Finally able to spend some leisurely time enjoying your thread, Woody! I dislike skimming because Im afraid IÂll miss something important and all the neat details, the dog park being a prime example, lol. Superb colors and textures in these photos, thanks for sharing the excursion. The citrus mobile really caught my eye! Saucy, itÂs not too late to make one with bird seed ornaments - plenty of winter still ahead, right? Hope you do and post a picture to inspire me into giving it a try. Woody, IÂm so curious about the doggie cookies you make for treats. Is this a recipe you formulated? Oh, and I did try some carry out samosas but even as I munched I knew they had to be a poor imitation of yours. The local Thai restaurant isnÂt exactly authentic. Also want to comment on the homemade mincemeat as IÂm not sure IÂd recognize it even if it was in front of me! My grandmother loved mincemeat pie but all I remember is that it came in a glass jar, was brownish in color and had some raisins. Probably bears no resemblance to homemade. So anytime you can get a picture of how you and Randy prepare, serve or plate it, I would be very interested. Keeping you close in my thoughts as December gives way to JanuaryÂ

greenglass, That's a great tip for the tomato paste, thanks! I consider myself a fairly experienced, handy cook (for ordinary stuff, I'm no gourmet), and never thought of that one. It bugs me too to leave so much behind, and I have a little mini plastic spatula-scraper thing that I've been using, which doesn't do a bad job but is a pain and leaves a bit at the bottom. When I spent a year in France, I found tomato paste regularly sold in a tube, like toothpaste, which was PERFECT --- you could just squeeze out whatever you needed. Mayonnaise was also sold this way. Another great packaging improvement was bleach --- you could buy it in a big jug like here, but you could also buy a little refill plastic pouch of ultra-concentrated bleach, which you would pour into your empty jug and then fill it the rest of the way up with water to get the same concentration. Sure was handy for life in Paris where one walked everywhere! Occasionally, over the many years since I was in France, I've found a store with imported foods that has tomato paste in a tube, and when I do I always stock up with several. (It keeps a year or two, though not forever.) It's been a while since I had one, however. If anyone knows of a source near Kingston, Ontario, I'd be grateful! ;-) Zabby

I sure feel great when I come here and read all the sweet things. It definitely makes the work worth it to share with y'all. My two sons, and DH, could care less. Tho my DD and DDIL came over and said it looked really nice. (My Dad loves Christmas decor and especially the Village.) I had to laugh, yesterday a couple of friends stopped by. One absolutely hates Christmas, she doesn't decorate at all.. or even enjoy giving gifts (its a chore to her). The other one is Jewish, LOL. So not exactly an appreciative audience. Thank goodness for you guys. Yacht, the poinsettia is lit up in my fireplace, looks wonderful, and I love it. You find me the neatest things! That fireplace is open to both living-room and family-room, so I can enjoy it twice as much! Nhardy, the one thing I totally do NOT have is energy! Its taken me weeks, starting a few days before Thanksgiving, and I didn't actually finish some of the things I wanted to do. Garlands mostly. I decorate without energy by using a lot of determination! Fibromyalgia causes not-stop pain and over-whelming exhaustion every day. As several of our gang here knows all too well. We just have to force ourselves to do things at times. I love Christmas too much to let Fibro win out over the decorating. Fighting with garland is bad enough, strings of lights are absolutely the pits! A few years ago, I began leaving the lights on my trees and wreaths when I packed them away. So I don't have to do all that work each year. And slowly I am replacing them with pre-lit things. I'm glad you like the Nutcracker collection. Until a few years ago, I never liked Nutcrackers at all. I sure converted in a big way. LOL. But neither my DD or DDIL like them, so I told them they better 'learn to' or they'll be having the biggest Nutcracker Yard Sale in Az. LOL. hugs, Karen

I have our two grandsons finished, and their birthdays too. The younger one will be 2 tomorrow, and his gifts are wrapped for the trip up there tomorrow. His brother's birthday is Christmas Day, so some presents for him have Christmas wrapping, and others will have birthday wrapping paper. I have bought a few things for other family members, but the big shopping rush will start once Thanksgiving dinner is done, the kitchen is clean, and the good dishes put away. I find I buy more gifts online every year, but I do try to support our local merchants. I have learned to shop late and that way I avoid crowds. I head out to the mall about 9pm and take advantage of the holiday shopping hours.