Saturday, Dec. 8

Today is Grandson's Birthday. Happy Birthday, Grandson!

Up around 7:30 on this balmy-for-December day. Skipped my exercises so I could get ready to go to the Sheriff's Boys Ranch, which sponsored an annual craft fair. The three of us headed out about 9 a.m. I wanted to get there early enough to get a bunch of the mouth-watering cinnamon rolls offered each year.

We arrived about 9:30, and found a handicap spot right outside the front door of the craft area. The first thing we did was purchase eight of the huge cinnamon rolls. One of them is enough to serve all of us.

The craft fair has really grown over the years, and this year there were booths in three buildings, as well as a few outdoors. We weren't looking for anything special, but I bought a cute, inexpensive, snowman gourd. This booth was doing a lot of business, because the gourds were a craft folks haven't seen before, and the lady was selling them economically. Another booth that was doing a booming business was a woodworking one, where a man was selling large wall/door hangings, and bird houses, for $5.

I asked several booth vendors if they were doing a lot of business, since there was such a crowd today (thanks to the nice weather), but I was told that folks weren't buying much. I think that was because there was too much of the same-old-same-old, priced too high.

Funny: at one booth, a lady was selling emu oil lotions, etc., some with sexy names. I tried one, and she said, "You'll have all the the guys after you, now!"

"That one's been following me all day," I laughed, as I pointed to Hubbie.

Before we left, we bought two styrofoam containers of chili for lunch. We were back home around 11 a.m., and the first thing we did was put half-pint canning jars in the dishwasher to sterilize.

At lunch, Hubbie and I enjoyed the chili, while Mother had Ramen Noodle soup. We all sampled the Italian Cream Cheese ball, with crackers, and slices of a cinnamon roll for dessert.

Afterward, Hubbie cleaned and filled the hot tub, and went outdoors to bring in some plant bulbs, while Mother and I watched The Northern Ballet Theatre's 1992 performance of "A Christmas Carol." I recently ordered this DVD, after I was no longer able to use the VHS tape I recorded several years ago. I lucked out and got the only copy of the DVD left at Amazon. This is one of my favorite interpretations of the classic tale.

After the movie, I urged Mother to go to the couch for a nap, but she wanted to help make a recipe of Candy Apple Jelly, from a holiday craft and food booklet I picked up at the Extension Services office recently.

I took a few minutes to gather all the ingredients and equipment before we started, and by 1 p.m., we were ready to begin. We completed the task in about an hour, producing seven half-pints of the colorful jelly. It's very tasty, with just a hint of cinnamon and heat from the red hots. It's a very pretty, clear red jelly that will make beautiful gifts, when I need something extra.

Once the jelly was made, Mother went to the couch for a nap, and Hubbie and I watched our favorite college basketball team as they played to a loss. But our team battled hard, and didn't make it easy for the opponents to win.

Later, I fixed turkey cheeseburgers on buns for supper, served with leftover noodles and cheese, and butternut squash from last night. Hubbie accompanied Mother home afterward, and then he and I watched TV for the rest of the evening.