Apples and Buttons

40 apples later we are still getting ready for Christmas. Ryan is out of school for the Winter Break as of today so we had to get her apples out earlier this week. Chase and Cooper are taking theirs tomorrow.
When Ryan suggested carmeled apples for her friend presents, I was a bit concerned. I have never had good luck with the carmel actually staying on the apple. And that made me not excited about taking the project on. But my goodness, what a good friend the internet is. It came up with several several recipes to try. Ryan and I did an experimental run and thanks to the homemade caramel recipe and the wintry chill outside that kept the toppings hard and cemented on it went swimmingly well. AND it tasted good as well.
Here we are 40 apples later and all have agreed that apples may need to be an annual tradition. The cinnamon and sugar white chocolate apples are to die for!

I hope that you can tell that the button decoration is a snowman made out of buttons. I have had some weird deviations into buttons this year. Probably another post. Suffice it to say, I have had a blast making snowman, santas, elves and reindeer out of buttons. I got the idea out of last year's Martha Stewart magazine. (Yes, I would agree that I am always a year behind in the trends.) I am not sure they will be appreciated to the full extent that Martha and I have liked them but I got enough enjoyment out of them that it doesn't matter.

It wasn't the Grinch that stole Christmas

Today I wanted to leap out of a moving car.

Sometimes being partnered with somebody is so hard. Lately I have been rehearsing the marriage vow promises over and over again in my head. "For richer or poorer. In sickness and in health. For better or worse." Who made these vows up? I guess since they were used in my marriage ceremony I agreed to them but really, who started them? Was it God? Was it just some romantic and sentimental priest that was in charge of ceremonies and their lingo.

Bart and I spend so much energy just trying to make days work. Because it takes energy to agree with him. And we do agree to work on agreeing but little else. If we already agreed on things we might be able to put our energies into something else, experience synergy and enjoy the moments. Instead we fight to come to some sort of union of thoughts but then we are both so tired and still have pockets of resentment that things are always bittersweet.

Especially at Christmas. Simply put, Bart is a material whore. And he loves the actual spending of money. Anxiety ridden and a cheap ass, I do not love the actual spending of money. Could we be any farther apart? Couple that with my trying to work as little as possible and him thinking that time not spent working or snowmobiling is wasted, well, you got some real holiday spirit going on at the Peterson house.

Eggnog, anybody?

My collection

I collect nativity sets. I have slowed down a bit for two reasons. One, I don't see one I have to have every year and two, I don't have any more room to put the ones I do have up and around in my house during the season.

I do not have one single set that features bears or penguins as the figures. Snowmen either. I don't know why but it bothers me.

But this year I believe I might just have to expand my collection and it might just be a bending of the rules. It's beyond rules. It's beyond fantastic! Can somebody please tell me where I can find this sock monkey set?!?!

A Christmas Wish

This little boy has been sick sick sick this weekend. All weekend. Saturday he spent the day throwing up. So much so that his little stomach muscles are sore and painful. In fact, he has not moved off the couch today. Partly the sickness, partly the muscles.



This little girl has broken up with the the first boyfriend. Just in time to welcome in the new boyfriend. The new boyfriend is a bit cuter, a lot cooler and surprisingly has a talent and interest in singing and theater.
I say surprisingly because the little girl has decided that soccer is boring. She needs more time to hang out with friends. She can't understand why both her mother and her father will not even entertain her points of debate. Sigh.



This little boy has started his first basketball season. It is the best entertainment that we have had since Drew Carey came to town. He can't believe that practice is only one day a week. Basketball must be for slackers, he says, compared to the time he put in for football.

The three little Petersons are simply too busy to get in the Christmas spirit. This older Peterson is trying to awaken it before the season is over. I did start going to the gym last week. Even getting up at 6:15 for it. But that wasn't enough. Writing tidbits in Christmas cards helped a little bit. Writing wishes and love and all sorts of good things for people you love does help to enlarge the blood pumping organ. I have immersed myself in nativity scenes which pointed my head in the right direction. Lighting candles have helped me to fight the cold and the dark that is outside.

Maybe thinking about Mary. Being a first time mother. Having a healthy, happy little boy. Looking down at that little face. Little fingers grasping hers. Nothing kingly yet but miraculous nonetheless. I can conjure up that magical feeling of love anytime I look at those above pictures. I can. I am amazed at the elasticity of youth, the determination of spirit they posess, the magnitude of energy they have. I can remember drowning in each one of their eyes when they were babies.

Now to carry that feeling around all the time every day for everyone......well, that will be a Christmas miracle. But at least I have the feeling down.

It is the simple things

There is one other little slice of luxury that I have been living with that I have not shared with you yet.
Being a finish carpenter's wife, garages are for tools, not cars. In this house we only have had a two car attached garage. We have had the garage chock full of hammers, wet vacs, extension cords, outside temporary lighting, table saws, jigsaws, wood products, snowmobiles, etc. etc. I barely get a shelf for my Christmas decorations. Don't even think about getting a car in there.
Last year we built a LARGE detached garage in the back yard. Enough room for the snowmobiles, four wheelers AND a shop. This last month we poured concrete and actually moved the stuff from the front attached garage to the back one. Bart put new batteries in the garage door remote control and handed it over to me.
This week has brought the first snow to the valley. And I have not had to scrape my car off once. I simply go out in my garage, get in my car and drive out into the icy, chilly tundra that I live in. It is a small thing. Obviously I have scraped for 4 years in this house. I have all my limbs and digits. It is a doable thing but my, oh, my! it is nice to not have to do it. It tickles me pink to be able to see out my whole window from the minute I start to drive in the morning.

And I am grateful.