Personalized Santa Hat Chair Back Covers

Add a touch of Christmas with these Santa Hat chair back covers in your
kitchen or dining room! The covers measure 20x27, so they will fit a
wide range of chairs.
The covers can be embroidered with your family name or the name of the
person that usually sits in a particular chair. Make every person feel
special!
Available from
http://www.glamorouschic.etsy.com

Christmas Tree Earrings

We're getting in the mood for Christmas early this year. I guess I'm always in the mood! So, I couldn't resist making this pair of Christmas Tree Earrings.

These earrings are made from tiny beads from The Czech Republic. They are quite slow to make, but the end result is great fun. I just love putting the tiny ornaments of the tree. So cute!

If you'd like to order your own pair of sparkly earrings go to
http://www.glamorouschic.etsy.com

We'd love to have you stop in for a visit!

Christmas Eve Gift!

CHRISTMAS EVE GIFT!

Since I was a child, it has been a tradition in our family that the first one to shout 'Christmas Eve Gift'
gets to open one of their presents on Christmas Eve.


I've decided to carry this tradition over to my blog.
Therefore,
the first person to email me with
"Christmas Eve Gift"
in the subject line
will receive a surprise gift from me.

My email address is
beads@bledsoe.net

There is no time limit on this little game.
You will be notified via this blog when the entry has been made.

Merry Christmas to All!
Ruth Ann
http://www.r2swanger.etsy.com

Merry Christmas

We are just back from a short cruise and I thought I'd let you see that we clean up pretty nicely. I wasn't feeling well on formal night, so you will have to miss seeing my handsome guy in his tuxedo until next time.

I thought I'd let you know that we went Christmas shopping Monday, and every single sales person wished us a Merry Christmas! Perhaps it takes the tragedy of a depression to bring folks around to the basics of goodness. There's hope yet!

Merry Christmas to you all!
Ruth Ann
http://www.r2swanger.etsy.com

Merry Christmas! We got started late getting ready for the season and we're just as late finishing. Our shopping is finished. Yay! Our Christmas card are ready, but not addressed (I always make my own cards.) I have a few small handmade gifts to make. Our tree is up, but not decorated.

Our 200 CD changer decided to die as we played the first Christmas song. Ray took the changer completely apart. He did repair it, but I held my breath with all of those tiny parts laying around.

Cookies have been baked - and consumed - so we'll have to start that one over. The party mix has also been consumed.

Merry Christmas to All and to All a Good Night!

Ruth Ann
http://www.r2swanger.etsy.com

Creme Caramel Recipe

This is one of my all-time favorite recipes, but it seems particularly appropriate at Christmas. It lends a lovely light dessert after a heavy meal. I love it and your guests will love you for it!!

This recipe is adapted from Susan Branch.


Creme Caramel

3 eggs
w egg yolks
1/2 cup sugar
2 cups hot milk
1 cup hot cream
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

3/4 cups sugar
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Beat eggs and yolks together, just enough to blend. Heat milk and cream together. Stir 1/2 cup sugar into eggs. Slowly add hot milk mixture to egg mixture, stirring constantly. Add vanilla extract.

To make caramel:

Put 3/4 cup sugar into dry skillet over medium heat. Swirl pan, but don't stir. Cook until deep caramel in color. (The sugar dries out quickly as it cools, so work quickly.) Divide the caramel among 8 buttered ramekins, swirling each dish to distribute caramel.

Line a roasting pan with a towel and set the ramekins onto the towel. Pull out the middle rack of the oven and place roasting pan on the rack. Pour boiling water into the roasting pan about 1" deep. Pour the custard into the ramekins, filling about 3/4" full.

Bake for about 45 minutes until a knife inserted into the center comes our clean.

Cool, then chill, covered in the refrigerator.

To serve, cut tightly around ramekin.

Invert a small bowl over the ramekin. Turn both upside down. The caramel will slide out on top of the pudding, creating a pool of deliciousness.

Christmas 2008

This is our beloved Poppett on
Christmas morning!
She was 9 1/2 years old this month.
She doesn't really like Christmas
except for her gifts from Santa.

Our gift list was smaller this year,
but we did get a wonderful
Caribbean Cruise
that leaves in 3 weeks.

We'll be using an Italian line this trip
called MSC.
It's fairly new to our shores,
but is said to be very good.
Our only objection is that the ship is so big!
3000 guests and about that many crew.
We prefer much smaller ships
with the number of guest being less than 500.
There are almost none available now.
All the cruise lines are building ever bigger ships,
so we will soon go back to doing
all land travel on our own.
We just grab a tour book
and a map
and take off into part unknown.
How lovely!

We have spent most of this past week with family.
We have 2 more dinners this weekend,
a New Year's Eve party,
and 2 birthday parties next week.
Ray was off all this week and will be off next week, as well,
but it seems that we have very little
time to spend together.
Alas!

I hope that all of your Christmases were lovely
and
I wish you a very happy and prosperous new year!

Ruth Ann
http://www.r2swanger.etsy.com

Beki's Beads

While making the rounds of my favorite blogs this morning,
I ran across these marvelous
Christmas tree ornaments
from
http://artsycraftybabe.typepad.com/

The wooden beads are from the Dollar Tree and they are
strung on big fluffy pipe cleaners.

She did this as a project for her children,
but I think that even us adults
could do it!

Beki's tree and decorations are
all in bright, primary colors
this year and are wonderful,
as always!

Do visit Beki's blog and
her Etsy store.
I'm the proud owner of
several of her items.
You will
love them, too!

Merry Christmas!
Ruth Ann
http://www.raggbaggs.blogspot.com
http://www.r2swanger.etsy.com
http://www.beadkits.etsy.com

Peanut Brittle Recipe

2 cups sugar
1 cup light corn syrup
1 cup water
2 cups raw Spanish peanuts
1/2 tsp. salt
2 Tbsp. butter
2 tsp. baking soda

Heat and stir sugar, syrup and water in a heavy 3-quart saucepan until the sugar dissolves. Add salt. Cook over medium heat to soft ball stage (234 degrees). Add peanuts at 250 degrees. Cook to hard crack stage (290 degrees), stirring often. Remove from heat.

Quickly, stir in butter and soda. Beat to a froth for a few seconds. Pour at once onto 2 well-buttered 15-1/2x10-1/2x1-inch pans, spreading with spatula. If desired, cool slightly and pull with forks to stretch thin. Break up when cold.

Yield: About 1-1/2 pounds of peanut brittle.

I usually use the specified
Spanish peanuts
for this delectable recipe.
For special gifts,
I use mixed nut.
And if I'm feeling really extravagant,
I use cashews.

Experiment and enjoy!
But don't blame me for all those extra calories that you consume!


Ruth Ann
http://www.raggbaggs.blogspot.com
http://www.r2swanger.etsy.com
http://beadkits.etsy.com

Before
the voices
of the Earth's
choirs were raised
in praise... there was
a silent night. Before the
strings of lights were wound
around the world, and tinsel
strung... there was a single star.
Before the wide eyed wonder of a
child on Christmas morn... Before
the gifts... there was a child, born in
Bethlehem, who showed the world
the greatest
gift of all is
LOVE

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Warmest wishes to one and all for
the happiest of holidays and a
prosperous new year.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ruth Ann
http://www.raggbaggs.blogspot.com
http://www.r2swanger.etsy.com
http://www.beadkits.etsy.com

Christmas Dinner

W.C. Fields once said, “I cook with wine. Sometimes I even add it to the food.”

Muddle headiness and laziness has lead me to spend the morning
learning about wines to serve with
Christmas dinner.
Christmas dinner being the semi-private dinner that
Ray and I host for just a few close friends.
The dinner is rarely on Christmas Day.
(On Christmas Day, we tend to goof off,
playing with the new toys that Santa brought!)

Christmas Dinner includes a mix of friends.
Most don't drink, but don't object to a bottle of wine
being served.
Since we have a group of wonderful, religious friends,
our parties don't usually include alcohol,
so our private dinner is one we look forward to all year.

I will offer more notes and recipes for our
special Christmas Dinner
as time allows -
and when I find the camera!

Ruth Ann
http://www.raggbaggs.blogspot.com
http://www.r2swanger.etsy.com
http://www.beadkits.etsy.com

Muddle Head

"My dear, if you could give me a cup of tea to clear my muddle of a head, I should better understand your affairs."

~ Charles Dickens ~


I had read this quote by Dickens before in

Mrs. Lirriper's Legacy

but was reminded of it this morning
while reading the blog from
La Tea Dah
at
http://www.gracioushospitality.blogspot.com

It seems that it is my own head that is muddled this morning.
Too many hours with too many doctors
with too many tests yesterday.
The Albuterol that was required for one test has made me shaky.
Driving over the mountain twice and
walking from one office to another
has made me tired.

As for a muddled head,
most of you who know me
realize that I'm muddle headed
most of the time.

The camera with vacation pictures
is still missing.
Poor Ray is trying to do all of the laundry
and put everything up by himself.
How blessed I am to have that wonderful man!

I have made several custom jewelry orders this week
and had hoped to put up pictures,
but, alack and alas...................

The weather is a warm 53 degrees
and there are storm warnings out.

We plan to put up our Christmas tree tonight
without our cheerful fire.
Rain and strong winds are expected for the next several days.

I have more jewelry to make today,
which thrills me.
Maybe I'll do some embroidery, too.

But first, a cup of tea to, perhaps,
clear my own muddled head!

Ruth Ann
http://www.raggbaggs.blogspot.com
http://www.r2swanger.etsy.com
http://beadkits.etsy.com

Santa Gift Bags

Santa Gift Bags
The hottest item for Christmas gift giving this year!

These little bags are perfect for gifting
money, jewelry, I-Pods, watches, and
all sorts and sundries of small items.

Or give the bag as the gift himself!
He is just too cute to pass up!

Specify eyes open or winking.

This item is created in my studio on my own
embroidery machine.

An October Day - a little late!

This is the most beautiful tree in our yard.
It is an Autumn Flame Maple.
The leaves start turning their beautiful red around the first
of the year.
The fell off almost all at once
and were gone the day before Hallowe'en.
We planted 5 of these magnificent trees.
2 died the first year.
2 look so pitiful that we're planning to cut them down.
This one stands in all its glory.
What a beauty!

The last rose of summer!

Hydrangeas ready to be picked for fall arrangements.
Perhaps some to be sprayed gold to add to the
Christmas tree.

Have a great day!
Ruth Ann
http://www.r2swanger.etsy.com
http://www.beadkits.etsy.com
http://www.raggbaggs.blopspot.com

Time for Socks!

'Tis the time of year when
a young woman's heart turns to
knitting!

My first experience with knitting socks with double pointed needles
was when I was about 5 years old.
This was also my last experience.

A few years ago, I discovered that one can knit large
Christmas Stockings
on short circular needles.
I made enough for the whole family,
including our fur babies.
Sometime during the summer,
I lost the pattern.
It had fantastically easy heels and toes.

Last week, I discovered
self-patterning yarn.
Wow!
What neat stuff!!!!!!
(Yes, I know it's been around for years,
but I'm still avoiding the double pointed needles.)

I had to have a couple of skeins,
but then there were those double pointed needles.
Now I remember why I hated them so badly!

As you can see by the photo,
I almost finished my sockies last night.
I have maybe 30 minutes left to do.

Then another color of the same
self-patterning yarn
followed me home.

I still hate double pointed needles,
but I'm loving that yarn!

Have a great day!
Ruth Ann

http://www.r2swanger.etsy.com

Freeform Fall

FREEFORM BRACELET FOR FALL

You may recognize this bracelet from an earlier photo when I made this bracelet.
I'm all excited that it's finally the time of year to wear my beautiful creation.
No, I'm certainly not modest about my bracelet!
It was my first freeform creation
and I'm very proud of it.

Being a blue-eyed blonde,
I don't wear browns except in the fall,
but I do love the autumnal colors!

I have so many bracelets made in shades of brown
that I'm tempted to wear them all at once
so that I'm sure each one gets seen before we turn to
the colors of Christmas!