A sweet baby girl named, Paislee~

I hope all of you had a very Merry Christmas!

It's been pretty rough around here. Major health issues have taken over my home since October 30th, but we're hanging in there and made sure we kept our family traditions up through the Christmas season. In many ways we have been very blessed and blessed by many people. I know we couldn't have ever done this alone. Surround yourself with good people, because they pull you through times such as these. I mean that.

Through the ups and downs over these last couple of months a boy, or should I say "special young man" named Ben, who has been in our life all of his life showed up in our kitchen one evening with a special little gift to show us.

 

 

 

Her name is Paislee and she is a doll.

 

 

When Ben showed up he made our day.

 

 

Look how proud he is of her.

 

 

 

 

He's going to make a wonderful father. What a lucky little girl.

 

 

 

 

So when he placed Paislee in my arms the overwhelming feeling of new life overfilled my heart and mind and renewed hope in me.

 

Did he even realize any of this? I doubt it. Those two special people were exactly what my household needed that evening.

Sometimes we all tend to question why things happen to us when we are falling apart and trying to hold it all together at the same time and then you hold a baby.

 

It breathes life back into your soul.

 

 

 

 











 





This little girl will forever remind me of faith, hope, and love at a time in our lives when we needed it the most. She has no idea what a little angel she is in our lives, but one day I'll be sure to share it with her or maybe she'll even stumble across this little story on my blog someday. Who knows....... 

 

Welcome to the world, Paislee!

 

Toodle-loo

Nikki Pugh

Caramel Apple Grapes

So, these little things have captured my attention lately, but I didn't have the recipe for them.

 

 

They are called~


"Caramel Apple Grapes"

 

They look scrumptious don't they?

 

 

I finally found the recipe over at The Kitchen Life of a Navy Wife

 

So I had to share it with all of you.

 

Again, it's so simple which is my absolute favorite kind of recipe.

 

Have you made these before?

 

I haven't, but am going to to do very very soon!

 

Here's the recipe-I hope you enjoy!

 

_____________

 

 

'Caramel Apple Grapes'

Source: Very Culinary

Ingredients

1 cup caramel bits

2 tablespoons heavy cream

handful of seedless green grapes

1 cup salted peanuts, crushed

toothpicks

Directions

1. Poke toothpicks into the tops of each grape; set aside.

2. In a small pot over medium-low heat, combine the caramel bits and cream. Stir until melted. Reduce heat to lowest setting just to keep warm.

3. Place the peanuts in a shallow dish and dip the grapes into the caramel sauce and then roll in the crushed nuts. Place on a plate to set. Repeat until all the grapes are used.

 

 

UPDATE:

 

By the way  the month of December tends to be just as tough as the month of November was on my family. I know that I haven't posted since November, because of lots and lots of health issues within my family so I appreciate all of your prayers & private emails that you've sent me. I have read them all and thank you so much for your support and concern. It sure has helped me on some very tiresome days just knowing you care.

 

We need a break, but again so thankful for what we have, of course, which is each other but

 

bring on 2013 and on the double~

 

 

Toodle-loo

Nikki Pugh



I welcome the month of December with open arms~

Hmmmm...........

 

Let's just say........

 

I am ready to welcome the month of December.

 

November has been a very hard month for my family.

 

I mean very very very hard.

 

This I know for sure.

 

Would you like to know what kept me going through the month of November?

 

1. God. Always.

 

2. Good genuine people, in our teeny tiny community, that care about our family and are there for us, think of us, and simply love us for just being us.You know my love of simplicity as I know I mention it often. I'm not sure we could have made it through November with out everyone. The calls, the cards, the visits, the dinners, and the prayers got us through each day. 

 

3. Duck Dynasty, Alaska-the last frontier, and Gold Rush! These three reality shows kept me going. Sad, but true. You know my love of t.v and especially reality t.v. by now. Without these shows I would have felt like I had no normalcy left in my life . "Duck Dynasty" made me laugh hysterically when I needed too and as always I love the family life that takes place on the show, Alaska the last frontier kept me dreaming of the pioneer life and how I yearn to live a totally self sufficient lifestyle in every sense of the way and Gold rush entertained my brain and kept the hope alive in my life and for their dream of striking gold. I know I need to get a life, but GOODNESS GRACIOUS these shows are just so entertaining to me and I'd miss them terribly even if one went off the air.

 

Well there's my list of three.

 

I've decided that my life is just research for a big novel that I would love to sit down and write someday.

 

That's the only way I can make sense of it all.

 

You can't make this kind of stuff up.

 

It has to be research.

 

Right?

 

My novel will someday be on the New York Times best sellers list.......

 

Right?

 

Oh, it has to be.

 

That's what gives me hope. 

 

This life's just got to be research for something bigger thatI can't understand quite yet.

 

It makes me feel better when I think about it all in these kinds of terms.

 

Holy moly.

 

I have been saying this little saying to myself and often:

"Suck it up buttercup"

 

Yes, I have to give myself little pep talks, lately.

 

It's short, quick, and I seem to be able to remember it.

 

That's always a good sign.

 

So here's a pic, I found of myself from October, that I hadn't posted and so I thought I would share it so this blog post would have a photo in it.  

 

 

Toodle-loo

Nikki Pugh



Happy Thanksgiving from Ma & Pa Pugh 2012

 

Ma & Pa Pugh would just like to wish you a

 

Happy Thanksgiving!!!!

 

From our home..........

 

 

......to yours~

I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving with your family and friends.

We cooked a huge feast and had dinner at noon.  

 

We shared what we were all thankful for around our table.

 

We have so much to be thankful for this year.

 

Charlie and I are blessed beyond words.

 

I love the simple things in life, as you know.

 

Faith, family, health, and great friends are all I need. 

 

(and yummy food, of course)

 

It's just that simple.

 

Amen.

 

Toodle loo~

Nikki Pugh



Give thanks toThanksgiving~

I can't believe how close Christmas is and how easily Thanksgiving is kind of put on the back shelf these days.

 

 

 

It seems to me that this has only been happening for around the last 10 or so years.

It's as if Thanksgiving is just a fancier Thursday dinner.

 

I really do love Thanksgiving!

 

 

 

I miss the love and excitement, via the media, for the Thanksgiving holiday.

 

I love Christmas, too, don't get me wrong, but each holiday needs the build up of the day-do you catch my drift?

We know Christmas is HUGE!

 

It should be, simply, because it is.

 

It's Christmas!

 

But...........

 

........................what I love the most about Thanksgiving, around here, is the excitement of Thanksgiving that we have made sure that we have instilled in our family.

 

Thanksgiving is a holiday!

 

Yes, it is!

 

Have I mentioned that, yet, in this blog post this evening?

 

I enjoy planning the menu a week or so in advance.

 

I love the family asking me the same questions about what's going to be on the menu for "The Feast" as they like to call it.

 

I like shopping for holiday ingredients that I normally don't buy.

 

I love the Thanksgiving decor in our home that is so traditional.

(Do you like my table?)

 

 

 

The orange, yellow, and cream colored pumpkins, the gourds, the fall foliage, and the trinkets that are all over our home, because that's just how I do things!

 

I am excited this year to put this new glass turkey salt and pepper shaker set, that my brother in law Roger bought for me the other day, on our kitchen table. He saw them and said they reminded him of the ones his mom always kept on her Thanksgiving table, which I loved, and so he bought them for me to place on ours. I was so touched. He's a pretty special guy. He knew I'd love them, of course! I do love them. I love them very much!

 

I am excited to prep.

 

I am excited to cut vegetables for the vegetable tray.

Look at how yummy our appetizers are-YUM!

 

 

 

I am ready to mix up casseroles and place them in my refrigerator for Thursday.

 

I am ready to put my ivory table cloth on our big kitchen farm table.

 

I am ready to have my fridge so packed the day before with goodies that I have to pick up Angelo's pizza for dinner on Wednesday night, so that I don't have to cook and dirty any more dishes.

 

I am exited for the anticipation of Thursday

 

I am excited for my families anticipation of Thursday.

 

The warmth of the furnace going and making our big ol' house warm & cozy.

 

The sun shining in our east kitchen window turning our yellow kitchen and orange-ish hue.

 

The Macy's Day parade on television and everyone talking about which float they love the most and why.

 

My helpers asking me what they can help me with and asking me twenty five times each what exact time dinner will be on the table.

 

The excitement of bringing in the smallest pumpkins and gourds and placing them on our table for our traditional table decor.

 

The baskets and dishes that I only use a couple of times of year being brought out of my buffet and china cabinets.

(Yep, that's my rooster basket)

 

 

My husband in his flannel shirt, jeans, and thick hunting socks running in and out of our home cooking the turkey in the studio's oven and showing and teaching others without even realizing it while he inadvertently passes on the tradition and makes memories with them.

 

 

 

The appetizers slowly disappearing.

 

Everything on the stove top boiling.

 

The pots steaming.

 

The food cooking.

(Look at how much food I am making and even more being cooked in our 2nd oven.)

 

 

 

The aroma in our home is amazing!

 

The casseroles baking.

 

The desserts chilling.

 

The kitchens dreamy.

 

My family around me.

 

Santa arrives in New York City to end the parade.

 

...............another season begins even before Thanksgiving Day Dinner begins.

 

I'm hustling around my kitchen.

 

Charlies carves the turkey with pride.

 

I take a deep breath and sense of calm comes over me.

 

It's time.

 

The pictures have started to be taken before the family is seated for another traditional Thanksgiving celebration begins.

 

 

We bow our heads and pray.

 

 

To be Thankful for the day and every day that we have.

 

Together, we are blessed.

 

 

We feel so fancy eating off of our wedding china and the family drinking from real crystal wine glasses.

 

The stove and oven are turned off.

 

The conversations begin.

 

We all talk about how lucky we are.

 

We talk about the delicious feast.

 

I look at my husband at the head of the table directly opposite of me.

(My chair is closest to the door)

 

 

I look on both sides of us.

The feeling of our family.

 

The feeling of love and being loved.

 

My world.

 

Our world.

 

I think of how I value the tradition of Thanksgiving, the feelings of genuine love at my table, and how I couldn't imagine it any other way.

 

I am thankful.

 

So very thankful.

 

Now, you tell me........

How we can skip from Halloween straight to Christmas?

 

How can Thanksgiving be somewhat dismissed or passed over.

 

It's being thankful for what we have without presents, but with the presence of friends and family.

 

I just don't get it.

 

Do you?

 

Being thankful on a special day of thanks for the simplicity of a family breaking bread together is worth celebrating every single day, but Thanksgiving adds the formality & tradition of it all.

 

 

Let's not forget Thanksgiving.

 

It's so meaningful.

 

Give thanks, to the day, for the people at your table.
 

Toodle-loo

Nikki Pugh