Can’t think of something appropriate or memorable to give the person who has everything this holiday season? How about getting THEM nothing?
HEIFER and OXFAM offer great Christmas gifts for your friends and family that will help those who really need it.
Instead …
Get someone in need something that THEY REALLY NEED …
Like a a flock of ducks or geese for $20, a water buffalo for $250, a camel for $850.
The following are just two of our favorite organizations that my family has “purchased gifts” (practical donations) from in past Christmases.
Heifer International – www.heifer.org
Oxfam America - www.oxfamamericaunwrapped.com
Its simple (and actually fun) to make these donations to a needy family, village or individual …Will you get Uncle Lee the gift of mosquito nets to keep a family in Africa from getting malaria? Or get your nephew Connor a water pump for a village in Haiti? You choose from a variety of gifts online, put them in your cart just as you would with any online retailer, and pay for them as you would anywhere.
Read more by clicking HERE
For unique jewelry priced from $2.00 to $100.00 visit our booth:
“A Romance Renaissance”
at the
THE SOUTH RIDING COMMUNITY Farmer’s MARKET special
CHRISTMAS MARKET
ONE DAY ONLY!
from 8 a.m. to Noon Sunday, December 4th 2011
This Christmas bells pin with Swarovski crystals is one of the items that will be available at the Christmas Market on Sunday morning, Dec. 4 at Murrey Park.
Get ready for Christmas! Shop under the BLUE CANOPY with the white lace curtains!
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This recipe has been in my family for years and typically is made during the Christmas season. However, it is a great cookie for anytime of the year and is an especially nice goodie for serving at an afternoon tea. Note variations below and that the dough takes well to food coloring for special events.
Ingredients
1/2 cup butter
These "Mexican Wedding Cakes" aka "Christmas Angel Tea Cookies" are as light and sweet as this Angel doll. Mom gave me this doll with light up moving wings as a birthday present in 2005.
1/2 cup shortening
1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar
1/2 cup nuts, finely chopped – walnuts, pecans or half & half of each
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/3 teaspoon almond extract
Directions
Cream butter, shortening, sugar and extracts together. Add the nuts and flour, and distribute evenly.
Chill for easier handling. Form into balls
to see more of the directions for this recipe, click here …
- Of course for A Romance Renaissance tea – we used actual tea cups and saucers – no mugs here!
Thank you Ladies for joining us for Tea on Sunday, November 27th!
It was wonderful to see you all. I hope we achieved our objective of giving everyone a break from the craziness of the holiday weekend.
I certainly enjoyed it.
Special thanks to Linda Flynn for whipping up those yummy hors d’oeuvres. We’ll be posting the recipes soon …
Naturally, being Americans, we had to have COFFEE too, but we really enjoyed the vanilla flavored hot tea from Celestial Seasonings. We even tried one of Baileys Coffee Creamers – the original Irish Cream flavor – for a really decadent cup of tea.
An afternoon Ladies’ Tea – just another way to put a little romance back into daily living …
Plenty to eat, but nothing too heavy! We had Linda's stuffed mushrooms and pinwheels, sugar cookies, our Romantic Mexican Wedding Cakes, "A Pirates Favorite Rum Balls" and more. Check under our Cooking category for the recipes ...
The American Eagle and the Thanksgiving Turkey:
May one give us peace in all our states,
And the other a piece for all our plates!
President Obama pardoning the Turkeys
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Take a break from the kids, the hubby, relatives and all the holiday madness with a “Ladies Tea”
the Sunday afternoon after Thanksgiving.
I will also have some of my
jewelry stash from
available for purchase at wholesale prices – from $2.00 and up. (But don’t feel obligated to buy anything. The point is to get us all together and just hang out. We also will have other beverages and goodies besides tea…)
Please RSVP asap. Thank you! I hope to see you here!
Join us for Tea and Escape the Holiday Craziness! 3:00 to 5:30 at Bijoux Maison - my house ... RSVP to deborah@saintblackwell.com
Holidays are wonderful and oh so Romantic!
They can also be dangerous if you don’t plan ahead … Please share your advice on this post.
Emergency rooms and poison control hotlines are always buzz with activity over the holidays. Don’t ruin your celebration with a run to the hospital and/or an embarrassed relative and/or a lawsuit.
I have begun a checklist of things you can do to make sure your holiday dinner or event is jolly.
One of the Christmas pins available from "A Romance Renaissance"
However, I’m sure I forgot something! Please help us all and share a comment or story of your own …
Household Safety Check:
Lets start with the entry to your home.
Are your walkways cleared of ice and snow?
click here for more on Holiday Event Safety
His sister said his last words were, "Oh Wow, Oh Wow, Oh Wow!"
What would make Steve Jobs say this as he was dying? What did he see? Makes you wonder … hope it was good. :-D
http://content.usatoday.com/communities/technologylive/post/2011/10/sister-recounts-final-moments-of-steve-jobs/1
But maybe we don’t need to know … hmmmm ….
Is there a heaven? We Christians like to think so. It seems Steve Jobs was a pretty good guy – aside from being a brilliant intelligent product engineer and marketer. I hope he made it there and I like to think that’s what he saw and made him say “Oh Wow!” as his last words.
He needn’t go to Heaven and come up with an app for the dearly departed to reach us here on earth however!
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I took the time to look over the cereal shelves really well this time and look what I found ...!
So, I’m checking out the cereal shelves in my Harris Teeter grocery store tonight after a meeting of the “Friends of the Gum Spring Library” (aka the FROGS) and look what I found …! The fact that I bought it, would make Mom proud — it’s CREAM of WHEAT! Just like Mom used to make for us.
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