TAKE ME-TAKE ME-TAKE ME--Home said the Gingerbread Boy!

I did a post about this a year or two ago.

Several people said 

they had never seen anything like it.

I thought I would post before it

gets any later in the season

in case you want make these for 

your own home.

I have been doing this since my

own kids were small.

You know how a front door says 

WELCOME

when you come in?

Those sleigh bells are off the horses my 

father drove as a young man.

So -there's my 

Happy Hello!

BUT I like my door to say

GOOD-BYE

when someone leaves, too.

And I like to say it NICELY

Unlike some people that will say-

Don't let the door hit you in the butt on the way out.

How do I do that?

I let my visitors take a little memento

of their visit with them.

It is called 

Cut and Run Take

Here they are my sweet little

GINGERBREAD BOYS

hanging in a row.

Here's how to make this sweet little door hanging.

Roll out Saran Wrap about 2 feet longer 

than the side of your door.

Lay your Gingerbread Boys in a line 

on the center of the plastic wrap.

leaving about 4-6" between them.

You could also do this with any sturdy

cookie- like a sugar cookie cut 

like a snowflake or star.

Flip them upside down making sure that they

are still in the center

Pull the plastic wrap to the back

overlapping it so they are enclosed 

all the way around.

Gently flip them over and using ribbon

tie a knot above and below EACH one.

Hang some children's scissors on

some curly ribbon from the top

to cut the saran wrap.

When you cut them apart 

you will cut between the ribbons 

leaving each one fully encased in plastic wrap.

Here I am making a cut between the ties.

You start with the bottom one and 

each person can cut off a gingerbread boy 

to take along when they leave.

I hung them on a nail hidden on top of the door jamb.

shhhhh-MyHero hates nails anywhere

I dressed the top with some greenery and red balls.

I love  Gingerbread Boys, don't you?

Sometimes I feel sorry for them though.

Poor things.

pinterest image

The one on the right hears about like 

MyHero does-especially when it comes

to trying to get a chore done!

Now- get in that kitchen and start baking!

As for me..

I will be pushing the gingerbread "boys"

around at the VA this morning

and then I am tied up for most of the day.

Have a great Tuesday! 

OH!  And THIS YEAR I am going

to do this with 

SNOWFLAKES instead of 

Gingerbread boys.

I'll post a picture when I get that far.

FRENCH TOAST FROM LEFTOVER PUMPKIN PIE!!! Yep- It's true!

Well, I already KNOW you all

think I am crazy..

so I might as well add to my legend!

I wasn't going to post this weekend

but this is too good not to share

while you still have leftover

PUMPKIN PIE!

WHAT do you do with 

LEFTOVER PUMPKIN PIE?

Well, if you live with ME

you might just get a piece of

THIS!

Well. you will notice that I didn't

POLISH the silverware for you!

Shhh..close your eyes and only look at the toast, m'kay?

Do you have some of THIS around your house?

You know the crust gets kinda 'soggy'

and it loses a bit of its appeal, right?

Well, cheer up!

I have a FIX IT for you!

Here is what you will need:

Scrape a few tablespoons of pumpkin pie

off the crust and spread it on

one slice of 

WHITE BREAD.

(It does NOT taste nearly as good 

on whole grain bread-sorry)

Spread some softened CREAM CHEESE

on the another slice of white bread.

Whip 2 eggs with about 1/2 cup of 

half and half and 

a teaspoon (or more) of GOOD VANILLA!

Put the two slices of bread together and

DIP THEM into the EGG MIXTURE.

They should be saturated but not too soggy.

Place it in a preheated buttered frying pan

and cook over medium to medium-high heat.

Oh! Yeah! Baby!

Wait til ol' bj over at Sweet Nothings 

sees this-

She is gonna think she died and went to

BREAKFAST HEAVEN!

She is my

"recipe tester"!

Now, I also made another one but forgot to 

take pictures.

Same thing EXCEPT-

Spread one side with Cream Cheese,

Add 2 Tablespoons leftover Cranberry Sauce,

Put a few thin slices of turkey breast 

on the other side.

Dip in egg and fry just like regular french toast.

Different and OH SO GOOD!

Easiest way to start a fight at the 

DESSERT TABLE!

You all have a great rest of the weekend.

I am recovering from a 

FRENCH TOAST COMA!

HAPPY BLACK FRIED-DAY!

SHORT AND SWEET

Kinda like me--

Oh! Wait- I mighta lied about that

I am 

TALL & NOT-SO-SWEET!

I am trying to figure out if I can get 

a drive in to go see some special people-

It's about a SEVEN HOUR drive 

FOR ME-

They can make it in SIX HOURS because

they don't know where all the REST STOPS

are along the way.

Don't you LOVE the expression on Bright Eyes face?

Have a great

BLACK FRIDAY

and I will see you the first of the week.

You know why?

NOT!

I am actually dragging out my

CHRISTMAS STUFF 

this weekend

if I stay home.

I won't be in the stores today

because.....................

Have a wonderful weekend, folks!

A THANKSGIVING POEM FOR MY BLOG READERS

Poetry has always come easy to me.

My girl cousins and I listened to a lot

of poetry growing up.

Both of our fathers read poetry to us

so it is second nature to me.

Are my poems perfect?

Nope- Not even close

 but they are heartfelt.

Here is the one I wrote last night.

Thanksgiving

Oh! The memories of Thanksgivings past,

When I was just a child,

When the days spread out forever,

And I could just run wild.

I remember early morning sun

Upon the kitchen floor,

And father hurrying across the room

Going out the old screen door.

He would go to do the milking 

Then come  in to eat his fill,

Of Thanksgiving dinner lovingly prepared

In that house up on the hill.

My little grandmother always came,

Bringing the mincemeat pie,

I never ate a single bite of it

Cuz I didn’t want to die. (smiling)

My Uncle came along with her,

And another Uncle, too,

A cousin tagged in here and there,

When they had nothing else to do.

Oh! Then the years just marched along

And God took some family home,

The Thanksgiving table got smaller,

As other members began to roam.

I never dreamed when I was a child,

That the day would come to be,

That the old homestead would all be gone

And the only family left would be me.

So, gather your family close, my friends,

As you celebrate -I say-

Remember to give Thanksgiving,

For the love & riches you have today.

By: D. Diana Kosmoski ©2017

I hope your day is 

FULL OF BLESSINGS

and for those that do not have family

to spend the holiday with

I wish you 

peacefulness  and  joy

as you celebrate alone.

I'll celebrate with you in spirit......

THREE THINGS IN THEIR HAPPY PLACE----NOT!!!!

Short and Sweet

because I am at the 

VA this morning

and working this afternoon.

Sadly,

This is NOT the happy place

the THREE THINGS 

are visiting.

Nope- they are not here!

Sometimes when MOMS of kids work

they need a Nana to shuffle

their kids around for them.

Take for instance-

going to the 

DENTIST/ORTHODONTIST.

Can I see a show of hands from those

people that like to go to the 

DENTIST?

You can put you hands down now

you liars.

THING ONE:

NO PICTURES, NANA!!!

THING TWO:

Yes, I see you there, Nana.

THING THREE.

Forgot her book but will read anything

she can find-including, but not limited to,

toilet paper wrappers.

Now-

How would you feel about visiting a dentist

that had a waiting room like this one?

Hmmmm...

Now just IMAGINE that your

GYNECOLOGIST 

followed suit.

yeah....

Sorry- no pictures of that waiting room

are available.

Use your imagination.

You all have a GREAT day now,

you hear?!

BREATH OF CHRISTMAS HOUSE TOUR

Every year

I treat my daughters and

daughter-in-loves

to a day with me!

Ha! As if THAT is a treat-

they only go to humor me-

Yesterday was the day!!!!

Every year in good old

 Green Bay, WI

there are 5 or 6 houses

decorated by florists and designers

that are open to the public.

The money from the tickets goes

to a local school so it is a win/win

type of holiday undertaking.

All fall it has been 

WARM and we have had 

ABOVE NORMAL TEMPS.

Surprise-

Yesterday we woke up to

HEAVY WINDS &

FREEZING TEMPS.

Nothing like living in the
FROZEN TUNDRA.

We start the morning with a
STARBUCKS coffee or latte or chai-

I am sharing a few pictures from the
BREATH OF CHRISTMAS website.

Every florist and designer tries to
OUTDO LAST YEAR's 
competition.

Each designer puts their best foot forward-

As a result-
We all get all kinds of ideas
to say nothing of having fun.
Oh- and 
I DO SO LOVE WHITE ROSES.
As a side note- after 42 years of marriage
MyHero FINALLY figured out that I love
WHITE ROSES--now, I'm not saying he is a
SLOW LEARNER or anything but you can
read into it whatever you want.

Loving this, too-

Did I mention they decorate outside, too?

Thanks to my sweet daughter-in-law
I have a trio of those beautiful
candles that look like real flames.

image
Did you know they make
TAPERS, too?
Somehow I missed seeing those before 
this year.
Yes- I am 'out of the loop'-
thanks for asking.

image
It was a 
WONDERFUL DAY-
even if 'the kids' did make fun of me
for RUSHING from house to house.
Hey- What idiot wants to stand outside in
FREEZING TEMPS
longer than they have to--
that's what I want to know.
(not that I am calling THEM 
idiots, you understand)

We finished up with lunch at
A'Bravo-

A'Bravo
Another year of tradition.
The only sad spot in the day is that 
my youngest daughter, Mimi,
was not here to enjoy it with us.
Nope!  She was home in 
Carmel, IN, with her sweet
family-having her own little walkabout.
Do you think BrightEyes is saying
"Come on-Hurry Up, Mom?!"

TRUMP CONTROVERSY PALES IN COMPARISON TO THIS ONE! What is IN and What is OUT?

You all know I came back to blogging

after being gone while

MyHero was dealing with 

his health issues.

As I was visiting blogs I noticed some things-

or rather, the absence of some things--

What happened to
BURLAP?

It used to be that every blog I visited had

SOMETHING made out of BURLAP.

I am seeing less and less of it-

some days I go without seeing any at all.

How can that be?

image

What about 

CHALK PAINT?

I am still seeing it but it seems it has lost 

some of its unsanded waxed luster.

Is that true?

I read a report that says

RUSTIC is on the DEMISE

much like "country" from the 1980s-

it is taking its place in history.

Can that be?

image

BRASS IS BACK?

What?

Right after I got done spraying all my 

BRASS PIECES 

Hammered Bronze?

image

SO-Tell me--

What do YOU think?

IN?

OUT?

Doesn't matter-

you like it and are keeping it

no matter what anyone thinks?

I never got into the 

burlap phase because I am allergic to 

something in it.

It makes me itch like crazy--

so if it is OUT then I am ahead of the game.

I have done my share of

CHALK PAINTING

and plan on keeping my pieces...

but I don't have a lot of 

RUSTIC DECOR.

It just doesn't work in this house.

You know what I think is

ALWAYS IN FASHION?

Pretty!

I love pretty and I think it 

never goes out of style.

AND

ACCEPTANCE is ALWAYS

in style.

I can accept anything anyone loves

because it is their choice...

Kind of like a husband...

Your own may drive you a bit crazy

but it YOUR CHOICE and 

you can keep it at

YOUR HOUSE.

I got my own problems,

ya know what I mean?

So-lay it on me-

tell me what YOU think!

If you are inclined to 

ARGUE WITH ME

please do so at your own risk.

Just know-

I will NOT be accepting invitations

to air my views on

Fox Network.

Thank you!

ps- While you all are mulling over
forming an opinion I will be
OUTSIDE putting up my 
lights while it is warm outside.
Saturday we hit the
DEEP FREEZE!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO TWO GRANDKIDS!

It's a crazy week here-

or I'm crazy-still trying to figure out which it is.

Anyway,

Today is the 5th birthday of 

CHARLES IN CHARGE.

He was a bouncing 10#3oz kid.

He looked like he was 2 months old

when he was born.

LOOK how cute he is NOW!

On top of being cute

he is funny and kind and loving.

Happy Birthday, Charlie.

Yesterday 

 we celebrated the birthday of our

17 year old granddaughter,

Aleena.

Isn't she a beauty?

Guess what-

In this world where you hear all the 

HORRIBLE THINGS

about teenagers

she doesn't fit the mold.

She is a GOOD kid-

with good morals and a loving heart.

We need more Aleenas 

in the teenage world.

Love you both to the moon and back!

We have two more birthdays

in the next 10 days.

Somebody snuggled up tight

on some cold February nights.

And that's all I'm gonna say

'bout that!

AND THE WINNER IS----BRIGHT EYES!

My daughter, Mimi, 

IS NOT A PAGEANT MOM

at all.

So-

Bright Eyes had

NO HAIR PEOPLE

NO MAKEUP PEOPLE

NO EXPENSIVE DRESS

NO COACHING

She DID have

PERSONALITY 

POISE

and

SHE IS FUNNY

(imagine that)

Mimi said that she had a

RUNNING COMMENTARY

while she was on stage.

As they introduced the other little girls-

Judge: And Sarah's favorite color is PINK.

Bright Eyes: No! MY favorite color is pink.

At two years old they call out your weight 

(which is one reason I would NEVER be in a pageant-even at two years old)

Judge:  And Sophia weighs THIRTY POUNDS.

Bright Eyes-looking at her:    OOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHH!

Psyching out the competition,

do you think?

Whatever she did.

SHE WON FIRST PLACE

in the 

TWO YEAR OLD DIVISION.

Sorry for the quality-

It's a picture of a picture....

Hmmmn...

We may have a brand new 

HONEY BOO-BOO

on our hands.

I told my daughter to 

BE PREPARED TO DRESS UP

like Honey-Boo-Boo

and her mom.

I think a little pink number like

this might be nice,  right?

image

And that's all I'm gonna say 'bout that

although I could say a whole lot!

Have a great upcoming week!