I know I already posted today, but what I discovered out my back door was far more beautiful than anything else I already shared.  Truly, it was breathtaking!

 

 

Another miscellaneous post.

 

My friend gave me this pink poinsettia the other day.  In the old crock with the pretty plant, she had a piece of soft pink tuille.   I liked the presentation this made when she handed it to me.  I never thought of adding tuille.

 

 

 

I discovered these very pretty little, bright red poinsettia, flameless LED tea lights, on the Christmas clearance shelf at the local KMart. 

I never saw any like them, and they can be lit by just sliding the on/off switch.

 

 

 

I will use my white tablecloth, the red poinsettia napkins and these tiny lights to dress up my Christmas morning table.  This picture does not do justice to these adorable lights.

 

 

 

I enjoy reading about annual winners on beauty blogs.

This new "Dove Body Wash", the "coconut milk with jasmine petals", in particular, has won some high accolades.  I use it and I agree.  It smells so good!

It's soft fragrance and moisturizing qualities make it an extra special product.

I thought I would share it with you, just in case you needed a pampering type gift for Christmas this year.

 

 

 

 

I bought one of these bath and shower mitts at Target.

I pulled the  two mitts up over the container of Body Wash(pictured below), after the next picture.

 

 

 

This product won out over many other body washes on the market, too.

 

It's "burnt brown sugar and karite butter" fragrance and it's exfoliating power helped it win it's high place on the awards.

I think it is one of the best body washes I have ever tried.

It too, would make a very nice gift.

 

With thousands of beauty products launched last year, along with the hundreds already on the market, it means alot to me when just a few of the store products are singled out.

Since I use both of these products, and really like both of them, I felt comfortable sharing them with you.

 Both of the mentioned body lotions can be found at super stores and most local grocery stores.

 

 

These bath mitts are a good way to use body washes.  They come in pretty colors(fushia, lime, and teal), and can be found in many stores.  I purchased mine at the Target Store, in the spa section.

They look so good pulled over the body wash.  I added a bow, some evergreen, and a few colored ornaments.

Two pretty gifts, that anyone would enjoy receiving. 

If you are like me, you love reading about creative gift ideas.  You can find some real good ones at this site...  http://howdoesshe.com/over-36-neighbor-gift-ideas
Even if you don't need any gifts, you might enjoy the creative ideas found at the above site.

Thanks for stopping.

 

I am sitting here with my latte.  I should be doing about a hundred different things, but I am not.

Don't you love this time of the year?  I do.  I want to take in all the beauty of the season, the lights, the decorations, the smells, and the family times.  I wish it could last longer and that time could go slower.

This evening I thought I would share a few pictures with you, that are special to me.  Actually, they are too special to just file in the picture folder of my computer.  Thanks for letting me share them with you.  I hope you enjoy them like I do.

Recently, my youngest sister hosted a dinner party for a group of young women.  I was not at the party, but when I saw these pictures of the tablescape, I knew I wanted to share them.  What a beautifully done festive red and white table!  It is good that I was not invited to the dinner party, because I never would have said "goodbye":)  I would still be sitting there soaking in all the beauty.

I also wanted to share this lovely, candlelit table inside her front door.  What a perfect way to say "welcome" to all who enter her doors.

 

 

At the dinner, she served vanilla ice cream in these unique, chocolate tuxedo cups.  How clever!  She found the box of the chocolate shells, at the local Christmas Tree Shop.

 

It was our annual Christmas program at church last evening.  My husband and his friend were accompanying one of their friends as she sang "Christmas Lullaby(I Will Lead You Home"), recorded by Amy Grant.  At the end of the song, our grandson was singing the children's part of the song.  In this picture which our daughter captured with her iphone, they were practicing right before the program started.  I wish I had pictures of the concert, so that you could see for yourself, how seriously this little guy took his part of the program.  He put his heart and soul into it.

 

 

Paw paw and little guy enjoying the rest of the program together.

A priceless moment!

 

 

 

 

Downstairs in the children's classroom last evening, I was entertaining a special group of children, while the program was in progress.

 

Our daughter took this picture of our oldest granddaughter and me.  She is growing up so quickly and I am enjoying this stage of her young life.

A treasured pictures despite it's poor quality.

 

 

 

On a recent visit to our home, this is the scene I discovered when I walked into my family room.

Her Paw paw was outside the window raking leaves and these two good buddies were intent on watching him.  What a sweet picture! 

 

This is the first time that all of our family will be together to celebrate Christmas.  What an extra special treat for us!  Really, it is better than any material gift I could receive.

Buster will be here too, and yes, today I bought him a tiny, new dog toy for his gift:)

 

 

 

Our youngest daughter and her husband will be coming home for a much anticipated visit.

The last time we were together with these two, was in May.  It has been too long.

 

Wherever you may be in your Christmas preparations, I want to thank you for taking time to visit me here at ..."justalittlesomething for you", despite the randomness of the post.   I have so enjoyed visiting you and your blogs, however limited those visits may be right now.  But each visit inspires, encourages, and uplifts my spirits.  You all are so gifted!

Soft twinkling lights...a fire in the fireplace...and the pretty, rhinestone hearts that have graced our tree for the last few years, are some of the simple ways our home is transformed for the holidays.

"The heart is like a treasure chest that's filled with sovenirs;  it's where we keep the memories we've gathered through the years."   ~Unknown

The tall, thin tree that had, at one time, been in my parent's condo, and now resides in our attic, is the tree of choice this year, in our living room.  Both of us prefer the beautiful trees that we usually buy from our friend's tree farm, but do to limited time and space this year, we opted, (on impulse, I might add), to use this attic treasure.   We wove a strand of tiny, flickering lights in the midst of all the other tiny lights.  We like the look of it.  A touch of pizazz to an older treasure.

The old, thin wooden Nativity set was a staple each Christmas, when I was a little girl,  now graces the table behind the sofa, and continues to be a fascination to all the children who visit our home, with it's meaningful story.

 

The glittery, gold, iron sculpted manger sits on the marble top of our dining room buffet and seems to come alive with the tiny lights strung through it.


"Come to Bethlehem and see

 Him whose birth the angels sing;

 Come adore, on bended knee,

 Christ, the Lord, the newborn King.

 Gloria, in excelsius Deo."

~Traditional French Carol


 Wishing you all an enjoyable weekend, with maybe some moments to turn on the holiday music and 
 sip a cup of hot coffee or tea, with a friend!

The "most expensive" gift one can give this Christmas, is the "gift of time".

TIME...the lost gift, the "difficult-to-find" gift, the gift that requires putting the many, many "things" of the holiday on the back burner for an hour or two and focusing on each other.  Whether it be family, friends, neighbors, or acquiantances, "time" remains the most difficult of gifts to give.
The demands are so great for this season of the year, the time seems to be fleeting, so hence, the "gift of time" goes ungiven.  I am finding in my life right now, that the older ones among us, long for our time and attention.  The youngest ones among us, long for our time and attention, and all those in-between, long for it too.  In fact, I personally can think of no greater gift.

Time to play games.  Time to sit and share coffee.  Time to eat dinner around the table together.  Time to laugh, to commiserate, to catch up on each other's daily lives.  You can't run to Walmart and buy it, you can't click on to Amazon and order it, you can't call a 1-800 number and request it...no, it is more difficult than any of those steps, to find and to give.  It is priceless!

"Undivided time" is an even more valuable gift to give.  Because "undivided time" means putting away the iphones, the texting, the teleivision, and all interruptions that are the 24/7 happenings in our daily lives, and focusing only on those who are with you.  Wow!  Now, we are talking serious "gift giving", but, I venture to guess, that it (time) would be the number 1 item on everyone's Christmas gift this year.  Would you agree?

It was not the two little plastic, purple, pools from the dollar store, filled with colorful plastic jumping frogs that made this happening around our kitchen table, such a fun, laughter filled, loud, and somewhat animated time period.  No...it was that the big guy, and what a special big guy he is, took the time and initiative to play the simple game with the three little guys in our care.  Three little guys who needed attention and needed something to occupy their time.

The laughter and the fun is still echoing in my mind as I see these pictures again.  It was the "gift of time" given on an ordinary Wednesday evening, in the midst of a busy time of year.  It was one of those things that memories are made of.  It is what so many long for, especially at this time of the year.

 

 

 

 

Happy Friday to each and everyone of you! 

The table in the softly yellow painted room, had this colorful ornament arrangement, as it's centerpiece.  I was greeted warmly by two beautiful, petite, working ladies, one founded the company, and one her faithful, and dependable helper.  It was Tuesday, and it was the "chocolate day" of their week. I was there to see it all on a first hand basis, for the 45 minutes that my schedule allowed.

   From the morning until the early evening, week after week, you will find them hard at work creating their "much sought after" products.

 

 

 Big boxes of milk and dark chocolates were waiting to be melted.

Pounds and pounds of bacon were being cooked in the oven.  Twenty five pounds on this particular Tuesday.  The demand continues to grow for this unique product, of "chocolate covered bacon", whether pieces, skewers, or crumbles.  The bacon must be well cooked in order for it to be dipped in the chocolate and stay firm.  With gloves in tack, my friend carefully cuts equal sized pieces to be dipped in the chocolate.

 

 

Melted pots of milk chocolate and dark chocolate are kept warm in the heavy heated pans.

 

I asked if there was a greater demand for the "milk chocolate" or the "dark chocolate"?

The answer, without a doubt...the milk chocolate.

I wish you could have been there to smell the delicious aroma filling the air. 

 

Quietly, methodically, and with speed, the two ladies worked side by side.

I marveled at their precision, their organization, and their ability to keep everything spotless as they went about this massive duty.

 

Next I watched as my friend put each piece of bacon on the wooden skewer, waiting to be put in the oven, and then on to be chocolate dipped, by the other friend.  It was at record speed that my friend worked this part of the operation.  With the Christmas holiday fast approaching, the demand for their chocolates was even greater.  So much so, that they do not have leftovers from one week to another(in the chocolate covered bacon).

 

 On to the s'more routine of the day. 

The order of layers on these trays...

graham cracker squares,

drizzled chocolate,

flat marshmallows,

more drizzled chocolate,

topped with another graham cracker, and drizzled chocolate.

Each stack was then dipped into the melted chocolate.

The finished tray was set in the refrigerator to harden.

What an interesting process.

Did it tempt me while watching?  No, not at all, but for many people this is a huge weakness.

Their sales reveal that fact to be true.

 

 

Completed s'mores, ready to be sold.

 

Wooden skewers with three marshmellows were another item that they had completed and were ready to be sold.  These also are in great demand.  I thought they looked so festive sitting there on the parchment covered trays.  Someone, somewhere will be happy to receive these chocolate delights this Christmas...if they ever make it to the holiday.

I wish I could share all the pictures I took and all the products these two ladies produced in one Tuesday each week.  It certainly was an eye opening experience for me, and let me tell you, I am more impressed than ever with my friend's entrepreneurial skills, and yet somehow, they made it all look so easy.

When I stepped into another room, I saw another gorgeous centerpiece using a different color combination of Christmas ornaments.  For some reason, God seems to gift some people with many talents.  My friend would fit in that category.  I was blessed in having the privilege of stepping into her world for a few minutes this week.  I will never look at chocolate in the same way again.

Thank you for stopping by.  I wish I could share some with each of you this evening.

 

 

It was late in the afternoon.

I had to make a stop at the postal store, to mail a package.

 

I had a busy day and did not have time for lunch.  Look what caught my eye.

Yes, there it was right by the postal store.

 

Should I?

It was such a long time since my early morning breakfast...

 

 

 

 

 

All willpower left me.

I walked right in, said "hello" to the friendly workers, then headed to the back of the store, picked up the "small" bowl.

First stop,a brief pull on the lever of the "red velvet" yogurt flavor,

then a brief pull on the "country vanilla" lever.

 

Now, my favorite part.

Without hesitation I added a touch of chocolate syrup, two partial spoonfuls of chopped peanuts,

and one partial spoonful of coconut.

 

Yes...that is my favorite.  Of all the many yummy looking and fresh looking toppings, my choice was made.

What about you...if you had walked into the "Sweet Frog" with me, what would have you chosen in yogurt flavors and topping choices?

 

 

 

 

I guardedly carried my newly made purchase to the car:)

I relished every single bite........

a brief, happy moment for me on a late Monday afternoon.

 

And, let me tell you, this picture added to my happy moments.  On a recent stay at our home, they got to wear their 6 year old brother's sleaveless tee shirts. They (the shirts) were a requested purchase by the 6 year old to match those worn by his grandfather.  Neatly stored side by side (with his Paw Paw's) in a bedroom drawer, they now had to be retrieved to meet an "emergency" need, much to their pleasure.

We delight in simple things around here, whether it is an unexpected visit to the yogurt store, or wearing size 6 tee shirts when you are only 3 years old.  They were so pleased.

I do hope your first December Monday offers you a few simple, happy moments.  We all need them in the midst of our daily lives...right?  We need a smile or two, to get us through, especially at such a busy time of the year.