Christmas Ornament Exchange

To all my loyal followers......te-he (I've always wanted to say something like that)

Skip on over to my daughter's blog at Randomly Specific, and check out this great idea that she got from one of her favorite blogs.  It's for a Christmas ornament exchange....I know, I know, it's early, but hey....realistically---Christmas is just around the corner!!!!

Come on all you guys...we've been blogging back and forth...let's take it further and go to the next level...."snail mail". in the form of a nice little festive package..........it'll be fun!!!!

It's simple, here are her rules.......

1. Leave a comment on the bottom of her post with your blog address (if you have one) and your e-mail.  *so, if you don't have a blog, just leave your name + email.
2. You will have until OCT 31st to sign up, and then I will match everyone up with a buddy!  She will send out an e-mail that shows who is matched up with who. 
3. It is your job then to e-mail your buddy, say hello, and get their mailing address.
4. Once this is done.... comes the fun part!  Go out and buy a super cool Christmas ornament! (Pier 1 and Michaels have some really cool ones, for example!)  Price range $10-15.  Please don't over or underspend - it can be tempting, but stay within budget so it's fair across the board!
5. Your deadline is to have your ornament in the mail by NOV 15th!  This way we will be sure everyone will get their surprise in time!
6. When you get your ornament, take pictures and blog about it! Don't have a blog? Take a picture of it on your tree or somewhere in your house and e-mail it to the person who sent it to you and thank them :o)!

This will work best if lots of people participate..... so SPREAD THE WORD!

Rana is also adding a little bonus gift! It will be for a random participant ....more details to come on her blog later ;) 

  Now, sign up, spread the word, and shop for a super cute Christmas ornament!!

Maybe this will put you in the mood.....

Have a special pet??...tell your "ornament swap" partner and you may get something like this!!

            **************************

My niece.Tonya, has several trees throughout her house to display all the ornaments her students have given her over the years.  I especially love this whimsical white tree with all black ornaments.  She can tell you the story behind each and every ornament on each of her trees ;o)

 Let's see where this goes....no eye rolling you guys!!!!!!

Cheers

    

More "Gambo Sunrise"

Looking through the rails on the floating dock at Smallwood Interpretation Centre

Spider web on railing of dock

Sky view from Joey's Lookout

The beautiful little town of Gambo, just waking up.  Shot from Joey's Lookout

Looking up towards Gambo Pond, from lookout

Looking towards trestle, from dock at Interpretation Centre

Shot of water, right in the little cove at the Interpretation Centre.

I couldn't resist this spiderweb...it was beautiful!

 

 

A couple little sheds, right on the water, close to Interpretation Centre

Forgive me, some of these are almost identical, but I really wanted to share how pretty and peaceful it is around here.

Have a great week everyone!

;o)

Sleepy Gambo

Well, guess who got up with (actually before) the birds yesterday morning, made a coffee and went off to take some snaps.....yep, moi!!!!!!

I've often thought that it would be magnificent to look at the sunrise from Joey's Lookout, but of course, that's always when I'm on my way to work....I don't think my carpool buddies would appreciate that!!

So, I woke at around 6 am, peeked out through my blind and thought, I'm gonna do it.

When I got there, it still was not very light and I was a little apprehensive, especially in light of the black bear problem in these parts of late, but I bit the bullet, and look what I got........

All of these were taken between 6:30 and 7:00 am from Joey's lookout on the TCH.  What a spectacular site.  I actually have a ton more, but I'm having trouble uploading them.  It keeps saying that I've exceeded my quota, so I'll have to try and iron that out.  Hubby and I are going to the city for the weekend, so I'll take my laptop and get some help.

I'll post more of these pics asap

Cheers
;o)

Blueberry Cake

Here is a simple and delicious recipe you can try to use up some of the blueberries that you picked this summer.  Great for weekend brunches, when you have overnight guests!


Blueberry Cake

1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup white sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/3 cup milk
1/4 cup white sugar
1 1/2 cups fresh blueberries
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour  

Topping

3 tablespoons white sugar 

1 teaspoon cinnamon 

 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). 

 Grease and flour an 8 inch square pan.
Cream butter or margarine and 1/2 cup sugar until fluffy. Add salt and vanilla. 

Add egg to the sugar mixture; beat until creamy.
Combine 1 1/2 cups flour and baking powder; add other ingredients.

Coat berries with 1 tablespoon flour and add to batter.

Pour into prepared pan. 

 Sprinkle top with remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar and cinnamon.
Bake for 50 minutes, or until cake tests done. 

 

Here's how mine looked, step-by-step......................

 

Flour-coated berries

 

 

Ready for sugar-cinnamon topping

sugar-cinnamon topping forms a crusty golden top when baked

the smell of this right out of the oven is divine

Yummy--melt in your mouth!!

 

Let me know if you try this recipe, especially if you add a new variation!!

 

Cheers

;o) 

Chicken in Creamy Mushroom Sauce

Well-I made a supper yesterday that I want to share.   It was so easy and is simply delicious!!!

Here's my recipe:

Chicken in Creamy Mushroom Sauce

2 lb           chicken pieces(skinned)

1 tin       low-sodium chicken broth

2 tins      cream of mushroom soup

Preheat oven to 350*

Place skinned, washed chicken in a roaster with a little water, lightly season of desired.  

Roast in preheated oven until chicken is well done and lightly browned.

In a large bowl, whisk chicken broth and cream of mushroom soup until well blended.  

Pour over roasted chicken and place back into oven and cook until sauce 

mixture bubbles (about 20-25 minutes).

Serve with your choice of veggies, rice or pasta.

Delicious!!!

Here's how mine looked, step-by-step........

Baked and ready for sauce

Sauce is poured over cooked chicken pieces and returned to oven

This is how mine looked after baked in sauce---Ready to eat!

Yummy-this is a simple meal that tastes like you were cooking it all day!!

 

 

If you have any quick and easy supper recipes I'd love to hear about them.  I do love to cook but I don't want to be stuck at the stove for hours!

Cheers

;o)