Welcome to the "new" Country Chatter
 

It is time for another issue of Country Chatter.  And Christmas is less than two weeks away.  Tree was bought today, I have gotten a living Christmas tree for the last two years.  Real and fake trees do not stand up to 15 pound kitties laying on the branches but they left the tree alone last year.  House gets decorated tomorrow, outside and inside, unless it rains.  It rained here on Monday, and then moved on to the rest of the country.  Tuesday morning, I had ICE on the windows of my SUV.

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving.  Claudia and I has a tradition of going out to dinner on Thanksgiving and going to K-Mart afterwards to check out the Christmas decorations.  My niece and her family were out here for the week of Thanksgiving.  Keith and I ventured over to Scottsdale to see them and to have dinner with them.  You can tell that we have been out in Arizona too long, they were in shorts and t-shirts and we had on our winter jackets.  Friday was the tree lightning in downtown Glendale, 1.5 million lights all over the downtown area and Catlin Court.  The crafters were down there, bands all over the place, every kind of food that you could imagine and all the shops are decorated for Christmas.  All the streets are closed down, so that you can walk around and there are horse drawn carriages, too.

On a sad note, one of our favorite shops is closing down by the end of December, Pal's Forever is closing, they are retiring to Florida for health reasons.  So stop in and check out all the bargains.

Bandit has decided that it is safer to sleep in mom's bedroom during the football games since the NFL will not stop playing Bear's games.  But if you have any left-over cookies or one that you need sampled, he is more than happy to try them for you.

On a happy note, Claudia purchased a mobile home about 1/2 mile from my house, she is cleaning and painting and will be moving fully in this coming weekend.

Everything I need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten

Most of what I really need to know about how to live and what to do, and how to be I learned in kindergarten.
Wisdom was not at the top of the graduate school mountain, but there in the sandbox at nursery school.

These are the thing I learned:
Share everything.
Play fair.
Don't hit people.
Put things back where you found them.
Clean up your own mess.
Don't take things that aren't yours.
Say you're sorry when you hurt somebody.
Wash your hands before you eat.
Flush.
Warm cookies and cold milk are good for you.
Live a balanced life.
Learn some and think some and draw and paint and sing and dance and play and work every day some.
Take a nap every afternoon.
When you go out into the world, watch for traffic, hold hands and stick together.
Be aware of wonder.
Remember the little seed in the plastic cup?  The roots go down and the plant goes up and
nobody really knows how or why, but we are all like that.
Goldfish and hamsters and white mice and even the little seed in the plastic cup - they all die.  So do we.
And then remember the book about Dick and Jane and the first word you learned, the biggest word of all: look.
Everything you need to know is in there somewhere. The Golden Rule and love and basic sanitation.
Ecology and politics and sane living.

Think what a better world it would be if we all -- the whole world -- had cookies and milk about 3 o'clock every
afternoon and then lay down with our blankets for a nap.  Or if we had a basic policy in our nation and other
nations to always put things back, where we found them and cleaned up our own messes.  And it is still true;
no matter who old you are, when you go out into the world, it is best to hold hands and stick together.

Activities Around the Valley

This is for my friends who need a little reminder about what is going on around
my part of the world. It is time for the valley to come alive and for everyone to come   
out for all the shows and all the wonderful activities.
Time to take a class or two at the Park District or your local craft shop

Glendale Glitters

December 18-19: Glendale’s Jingle Bell Rockin’ Nights
Bring your dancing shoes for a rockin’ good time in Murphy Park, which will be packed with music, lights and excitement. Entertainment will include performances of both holiday music and oldies you can dance to, as well as dance troupe performances.

Downtown Glendale and Catlin Court are celebrating the holidays with new shops and restaurants, be sure and stop in and say hello, and tell them that you heard about them from Country Chatter.
 

Crafter's Corner


If you are interested in joining us on the website, please email me and
I will send you all the information about moving in.

I would still like to start a Quilting Club for quilters or anyone who would like to give it a try, the first of the year.  I have one person who has joined the group, along with me so we are looking for more wonderful people to join us. 
 I am looking for classes for quilting here.
I want to start a mailing list of people who would be interested in doing this.  Each month, you will send to one person on the list, four 5 inch squares of fabric of one theme.   We will do this for 3 months with one theme and then choose another theme for the next 3 months.  At the end of the three months, please design something with your fabric and send me a photo and I will put it in the newsletter with your name and website.  If you are interested in doing this, please email the staff at Admin@calicokittendesigns.com and please put quilts in the message line.

Bear is in charge of link exchanges and was wondering if anyone would like to exchange links with Calico Kitten Designs.
You can get in touch with him at admin@calicokittendesigns.com and he will be more than happy to sent you ours. One small note from Bandit, if you have any EXTRA Pringles (the original favor) he will make sure that you on the front page of the links.
 

Recipes

Each and every month, there will be a special section for them.  Since Fall has arrived, how  how about some recipes for Fall.

I have set up a special page with wonderful cookie recipes
Christmas Recipes

If you would like to have yours in the next issue of Country Chatter, please email Bandit at admin@calicokittendesigns.com and he just loves samples.

Chewy Maple Cookies

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup vegetable shortening
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 large egg
1/2 cup pure maple syrup
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup sweetened flaked coconut

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Lightly grease baking sheets.
In medium bowl combine flour, baking powder and salt; set aside.
In a mixing bowl, cream shortening and brown sugar until fluffy.  Beat in the egg,
syrup, and vanilla until well mixed.  Stir in flour mixture until just mixed and
then stir in coconut.
Drop by tablespoonfuls 2-inches apart onto prepared baking sheets.
Bake for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown.  Transfer to wire racks
to cool.  Stone in airtight container.
 

Well, I hope that you have made it down to this little part, I love talking about
Arizona, sharing this state with everyone.  I want to share a part of my world
with everyone and doing this newsletter is my way of thanking
everyone for being a friend.   Say a prayer for our Armed Forces and pray that they will be home soon.  Tigger and Katie want to say hello, they have been yelling the whole night.  Christmas will be here soon, we want to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. The country is in a mess, friends are out of work, and it is time to get back to the simple things in life.  Remember the shops that you love, especially remember to love your family, and all your close friends. 
Say hello to someone on the street or even the cashier where you shop, help brighten someone's life if just for a small moment.

Count your blessings, hug your family and friends,
thanks for being a part of Country Chatter

Hugs,
Cindy and the Kittens

Country Chatter
Cindy Kingren
623-210-3511
(after 4 - Pacific time)
dacarebear@yahoo.com or
admin@calicokittendesigns.com

            
     
                     Please sign our guest book so we know
that you stopped by.  Thanks