Sunday Salon, December 4th

Weather: Blue skies and chilly. Don is outside putting Christmas lights on the house.

Scripture lesson today, Isaiah 11:6: 
The wolf shall live with the lamb,
    the leopard shall lie down with the kid,
the calf and the lion and the fatling together,
    and a little child shall lead them.

Reminded me of a poster created by an artist based on this scripture with minor modifications (see photo above):

"And the Lion will lie down on the Lam

But the Lion won't skwish the Lam

Or Eat the Lam

Or even nibble on the Lam a little"

Cue the Christmas Music:
I have days worth of Christmas music on my iTunes account. I don't think it is possible to listen to it all between now and Christmas, but I will try.
I thought I'd share a few of the fun ones I've come across this week. Have a listen while you read the rest of this post.

Brian Setzer Orhestra

Jewel and Home Free on The Sing Off

Jimmy Buffett, Christmas Island

Crazy Corn Casserole: I know I have to break down and go grocery shopping but in the meantime I can still make a few recipes from items I have in my cupboard. For lunch I was able to scrounge up all the ingredients for Crazy Corn Casserole,  a favorite of my daughters. We ate it, thinking of the two of you with love! (See recipe below)

Hummingbirds: I was outside yesterday with the dog and I heard the familiar chatter of the Anna's Hummingbird. "Oh dear", I thought, "I didn't realize you were still around." I went back in the house, found the feeder, and made up some solution for the birds to drink. Today I stepped outside, again with the dog, and this time I heard two of my tiny feather friends singing a song of thanks to me for their food. If you would like to hear similar sounds to what I heard visit Cornell's Ornithology Anna's Hummingbird Page.  It has both the chatter and the song.

Prayers: for my son-in-law and daughter. We love you. Also, for a friend who had a negative result of a mammogram after breast cancer treatment. Prayers what they found is a noncancerous calcium deposit,

Are you listening to the Christmas I cued up for you? If so, I hope you are enjoying the songs. Now a quiz. Can you locate Christmas Island on a globe?

The library is decorated for the holidays. I love all the splashes of color that the decorations add to the library and the display case. I try to make sure that all religions and traditions are included: Nativity; Hanukkah; Yule; Diwali; Tet; Chinese New Year; Eid al-Fitr; Winter Solstice; Kwanzaa; and All-Kings Day.

Books read this week:

• Little Women by Louisa May Alcott---I finished this book as part of the Classics Club Spin Challenge. A reread. I liked it better as a kid.
• Girl at War by Sara Novic---A book club selection. A disturbing look at the horrors of war through the eyes of a young girl.
• The Singing Bones by Shaun Tan---Grimms Fairy Tales with sculptures depicting parts of scenes, Tan is an artist so I would consider this book to be an art book.

Currently reading:

• When the Moon was Ours by Anna-Marie McLemore---a YA selection that I reading AND listening to. Magical Realism. I'm enjoying it a lot. 98% complete. I am within pages of completion.
• The Twelve Days of Dash and Lily by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan---a second book in a series. I liked the first book much better than this one but I will finish it. You know me. 

Baking: Pfeffernusse (Peppernuts). They are a favorite Christmas treat in our family because they are flavored with anise, one of those ingredients that is hard to find at the store so when I see it, I buy it. That would explain why I have three bottles of it.

Peppernuts (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The Puyallup Book Mark is going out of business. Sigh. It is the only book store in town and it is a used one at that. Now we will have to buy our books online or else drive into Tacoma, Lakewood, or Federal Way to go to an actual store. But the upside, I bought 13 books for a dollar each.

This recipe was published in Carly's 3rd Grade Class Cookbook. She drew the picture. 😁😁😁😁

Leave a comment. Please. I'd love to hear from you. What are you doing in preparation for Christmas?