Grammie's Christmas Tree

This Christmas, for the first time in many years, my Grammie had a Christmas tree. I was struck by the awesome simplicity of it. She didn't go out and buy expensive ornaments and decorations. Instead, she used what she had and created one of the most beautiful trees I have ever seen.

Found on her tree were dried orange slices which looked like stained glass windows. She had cookie cutters that had been given to her long ago and the ear tag from Grampies favorite cow.

She used canning jar lids and old bells that she had collected. She had chimes that her elementary students had made many years ago. Atop the tree (not pictured) was a lovely doll from her collection (note: my grammie is a master doll maker!)

Nestled underneath lay a block village of toy buildings that she had for grandchildren to play with on their visits.

I just loved her tree and I wanted to share it. Not only is it simple and lovely, but it shares treasured memories - just what a my kind of Christmas tree is all about!

Lost Street Photographer

See more images here: http://vivianmaier.blogspot.com/

Mt. Baden-Powell, CA

Hiked on November 23, 2010.

Toasted pumpkin seeds and a new blog!

We were given several big pumpkins last Sabbath.  As I cooked them down for pulp, I saved the seeds to make toasted pumpkin seeds.

There are plenty of recipes out there for toasted pumpkin seeds.  I just combined a few of them.  Basically I cleaned the pumpkin seeds, then tossed them in a bit of olive oil, salt, sugar, and spices (curry powder, coriander, and black pepper).  Then I toasted them in the oven for about 10 minutes. They are yummy!

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I also wanted to announce a new blog to you: Barry and I have started a blog on living a simple, uncomplicated life that avoids getting caught up in the rat race for money and stuff.  We want this blog to be a venue for sharing thoughts, ideas, projects, and more.  It's still in its infant stage but we hope to post more thoughts and projects soon.

You can find it here or at http://www.barryandchristy.blogspot.com

(In case you are wondering, we changed from our wordpress blog for customizability reasons.)