Could it possible be.....?

This morning,  looking over the fresh, unmarked snow from last night's snowfall  .... 

only to see, going down the street ....

could they be Santa's 

or Pere Noel 

 or  Father Winter's ... 

 Could it possibly be?

It's the time of year for  child-like faith and belief Holly 

Check out my German Easter Tree!

Germans decorate trees, bushes, branches ...

indoors and out with eggs for Easter.

Lots and lots of eggs!

Yesterday, I saw a huge, green pine garland wrapped with egg loops ..

 

DH and I have been visiting Easter Markets

the last few weekends ~

these markets focus on decorated eggs

 (beaded, drilled, painted, embossed and more)

 and other spring yard and home décor items.

 

I have two trees ~ here's one with the eggs bought over the last two years ~
 

 

Do you do anything special

to welcome Spring

into your home and life?

 

Would love to hear what you do ~

Please share.

 

Holly

 

Bunnies ... bunnies ... who has the bunnies ?

Dh and I visited an Easter Market up in Frankfurt over the weekend.

These was a new experience for us ...

 

DH found one for his tummy  ~ I found one for our Easter Tree ~

Good day for both of us ~

Holly



Happy Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day to all of you!

This morning DH mentioned wanting pumpkin waffles ... fortunately I have everything I need to make them.  If I had thought about it last, night I could have thawed out the bacon in our freezer and made heart bacon for breakfast as well.  (you fold the streaky bacon strips so it approximates a heart-shape).
Tried to make heart shaped waffles ... major flop.  Next time I'll put the waffle batter into a container with a spout ... that should let me  "shape" the batter.
Waffles turned out great ...

Aren't they pretty?  Yummy too!

We're off to visit a wild animal park ... hope you all do something fun today!

Holly

Farewell 2014 ... Hello 2015

I wish all of you and yours all the 

joy and happiness

 your hearts desire in 2015.

Hooray for the start of new year ~

Another chance for all things 

to become right!

Happy New Year!

Holly

most influential person ... thought-provoking

I found this on a dear friend's Pinterest page today ,,, I found it incredibly moving.

No matter your faith ~ or none at all ~ this could be part of anyone's life ...

and it isn't limited to only women of the world ... 

many men are belong as well ...

The World Does Not Know Her Name 

I realize how blessed I have been by so many people whose aid or help 

I took for granted ... how small of me ... and how great of them.

Doesn't matter your faith ... looking back, many of those who helped me

were of faiths vastly different from my own. 

Wishing all of you a Happy 2015!

 

Holly

Last year's Christmas gift from my son

Don't think I ever shared one of the great gifts my son gave me last Christmas ... 

Tried hanging it on the door ... 

but the adhesive hook we put on the door keeps pulling free and crashing to the floor ...

Since I don't want this damaged or destroyed ..we display it in our entryway ...

Isn't it terrific??  

I just love it!!

I am so lucky to have such a wonderful son!!

Holly

 

Have you ever put Christmas trees outside your windows?

I've seen lots of trees that are placed so that they can easily be seen through the windows ... but I don't recall ever seeing trees hung outside a window.   DH and I saw this recently in a nearby town ... the owner was still hanging and decorating them while we were shopping in the street below.

The branches on the side closest to the window are trimmed off and used elsewhere.

So much fun to see how other people do things ... not just Christmas, but all through the year ...  

People are people ... and we can all learn from one another.    Holly

 

... the last of the Christmas gifts are ready to go out!

Christmas cards have all been mailed ... most of the gifts have also gone out.  
It's a nice benefit to DH's deployment ~ many things were done well ahead of schedule. 

Of course, I haven't decorated our home this year ... other than putting out the Advent calendar and our Moravian Star.  

These are the last two gifts to go out ... the two relatives these are going to don't read my blog (and my son already has his gift) ... so I can share this with you.   
 
It's my simple version of this pin:  
  http://www.pinterest.com/pin/571746115165549284/

Was hoping to get a box from the local pizza place ...
 but that's didn't work out (rats!).

Will express-mail them tomorrow when I go grocery shopping ... then I will be done!!

Now I can just relax and enjoy the season
     ... and watch the snow fall....

Holly

gotta love it!!

A friend sent me this on Thanksgiving... just had to share 

(okay... didn't HAVE to ... but I'm going to anyhow)

Don't know who the creator is so I can give him/her credit for this ... 

he/she has a great sense of humor and imagination!

Smiles!!   Enjoy your day ~  Holly

 

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving to my friends around the world!

May your stuffing be tasty, may your turkey be plump,
May your potatoes & gravy have nary a lump,
May your yams be delicious, may your pies take the prize,
May you remember your blessings and hopes that the rolls will rise.
Wishing you a joyful time with your families this Thanksgiving.
*********Happy Thanksgiving! *********

Holly

springtime bunnies ...

A bunny in a nearby farmer's field of rapeseed (for rapeseed oil ... lots is grown in the area) .... 

What signs of springtime show up in your area?  Is there a flower patch, a flock of birds or something else that really tells you that Springtime is here?  

Holly

Thanksgiving - bless us one and all

Some of the men carving the turkey as seen from outside -

The fourth Thursday in November is the American holiday of Thanksgiving ....oddly placed on the calendar to serve as a celebration of the harvest and to give thanks for the blessings of the year.  

To me, the Canadian date for Thanksgiving, the second Monday in October, is more aptly placed on the calendar.  Never the mind.




 Today DH and I celebrated Thanksgiving with a feast with our neighbors and other friends.  It was good to share a wonderful meal and remember all we have been blessed with - family, friends, life ...

Wishing you and yours all the best -

 Holly

Finally back .... made a snowman

Bet you all thought I had fallen off the end of the earth .... sometimes, so did I.  Still trying to go through boxes from the move, have gotten most of them dealt with (or tossed ... or given away ...). 

The rooms in our German home mostly flow together ... so I don't want to put a lot of decorations up (plus I REALLY REALLY don't like putting Christmas decorations up before the American holiday of Thanksgiving held on the fourth Thursday of November ... I LIKE being able to enjoy each holiday in its turn).  

For right now ... this is my only decoration ... what do you think?

Holly

Christmas letter 2012

This is one of the two versions of the Christmas letter DH and I sent out with our cards this year ... the family one had a few more personal items listed on it and the "Merry Christmas" and "into 2013" block were both smaller so I could add personal notes.

Not quite what I had originally envisioned , but I like how it came out.

"Cookie Dough" I sent my son for Christmas

A friend of mine sent me a photograph of a variation of this ...
 that one used a deep picture frame to hold the "cookie dough". 

I found this plate (started looking around for one with writing in Italian .. no joy.. oh well, so life goes sometimes) in a euro-store
 and decided I would rather use it to hold the gift.
Modified the wording of the original tag ... not totally satisfied with the wording ... will play with it some more to see what I can come up with.

I think it turned out pretty cute.


Late note:  At some point, it may be a good idea to let the recipant know the money is real ... my son didn't realize that until we talked on the phone some days later.   He thought it was a joke gift until we talked.

a bit out of season ...

Thursday night, DH stopped by our favorite bakery and picked up some bread for dinner...
this was the bag the bread was sent home in ....
a bit out of time ... but I think it's a charming bag.

gifts for the single mechs

At Christmas DH and I give "care packages" to the single mechanics who work with us ...

some soups or chili to keep in the freezer until a day comes when it's too late or much effort to cook  (at least one eats out just about every meal) that they can just pull out and heat up,

some cookies and sweet bread,

a few pieces of fresh fruit from the market

... and this year, we found chocolate "tools"

the pefect sweet ending for a mechanic.

Forgot to share

Our landlord's grandson likes to bake ... here are some of the Christmas cookies he made for us.

more rolls

More rolls she has shaped ... check out the purse on the right side!