For the past several years, maybe close to twenty years, I have collected Santa Clauses. Every Christmas I look for one special Santa Clause for my collection. There have been many years where I have not found one that I liked (I’m a bit particular). And there have been several years where the children have gifted me with some special Santa Clauses. I have a Scottish one and an Irish one that are very special to me. Unfortunately, most of my collection is still in storage in Alabama. I only have with me the few that I have acquired since we moved from Alabama. Of all the things that are in storage, those are probably the things I miss the most.
This Christmas Bill surprised me with three Santas! Two are made of cloth and are battery operated, singing and dancing; they are really very funny to watch. But the one I treasure the most is this candy dish glass and ceramic Santa.
Santa Claus
Isn’t he lovely? I think this Santa will be left out for all to see and enjoy year round!
My new kitchen has a lot of counter space and even more cupboard space, so I have been able to use my bread machine again. I have not bought a loaf of bread since November! The first loaf or two was a little flat (heavy), but I’ve gotten the hang of it again and I am now enjoying some delicious home made mostly whole wheat bread. And the last two loaves I have added a bit of ground flaxseed in it. Yummy!
Last week I made some veggie & meat pockets for Bill to take to work in his lunch pail, using homemade bread dough and cooked up onions, cabbage and ground beef. (I found the recipe at the Nourishing Gourmet website.) It is pretty good warmed up in the microwave or even eaten cold. Yesterday I made some more for this week and with the bit of bread dough I had left over, I attempted pita pockets. I took two hunks of the dough (about 1/6 each of a 1 # bread dough batch), rolled them out very flat and round, and then baked them at 350 for about 15 – 20 minutes. I wasn’t sure if they would actually make a stuffable pita pocket, but they did!
Homemade Pita Bread! Yummy!
This morning I cut one in half and the inside was nice and open, perfect for my morning scrambled egg and cheese. I wish I had known years ago how easy pita bread was to make!
Here are a final few pictures, mostly taken going back down Bonita Canyon Drive. Since there were so few places to pull off and take pictures, some here will have guard rails and shadows of the car as I took them from inside the car. Amazing I could hold the camera while also maintaining a death grip on the armrest!
Upper Bonita Canyon Drive
More of the top portion of Bonita Canyon Drive
Rock formation along Bonita Canyon Drive
More balanced rock formation.
Pinnacle Rock
Of course, no trip to a National Monument is complete without visiting the Gift Shop! It was a great gift shop, with many items I was sure Miss Munchkin would love, but as the budget was tight, I limited my purchases to two books and some postcards. Gifts for the munchkin will have to wait for another visit, maybe when she is along with us!
Chiricahua National Monument
I am still reading through A History of the Southwest. It’s small but jam-packed with southwest history.
