HOME

Welcome to my HOME friends~
Heart Of  My Environment

"There is no place like HOME for the holidays..."

Well, here we are in the merry month of December and we're all busy baking, decorating, buying presents, going to bake sales, and concerts, etc...It's a very Merry but busy time of year!

Here on the east coast, the days are getting colder and those of us who are fortunate to have a fireplace or wood stove are relishing the warmth of hearth and home...

"Oh the weather outside is frightful
But the fire is so delightful
And since we've no place to go
Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!" ~ Sammy Cahn and Jule Styne 1945

I like to snuggle in close to the fire and sip tea and hot chocolate these frosty days. How about you?

I'm sorry I am not doing any features today as I sort of ran out of time.

Cooler weather calls for cooking heartier meals and the stove is turning out wonderful aromas in our kitchens. Yesterday I made my fruit cake and the scent wafted its way throughout the house. So lovely!

One of my favourite meals this time of year is Roast Beef with Yorkshire Pudding. This is a traditional English dish which I learned to make when I was just a young bride.

Yorkshire pudding is a tasty savory pudding served with gravy. I have served it here with slices of roast beef, mashed potatoes and gravy, string beans, and home made mustard pickles for dinner.  You can find my recipe below.

Yorkshire Pudding

2 TBSP melted butter/margarine
1 cup flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup milk
2 eggs

Beat eggs, add flour and salt, butter and milk. Batter is much like pancake batter. Put 1 tsp of butter in each cup of a muffin tin and pour batter into cups half full.
Bake at 425 for 25-30 minutes. Enjoy served with gravy.

Yesterday was my little granddaughter's second birthday and she's getting a head start in the kitchen! Look at what her mommy and daddy gifted her with for her birthday. Is this not every little girl's dream? Her very own life-sized kitchen! If you look closely, she has her very own fridge, stove, dishwasher, and microwave, as well as a sink; what fun!

My son has already spent time drinking 'tea' with her in there. The teacups and tumblers you see there on the counter is her gift from her grandparents.

I have added something new, or rather a new someone, to my Christmas mantel this year and I thought you might like to see it.

This jolly old gent; Father Christmas, is dressed in a beautiful coat trimmed with fur and holding a jingle ball which has JOY carved into it. His robe is so pretty with shades of pinky-peach and gold in it. He's perfect for my colour scheme this season! Isn't he cute!

Would you like to share something HOME related today? If you do, please refer to the list below and link up. I would love to come and pay you a visit. 

PRAYER REQUEST~ Before I bring this week's HOME to an end, I would like to ask you to pray for my son Jeff who is having ear surgery tomorrow, Thursday. He is the nature lover in our family and is in Wildlife Conservation Technology. He is also very musical.

He has been having ear problems for about fifteen years ever since he had a very bad ear infection. He is now almost completely deaf in his ear. We are praying this surgery will repair the damage as well as remove a growth in there. 
It is a risky operation and may or may not work. Also, there is the risk of paralysis to his face and his taste buds being affected. So, it is a rather serious operation.
Please pray all will go well for him and that God will use the surgeon's hands to bring healing to his ear without further damage. Thank you so much for your love and prayers. My heart is overflowing with gratitude for all of you who are already praying or have prayed for my boy! God bless you!


I am joining the following parties as well~

Pretty Prim Link Up~ http://angelwingsandapronstrings.blogspot.com/
Home and Garden Thursday ~ http://blissfulrhythm.blogspot.com/
Share Your Cup Thursday~ http://jannolson.blogspot.com/
Cottage Style Linky Party~ http://lavendergardencottage.blogspot.com/
Tutorials Tips and Tidbits ~ http://www.stonegableblog.com/
Home Sweet Home~ http://thecharmofhome.blogspot.com/
Open House~ http://bernideensteatimeblog.blogspot.com/



Sharing from my heart~ Sandi

A Prayer Request

Good morning dear friends~

I have a prayer request for my son, Jeff.

Tomorrow, Thursday, Jeff is having ear surgery. 

He suffered hearing loss after a very bad ear infection about fifteen years ago and he has had numerous ear infections in that ear ever since. He also had tubes put in that ear but nothing has helped. Now, there is a growth in there and if left, will grow into his brain so it has to be removed. This surgery is hopefully going to repair the damage to his hearing as well. However, it is a risky operation...

Perhaps the surgery will not work and he will still be almost deaf in that ear. There is the risk of paralysis to his face as well as damage to his taste buds. The surgeon has been completely honest with him about all of this.

Hearing is a very important gift and Jeff is very musical which means he really needs his hearing to play his instruments. He plays drums and the bass guitar on the worship team at church.

So, I'm asking you to please pray that God will use the hands of the surgeon to repair the hearing damage as well as remove the growth with no damage to his face or taste buds. I believe that God can do that and I am praying this would be His will for my son.

Thank you so much for praying on his behalf.

Those of you who are looking for this week's tea party post will find it below this.

Sharing from my heart~ Sandi