon the neighbours.

The dogs each received new collars with tags. Gus was very excited,







Here's Whimsy wearing two Starbucks mittens,



After all that the day spirals into debauchery. I spent the day chatting with family (we're scattered over Canada, this means criss-crossing a number of time zones) and nibbling on Christmas chocolate, missed lunch, and ended up with a pounding headache by mid-afternoon.

The day is saved, though, as my mother-in-law and sister-in-law make the Christmas dinner. Hurrah!!!

I hope Christmas found you surrounded with family (in person and/or over the phone) and only as much debauchery and excess as you could manage.

Happy Belated Christmas!

A Little Closer to Christmas

Well, the stockings aren't hung by the chimney with care (we do that on Christmas Eve):



But I finished those cream and red mittens:



And the narcissus bloomed:



And here is the tree:



We generally decorate with red, orange and bronze. However, it's always the strange exceptions that are the family favourites:

the lemon, I love the lemon,



the blue jay, another favourite of mine, they're such wretched, though beautiful creatures,



the spider, there's always a little tension as to who gets to put this on the tree, as both the kids like it (it has a bell inside),



the grasshopper, my son's second favourite after the spider,



yoda (he's looking a bronzey-green, but he's really more swampy),



C3PO,



and, for Nigel, Darth Vader.



Here's a second shot of the tree, with presents this time:



I chose lime-green and black wrap this year. It's making me very happy.