You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch.... (Grinch Cookies and Snowy Ornaments)

I haven't been feeling too well, and Thanksgiving took a lot out of me. It's today that I've finally been able to do what I promised myself I would do at the start of this blog. A baked good and a craft. Of course, this is also the first time our kitchen hasn't been wrecked by myself and Wiseman as poor Shepard tries to wrestle the dishes back under control. It seemed like everyone could use a pick me up and what better way to do that than to make cookies? I had found a recipe online for "Grinch Cookies" but I modified it and made it my own, mostly adding in peppermint extract because when I make a mint cookie I like to have a decent punch of the mint flavouring to kick my taste buds. I went with your basic sugar cookie dough and had fun from there. The recipe is below the cut!

Wishful Ornaments

Hope.

It seems like such a simple thing, typed up on the page like that. Four letters that escape so many of us, more often around this time of year. The holidays can be wonderful reminders of what you have, or to some it can be a reminder of how poor or lonely you feel. It seemed like, in the wake of all the negative feelings in the social media sphere lately, that we should take some time to think about the things we plan for the future. Even if they were little silly things, or big life changing things. I saw on Pinterest an ornament a family had made with the year on the outside in glitter and inside was a curled piece of paper that they had written all the major events of the year on. Why not do that, but instead of looking at the past why don't we look toward the future? We're often consumed on what happened, or didn't happen, instead of what might happen or will happen. I pulled Shepard and Wiseman in on this craft again, we all needed to be hopeful for a little bit. Both my boys struggle with depression for various reasons, and I had hoped to cheer them up. It didn't work at first, Wiseman was very upset about the idea. To him, it seemed, it was less writing out your hopes and more promising your hopes. Shepard took his paper from him at wrote at the top of it with a gold paint pen "Not a promise, just things to hope for..." After a few minutes of pondering the writing he managed to write out a whole slew of things, smiling by the time he was done.

Hop below the jump to see us getting glitter everywhere.

Ferret Salt Dough Update!

The paw prints are finished, painted and drying, but I got pictures to show you all how they turned out! I'm very very pleased with them all. I used Martha Stewart paint because it was on sale and the colors seemed like they would give me the finish I wanted. Here are the ones I picked and hop below the jump to see how it turned out!

Great Suffering! (Or, Adventures With Cats and Salt Dough)

The weather is really turning colder here, unfortunately the Pacific Northwest isn't known for our really cold and snowy winters. Still, I'm hoping for some snow like I used to get back home. There's a sense of school child giddiness that overtakes me when there's snow all about and I can't help but laugh and run and catch snowflakes on my tongue no matter how old I get. I don't know if I will ever stop. Snow is one of those beautiful things that takes my breath away. Many of my holiday decorations will usually revolve around snow, snowflakes and greenery of the season. Speaking of! We've only gotten a few things put up so far, we're all three feeling very under the weather, but here's what we do have.

Just the door and the garland on the stairs so far, but there will be so much more to come! After doing the ferret paws yesterday, I wanted to do the cats' paws as well. The only problem with that was the fact that it's not just my cats we have to do. It's Shepard, Wiseman and Raja's cats, giving us a total of 8 cats to humiliate for the sake of our nostalgia. Ah well, they'll survive it even if they want to tell you differently. Jump below for many more pictures of the cats being displeased with us!

Nostalgia (Salt Dough Ornaments)

Handmade ornaments were always something to be admired and looked upon with a kind of wistful longing for the 'good old days'. Growing up we had to move often, sometimes multiple times a year, and that usually meant the handmade keepsakes were broken or lost. Over time I've come to long for those special Christmas ornaments that hand from branches as a way to say "I was here! I existed!" Hand prints in clay, photographs sealed into ornaments or even the silly "Our First Christmas" ornaments have always captured my heart. Digging through a box of old Christmas things the Shepard's mother gave us I found an ornament of a bride and groom but the only labeling on it was simply "2004" embossed with smudging glitter. I sat for a few minutes and kept wondering who they were. Were they happy? Did they fight? What was their wedding like? Did they have children? The Shepard was little help, he couldn't remember who might have been married then. I might remember to ask his mother later, but I'm very forgetful.

The moment of curious nostalgia helped me pick my craft project for today. All the time we see small children's hand prints in clay and I figured, why not do that? We own five ferrets, and two of them are getting quite old. We aren't sure how much longer they might be with us. I have pictures of them, of course, but wouldn't it be neat to have captured their paw prints in clay? It was an exciting idea, to say the least. I didn't want to use sculpy or playdoh in case something went wrong and they ate it, so I found a simple Salt Dough recipe online to make. It still wouldn't be a good idea to let them eat it, but it seemed the safest option.

Let's check it out past the jump! Warning, this is gonna be picture heavy!

Ah, Christmas...

As the air begins to turn colder and the Halloween candy is nearly gone, the mindset here has most certainly changed. We slow down a little and take the time to smile at the things that help carry us through winter. Houses filled with baked goods and mulled wines and children begin pretending they have been perfect little angels all year round. Couples bundle closer together and fires begin to light in houses around the country as we all wonder what this year's end will bring.

I have always enjoyed Christmas as the one time my family wouldn't fight. We loved each other, no matter our differences and we accepted each other unquestioningly. We baked and we baked till the kitchen was like a sauna of delicious smells and sights. I have always wanted to push myself during Christmas and have usually fallen short of the mark. This year will be different. This year I am not alone in my celebrations, I am not alone in my home.

I am a Northwood and I am proud.

So this year begins a challenge to myself, even more so as our first year married. Starting after Thanksgiving I shall strive to do some type of holiday craft and a baked good a day. I am still compiling my list of things to make or try but if you have suggestions please leave them in the comments below, I would love to hear from you! 

There's probably one question you still have. Who are the Northwoods?