grace grits and gardening

ramblings from an arkansas farm girl

  • Home
  • About
  • Media
  • Crafts
  • Farm
  • Food
  • Garden
  • Reading & Books
  • Sunday Letter
  • SHOP!
  • Privacy Policy

Sunday Letter: 12.18.22

December 18, 2022 By Talya Tate Boerner 11 Comments

Sunday Letter

Dear Sunday Letter friends,

Ho ho ho! ‘Tis the week before Christmas which means we finalize menus and grocery shop, prep dishes, finish wrapping gifts, await family (and Santa Claus) coming into town.

Anticipation is a huge part of Christmas for me.

My husband often points out that I am a big kid, not that he thinks there’s anything wrong with that. Christmas is my favorite for many reasons—the sparkle and twinkle, the carols, the tastes and aromas, the memories of family and church and a time when magic tasted as real as the chocolate candy in my stocking. Yes, memories are probably at the root of my seasonal joy. From the time school was out for Christmas until the first week of January, family (led by Momma) always made the holidays extra special. And I do my best to carry those traditions with me throughout the season and into the new year.

Decking the Porches!

This past week, we finished our outside lighting, bringing Frosty to the porch and wrapping the railings with lights. Also, I wanted some sort of lighting on our upstairs sleeping porch, something visible from the street.

We debated several options and decided a wreath would be perfect. But we didn’t want to buy a green faux one that would require storing. Sooooo, we settled on a basic grapevine wreath and wrapped it in lights.

Sunday Letter

Our new wreath brightens the sleeping porch (and the entire upstairs) and looks so festive from outside. And, bonus, when the holidays are over, we can remove the lights and continue displaying the grapevine wreath.

Christmas crafting doesn’t get much easier than this.

Decking the Halls and Porches

Christmas-ready!

Thrift Store Find

I love a good thrift store find, and for $2 this oversized Santa mug was a real score. I’ve noticed succulents planted in Santa mugs, and I always love them. BUT even as much as I adore Christmas, I wouldn’t want a Santa mug on my windowsill in the spring. (Shhh! Don’t tell the jolly guy…)

Instead, used as a planter with a tinsel tree inside, my new (old) Santa mug makes a fun decoration.

Santa Mug

I discovered this one at Potter’s House in Fayetteville. Win-win!

Sparkling Sugared Cranberries

Dining with Debbie has the perfect holiday recipe for sugared cranberries. I plan to make a batch of these for our Christmas Eve meal. Sprinkled around my buttermilk pie, they will be decoration as well as another dessert choice.

Do you remember how visions of sugarplums danced in the children’s head on the night before Christmas? Well, I think if Mama in her ‘kerchief had ever made sugared cranberries, the kids would have been dreaming of these instead.

Click HERE for Dining with Debbie’s recipe.

photo credit: Dining with Debbie

By the way, sugarplums are not sugared plums. They are made by mixing bits of nuts and dried fruit (such as prunes and raisins) in a food processor, forming the ‘dough’ into plum-shaped balls, and rolling them in sugar. Yes, I imagine they are good too.

Taste of Home has a recipe and a photo if you’d like to see.

Did you know that prunes are a type of plum (but not all plums are prunes)? It’s true.

A Christmas Apology

I love getting Christmas cards from friends and family, and even the libraries I visit throughout the year. If you sent me a card, please know I truly appreciate it. I display them throughout the holiday, and in January I upcycle them into Christmas tags for the following year.

Christmas cards

Last year’s display.

BUT oh my, I am terribly inconsistent about mailing out Christmas cards, and this year I didn’t mail a single one. I promise this isn’t a bah-humbug thing, I just never got around to it.

Receiving without giving goes against my nature.

Maybe you could consider this Sunday Letter my Christmas card and keep me on your good list for next year?

Santa Claus Humor

Speaking of Santa, this glass made me laugh out loud. If anyone needs a last minute gift, I saw it at ‘Stache in Fayetteville. (And ‘Stache has an online shop.)

Things Momma Says:

You know, it can be too cold to snow.

❄

We may be testing out Momma’s snow theory this week because frigid weather is headed our way. Bundle up, everyone!

For those traveling, I wish you safety.

Merry Christmas to my Sunday Letter friends!

Merry Christmas

Grace Grits and Gardening
Farm. Food. Garden. Life.

 

Filed Under: Sunday Letter Tagged With: Christmas crafts, Christmas decorating, Santa Claus

Wanna receive my monthly Newsletter? Sign up here!

Comments

  1. Kelly says

    December 18, 2022 at 7:34 am

    I love the grapevine wreath. The house looks very festive. Merry Christmas 🎄 to you, John and your family.

    Reply
    • Talya Tate Boerner says

      December 18, 2022 at 8:29 am

      Thank you! You too, Kelly!

      Reply
  2. Debbie says

    December 18, 2022 at 7:38 am

    Thanks for sharing the sugared cranberries. Hope you enjoy them🎄❤️🎄

    Reply
    • Talya Tate Boerner says

      December 18, 2022 at 8:29 am

      Thank you! Merry Christmas.

      Reply
  3. Sheila K Kratz says

    December 18, 2022 at 8:22 am

    Your home is beautiful, Talya. Merry, merry to you and your family.

    Reply
    • Talya Tate Boerner says

      December 18, 2022 at 8:29 am

      Merry Christmas to you and your family too. We sure miss you. Come see us!

      Reply
  4. Dorothy Johnson says

    December 18, 2022 at 11:31 am

    Merry Christmas!
    Loved your letter and festive pictures. I can so identify with loving to receive cards but not getting them sent out, which was the case last year. I still have hopes of getting a few out this year. But if you don’t receive one, you’ll know once again last minute shopping and errands got in the way.
    So here’s wishing you, John, and the rest of your crowd a Very Merry Christmas and the Happiest of New Years!

    Reply
  5. Colene says

    December 18, 2022 at 12:41 pm

    Lovely Sunday letter! Merry Christmas to you and yours!

    Reply
  6. Carol Owen says

    December 18, 2022 at 12:43 pm

    Merry Christmas to you and your family, Talya . Love the grapevine wreath!

    Reply
  7. Nancy Barber says

    December 19, 2022 at 5:04 pm

    I just discovered your books, and I love reading them. My husband grew up in Mississippi County (Keiser), and we lived in Memphis over 40 years. It was really fun to read about familiar places and people. Bernice seemed to have my brain in her head. How did you know exactly how an 81 year old thinks? I am 82, and its been a long time since I have enjoyed a book as much.

    Reply
    • Talya Tate Boerner says

      December 19, 2022 at 5:18 pm

      Hi, Nancy. I’m so glad you have discovered my books and blog! Oh, Keiser. Definitely home sweet home for me. Thank you for your kind words about Bernice. I’m 60 now, so 81 is not that far away. Hanging out with my 85 year-old mother (and not that long ago my 90 year-old father-in-law) trained me to be inside Bernice’s head.
      Merry Christmas to you!

      Reply

COMMENT: Cancel reply

Talya Tate Boerner


Hi! I'm Talya. Writer, Reader, Arkansas Master Naturalist / Master Gardener, Author of

THE ACCIDENTAL SALVATION OF GRACIE LEE (2016)

GENE, EVERYWHERE: a life-changing visit from my father-in-law (2020)

BERNICE RUNS AWAY (Now Available!)

Click to BUY NOW!

Talya Tate Boerner books
Gene, Everywhere

Never miss a blog post! Subscribe via email:

Receive my Monthly Newsletter?

Most Popular Posts…

  • Sunday Letter: 01.29.23
  • Nana's Strawberry Cake (the real one)
  • Yum Yum Cake - old southern recipe!
  • SHOP!
  • Farm Art Friday: Cotton Trailers

Most Recent

  • Sunday Letter: 01.29.23
  • Sunday Letter: 01.15.23
  • Sunday Letter: 01.08.23
  • Sunday Letter: 12.18.22
  • Sunday Letter: 12.11.22

Grace Grits index

Prior Posts

Search Categories

Tags

A to Z April Blog Challenge Autumn BAT Book Reviews childhood Christmas creative writing prompt Dallas Desserts Eureka Springs Fall Fayetteville Food Gracie Lee Halloween Hemingway-Pfeiffer home humor Johnson Family Keiser Lake Norfork Lucy and Annabelle Mississippi County Mississippi Delta moving Munger Place Nana nature Northeast Arkansas Northwest Arkansas Osceola poem Reading Schnauzer simple living simple things spring spring gardening Summer sunday letter Talya Tate Boerner novel The Accidental Salvation of Gracie Lee Thomas Tate Winter Wordless Wednesday
Follow on Bloglovin

Food. Farm. Garden. Life.

THANKS FOR READING!

All content and photos Copyright Grace, Grits and Gardening © 2023 · Web Hosting By StrataByte