Christmas is probably my very favorite time of year–every single year. My husband says I’m still “a big ol’ fifth grader” when it comes to Christmas, and he’s probably right about that.
Today I thought I would just share a few of my decorations–I don’t ever do ‘trendy’ things because my decorations and ornaments are ones that I’ve had since I was a child, going up through my early years of marriage, ornaments my own children made in school, and those we used to buy for them each year and hang on the tree. I couldn’t bear to get rid of any of these and opt for something more modern! These two pictures are last year’s tree since I have none of my presents wrapped this year yet, and I had to show you all the very best present of all that keeps on giving every day–Sammy, the dog!
Every year, I always include the little ladder with Santa and his elf climbing up to the middle of the tree. I got this when my kids were very young, and my son Casey was fascinated with my earrings. He took a little Christmas sticker and drew a picture of an earring, attached the sticker to the edge and put it on the elf’s ear. That elf wore that earring for YEARS until the glue finally let go and the earring was lost. You can see the ladder, Santa and elf in the first picture on the left side of the tree.
This is the first ornament I bought when Gary and I got married, waaaaaay back in 1979. It’s hard to see, but it’s two lovebirds with a red heart between them, surrounded by a clear heart. This is all blown glass and very fragile.
The last ornament my mom ever bought me. Clear glass, very fragile, and I put it on the tree every year!
Another “oldie but goodie”–originally a package tie-on, my mom converted this little deer into a much-loved ornament!
When I was pregnant with my daughter, I cross-stitched this ornament for her while I was in the hospital after my C-section. She has very dark hair in real life, but who knew? LOL This little angel is blonde!
Here’s the poor little mismatched, loved-through-decades nativity set. Mom and Dad had this nativity set before I was born in 1957! Oh, how I loved this, from the time I was able to crawl over to it! Some of the figures are plaster and have not stood the test of time (and three kids) all that well. I cut up a piece of green velvet fabric I wasn’t supposed to use to make Baby Jesus a beautiful blanket about 2 inches square for His cardboard manger. One of the wise men has disappeared, along with the donkey who didn’t make it, and a sheep. But, there are two camels, a cow and a sheep, along with a shepherd, two wise men, Mary, Joseph, Baby Jesus and a plastic angel. The stable is cardboard, too. My mom gave this to me one year for Christmas when I was in my mid-thirties, and my kids were very small. We had a good cry over it at the time, but what a gift I will treasure forever!
This is one of my mom’s paintings that I am using on a display in my living room this year–it’s a very wintry scene and looks great with the bright red lighted poinsettias and some other Christmas-y things on my couch table. Below, you can see the entire display. That’s her painting right next to the old-timey lantern.
Here’s another favorite–back when latch hooking was so popular, I made this little Christmas tin soldier and he goes on my door every year. I can’t even remember how long it’s been since I made him, but I’m sure it was very late 1970’s. It wouldn’t be Christmas without him!
Here’s a couple of new additions to my holiday decor. These beautiful reindeer that I leave out all year round. I can’t bear to put them away. I’ve named them Fred and El Wanda, after my parents.
This is a plate I couldn’t resist and a little cute miniature bird house. Bought all of this just this year, but I won’t ever part with all the traditional decorations I love so much!
I always put “icicles” on my tree–this is something we did from the earliest Christmas I can remember, as a kid. I remember when we used to buy those for .17 a box–now, they are three boxes for $14.29!!!! Times have changed, in some ways, but I’m not sure it would be a real Christmas without those icicles, so it is my one big splurge from my usual practical outlook.
I’m going to attach a short story here that I wrote many years ago about why icicles are so important in our family tradition. It is based on a very true story, and I hope I did it justice. Merry Christmas, everyone!
SILVER MAGIC by Cheryl Pierson
Did you know that there is a proper way to hang tinsel on the Christmas tree?
Growing up in the small town of Seminole, Oklahoma, I was made aware of this from my earliest memories of Christmas. Being the youngest in our family, there was never a shortage of people always wanting to show me the right way to do—well, practically everything! When it came to hanging the metallic strands on the Christmas tree, my mother made it a holiday art form.
“The cardboard holder should be barely bent,” she said, “forming a kind of hook for the tinsel.” No more than three strands of the silver magic should be pulled from this hook at one time. And, we were cautioned, the strands should be draped over the boughs of the tree gently, so as to avoid damage to the fragile greenery.
Once the icicles had been carefully added to the already-lit-and-decorated tree, we would complete our “pine princess” with a can of spray snow. Never would we have considered hanging the icicles in blobs, as my mother called them, or tossing them haphazardly to land where they would on the upper, unreachable branches. Hanging them on the higher branches was my father’s job, since he was the tallest person I knew—as tall as Superman, for sure. He, too, could do anything—even put the serenely blinking golden star with the blonde angel on the very highest limb—without a ladder!
When Christmas was over, I learned that there was also a right way to save the icicles before setting the tree out to the roadside for the garbage man. The cardboard holders were never thrown out. We kept them each year, tucked away with the rest of the re-useable Christmas decorations. Their shiny treasure lay untangled and protected within the corrugated Bekins Moving and Storage boxes that my mother had renamed “CHRISTMAS DECORATIONS” in bold letters with a black magic marker.
At the end of the Christmas season, I would help my sisters undress the tree and get it ready for its lonely curbside vigil. We would remove the glass balls, the plastic bells, and the homemade keepsake decorations we’d made in school. These were all gently placed in small boxes. The icicles came next, a chore we all detested.
We removed the silver tinsel and meticulously hung it back around the little cardboard hook. Those icicles were much heavier then, being made of real metal and not synthetic plastic. They were easier to handle and, if you were careful, didn’t snarl or tangle. It was a long, slow process—one that my young, impatient hands and mind dreaded.
For many years, I couldn’t understand why everyone—even my friends’ parents—insisted on saving the tinsel from year to year. Then one night, in late December, while Mom and I gazed at the Christmas tree, I learned why.
As she began to tell the story of her first Christmas tree, her eyes looked back through time. She was a child in southeastern Oklahoma, during the dustbowl days of the Depression. She and her siblings had gotten the idea that they needed a Christmas tree. The trekked into the nearby woods, cut down an evergreen, and dragged it home. While my grandfather made a wooden stand for it, the rest of the family popped and strung corn for garland. The smaller children made decorations from paper and glue.
“What about a star?” one of the younger boys had asked.
My grandfather thought for a moment, then said, “I’ve got an old battery out there in the shed. I’ll cut one from that.”
The kids were tickled just to have the tree, but a star, too! It was almost too good to be true.
Grandfather went outside. He disappeared around the side of the old tool shed and didn’t return for a long time. Grandmother glanced out the window a few times, wondering what was taking so long, but the children were occupied with stringing the popcorn and making paper chains. They were so excited that they hardly noticed when he came back inside.
Grandmother turned to him as he shut the door against the wintry blast of air. “What took you so long?” she asked. “I was beginning to get worried.”
Grandfather smiled apologetically, and held up the star he’d fashioned. “It took me awhile. I wanted it to be just right.” He slowly held up his other hand, and Grandmother clapped her hands over her mouth in wonder. Thin strands of silver magic cascaded in a shimmering waterfall from his loosely clenched fist. “It’s a kind of a gift, you know. For the kids.”
“I found some foil in the battery,” he explained. “It just didn’t seem right, not to have icicles.”
In our modern world of disposable commodities, can any of us imagine being so poor that we would recycle an old battery for the metal and foil, in order to hand-cut a shiny star and tinsel for our children’s Christmas tree?
A metal star and cut-foil tinsel—bits of Christmas joy, silver magic wrapped in a father’s love for his family.
This anthology is only available used now, but it’s well worth purchasing from Amazon if you can find it, and reading so many heartwarming Christmas stories from yesteryear! Hope you all have a wonderful, wonderful Christmas and a fantastic 2024!
Thank you for stopping by as I kick off our two-week long CHRISTMAS DECOR CRAWL!
Over the span of 48 years spending Christmas together, my husband and I have had relatively few Christmas trees in our marriage. As newlyweds, we bought live trees, but the cost (and finding needles in the carpet in July) compelled us to invest in a practical artificial tree. Later, once I decided I wanted something less ordinary, we splurged on a gorgeous flocked tree with wide branches that almost hugged the floor. It was so big, it would only fit in our bay window. And when THAT one got on in years and the flocking began to litter the floor, I went with something smaller that I love, love, love to this day.
I was strolling Hobby Lobby and found the tree on display. I was captivated by the slow revolving motion and decided to buy it right then and there. The store employee gave me a scare when he said they were out of stock of the revolving tree stand, but lo and behold, one final check in the back room yielded their very last one.
It is so meaningful to sit in our living room and watch the tree revolve. No putting ugly ornaments to the back. Each one is on full display as the tree quietly and slowly twirls around and around and around.
New this year – in my continuing quest to pare down on the things I’ve been storing for years, I was at a loss what to do with my grandmother’s wedding dress. I’ve been safely keeping it in an antique hat box in my storage room. She was married in 1927, and her dress was very simple. Bland, even. Maybe it was her taste, or the style, or her lack of finances, but I knew no one would ever wear the dress. Still, it broke my heart to throw it away or give it away.
And then I happened to catch a Facebook post from a crafty group of ladies where one of the members asked the same thing. What to do with her grandmother’s wedding dress. Someone suggested this idea, and I knew it was IT!
A string doll angel ornament. Here, the angel’s dress is made of the only lace on my grandmother’s dress, at the mid-calf hemline. The embellishment and pearls at the angel’s neckline came from my grandmother’s veil headpiece. The wings, halo, and ribbon trim are modern, of course, but this little angel is mostly 97 years old, and I will always treasure it.
The perfect 2023 addition to my revolving Christmas tree.
Is your tree a special part of your Christmas, too?
Or is there something else you hold dear during this time of year?
Wishing you and yours a Merry Christmases and a peaceful New Year!
Happy holidays, everyone. Cathy McDavid here. So glad you’re here to play along with our Cowboys and Mistletoe holiday game. I’m going to do my best to fool you, but I think some of you may have been paying attention to my posts and be able to figure it out! I’m excited to feature my holiday release from last year, Blizzard Refuge. Yes, the book is a romantic suspense, but there really is a strong Christmas theme. Here’s the back cover blurb:
“Caught in a snowstorm…and a killer’s crosshairs!
A blizzard traps federal witness Kiera Driscoll and her seven-month-old daughter in the mountains with little hope of survival. Until Nash Myers shows up. Nash insists on sheltering them and their US marshal escort at his family cabin. Trusting a stranger feels beyond risky, yet Kiera has no choice. She must protect her baby. But as the storm closes in, so do the threats to her life…”
My giveaway for Cowboys and Mistletoe is a copy of Blizzard Refuge and a Nativity
This will be a dream come true – and loads of fun, besides. Even though we’ve been together for years and years, most of us have never met each other. Isn’t that crazy? No wonder we are all so EXCITED!
If you’re in the area, we’d love to have you come to Deadwood. The town is rich in history and knows how to treat you right.
At Wild Deadwood Reads, the highlight of the weekend will be the big book signing on Saturday, the 17th. Almost a hundred authors will be there, and we’ll be attending with our books and tons of fun swag, too. We’d love to meet you!
The weekend is also the BIG annual festival called Wild Bill Days, and there will be live bands, family activities, good food – you can even pan for gold.
Today I get to share one of my favorite things with you…fostering dogs.
Before my oldest left for college I responded to a post to foster a little black puppy. (I love black dogs and have since learned they are less likely to be adopted.) That pup had a foster, but the guy pictured here, Rowdy, didn’t. Thus began my journey fostering dogs with Cody’s Friends Rescue.
Our first foster Rowdy
We foster puppies, often as young as two months. At that age, they love being held. They’ve been snuggling with mom and their siblings and desperately miss that connection. I get the joy of puppy cuddles and kisses. It doesn’t get better than that. We usually take two or occasionally three puppies, because it’s easier when then they have a playmate their size.
Brothers Axel and Brody
The question I’m asked most is how do I let them go? We have adopted some. And while we love every foster, some are different. Like Kingston, a puppy with mange we fostered. My husband was a cat person, but Kingston latched onto him. While he was sweet, we joked how he wasn’t bright because after weeks, he didn’t recognize his name. Then one night someone came to the door. The other dogs barked. Kingston remained blissfully asleep. Thus, we discovered Kingston was deaf. Combine his special need with his and Kevin’s best bud status, and he was our first “foster fail.” But I digress. Big surprise there!
Kingston when we he first arrived.Kingston and our foster Bear
It’s never easy letting go, but I cope with my husband’s help. I pick pups up and see to their vet care. He talks with potential adopters and takes fosters to their new homes. He loves seeing how far they’ve come and their joy with their new family. I’m usually crying at home, remembering that every dog we let go makes room for another who needs help. And the need is huge, especially Texas who euthanizes more dogs than anywhere in the country. At times, I think I’m on the Titanic bailing with a teaspoon. Then I remember, while I can’t save every dog, I save the ones I can.
Foster Bella helping me write.
The rescue I foster with, Cody’s Friends Rescue, takes any breed. They also take dogs needing medical care. The most recent, Memphis, was found in a ditch by a friend of a Cody’s foster. Both his rear legs were broken, with the right in three places, which required surgery. I was blessed to be his medical foster, getting him from his “regular” foster the night before, taking him to his surgery appointments, and then getting him back home.(To learn more about Memphis’ heartwarming journey, click here.)
Some fosters have come and gone so fast my head spun, some of whom I thought we’d have forever. Others, despite being fabulous dogs, have waited longer for their humans. Like our current boy, Dalton. Despite being loving and playful, with a huge heart, no one has shown interest. So until then we love him.
Our current foster Dalton
If you’ve ever considered fostering, contact a local rescue. You may discover as I have that you get more than you give. I realize not everyone can rescue, but everyone can help. Rescues need people to transport dogs from shelters to fosters, or from fosters to vet appointments. They also need help at adoption events. If you don’t have time for that, share posts you see on social media. I remember a story about a dog in the Weatherford, Texas shelter. A woman saw a Facebook post, fell in love, and drove from Colorado to adopt this dog. Please, please share those posts. You never know when your share will save a dog’s life.
Giveaway: To be entered in today’s random giveaway for a signed copy of A Cure for the Vet containing my book The Rancher and the Vet which has a spirited foster dog, leave a comment about a favorite animal or just one of your favorite things!
I think my favorite Christmas carol has always been The First Noel. It’s such a beautiful, very old song that tells the story of the night of Baby Jesus’s birth and how the event astounded the rich and poor alike, from shepherds to wise men bringing riches. I always get a lump in my throat to imagine such a scene and how the news affected so many people, especially in an age where getting news out took so long. This however, sped across the countryside carried by angels.
I put the carol in my latest book Hope’s Angel and my scarred hero played it on the violin. I just adore violin music. It really speaks to me. I found a violin version on YouTube that made the hair on my neck rise. Take a listen.
This song was written around 1400-1500 AD but the author’s name has long been lost. However, it was first set to music in 1823 by William B. Sandys and has been sung in churches and by many recording artists through the years. The First Noel was first recorded by The Columbia Quartet in December 1917.
The inspiration for the story comes from dramatizations of favorite Bible stories for holidays which were called Miracle Plays and were very popular back in medieval times. The word Noel is French and means Christmas.
The First Noel by Gabby Barrett was so popular in 2020 that it was #78 in the top 100 chart for the first time.
Whether you say Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, or something else I wish you nothing but the best.
My husband and I recently visited Kiepersol Winery and Bed and Breakfast in Tyler. Our room at the Bed and Breakfast was in the building with the restaurant. Not only were the surroundings quiet, calm, and serene, the wine was wonderful, our room beautiful, and the restaurant defied description. They feature great steaks and seafood, with incredible sides. My favorites were the sauteed mushrooms and garlic potatoes. And the desserts…I had cherries jubilee, and I swear I gain a pound thinking about it, but it was worth every calorie.
But the stories of the winery’s history our wine tour guide, Ron shared captured my writer’s sentimental heart. Founder Pierre de Wet’s story would do any hero proud. Born in South Africa, in 1984 after the death of his wife from skin cancer, he and his young daughters, age two and four, moved to America. Pierre worked as a farm laborer until he could buy acres in Tyler, Texas. Though in 1996 there were no wineries from Austin to Florida, Pierre was sure he could make a winery work.
The winery’s name comes from the Kiepersol farm where Pierre grew up. Legend has it soldiers running from a lion toward a lone tree, shouted, “Kiepersol! Kiepersol” as they sought safety in the tree. (Later it was learned the soldiers yelled, “We hope this tree will keep us all!” Pierre named his winery after that Kiepersol tree, hoping everyone who visited the winery would find that same comfort.
Pierre’s determination and frugality when he started his winery served him well. To lower startup costs, he purchased used equipment. In tough times he sold residential lots, eventually creating one of two wine estates in the U.S. In 2000, he harvested his first grapes. To sell his wine, he hired teenagers with signs and obtained retired Clydesdales for carriages rides that ended at the winery.
Photo: Kiepersol
I can’t share all the winery’s stories today, but I want to share one behind Flight sparkling wine. Guinea fowl have roamed the area for over 20 years as vineyard stewards. Their chatter safekeeps the grapes from deer and birds. They eat bugs serving as nature’s pesticide. Guinea fowl spotted feathers are believed to be good luck charms. Now to the name. The winery says, “We believe each spotted feather found represents a releasing of the past. Flight is grown in a place where one can feel soulfully grounded while also letting dreams soar. So. Take Flight my friends.” That sentiment makes me shiver.
I love visiting Texas wineries and hearing their stories. The minute I heard Pierre de Wet’s, I thought how I would’ve loved to create such a hero. The courage, strength, and determination he possessed to come to America with two young daughters when the only person he knew was a Texas A&M professor, astounds me. He created a winery, a bed and breakfast with fifteen rooms, an incredible restaurant, a distillery, and an RV park! But most importantly, he raised two strong women who carry on his legacy.
Pierre de Wet and his daughters Photo: Kiepersol
I may have found a retirement-keep-busy-and-involved career. What could be better than telling a winery’s stories, meeting fabulous people, especially if I could be paid with an occasional bottle of wine and dinner?
Today I’m giving away this horseshoe decoration and a signed copy of To Tame a Texas Cowboy. To be entered in my random drawing, leave a comment to this question. What is the best story you’ve heard or best/most interesting fact you’ve learned on a trip? Or, if you don’t have a story to share, just stop by to say hello or tell me about a real life hero in your life.
Welcome to my “Home-Grown,” fresh from the garden recipes. These are tomato recipes. Easy catsup recipe and easy spaghetti sauce for meatballs or hamburger recipe.
For years now, my husband and I have bought 100 lbs of tomatoes from a local farmer, but when he stopped planting and selling the tomatoes, we took to gardening ourselves, and last year our small little garden in our backyard got us almost 100 lbs. of tomatoes.
Red ripe tomatoes growing in a greenhouse. Ripe and unripe tomatoes in the background.
So here we go: What to do with all those tomatoes.
** We freeze ours. This requires a large pot of boiling water, a lot of ice and either some plastic bags for storage or mason jars.
** Preparing the tomatoes. Probably you already know this, but I didn’t and so let me go through the process of getting the tomatoes ready for storage. You’ll need: a) a large pot to boil water in; b) a large pan of ice which usually becomes ice water.
Steps:
Boil the water
Cut off any bad spots on the tomatoes and them plop them in the boiling water for about 40 seconds to 1 minute only.
Scoop out the tomatoes and put them at once into the ice water. Wait a minute or two.
skin the tomato (the skin comes off easily this way).
We seed our tomatoes and an easy way to do this is: once the tomato is boiled and then cooled, squeeze the tomato in the middle so the seeds come out the top or bottom. This is the easiest way I’ve found to seed tomatoes.
Put the tomatoes in a bag for storage or if you want, you can put them in a blender and blend them for tomato sauce and put them in a mason jar for storage.
Freeze until needed.
Steps for making easy catsup:
Take out a bag of tomatoes — a large enough bag to make 2-3 cups of tomato juice — or –the mason jar of tomato juice
Defrost the bag of tomatoes or the jar of tomato juice
Blend the tomatoes if they aren’t already blended and put in a large pot
Boil the tomatoes and turn the heat down to simmering —
Then add:
1/2 – 3/4 cup red or white wine
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1-2 teaspoons cinnamon powder
1 teaspoon paprika
1/2 – 1 teaspoon powdered cloves
1/4 – 1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon salt
Boil down until it is a consistency you like and also boil 1 or perhaps 2 – 1 pint mason jar(s) for 5 minutes or so
Let cool in the 1 pint mason jar(s)and refrigerate while still warm and keep it under refrigeration
Be aware that mold might develop on it if it is kept for longer than a couple of months in the refrigerator. If so, discard.
Recipe for making easy spaghetti sauce for meatballs or meat sauce from home-grown tomatoes:
Take out a bag of tomatoes — a large enough bag to make 3-4 cups of tomato juice — or — the jar of tomato juice
Defrost the bag of tomatoes or the jar of tomato juice
Blend the tomatoes if they aren’t already blended and put in a large pot
Boil the tomatoes and turn the heat down to simmering —
Add:
1 teaspoon sugar
1 tablespoon basil (dried)
5 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon garlic powder
Boil down to desired consistency
Boiling down the tomatoes makes it into tomato sauce — I usually don’t boil it down too far because I make this for my grandchildren and they like the taste of the tomatoes straight from the garden and so don’t like it too thick.
If you’re looking to try something a little more adventurous with your home-grown produce, why not experiment with some wild game recipes? Pheasant is a popular choice for those looking for something a little different from traditional chicken or turkey. One recipe that stands out is the pheasant salad recipe. This refreshing and flavorful salad is perfect for a light lunch or dinner.
To make the pheasant salad recipe, you’ll need cooked pheasant breast, mixed greens, cherry tomatoes, red onion, avocado, and a tangy vinaigrette dressing. Simply toss the ingredients together in a large bowl and drizzle with the dressing. It’s a simple yet impressive dish that is sure to impress your guests.
Whether you’re looking for classic tomato recipes or new and exciting wild game dishes, there are plenty of options to choose from. With a little creativity and experimentation, you can create delicious meals that are both satisfying and nutritious. So why not start experimenting with some of these recipes today?
It’s never easy letting go, but I cope with my husband’s help. I pick pups up and see to their vet care. He talks with potential adopters and takes fosters to their new homes. He loves seeing how far they’ve come and their joy with their new family. I’m usually crying at home, remembering that every dog we let go makes room for another who needs help. And the need is huge, especially Texas who euthanizes more dogs than anywhere in the country. At times, I think I’m on the Titanic bailing with a teaspoon. Then I remember, while I can’t save every dog, I save the ones I can.
The winery’s name comes from the Kiepersol farm where Pierre grew up. Legend has it soldiers running from a lion toward a lone tree, shouted, “Kiepersol! Kiepersol” as they sought safety in the tree. (Later it was learned the soldiers yelled, “We hope this tree will keep us all!” Pierre named his winery after that Kiepersol tree, hoping everyone who visited the winery would find that same comfort.
Today I’m giving away this horseshoe decoration and a signed copy of To Tame a Texas Cowboy. To be entered in my random drawing, leave a comment to this question. What is the best story you’ve heard or best/most interesting fact you’ve learned on a trip? Or, if you don’t have a story to share, just stop by to say hello or tell me about a real life hero in your life.
Howdy!
Steps for making easy catsup:
Recipe for making easy spaghetti sauce for meatballs or meat sauce from home-grown tomatoes:
