No Matter How Many Mistakes...

No matter how many mistakes you make or how slow you progress, you are still way ahead of everyone who isn't trying.

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And just realize that tomorrow is a whole new beginning, not to mention a whole new year.

 

We all have our bad days, it's only human, so let's move on and strive to do better.

Have a great 2016, my dear readers! 

 

Until my next post-- Savannah  : ) 

Gingerbread Cookies

 

Season's Greetings, my fellow blog readers!

 

Thanks to Pinterest, I found and made this recipe last week, and when we all liked the result, I made it again.

 

These cookies are simply called gingerbread, but to me, they taste so much like my favorite, pricey treat-- Biscoff.  You can imagine the surprise I got when I took my first bite.  It was blissful.

 

I like time consuming, tedious work (at least to a point) so this was great.  After the dough was ready, I got to get my hands in it, roll it, cut it into shapes, and then bake it.  But don't worry, this recipe is super easy.  

 

 

 

 

 

And now... here's the recipe.

 

1 Cup brown sugar

5 Tbsp. light syrup

5 Tbsp. water

1 Stick and 3 Tbsp. butter

1 Tbsp. ground  cinnamon

1 Tbsp. ground ginger

1 tsp. ground clove

3 Cup flour

1 tsp. baking soda

 

Mix brown sugar, syrup, and water in a pan.  Boil the mixture.  Add the butter and let it melt.  Add spices.  Leave the mixture to cool without stirring.

Stir in the baking soda and flour.  Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and chill until next day.

On a floured table, knead the dough until smooth.  Roll out thinly and remove the cookies with cookie cutters.  Place them on a baking sheet with parchment paper.  Bake in oven at 350F for 6-8 minutes.  Let cookies cool on baking sheet. 

Store in a jar at room temperature or in freezer.

 

I made buttons and Christmas themed cookies this time, as you can see in the pictures above.

  

 

My family has tried to give cookies to our neighbors every Christmas, and we call it our "Cookie Run".  The paper plates above are what we sent the cookies in this year.  Also, thanks to Pinterest, I got the idea to weave ribbon through plain plates.  As you can see, it adds a good touch of festivity. 

 

To get that look, just punch holes into the edge of a plate with a paper hole punch.  Then slide the ribbon of your choice up and down all the way around the plate.  Tie a bow when both ends meet.   : )

 

Merry Christmas! 

A Christmas Short Story

Christmas lights lit the street.  Colleen, bundled in coats, gloves, and a scarf, walked down the sidewalk as snow fell onto her.  Christmas was just two days away and the streets were busy with people doing last minute Christmas shopping.  Thankfully, Colleen was finished.

As she walked along the snowy street, her eyes fell onto a little brown spot on the curb a few yards in front of her.  She approached and saw that it was a teddy bear.  Something drew her to the stuffed animal and it was a queer thing since she had no children of her own.  But she somehow felt led to pickup the wet, dirty thing, and so she did.

She was a little embarrassed to carry around a child's toy, but hoped people would think of her as a mother taking her baby a Christmas bear.  And most people did think that, but also wondered why she didn't have it wrapped.

Her apartment was a couple of blocks away and when she reached it, the snow was falling with speed, stacking up on the streets and sidewalks.

The warmth from the heater was a great welcome to Colleen.  After shedding her two overcoats and draping them on a bench by the door, she hurried to stand close to the heater.  The bear, still in her hand, began to melt and drip water, making a muddy puddle at her feet.

"Oh, yes," she said, just then realizing she was talking to a child's toy.  The bear stared at her as she held and looked at it.  A dark red and green bow was tied around its neck, two little black eyes and a nose made up its face.  It was quite cute.

Colleen reached for a towel and started to dry the fur.  When it was fluffed and cleaned, she searched for a place to put it...until she knew what else to do with it.  But before she had found a place, she heard a knock on the door. 

"Who could that be?" she wondered, forgetting about the bear in her hand.  Her pastor stood before her when the door was opened.  "Good evening.  Come in and warm yourself."

He entered with a smile, then turned his eyes to the stuffed animal.  "I can't stay too long," he said, bringing his eyes back to her.  "I'm handing out a few left over angel tree cards and thought you might like one."

Colleen gladly took one and thanked him.  When the pastor had left after a few minutes, Colleen took a long glance at her card.  "A little boy named Joe.  Needs clothes, a pair of shoes, and...oh, look there," she said with a smile, "a teddy bear."

*

 

Colleen read the house number once more; it was correct.  After a knock on the door, she waited a short while for a reply.  With her hands full, all she could do was smile when the door flew open.  A woman held an infant on one hip and a young boy hugged her other leg.  "Merry Christmas."

 

The woman bore a grin full of teeth and patted her son.  Joe stepped forward and gently took the first gift from her.  He saw the bear and instantly he widened his grin . 

 

She couldn't hold back tears of joy as she watched the family.

 

"My boy...hasn't been this happy...in a long while.  We're so poor and with so many mouths..." the woman's eyes misted.  "Thank ya for caring."

 

Colleen was welcomed into the house and offered a very weak type of coffee.  The children helped open Joe's presents and when all were open, he let his siblings have some of the candy.  Soon, Joe had warmed up to her and was talking her ear off, until his mother told him to hush.

 

When they had done their good byes, Colleen drove home.  As she sat in her living room, she thought about her new friends.  Had she have left that dirty old bear in the street, Joe and his family wouldn't have had such a merry Christmas.  She suppressed a smile and thanked God for the opportunity of giving to them.

 

By Savannah Jo

Elliott     

 

Credit: Google search

 : )



Gone are the Goat Days

It was a bittersweet day when I woke up at 7 o'clock that morning. 

It was the first Monday of December, and, though I knew it was coming, that didn't change the fact that I was half saddened to see it right before me. 

First of all, we got our horses and helped a neighbor gather his cattle.  It--in short--was a learning experience and one that we'll most likely never forget.  Needless to say, we did get the cattle penned.

That afternoon, we headed to Dodge City with a pickup-bed load of goats.

It was off to the sale with my nannies...

~

I got my first Boer nannie in 2010.  She was stubborn and rude and it's amazing that we kept her so long.  No one got along with her, but me, though we still had our spits now and then.  My second nannie goat (a LaMancha) was given to me later that year.  From those two, I raised many kids.  We would sell the billies and weathers (neutered billies) when they were old enough, and keep the females, hoping to enlarge the herd.
And this is how we ran the goats for the last few years.  They were free ranged on pasture land, so we were only making profit from the deal.  (No feed cost such as grain and hay, and they were healthy, so no vet or medicine cost.)  It was overall a really good and fun experience. 

But then they started escaping.  That put a damper on things.  After penning them at our branding pens, the fun was instantly yanked out of our grasp.  We were having to feed and water them multiple times a week and the business end was going down hill.  With winter around the corner, it wasn't going to get any better.  In Oct. we sold five and now we've sold our last four. 

~

Truth be known, I was sad, not to sell the goats in general, but to sell my little Stacy Day.  She was the best goat in the world! 

After I lost Tonzo, my dog, Stacy was kind of like his replacement.  I was milking her, so she was here at the house.  I could let her run around with me and she'd stay right close.  If she did wander off, I'd call her back and she would come.  It was so cute and just like a dog!

One afternoon I decided I'd teach her a trick or two...

Yep, she knew how to shake my hand, spin in a circle, back up, and she'd voluntarily "kiss" my nose.  She, to the day we sold her, would jump into the back of a pickup with just a verbal command.  She was a wonderful milk goat since she hardly kicked and gave nice tasting milk.
It's bittersweet because we no longer have to worry about them, feed them, keep them penned etc...  Yet, I don't have my sweet black and white Stacy. 

It was all for the best, however.

And so ends my years of owning and raising free ranged goats... for now anyway.  : )

Cats and Christmas

 

 

Life with a kitten (or cat) can be an adventure.  Even as I type I have BingBong on my lap, trying to help create this post.  Ha!  Whatever.  He's biting my fingers and pressing unwanted buttons.

 

Now, with the Christmas season in swing, we have to work with these little guys, as they love to play in the tree.  The two house kittens--BingBong and Skader--are already really ornery since they keep jumping onto the tables and couches and plants, etc.  So the tree is naturally the best toy they could play with, or so they think.

 

Just a night or two ago, BingBong was rolling a breakable ornament across the living room.  It was a good thing the ball fell onto carpet before he batted it onto the hard floor!

 

So when bells jingle and the tree starts swaying, we instantly know what's going on.

 

Of course, the cats just look at us and meow like they've done nothing wrong.   : )