I live on a farm ... — family

Doesn't that pumpkin bread look tasty? Let's pretend ... You just came to my door, I welcome you inside. "Coffee?" I ask, and you reply, "Yes, thank you." I grab two cups of steaming brew and hand one to you. We head for the sitting area by the fireplace to enjoy a cup of coffee and some of this tasty, moist pumpkin bread together. A warm fire is crackling, and you can see our barn outside the windows on either side of the fireplace. Handmade Christmas stockings for my husband, myself, my daughter, son, and parents hang from the mantle....

That's what we dream of each year ... isn't it? And, what is the perfect Christmas? Is it the vision on a television commercial, or is it reflected in a perfectly decorated set on a movie? Is it the scene you see drawn and painted on Christmas cards? Perhaps a vision of Christmas from when you were a child and everything still felt like exquisite and unchallenged magic? Side Bar: My eBook, "A Christmas Story" is available now to download. You may click on the picture at the right, or follow this link to get to the download page for...

I found out this weekend the critters I have been making are able to knit. I was not aware of their having that particular talent, but I came downstairs early this morning and found three of them sitting around in a little circle knitting away and having a wee chat by candle light. Somehow or other they had managed to get ahold of some little finishing nails to use as knitting needles, and they had bits of my yarn. It was all very sweet, and this one was kind enough to sit for a photo. (I could be wrong, but...

Gracious Me, Look at all those Parcels! A few days ago I picked up the first of several packages of "parcels" for the Gracious Parcels 2006 project. This morning I go to pick up several more. The creativity and care that went into these parcels is evident, and so appreciated. I know the family that gets the blanket with these lovely parcels of love and fellowship woven together within it will love the gift, but I also take your creativity to heart very personally as a gift to me. Thank you, each of you lovely knitters for your generosity and...

When we visited the Finger Lakes region back at the end of October, we drove past many wineries in that area. The one winery we visited was Bully Hill in Hammondsport. It is a very interesting place, and the fellow who founded it, the late Wallace Taylor, was quite a character. While we were there we toured their makeshift museum featuring a collection of art created by Mr. Taylor. We also watched a video about the winery, its origins, and a bit about wine making in the region. When I was a child I used to tell adults who would...