Our Mantle
The weekend after Thanksgiving is when I traditionally begin decorating for Yuletide. I just *LOVE* this star mantle quilt my mom made many years ago.
This is the first year I've ever made turkey broth from the carcass after Thanksgiving. I had stuffed the bird with onions and lemons during roasting, so I took those out of the cavity, tossed the lemons away, and threw the onions into the pot with the carcass. I then added enough water to cover the carcass (including some of the skin for the added spices). I brought the whole thing to a boil and then boiled for about an hour. I then simmered it for another hour or two while I was working on my turkey pot pie (below)
Just look at all that gorgeous broth, teeming with marrow, meat and spices!
Then I strained the broth (to remove any bones and large pieces of meat). That big stock pot filled up these two good-sized containers!!
I stuck these in the fridge overnight so that much of the fat and oils would float to the top. I skimmed off the unwanted stuff, and was left with AMAZING broth! I filled two gallon-sized freezer bags, which will be the base for some future soups. I used the remaining 1/2 gallon (or so) of broth for projects like: adding to a turkey pot pie, heating up and sipping in a cup (MMmmMMmmm) to help chase away a cold we've all had, and mixing some into the cats' food for a nice juicy treat.
My next adventure was a cheesy broccoli pot pie. I took some leftover turkey, about a cup of mixed veggies, a handful of frozen broccoli, some leftover broccoli cheese soup and some turkey broth to thin it a bit. I then added a healthy shake of some of my favorite spices. I plopped the entire mixture into a pie crust.
I *heart* turkey pie!
I doubly *heart* turkey pie!
Ready to eat!
Now for a bit of holiday decor...
I didn't bother to put these cookies into a covered container. I don't know about your home, but in ours we never have delicious cookies around long enough for them to go bad.
Starting some holiday wrapping
Shhhhhhh.....don't tell anyone what you've seen here!
Finally wrapped and ready for the post office. This batch is heading to Australia for the in-laws.
Next I washed and pressed the cloth napkins. They aren't in a "holiday" print, but I did specifically choose green and red for our everyday cloth napkins with the idea that they would be great all year 'round, and we wouldn't need a separate batch just for the holidays. A win-win in my book!
Don't they look pretty??
The Mantle
Close-up of the mantle top
More decor. This keeps changing as I find new places for all my holiday treasures!
There's a great story about this Mr. and Mrs. Santa. I'm making a mental note to tell it soon (if I haven't already?)
A holiday quilt graces the back of the couch
This was the table before I started wrapping gifts.
Notice that the tree is only partially lit? This tree is a pre-lit one (one of these years we'll actually get a live tree...). Well, it needs to "warm up" for several hours before all of the sections are lit!
Crazy, huh?!
The playroom has a lit candy cane that helps little people find their way to their favorite toy.
Meanwhile, back in the living room, the Little Einstein's magnetic geography game is underway.
She's deep in thought as she decides which characters will take the next geographical adventure.
Time to watch a holiday classic before bath time.
It's been fun to slowly get out the holiday decor and begin to place it around our home. We've been doing some holiday shopping, and I'm proud to say that a good percentage of the gifts heading to Australia were hand-made locally, as were many that I've already accumulated for our little family here in our Cape of Good Hope home.
I did not participate in Good Friday or Cyber Monday. Everyone knows that we shop very frugally for the holidays, so they won't be terribly surprised to see hand-made gifts in small packages.
There is a fun splurge we've made this year, mainly for our son, which I cannot wait to put together. I can't say any more than that or else I'll spoil the surprise. It's something our son has had an interest in for some time, and it will be something we can use during the holiday season for years to come (that's my favorite kind of gift, to be honest! If I can reuse it again and again, if there was a splurge involved, it seems much more digestible!)
December will be here soon. I've got lots of fun ideas planned for us all, and I look forward to blogging more regularly this year as a way to chronicle life here in our little corner of the world. For now, however, December is not quite here. We have a few more days of this month to enjoy and savor....a few more days to enjoy leftovers...a few more days to dig out warmer clothes and more holiday decor...a few more days to bask in the glow of fond Thanksgiving memories.
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