Christmas Tidings

 

Holiday Wishes

 

We wish you a Merry Christmas

and all good things in 2024!

Blessings...daisy

Happy Holidays!

 

 

 

 

May your holiday season be merry and bright!

God bless us all, every one!

~daisy

Christmas Wishes

 

 

 From our home to yours,

wishing you the most wonderful holiday season!

Be Blissed!

-daisy & crew

Merry Christmas!

 

 

 Merry Christmas to all who celebrate.

May your day be blissed!

~daisy and crew

 

hoping for snow!

Happy Christmas!

Twas the day before Christmas and all through the home

Every creature was ready, yes, even our gnome.

 The lights in the garden, a new Christmas trend,
Welcomed casual visitors and each seasoned friend.

The cookies all baked and delivered on time
 Caused a profusion of smiles and feelings sublime.

The cards mailed early with love and affection,
Spread thoughts of good cheer and honest reflection.

Our Carolina Christmas will be perfectly quiet,
Without a concern for our usual diet.
Good food, company, and health all around,
Keep us counting the blessings that always abound.

The cool winter weather has aided us all

In fact, it seems that we almost missed Fall.
Our heaviest coats remain at the ready,
For snowfall we wish, be it slow and quite steady.

May your holiday be blissful and bright

Enjoy the merriment on this festive night.
And celebrate loved ones ever so dear

And the time spent together at this time of year.

"God bless us, everyone."
~Tiny Tim

Baked Spaghetti

Baked spaghetti is one of our favorite dishes.
In fact, it replaced our traditional lasagna at Christmas.
For one thing, it's just as scrumptious,
but requires a lot less work.
Here, we have two versions,
one allergy-friendly,
and the other Big K's chosen concoction.

It starts with noodles.
Pretty much any pasta will do,
but in this case,
we used brown rice noodles.
C has multiple sensitivities,
so we substitute where needed.
His pasta was cooked and then slathered in tomato sauce.

We also add a bit of gravy (tomato sauce)
to the bottom of the baking dish,
to keep things from sticking.

We layered pasta, sauce, and browned ground chicken
and topped it with his shredded rice cheese.
(He must avoid wheat, gluten, dairy, corn and a few other things.)
It gets baked at 350 degrees (covered), for about 20 minutes.

For someone who doesn't care for his plate components touching,
he gobbles this stuff up.
This will be one of the meals I hope to teach him,
so that he can have a hot meal during these cold, winter months.

Big K's version is similar,
with gravy on the bottom, noodles and loose meat
(what we call browned ground chicken or turkey)
alternated.

For this standard recipe,
we used angel hair pasta and a cheese mixture.

The cooking time is the same as C's version,
350 degrees (covered) for 20 minutes.
Basically, everything is already cooked, 
it's just to melt the cheese.

I usually make a big batch of this for Big K,
as he doesn't mind eating it for a few days.
My version is a combination of the two,
with traditional pasta, non-dairy cheese and no meat,
but a few veggies thrown in the mix.

Three different renditions of one mighty tasty dish.
This simple recipe may just become a family favorite 
at your house!

Baked Spaghetti 
(Traditional)

1/2 box angel hair pasta
1/2 C tomato sauce
1/2 lb. ground chicken
1/2 C shredded cheese
1/2 t salt
1 clove garlic, minced
2 t Italian herbs

1.  Cook pasta according to package directions, 
drain, then set aside.
2.  Brown ground chicken, seasoning with salt, 
garlic and herbs, then set aside.
3.  Add some sauce to bottom of casserole dish.
4.  Layer noodles, meat and sauce, repeat.
5.  Top with shredded cheese. 
6.  Bake at 350 degrees, covered for 20 minutes.
Enjoy!

(The noodles, cheese and meat can all be altered,
to accommodate dietary preferences.)

Christmas 2018

Have a "berry" Merry Christmas!

~daisy & crew

Zero Waste Gift Wrapping

 Last week, we showed how to make snowflakes using only 2 materials:  paper and scissors.

In keeping with our penchant toward less waste, 

 our gift wrapping practices have changed.

For many years, I made my own gift wrap,

reusing the butcher paper that came in packages

and stamping or adding embellishments to the plain brown wrappers.

It all got recycled after the holidays,

but I wanted to do better.

 While visiting the ReStore recently,

I was looking for fabric to use instead of wrapping paper for our gifts.

I came upon two holiday-themed tablecloths, and

they were just the ticket!

They were easy to cut,

and since they were both rather large pieces,

I was able to wrap every gift on my list, with some left over!

I've already decided that I won't be going back to paper.

Even though paper can be recycled,

we don't know how long recycling will be around.

These wrappings can be used over and over again,

or the fabric donated to someone who sews,

so that something functional can be created. 

The tag you see here came from one of the Christmas cards sent to us

over the past few years.

And although it can't be reused, it can be recycled, or put into a compost pile.

The peppermint-patterned twine can be reused by the recipient for so many things!

I may have to start looking for thrifted holiday fabric for next year.

One of my focuses in the new year is to do better

with sustainability.

This is a great jumping off point and

it inspires me to streamline in so many areas of my life.

Zero Waste Christmas Craft

Remember making snowflakes in elementary school?
It's such a simple idea,
but wow, what an impact they can make!
They are easy, quick and quite relaxing to create.
It took a bit of research to get the process down pat,
but after a while, 
I could see them improving with each attempt.
The best part of this craft is that 
it produces very little to no waste.

The only supplies needed are 
paper, scissors and your imagination.
This is a fantastic project to do with kids,
especially a big group!

 Two different sizes of triangle pieces were made.
By simply folding a standard piece of computer paper
so that the bottom right corner is brought up to the left side edge and creased,
it forms a triangle.  The excess is cut off (we used the extra pieces for scrap paper.)
For the smaller triangles,
fold a standard sized piece of computer paper in half width-wise,
and follow the same process, creating the triangle.

 Once you have the triangles completed,
the magic begins!

 Regardless of size, fold the triangle over onto itself,
so that you have a smaller version of the original triangle.

 It should look like this.

Then open up the fold,
so that your triangle has the point facing down.

 Take the right side of the triangle
and fold it so that the outside edge
lines up with the center crease.

Crease it well, so that it stays together
and flip it so that the point is facing up,

like this.
Someone said that it should look like the Star Trek logo.

Cut off the bottom part of the new shape,
so that the bottom edge is completely straight.

Even these tiny scraps will get used-I'll tell you how.

Let the design begin!
There are a few ways to do this part,
but what you need to remember is not to cut all the way through the thinner side.
If you do, your final product will be in pieces, instead of one stunning snowflake.
I experimented with many shapes and I found the designs I liked best
were made by cutting from the bottom up into the center.
The more detail you add, the "flakier" your finished product will be.

from this

 Here's one design that I did,
and once unfolded, you'll see the results.
This part is free-form, basically just let your imagination go wild!

to this

almost there

eh, voila!

The feeling of joy comes over you
as you unfold each masterpiece,
never knowing what it will look like until the very last moment.
It really is magical!

And just like real snowflakes,
each one is absolutely unique.
This is a no or low waste project, 
depending on what you do with them.
We created one feature wall in our living room
and covered it from floor to ceiling!
All scraps will be either used for scratch paper
or used in our worm bin as bedding.
The snowflakes themselves make a great addition to any gift
and can be reused each year until they fall apart.
At that time, they can be composted or used in the worm bin.

It was so much fun reliving childhood memories
and relearning a simple and fun craft.

What are some of your favorite holiday crafts?

Going Local Series-Grace Tree Farm

 

With C at home with a cold,

Big K and I went in search of a Christmas tree.

Our traditional choice is a Frazier Fir,

and we were excited to head to a local tree farm to gather our treasure.

Grace Tree Farm is owned by local residents Krista and Doug,

who happened to be in the same Master Gardener class I took last April.

This family endeavor started a few years back

with their relocation to quiet Denver, North Carolina.

Six years in the making,

they opened for business for the first time last holiday season.

This is a choose-and-cut farm,
allowing customers to pick and fell their own tree.
Potential lumberjacks can opt from a variety of trees, 
including Carolina Sapphire, Leyland Cypress, and White Pine.
Saws are provided, along with instructions
and unbridled enthusiasm from this dynamic couple.
(Pre-cut Frazier Firs are also available,
but not grown on site.)
On the day we ventured out,
it was a mess of muck and mud,
but you'd never know it to talk to Krista and Doug.
Even in the miserable conditions,
they were so excited to see folks coming out and taking part.

Six acres of trees awaited our perusal,
though not all trees were ready for harvesting.
Designated trees were tagged with different colored ribbons,
with each hue corresponding to a particular price point.
The smaller trees seen here will be ready in a few more years.

Doug's background in forestry lends itself well to his chosen profession.
Once the decision was made to open a tree farm,
the planning began.
Years of learning about the business is paying off,
as the farm is becoming well-known in these parts.
Although Doug works full-time as a real estate broker,
he still puts in full days at the farm,
tending the trees and taking care of clients.
Krista is equally as busy,
nurturing their two children, keeping the home fires burning,
and interacting with customers.

In addition to trees, 
holiday shoppers can pick up one of the gorgeous 
handmade festive wreaths.
Even those who don't want or can't have a "real" tree
can enjoy the scent of the evergreens with these beautiful embellishments.

We surprised ourselves by deciding against a Frasier Fir this year.

In keeping with our earth-friendly philosophy,

we opted for a live Christmas tree

that can be planted on our property later on.

These Norway Spruce trees should do well in our area,

and we plan to make this a yearly tradition.

It's a wonderful option for folks who want a more ecological choice,

or for whatever reason, choose not to buy a real tree for the inside of the house.

So grateful to be able to shop locally for our holiday tree!

Grace Tree Farm is located at

 1292 Beth Haven Church Road, Denver

Phone: 704-794-8740.

Their facebook page can be found here.

 Go Local!

More in our Going Local Series:

Red Wolf Farm

Santa's Forest

 Mundy House Christmas

Lincolnton Christmas Parade

Lincolnton Apple Festival