Nativity

My mom made this nativity for all the married kids one Christmas before I was married.  I thought it was so cute that when I got married, I asked her to make me one to put in my home.  She started it but handed it off to me 2 years ago saying that I'd probably work faster than her since she was having some problems with her hand going numb.  After her hand ailment was long gone the embroidery still sat there partially finished.  I'd work on it furiously for a while and then run out of thread and never get to the store.  Then it'd be forgotten for a couple more months.  Anyway, this took me forever to do but I finally finished it!  My mom framed it and sent it just in time to display for the season.

Tis the season

After 4 years of having the pattern and 3 years of working on it, I have finally finished our family's Christmas stockings.  My goodness, that took forever.  I am so happy they are done.  Well, they are presentable at least.  I do still want to do something to label them with names.  But have decided to put that off until another year.  I'm thinking little wooden letter hanging like pendents.  

Cookie #4: Snickerdoodles

Love these cookies.  We have a recipe for Snickerdoodles but they always come out hard as rocks.  Not a fan of the crunch if it breaks your teeth and scratches your gums.  Anyway, I was talking to a friend about it and she recommended this recipe on AllRecipes.com.  It is Snickerdoodles IV.  And they are so good.

Ingredients

• 1 cup shortening
• 1 1/2 cups white sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons cream of tartar
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (205 degrees C).
2. Mix the shortening , sugar, and eggs until creamy. Mix the flour, cream of tartar, baking soda and salt in another bowl. Blend the wet with the dry ingredients using a wooden spoon until well-blended.
3. Roll the dough into the size of small walnuts.
4. Prepare the cinnamon and sugar mixture by mixing the cinnamon and sugar.
5. Roll the cookie dough into the cinnamon and sugar mixture until coated and place onto an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 6-10 minutes watching to make sure they don't burn. They should be very lightly brown and still soft looking on top. When they cool, they will crack a little on top.