A Tale of Three Luncheons

It's been quite a week for company at Linderhof

I had guests for lunch Wednesday (which I've already told you about),

Thursday and Friday

It's kind of a swan song for Christmas decorations

For soon they're go in their boxes --

Scott City, too

We love our tree and like to share

Because we have a real tree, it doesn't go up too early

And then we get caught up in the hustle and bustle of Christmas preparations

Therefore, the best time for us to entertain during the Christmas season

is after Christmas

The week between Christmas and New Year's!

Luncheon One on Wednesday
Friends - Kate, Jeffrey and Shaun joined me for lunch

Luncheon Two on Thursday
Maxine Zimmerman, her daughter and her grade school great-granddaughters had luncheon at Linderhof

Luncheon Three on Friday - dear Nevada friends joined me for luncheon

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I used the same lace tablecloth for all three luncheons,

white damask napkins in silver rings

And Jim's grandmother's cutlery

Wednesday, the centerpiece was at the end of the table

Because there was just four

A red poinsettia, candles and the Santa and toys salt and pepper

Thursday and Friday

the centerpiece was in the middle of the table

White mums and Christmas greens in a Waterford bowl

The Christmas dishes were used for all three luncheons,

The Royal Dolton Tartan that we bought on a trip to England from the Royal Dolton factory

The luncheons were all three courses -

Salads, entree and dessert

And mostly each day was different

Salads:

Wednesday, we had a Maple Roasted Carrot Salad

Thursday, a strawberry salad with poppyseed dressing

Friday, my favorite tossed salad with an oil and vinegar dressing

The entrees:

Wednesday - Ina Garten's Chicken With 40 Cloves of Garlic and white and wild rice

Thursday - Chicken Spaghetti and Garlic Cheese Biscuits

Friday - Ina Garten's Rotini with spinach and tomatoes in a creamy lemon sauce

 Desserts

I decided that I was tired of cinnamon and nutmeg flavors

and other flavors associated with Christmas, so I chose very

non-Christmasy desserts

Wednesday - Ina Garten's French Apple Tart

 One of my favorite desserts of Ina's

Very refreshing and not a cinnamon or nutmeg anywhere -

just pure apple flavor with a crisp crust

It was a fitting ending to Wednesday's luncheon

which was "all Ina"

Thursday - Fairy cupcakes with sugared cranberries and rosemary

 Since some of my guests were young, I decided to do a cupcake

for dessert for every kid loves cupcakes

But I "kicked them up a notch" by adding the sugared fruit and herb

Friday - Ina Garten's Apple Tart -- AGAIN!

I had some apples left and the tart is so good . . . my guests thought so too!

Entertaining during the Christmas season -

The tree and the dining room table

The table and the tree!

Our entertaining is done for the year,

We'll preparing for New Year's Eve

Which will be a quiet night for us

As it usually is

We're not NYE party people

preparing to have our own quiet celebration at home

Perhaps, because, of all the years that we worked and worked hard

at our wine and spirit shop on New Year's Eve

Thus, we enjoy just the two of us to ring in the New Year!

Handmade is Best!

Handmade gifts are the best!

And I love making gifts

Of course, there are the "cookie" gifts for friends and neighbors

Sometimes just a plate of one kind of cookie

Sometimes I make several and it's a mixed plate

Little loaves, too, of bread are given as well.

Cranberry bread is one of my favorites this time of year

Wrapped first in Saran

And then wrapped in parchment paper

And tied with pretty ribbons

A tradition with the Grands are the ornaments

A tradition that I started with Daughter Sarah

Only most of Sarah's were dated Hallmark ornaments

While the Grands are handmade needlepoint ones

The ornament on the left is Sarah's (For the past 40 Christmases we've always given a "boughten" ornament -- this year I decided to make her a needlepoint one!

The Santa in the middle is Piper's

The Santa on the right is Lucy's

And the sleigh full of gifts at the top was given to Andy's parents

In November, I learned a new needlecraft

knitting!

My first two projects -- scarves for the Grands

the one on the right is Piper's -- complete with fringe

the one on the left is Lucy's

I'm going to learn to knit headbands

And I can't wait to learn to make socks!!!!

The needlepoint ornaments are a tradition with the Grands

And these are the ones from 2015

A rocking horse and a sock

And Lucy's first!

Each ornament for the Grands has their name and the year.

The Santa's are "labeled" on the back

Lucy has one more but 2014 was a year that I was stitching at Midnight on Christmas Eve,

finishing up the ornament . . . it didn't get "put together" until later (and then mailed to Lucy)

I know what I'll do next year for Lucy and Piper

for I'm designing my own!

As someone once said "handmade is best"!

'Tweener Luncheon

As I like when there is a whole week of November left 

after Thanksgiving,

I also like the week 'tween

Christmas and New Years

We're still decorated

But the hustle and bustle that is before Christmas

is gone, once December 25 has come

I like to have company for lunch during that week

It's much more relaxing than a lunch would be 

before Christmas

Today, three dear friends came for lunch

It's a tradition, started a few years ago

And we decided that this is our fifth year

Shaun, Jeffrey and Kate are great guests

And there is a lot of table talk as we eat lunch

Since it is still the Christmas season . . .

A poinsettia as a centerpiece

But it is tall

Often when there is a foursome for lunch,

if the centerpiece is tall, I'll move the "centerpiece" to the end of the table.

so that we can see and visit

My Quaker Lace tablecloth, the Christmas dishes and Jim's grandmother's cutlery

The china is Royal Dolton Tartan 

Made during 1986 and 1987

It's a classic, I think

(and is a nod to Jim's Scottish heritage)

Luncheon today was an Ina's luncheon

From three of her cookbooks

Maple Roasted Carrot Salad

a yummy salad full of roasted carrots, dried cranberries, almonds and goat cheese.

The greens were supposed to be arugula but, alas, you can't find it here

so I subbed a Spring Greens Mix

Recipe from Cooking for Jeffrey

40 Cloves of Garlic Chicken served with white and wild rice

It's yummy and comfort food

Recipe from Barefoot in Paris

French Apple Tart

The flavor of apples with a bit of crust

I decided that after all the cinnamon and nutmeg flavors of the season

that a dessert that was pure flavor

would be a nice change of pace.

It's a favorite of ours and I've made it many times.

Recipe from Back to Basics

It was a fun afternoon.   No one felt the pressure to hurry for there was no last minute gift to buy, or cookies to make.    We talked of Christmas past and plans for New Year's.

Linderhof As Art

In early December, friend Shirley Ann and I

went south to Carthage, Missouri

for their semi-annual Homes Tour

Carthage is full of wonderful Victorian Homes

And their tour is usually full of wonderfully decorated

homes.

It, too, is often my birthday celebration with Shirley Ann

for it falls close to my birthday

This year we went, 

And we loved this columned home

It looks so pretty and elegant

And inside, we found . . . 

This wee little painting of the house,

I was smitten

and wondered where they had gotten it.

I must admit I am a sucker for "house art"

And then we toured this Victorian

And inside was another 

wee painting

And as we continued to tour, house after house had one of these wee paintings

And I got the card of Mr. Steven Binam

who painted all of those pictures for the homes tour.

And I commissioned him

to do a painting of Linerhof

I sent him pictures of Linderhof, and we discussed a few things

And then he sent me a picture of his finished work

I was as smitten with this picture of Linderhof

as I was with the pictures of Linderhof!

We made arrangements for me to pick it up

It was bought not for me but for a Christmas present for Husband Jim

Now it joins the other two pictures of Linderhof . . . 

The pen and ink done by Mr. Miller who was a graphic artist

in his working career.   He retired to Fort Scott and picked up extra money

doing calligraphy for wedding invitations and the like and the occasional pen and inks

of Fort Scott's historic homes

The water color done by Mike Morris who for a time had a gallery

in Fort Scott.    His health forced him to move and I treasure the memories of visiting him in his studio both before and after he did Linderhof in watercolor

And now this wee (6 x 6 inch) painting on canvas.   No frame for the outside edges are part of the picture.    And it 's too small for a wall but instead will rest on an easel on a tabletop!

And I didn't just have him do Linderhof,

I also had him do one of Daughter Sarah and her Andy's house

I sent him this

And got this!!!

I love Christmas presents that are a complete surprise

And neither of them suspected that they were getting a painting of their house.

And they love it!

Steve will do your house, too, if you contact him!

painted_b@yahoo.com

He is from the Carthage area but if you're not, you could contact him and

see if your painting could be mailed!***

***I get nothing from this recommendation.   I just think that Steve is talented and if you love your house as much as I love Linderhof, that you deserve a painting of it!     And Steve is your man!     The size is precious and the fact that they sit on an easel makes them special.

Merry Christmas!

Jim, Doogie Doggie, Daisy Dawg and I

wish you and yours a very

Happy Christmas!

The Lunch Bunch Christmas Lunch

The Lunch Bunch comes once a month for lunch

It's always a fun day for me

For I get to try new recipes

But December is and always has been a special luncheon

For not only do we eat but we also exchange gifts

 The table in the dining room

I chose a more muted (and less red) color scheme

White lace tablecloth and white damask napkins

Color in the form of a perfect poinsettia

And the ribbons on the gifts . . .

my gifts to the Lunch Bunch

The Royal Dolton Tartan

(which we use for breakfast lunch and dinner (except when we have soup) from The First Sunday in Advent through Christmas

Always a menu

And always a little "gift" at each place

The gift this year is an assortment of the German Christmas cookies

They're perfect tea size cookies

It was a special lunch,

the first course was

Jordan Pond Lobster Stew

Served in the Royal Dolton Tartan coffee cups

(For a luncheon, I often serve soup in coffee cups -- it's a perfect luncheon size portion)

The entree

A lemon artichoke chicken with a chicken garlic rice

The dessert

Pear Clafoutis

(Harry and David pears -- Ina Garten's recipe)

After dessert, we opened our gifts

Had another cup of coffee

And told of our Christmas plans

And we look forward to Lunch Bunch Luncheons in 2017 --

which will be the seventeenth year that we have gotten together once a month for lunch --

mostly at Linderhof

The Magical City of Scott 2016

The Magical City of Scott

the miniature light village

that Husband Jim brings to life each December

We start with the bins that we store 11 months of the year

And the "bones" of Scott City

It's all done with mirrors,

well with mirrors and plywood and . . . 

toilet paper!

 And the houses go from bins

to the dining room table

All the better to see what you have!

 And then he works to put every building just so!

Until it is perfect . . . 

Then he adds the little people, cars, snow and trees

Every town needs a Tourist Information Center

And our only restaurant

A McDonald's

(Because eons ago, Husband Jim was the Operation Supervisor for the area McDonalds)

Of course, we have a residential area

with brick streets!

And like the city we live in, there are no cookie cutter houses!

This is one of my favorites

If it was a real house, I could live there!

Or here -- for I love old  center hall houses

And this is for my friend Shirley Ann

who loves plantation houses

The Grands enjoy Scott City and do children of friends

And we welcome visitors these December days

Not only do they get to enjoy our village

But we always have cookies and cocoa