Christmas Aftermath

 Man, I totally whiffed on the Holiday Homestead Share these last few days, so I'll have to do a bit of a catch up.  I'll put the days I missed at the end of this post, but today's topic is Christmas Aftermath.  And here it is.

OK, I didn't take this photo just to show you my pretty Christmas containers.  No, this is the aftermath.  All of those are filled with homemade cookies and candy.  What is aftermathy about that?  Just that now I'm the one who has to eat it all up!  

Cody and Brennan didn't take anything with them, so it's all up to me to somehow consume about three million calories worth of leftovers.  And this isn't even counting the cheese ball, or sausage balls, or Bartley Snack stuff...

Oh, and we mustn't forget the store-bought candy...

I think I'm going to try to vacuum seal and freeze most of the cookies and candy, just to keep from eating it all at once.  I've frozen my chocolate and peanut butter fudge before, so I know it'll be OK.  And I'm going to freeze most of the sausage ball mix, too.  And all that gumbo...

I also wanted to show you the rest of the gifts I got.

The baking pans are from Brennan, the Snoopy record is from Cody (as is the trebuchet -- but more about that in a later post), the piano book and dish towels are from my brother Scott, and the Texas tea towel, coasters, and cutting board are from my sister and her family.  My older brother sent us checks.  

When I was straightening up yesterday morning, I found Cody's check that he'd forgotten to take with him when they went home Christmas Eve.  No problem. I just forged his name the way I used to do when he was little (it's what the teller at the bank told me to do), signed my name right under his, then did a mobile deposit into my credit union.  Once they approved the deposit, I Paypalled him the money.  

Modern technology for the win.  

But I digress...I'd put this cutting board into my wish list, because I need a new one.  However, after seeing how beautiful it is, I don't even want to use it.  

I'll have to find a place to display it...or something.  It's too nice to be hidden away in a drawer or cabinet. 

And finally, I managed to get my trebuchet put together last night, but I'm going to save that story for a different post, as this one is already pretty long.  

I hope all my readers had a very Merry Christmas! 

Before I go, here are the rest of the Holiday Homestead Shares that I missed.

#21 -- Stockings  

These aren't just any stockings.  There is a story behind them.  When I was along about 10 or 12ish years old, I found them in the sewing department of the old Kresge's department store in McArthur Shopping center, which has since been torn down. They were those pre-printed panels that you had to sew together.  

Now, I could sew a little bit.  My mother had taught me, and I wanted these stockings.  I wanted them so badly, I worried my mother to death until she gave in and bought them for me.  I promptly sewed them together, then gave them to my Mammaw for Christmas that year.  She hung them up every year, until she died.  Now they hang in my house, and in my mind, they are Mammaw's stockings.  

#22 -- Snuggle  This one doesn't really need any explanation....Other than to say the movie on the TV in the background is called The Holiday Stocking, and is well worth watching.  You'll need tissues.  If you don't, you need to pray to God to remove your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. 

#23 -- Tradition  

Even thought it was just me, I still got up Christmas morning and made our traditional family breakfast of sausage balls and monkey bread.  

I'd already started eating before I thought to take the photo.  This year, I did something different, in that I bought the Pillsbury kit instead of using canned biscuit dough and my own cinnamon and sugar.  It was all right, and a whole lot easier to do.  I bought canned dough as a back up just in case this wasn't good.  Now I need to figure out what to do with that.  Oh, and I used the new pan Brennan gave me.  

#24 -- All Is Calm

Sunrise this morning.  I don't often get to see these, as I'm at work before the sun comes up.  I chose this photo because the days I do get to see the sunrise are usually pretty calm. 

#25 -- Magic

May we never grow too old or jaded to have this much joy when opening a gift.