December Already?

 We have been treated to the most beautiful Fall weather, beautiful leaves on the trees and gorgeous sunsets this Fall in Redding, California!

 How thankful I am to our Creator for His constant gifts!

 Christmas is just around the corner, so a few weeks ago, Dottie and I went on our annual trek to the House of Design in Red Bluff to see all the beautiful Christmas inspiration!

 Once again, they did NOT disappoint!

 If only the little elves that work there could come to MY house....

 It's so fun to get ideas that you can use with things you already own too!

 This black white and red tree really impressed me this year.  It was so pretty!

 I am not much on the whole upside down tree thing though.  : /

 Why can't I get MY mantle to look like this!?  Oh that garland...*sigh*

 One of the reasons for my lack of posting on this here blog is right here:

 Scott and I have been so so busy making these crazy family signs.  He uses wood from up at camp that is so rough and ugly, and he transforms it into beautiful planks of perfect wood!  You should see the gigantic MESS in our garage after the wood has been through the planar a few times!  (luckily, none of my family members read this blog, or they would see their Christmas gifts!)

 Scott's parents and Anna went to Dallas for Thanksgiving this year.  (I am anxiously awaiting Anna's arrival home TODAY as I type this!  She flew back alone because Scott's mom got VERY sick and was in the hospital for 5 days and is still recovering from pneumonia, so she and Gordon are staying an extra week to be sure she is okay to travel)

After we dropped them off at the airport in Sacramento, we went shopping.  Oh Pottery Barn, how I love you!  Look how darling this Christmas "family room" set up is!

 I have asked my personal carpenter to create one of these box/tray things for MY OTTOMAN!   Since he has all that wood and the tools in the garage already and all, I think I might just get one!

 I am so proud of Anna for being so responsible and brave to fly home (changing planes twice!!) all by herself!  I can't wait to see her!

(this is Anna and Dottie on the day they left)

I have one tree up and decorated and the other one will be up this weekend, I mailed my Christmas cards today (although I think they are heinous....let's just say that I did NOT get what I ordered.  If you get one, ignore the cheesy-weird background behind the picture on the back...Hello...I took the picture outside with a great background on purpose, do NOT do something I did NOT ask for!

I will be back after I finish another bazillion cups and a couple more family signs!  I hope you are all enjoying this lovely season!  

Happy December!  (yikes!)

All Kinds of Yumm!

Hey Blog Readers!    Yes, I KNOW I have been MIA for a good bit now.   I PROMISE I will get back on my regular schedule of posting about our very exciting life (ha!) this week.  Scott and I will be alone all week with only Lindsay home (a peek into our future.).  Anna leaves today to go to Dallas with her grandparents to surprise her cousins for Thanksgiving and Shae stayed in Lynchburg!

BUT, while you are waiting, go check out the giveaway on All Kinds of Yumm.  We are teaming up to give one lucky reader a personalized acrylic tumbler! (there are come other samples to see if you click on the tab above, also in my Facebook album).  You will no doubt become a regular reader of All Kinds of Yumm!  Rachael is a young wife who is cooking her way through marriage.  Yumm!  Not to mention she is hil-ar-ious!  She is a gifted writer and you will find lots of things you want to try to cook up  for your family!

Now for the PERSONAL part about Rachael.  I have watched her grow up!  Her parents are our best friends.  She is a Southern (California) girl married to a South Carolina boy.  They both graduated from Liberty University, my favorite school of all time.  Rachael is the wife of a youth pastor (love!) and she is working full time while she is doing all this cooking! Wow!  I am so proud of the young woman Rachael has become!

So go on over and check out her food blog...and her November giveaway!

Life Here on the Farm...

 We have been anxiously awaiting for it to be time to harvest the honey from Scott's hives.  Last weekend was the perfect time to do it, temperatures were warm and we had NO sporting events!

 I wish I had gone with him when he took the frames out of the very active hives...But, I had to stay with Lindsay and didn't want to take a chance on her being stung, so we stayed home.

 What an incredible process! You would be hard pressed to NOT believe in THE creator when you ponder the intricate work that bees do.  There is one queen in each hive, she is well cared for by her worker bees.  Her only job is to lay eggs.  The worker bees also keep the hive spotless and at a certain temperature at all times, they also make the wax"holes" that the queen lays her eggs in. The worker bees are also responsible to go out and look for nectar and pollen to bring back to feed the hive.

 The bee society is remarkable.  They all know what their jobs are and they do it! (I wonder how our  society would be if people were to do the same thing?) 
When all of the hive works together, they are able to create this wonderful product we call honey!  They make enough to feed themselves and allow us to harvest the rest. However, they do not give it up easily....Scott wears a full bee suit so he doesn't get stung by the protective hive. 

The rest of the time the bees are quite calm, tending to their responsibilities.  Scott checks on them often without even wearing a mask or any protection.  Every time I go out to see them with Scott, we are both just amazed at the whole process.  What a fun hobby!

Take a look at the honey comb that is created completely by the bees!  Isn't it amazing?!  I like that they are neat, tidy and precise!  Only GOD could orchestrate this talent!

Scott filters the honey through a series of 3 strainers, ending up with beautiful, clean organic honey!

The honey pours easily into the prepared jars and is ready to be spread onto Scott and Lindsay's sourdough toast in the morning!

Beautiful Churn Creek Bottom honey!

One of the by products of the harvested honey is beeswax.  It has  many uses....including being made into lip balm!  Anna has found a new hobby!

My favorite is the tangerine peppermint flavor!  I am an avid Burt's Bee's user, but they have a fierce competitor here on Dandelion Drive!

Just to prove that we are "farm living" here in the city...

We have a John Deere model B tractor in our driveway for the time being, getting a little overhaul!

And, lest you think we have gone completely hillbilly around here- Dottie, Anna, Chloe, Carolyn and supported the fine arts department at Redding Christian School by attending their rendition of one of my all time favorite movies, White Christmas.

What an unbelievable show!  The dance/musical numbers were incredible.  The hard work of the cast was evident.  We are always amazed at the talent in this small school!

On to another weekend.

This one is filled with basketball ;)