How I spent my Christmas vacation

Merry Christmas !

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from Sue Runyon Designs.  God Bless you and your family!

My brother lives near the Blenko glass factory. Each year he sends me something from there. This is what came this year.

Foolish Friday

Knock Knock
Who's there?
Amory!
Amory who?
Amory Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Caleb 2009

Our tree this year

White spruce that my husband and son cut at a tree farm this year. A lot of it had to be trimmed so that it wouldn't hit the ceiling at it was 14 ft when they brought it in. I like a tree with open branches. We collect trinkets from our travels around the world to use as ornaments on our tree. I thought I'd photograph a few this year.

ornaments from Peru

Ornaments from Alaska and Hawaii

Ornaments from Cambodia

Homemade ornaments, from Asia, ornaments with special meaning & Caleb with his own small tree and ornament collection

This year for Christmas

Dancing butterflies copper handcrafted necklace

This year for Christmas

candy cane and copper ornament $4.75

This year for Christmas

Hand tatted cranberry color ornament with jade bead  $5.00

Foolish Friday

Knock Knock !

Who's there ?

Lionel.

Lionel who?

Lionel get you no where. Better tell the truth !

My son, Caleb, went on a field trip on the bus this week and sat by a little boy who told him about all the different types of aliens he's seen in his backyard (ahem). Caleb couldn't wait to get home and draw them.

Treat the Birds

House finch enjoying our homemade bird treats

In cold winter months birds need extra fats in their diet to help keep them warm. These homemade bird treats are a great way to give them the nutrition they need and I whenever I've made these the birds have really loved it.

Caleb and I made these the Wednesday before Thanksgiving and we're seeing more and more types of birds every day: two types of juncos, house finches, magpies, a downy woodpecker, rufus sided tohees, scrub jays, vireos, flickers, chickadees and a couple new types that we haven't looked up yet.

These make great Christmas gifts if you want to give a little something to your neighbors.

My little mad scientist in his bathrobe mixing bird treats. I'm not entirely sure why the 3D glasses were necessary.

HOMEMADE BIRD TREATS

1 1/2 lbs beef lard (cooking oil section of the grocery store)
2 1/2 lbs peanut butter (one large jar)
2 1/2 lbs corn meal (can find 2 1/2 lb boxes--often in the Mexican food aisle)
2 1/2 lbs corn grits (or substitute part bird seed mix)
plastic sandwich bags or waxed paper

Melt the lard on high and then turn down to medium. Add peanut butter and melt it. Mix in corn meal and corn grits (or part bird seed). This will resemble no-bake cookie mixture.

Fill plastic sandwich bags up to 1 1/2 inches from the top, seal them and lay flat on a cookie sheet and place in refrigerator to solidify.  Store in frig or freezer. This size fits pretty well in most of those little black cages for suet cakes you can buy for birds--you may have to trim the edges a bit, but then you just put the trimmings in the cage too.

OR

Line a baking pan with waxed paper and fill to about 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 inch deep. Put in refrigerator to solidfy and then cut into pieces to fit into a suet cage. Store in frig or freezer.

Yield 9 lbs (5-6 large cakes). Can be doubled, but then you may need to divide it to stir.

Downy woodpecker

Magpie--they are so big they have trouble getting to the feeder cage, but they are determined!

Chickadee who thinks he's a bat.

Foolish Friday

Knock Knock !
Who's there ?
Ammonia.
Ammonia who ?
Ammonia little kid !

Caleb's drawing "Attack of the 50 foot caterpillar." Notice he put a bracket with 80 ft marked on the mushroom so you can compare it to the caterpillar. I'm not really sure what the thing is that the caterpillar is attacking. I think it might be an elephant. I believe he got the scale right.

Icicle Enchantment

View out of our side window toward the Great Salt Lake and Antelope Island. My son, Caleb, is delighted with the icicles.

Icicle earrings

Sunrise Thanksgiving morning view from the front of our house. No, nothing was on fire :-) .

Snowball pendant - I also have matching earrings