Tis the Season to be Baking!

Here's a recipe for one of my favorite childhood cookies. These cookies bring back many memories...when I was really young, my mom would bake them and let me dip the cookie in chocolate and then nuts.  Even with that limited chore, I would make a mess! But it is so much fun for kids.

These cookies are not too large, so folks always have room for at least one! Starting in mid-December we serve Christmas cookies as our third course for breakfast at The Artist's Inn and Gallery.

Walnut Acorn Cookies

They will last for several weeks if stored in an air-tight container in a cool area. 

1 cup soft butter or margarine

3/4 brown sugar

2 3/4 cups sifted flour

1/2 teaspoon soda

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 1/2 cups finely chopped walnuts

16. oz. package semi-sweet chocolate chips

Cream butter, add sugar and beat til fluffy.  Sift four with soda and blend into butter mixture.  Add vanilla and 3/4 cup of the nuts.  Shape cookies by pressing dough into a dessert spoon with fingertips.  Push dough from spoon with flat side down on ungreased sheet or silpat.  Bake at 375 degrees for 10 to 12 minutes or until golden brown.  Cool.  Melt chocolate, cool slightly.  Dip large end of “acorn” cookie in chocolate and then in the chopped nuts.  Makes six dozen.

Oh Tanenbaum

I’ve always loved White Pine for our Christmas trees.  We used to be able to find them at a local tree farm and cut them ourselves.  Now we’re lucky enough to find them at all. It seems that Concolor and Fraser Fir are all the rage.  Feeling a bit like Charlie Brown, we search out the lots and usually find a few white pines.  Way at the back of the lot.  This year the selection was particularly small.

But we're fortunate enough to live in a part of Lancaster County where several local businesses  carry trees.  There's no need to go to Lowe's or Home Depot, or, gasp, Costo.  It really adds to the experience when the entire business is dedicated to Christmas.   Frysville Farms is one of our favorites.  It's family run and in business since 1760.  They not only carry trees, but have pine roping and a great selection (over 80,000) of poinsettias. I’ve blogged about these beautiful poinsettias before.  See:  Great Places to Shop.  

But on this particular day it was all about the tree.  So we set out looking for White Pine.

Concolor and Fraser Firs were piled high over my head.   

 Spruce and Douglas Fir were also plentiful.

 

As we made the long walk to the end of the lot, I wished we had come earlier in the year—even though it was still November.

 

There they werek, at the very end.  We usually take advantage of the tall ceilings at the inn and get a very substantial tree, but this year, we had to settle for one just a little over six feet tall.

 

It looked even smaller after it was wrapped.

But once our modest White Pine was decorated, it was transformed- just like Charlie Brown’s - into a beautiful tree, with its long graceful needles softly enveloping the ornaments. 

Holidays are often noisy and fun.  They fly by way too fast.  But those days that the tree is in the house are wonderful, filling the air with its scent.  I love to light the tree in the morning while it’s still dark outside, or sit in the room at night with only the tree lit.  It’s about my favorite thing to do at Christmastime.

Perhaps it’s the symbolism of light in the darkness, or the memories reflected in the ornaments, or the fact that ours will be a quiet celebration this year, but more than ever before it seems that the little things mean the most - like the tradition of caring for a live tree.

And when the quiet, bare days of January come, I will surely miss the noisy, cluttered days of Christmas, but I’ll be especially aware of the empty spot in the sitting room where our tree stood.

Greens at The Inn

Maybe it’s all the Christmases of past that were spent in Williamsburg.  Or the two trips to Germany and Austria when I fell in love with overstuffed window boxes.  Maybe it’s the fact that we live in an old house with original shutters and window boxes that my Dad made.  Whatever the reason, I have an overwhelming desire to hunt, gather and stuff this time of year…in a natural, green way.  I feel that we owe the window boxes some companionship through the cold winter months when they miss their summer flowers. 

As luck would have it, my neighbor cut down a large evergreen about a week ago.  Don't worry - it wasn't this magnificent tree.  We just borrowed a few branches from him.  My friend Karen and I made several runs with the wheelbarrow down Main Street…and she magically transported empty concrete urns into works of art in front of the inn.

 

 

 If you look around your yard, you may find the same – boxwoods that need to be thinned, scotch broom that should be cut closer to the ground so that it can withstand the harsh winter wind, holly trees that need shaping.  It doesn’t take the best or biggest branches to make fat overstuffed window boxes and they are simple to do.  Every scrawny twig finds its place to fill in the gaps.  Just be sure to push the branches in securely so that they won’t blow away. 

Boxwoods look great closer to the bottom and hollies are strong enough to stand proudly in the back.  The shapes provide enough contrast to make it interesting.  Water the dirt and your greens will stay fresh longer. 

The window boxes seem to dress the house for winter and, once snow nestles between the branches, I think they help insulate and keep the draft down.   A few beads, an occasional bird or decorative spray, wrapped by a ribbon and your house is decorated not only for Christmas, but will be looking good for several months to come.

In the summer, I love to throw open the windows and catch the breeze, but in winter, I feel comforted when I look out and the house is embraced by the branches in my window boxes! 

Thanksgiving – Was It Just A Figment of My Imagination?

There used to be a holiday this time of year – a day off work to gather with family and give thanks for life’s blessings.  But this year there doesn’t seem to be much evidence of it, and I’m afraid that next year it may disappear altogether.

A local store is advertising the fact that you can shop their Christmas specials starting at 6:00 a.m on Thanksgiving Day.  I feel that my beautiful horn of plenty and the few Thanksgiving decorations are up for about one week before the boatload of Christmas stuff must be brought down from the attic.  (It’s always tricky decorating around guests so we must start early to get all three houses finished.)

In a world that seems to rush by faster every year, the whole idea of Thanksgiving may seem a little, ah, old-fashioned.  Perhaps that is why I like it so much. It is so rare to take the time to reflect and give thanks.

Yes, the two holidays have always been related.  The Christmas season traditionally starts with the Macy’s Parade in New York City, but stores hardly wait for that anymore....it seems like it’s still August when they start putting up the fake trees and dancing Santas. 

Thanksgiving....it’s our most “American” holiday, and it appears it’s the only non-commercial one left.  So enjoy it while it lasts.....before you rush off to stand in line tonight to get into the nearest mall.

Here’s my short list of things for which I’m thankful:

To be surrounded by people I love

To be able to bring joy and comfort to those who stay with us

The sound of laughter in at our inn

To learn to be happy with my talents, limited as they may be

To appreciate the beauty that is Lancaster County

To be able to share with others and give back – whether it’s time, talent, money or just a smile

To be grateful always, for everything, especially good health

To look for the good in every person and situation

And my wish for the year to come - to be able to give thanks next November having enjoyed more of the same – at Thanksgiving time - a holiday that I’ll always celebrate.

Great Christmas Places to Shop in Lancaster County, (Sixth in a Series)

Take a trip with me. We’ll travel just around the corner from The Artist’s Inn...down the hill and around the bend...past two one-room schoolhouses where children are playing softball, past Eby’s store where you can buy your fishing license, your groceries and collect your mail, past the farm where our cupolas were made. By now we’ve seen several Amish and Mennonite buggies. Today I saw one with the number “6” marked on the window – clearly they had been to an event (it is still wedding season in Lancaster County), and this is how they mark their buggies for easy finding in a field filled with them.

We’ll travel a little further along the creek, stopping when the wild pheasants cross the road in front of us....deep in the heart of Northern Lancaster County...and discover a thriving nursery business called Frysville Farms.

Just after Thanksgiving, customers arrive by the carload to purchase greens, roping, wreaths, Christmas trees (yes, they have white pine – my favorite), ornaments, decorated trees, and kissing balls. The orchids, amaryllis and cactus are blooming.





And they have poinsettias.

80,000 of them!

All grown right here in Lancaster County.

It’s a feast for the eyes. Look closely as you may see some varieties that will surprise you.

So if you are thinking of purchasing poinsettias, why not go to the source – you’ll be glad you did. The hardest part is deciding which ones to leave behind.

Enjoy!



These should brighten up any room.





Poinsettia Tree in the Waterfall Garden