I made this Raggedy Ann and Andy set from a Bucilla kit sometime in the 70s. I did a little search and found one kit on Ebay. Looks like the original price was $4 and I think the asking price of $18 is not bad considering. Hold on--I found it again for only $10.

I made dozens and dozens of needlepoint ornaments in the 70s and 80s. The craft was always considered a luxury craft, and now it's more expensive than ever. I made a few of the little bunnies and have one on both trees. I have two more bunny canvases on hand to stitch when the needlepoint bug bites again. And I'm sure it will.

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The Seaside Sweater was a very big hit with everyone. Mommy and Daddy and Papa liked it, and Carter, well, he is very kind and claims to love everything that Grammy knits. I highly recommend the pattern and yarn and will have to make it again next year in the natural and sage green or olive green. Sigh. It's just so completely handsome and classic. 

Seaside Sweater by the adorable Danish designer, PetiteKnit.

All the knitty details can be found on my Ravelry project page.

Peer Gynt has a lovely sophisticated color palette and can be found at Loopy Ewe.

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We kicked off Christmas this year by hosting a gingerbread house decorating party with our little family pod of six. Carter 100% helped me from start to finish. This is obviously a wonderful activity to do with children, and even the tiniest ones can help. If you are concerned about offering so much candy, use pretzels, nuts, cereals, seeds, etc. instead. 

Day one we made the dough and baked the gingerbread pieces. I have a wonderful recipe that I've written down for you.  Find full recipe and how-to here.

Day two we covered cardboard pieces with butcher paper to act as bases, then constructed the houses with royal icing "glue".

Day three we did a decorating mock run because we were very excited and could not wait for the actual party.

Day four, party time! We asked each guest to bring a bag of candy to share but I made sure I had lots of candy varieties available as well.

This is a fun activity to do with your family or pod this year and you don't even need to bother doing it old school like I do. I know Target and Ikea sell pre-baked kits now, and of course loads of cute ones are on Amazon. Using a kit will dramatically reduce your kitchen time, but when I have Carter I'm usually looking for things we can do together, so baking the house pieces was a good thing.

You might have noticed my tablecloth. I actually cross-stitched it 30 plus years ago from a Bucilla kit. It's held up well and still looks so cute, especially for a gingerbread house decorating party!

I'll be back soon with more seasonal cooking, crafts and knitting, all of which are keeping us home; now more than ever it's important to stay home and stay safe. What activities are you doing this holiday season?

Hugs, Kristen.

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This is part two of a two-part series. Read part one here. 

I'm back again for the last day of soup making. Yesterday took about an hour of active time with chopping, straining and washing up, and today's active time will take even less. Your stock is now chilled and jelled because yesterday's long slow cooking released the healthful minerals and collagen that causes jelling, and it also released the fat and scum. Scrape the layers of fat and sediment with a spatula to reveal the jelled broth hidden underneath, see pictures below. I was left with 10 cups of rich golden yellow broth.  I wanted 12 cups, so I added water and a large chicken bouillon cube (our secret). Put the broth, sliced carrots and celery into a large soup pot and heat on high until it reaches a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until vegetables are tender, around 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. There may be a little foamy scum that rises and I spoon off most of that. 

Note, I toss the fat, but some cuisines use rendered chicken fat in recipes, so maybe turkey fat too? Anyway, I'll pass. While the veggies are cooking:

-Make rice or noodles. 

-Stem and chiffonade the spinach: stack leaves and slice into thin 1/4" strips

-When vegetables are tender, add chopped meat and spinach and cook for another 5 minutes. Adjust seasoning if necessary.

-To serve, put a spoon or two of rice or noodles in soup bowl, ladle with soup and sprinkle on garnish such as chopped parsley or toasted pinenuts if desired. I don't add the rice or noodles directly to the soup pot as they can get mushy when reheated.

Freezes well for up to 3 months. 

If you don't have time to make soup today, the stock as is can stay in the refrigerator for up to two days. You can freeze the broth for later soup making: defat then simmer to melt the broth and put in freezer containers leaving 1/2" headspace.

This is the same way I make chicken stock. I save bones in a big container I keep in the freezer, and when it's full, about every two months, I make chicken stock.

Enjoy your beautiful soup! Thanks for joining me. I hope you thought it was fun and informative. I love to share my joy of stock making! 

xo Kristen

I'd love to hear from you, especially if you made stock with me.

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