CHRISTMAS 2015

[Jolly O'Leary]

have to check Netflix for Christmas stuff. I was waiting until at least October to renew Feeln in case they had halloween Movies.

[Noel+]

Happy Fall Y'all!
Christmas is just around the corner.

Yes Happy Fall Ya'll!


Christmas is coming in 2 months!

[Noel+]

Happy Glorious Wednesday! This is one of those days when you wake up you have to give God the Glory for all His wonderful Blessings. Life is not perfect but it's pretty darn good.
I think I'll check out Netflix and see if there's any Christmas movies I haven't watched yet.

And as Christmas Crazy has already said... Happy Fall Y'all!

I so agree with you CK! It's going to be 105F here today but the calendar says its the first day of Autumn! And I believe it! And that means Christmas is not far behind.

[Noel+]

Just a little Christmas in Autumn reminder:

[Noel+]

Jolly: Congrats! on being a Reindeer Caretaker here at Santa's Elf House! And just in time to help Christmas Crazy & CandyKane prep the reindeer for their Christmas Eve all night ride!

[Noel+]

What are some of your favorite Autumn memories? Why does it make you anticipate Christmas even more? Here's one of my stories..............

When the first Autumn leaves fall [Indiana countryside] we kids couldn't wait to play in the raked heaps! Not that my father really appreciated our efforts but a couple of my fave uncles would laugh at us. It felt like Christmas morning.........you wait so long for someone to say "go"!

Also, we would decorate the yard areas for Autumn too. Usually we'd sing Deck the Halls even though Christmas was months away. My favorite displays were under the big oak trees. I would fill baskets with assorted nuts, and siblings brought apples, pumpkins, gourds and we arranged them around the fallen leaves. THEN we'd run inside to the nearest & largest window [without an adult present] and press our noses to the windowpanes. We were so excited to spot the first bird......or squirrel........or deer coming to feed at the display. The next day we'd do it all over again, That is until gramma complained she couldn't find enough apples or nuts for pie!

[Christmas Crazy]

Favorite Fall Memories
When we lived in Indiana, we had several mature maple trees and one giant oak tree on an average size lot. So that meant we had TONS of leaves. I would spends days raking them onto a tarp and drag them to the street for pick up. My favorite part about this was watching my two boys run and jump and play in that big pile of leaves. It must have seemed like a mountain to them. They had a blast and we enjoyed watching play. Then, after all the leaves had fallen, we prayed for a white Christmas.

[Noel+]

That's a touching Autumn memory Christmas Crazy. Thank you for sharing it with us. Your children will cherish these memories forever.

[Jolly O'Leary]

That's a touching Autumn memory Christmas Crazy. Thank you for sharing it with us. Your children will cherish these memories forever.

I always wondered about this raking leaves thing. Don't they just decay naturally? Growing up in San Antonio, we did not get enough leaves on the ground to worry about and no one rakes or picks them up at the North Pole. They are left to their own devices. However, I must admit, when the snow melts and the decaying leaves are once again exposed, they might make great fertilizer but my allergies hate them. I can smell leaf mold a mile away. And in the case of the university, we are right next to the Botanical Gardens, which are left to grow pretty much naturally except in the "regional" habitats like the domes and the Japenese garden. I would love to come see the Gardens decorated for Christmas, but we never seem to make it. Maybe this year as we are once again having a quiet Christmas together.

[Christmas Crazy]

[Jolly O'Leary]

17 days to Swedish Thanksgiving. Always the 2nd Sunday in October. Hubby is having a boy's weekend away for role playing games. I found a tiny chicken (guinea hen) at the Arabic grocery and have seen blogs about a "Miniature" thanksgiving, so I am thinking to make pumpkin tarts, my tiny chicken, brussel sprouts, and almond potatoes. I don't think there will be any leftovers for hubby. Thinking of cooking the big turkey the weekend before American Thanskgiving, it's too much trouble over Christmas since we will be by ourselves.

[CandyKane]

I have great memories of leaf pile jumping when I was a kid. Now I enjoy the raking while I watch dd play.
One of my favorite memories of Fall continues every year. Picking up black walnuts at my parents farm. Mom would help us kids pick them and bag them and Dad would take them to be sold. The money earned would usually be used for Christmas. Now me and my dd will do it and Dad will take and sale them and she'll get the money for whatever. I'm so glad to be carrying on this family tradition.

[CandyKane]

I saw where Home Alone will be back in the theaters in November to celebrate its 25th anniversary. 25 years. Wow! I have got to find a theater where it's playing. What an awesome way to kick off Christmas.

[CandyKane]

If your not a member of Amazon Prime tomorrow they are offering a great deal to join for $67. Membership has a lot of perks and might come in handy for Christmas shopping.

[Christmas Crazy]

If your not a member of Amazon Prime tomorrow they are offering a great deal to join for $67. Membership has a lot of perks and might come in handy for Christmas shopping.

I've been looking at Prime for a few months now, but I just can't seem to justify the cost. Even at $67. Mostly because I already have Netflix.
The free shipping would be nice for Christmas shopping, but I don't think I would come near $67 in shipping to justify it that way either. Oh well.
If you get it, you'll have to let me know if it's worth it. Maybe I'll get it next year.

[Noel+]

That's a touching Autumn memory Christmas Crazy. Thank you for sharing it with us. Your children will cherish these memories forever.

I always wondered about this raking leaves thing. Don't they just decay naturally? Growing up in San Antonio, we did not get enough leaves on the ground to worry about and no one rakes or picks them up at the North Pole. They are left to their own devices. However, I must admit, when the snow melts and the decaying leaves are once again exposed, they might make great fertilizer but my allergies hate them. I can smell leaf mold a mile away. And in the case of the university, we are right next to the Botanical Gardens, which are left to grow pretty much naturally except in the "regional" habitats like the domes and the Japenese garden. I would love to come see the Gardens decorated for Christmas, but we never seem to make it. Maybe this year as we are once again having a quiet Christmas together.

Jolly, your allergy is interesting to me. And a bit sad......Autumn leaves smell wonderful san alergies!

Today many people no longer rake up the leaves. THey let them rot in place as nature's fertilizer. It's lazier than the previous generations but also more environmentally sound. My family always burned the piles of leaves and that's probably not the best result.

Thanks for sharing your pre-Christmas autumn memories.

[Noel+]

17 days to Swedish Thanksgiving. Always the 2nd Sunday in October. Hubby is having a boy's weekend away for role playing games. I found a tiny chicken (guinea hen) at the Arabic grocery and have seen blogs about a "Miniature" thanksgiving, so I am thinking to make pumpkin tarts, my tiny chicken, brussel sprouts, and almond potatoes. I don't think there will be any leftovers for hubby. Thinking of cooking the big turkey the weekend before American Thanskgiving, it's too much trouble over Christmas since we will be by ourselves.

You're an organized meal planner Jolly, even for Thanksgiving alone. Bravo Hope you & Perky do share that private beautiful Christmas together!

[Noel+]

I have great memories of leaf pile jumping when I was a kid. Now I enjoy the raking while I watch dd play.
One of my favorite memories of Fall continues every year. Picking up black walnuts at my parents farm. Mom would help us kids pick them and bag them and Dad would take them to be sold. The money earned would usually be used for Christmas. Now me and my dd will do it and Dad will take and sale them and she'll get the money for whatever. I'm so glad to be carrying on this family tradition.

Thanks CandyKane for sharing your autumn memories. I love the idea of collecting the walnuts & selling them for extra Christmas funds. That's wise & generous! Your DD will also have beautiful Autumn memories to cherish and share with her family.

[Noel+]

If your not a member of Amazon Prime tomorrow they are offering a great deal to join for $67. Membership has a lot of perks and might come in handy for Christmas shopping.

I've been looking at Prime for a few months now, but I just can't seem to justify the cost. Even at $67. Mostly because I already have Netflix.
The free shipping would be nice for Christmas shopping, but I don't think I would come near $67 in shipping to justify it that way either. Oh well.
If you get it, you'll have to let me know if it's worth it. Maybe I'll get it next year.

Amazon has free tv - movie streaming services and added free music streaming also. Those are two prime benefits we enjoy daily! And the cost would be much more than the annual fee. FYI Christmas Crazy.

[Noel+]

So......my Christmas friends, what is your favorite pie for Autumn season? Or favorite couple of pies?

Mine is Shoo-Fly Pie & Hoosier Pie!

For Christmas our favorite is pumpkin pie.