Early December; baking, visiting, craft projects.

 We're still finding plenty to do around here, between cleaning & organizing, crafts and sewing, computer maintenance and various cooking endeavors we stay busy. Busy is happy!

We seemed to have moved into our winter weather pattern, a bit gloomy at times but nice temps around 70°. Windows and doors opened for a big swath of the day.

The other day the Boss got busy on the windows and screens of the florida room, which run the whole width of the house. Thank you Honey!

He does a *much* better job than me - very thorough.

Meanwhile I did something for him (and me), I baked a fruitcake. Some people might groan but we love fruitcake, loaded with pecans, raisins and candied peel.  We split a slice with our hot tea after dinner & it can't be beat. 

I have more baking plans but this had to be done early so I could season it properly with bourbon before it's debut in a couple or 3 weeks.

An easy recipe which turns out beautifully
each time. You can find it on the 
svdreamtime.com recipe page if 
you are interested in checking it out.

I also managed to (finally) have a lunch meet-up with Nancy, a friend from cruising. We went to a deli/butcher shop, which turned out to be very popular with the lunch crowd, deservedly so. Saw this amusing "old-timey" sign when in line to order. We found a nice table out in their outside dining area and chatted away.

We joked about them needing another sign about using "inside voices" as some rowdy car salesmen were "conversing" (shouting) with each other, a little decorum guys.

I found a good price on ham shanks and bought one a couple of weeks back. Doubled down on collard greens too and had quite a feast on that, with lots of yummy leftovers.

Sliced ham ready to be bagged up and put in the freezer.

Collards and cornbread can't be beat. I sauté onions, chopped ham or ham hock in olive oil, add fresh minced garlic, chipotle sauce and chicken stock (1 C), then add the washed and chopped collards to the pot and let it simmer for a few hours. So good, and good for you too.

Mincing garlic has always bugged me. I've never found a garlic press that worked for me - until now, that is.. I love it.

I keep the peeled garlic cloves in the freezer, then 
do the rock-a-bye thing on them to get the above result.
So easy and quite an easy clean up too.

Got a few decorations out and set up our 2 small trees plus made up a couple of floral decorations too. It was fun. Here's a small countertop lighted vase that I put onto the kitchen counter. So pretty lit up at night.

Next blog I'll do a bit more show and tell on the outside decorations and on my newest sewing obsession.  Meanwhile, here's a shot of some of the fabric I will be using.

Wonder what I've got in mind?? We'll see.

On the computer repair front, the Boss was having some power issues with his 'vintage' HP. Since the battery was shot and was generating a CMOS error during boot, we ordered a replacement, then proceeded with making sure we had a good recovery usb and backup.  The next step was popping the skins and making the swap. I was nervous as I hadn't done any hardware maintenance on a laptop in a long time. I got started and got-er-done.

Pretty daunting, but knowing we had a new Dell on order helped
alleviate the jitters. I was so nervous I had to close the door to my work
room. I work well under pressure, just not so much with an audience.

That's it for this addition, thanks for stopping by, and we'll see you next time.