Dancing Lights

I have had so much fun reading about everyone's Christmas celebrations, traditions, and memories. I have loved to see how you all decorate your homes and prepare for the holidays. It is a busy time of year for us, and we are about to gather the rewards of our decorating, baking, planning, shopping, and energy that we have spent to ensure a grand celebration, whether it be a simple blessing of our Lord's birth or a grand celebration of whole Christmas tradition.

What is your favorite part of Christmas? For me, I love Christmas lights. Enough is never enough. I got hooked on watching ABC's The Great Light Fight. The Head Gardener wandered through the room, pausing for a moment to see what I was watching. I challenged him: Next year, dear. Lighting is not his favorite chore around here, for sure. I usually have to drag him kicking and grumbling to the storage containers holding the lights. I threw away those horrible dripping ice cycle lights, too, making his chore a bit easier. I want to get lights up Thanksgiving while the weather is still warmish, but he wants to wait. None the less, we did get some lights up beyond the trees, so I went out in the dark to photograph them. Here, then, is my version of Dancing Lights:

To do night photography correctly, a tripod would be useful. Where is mine?

The last cookie for 2014 has been rolled, cut, baked, and frosted. Today Santa Claus comes to visit the little ones, and the cookies will go fast. We will have 10 children armed with their wish lists and Santa with his notes on their various behaviors over the year. (How does he know such stuff?)

I loved watching Martha Stewart and Ina Garten (The Barefoot Contessa on HGTV) make cookies. I used Martha's recipe for the royal icing.

Nicely shaped cookies and few scraps for the HG

I started baking Christmas cooking when I was very young because mom worked and didn't have time. The little tree is one of the original cutters that I used. Later I added these jumbo cutters to my collection that I seldom use. The rolling pin was a shower gift when we got married.

These were mom's cookie cutters that I used as kid. 

I am not sure how I came across this cookbook, but it is one my standards.

I didn't make any ginger people, but Betty's recipe is a great one, making huge amount of cookies. I love the gingerbread, but no one else does and I would eat too much, so no gingerbread people this year.

Not the best photo, but nearly perfect cookies. 

I make such a mess when I bake.

Nor am I Martha or Ina or Betty, but everyone loves these sugar cookies. My favorite is the Moose cookie.

Now to hide them so that HG doesn't find them. I did put the toffee away in a secret a spot to keep it out of not only my sight, but the HG's too. Then when I wanted to make up a cookie plate for the young man who came to work on the pergola (story for anther post), I could not find the English Toffee that I had put in a secret spot. DAh. Freezer in garage. Who would think to look there? Or remember that the candy was there?

The boys would like to thank everyone for visiting The Garden Spot each week and for leaving sweet, generous comments. We have had fun this year with the blog. I joined Judith @ Lavender Cottage for Mosaic Monday this fall and what fun it has been to create mosaics, share them, and most especially to visit others who create wonderful mosaics.  A big thank you to Judith for hosting the meme and for encouraging me along the way.  As a result, I have grown the blog a bit, adding 4 or 5 new followers,  and I have enjoyed making a few new friends as I joined their blogs, too. So the Garden Spot Blog has been such fun this year and I thank each and everyone of you for visiting. 

I have lots to do to get ready for the big fellow's visit this afternoon. I will be back before year's end. I wish you all a Merry Merry Christmas filled with Peace, Joy, and lots of family and love.