Well, it's snowing out this morning.  Everything has a blanket of the white stuff.  It's 32 degrees right now going to a high of 36 today, 37 tomorrow and 40 on Christmas.  So it's anyone's guess as to if we will have a white Christmas or not!  I'm not counting on it though.

I did manage to make the cranberry pudding yesterday but instead of a large batch, I cut the recipe in half and made a small pudding.  I used a small bowl so it even looks like what you would see in films.  Check out this picture...

But then I had cranberries left over and didn't want to just throw them out.  I remembered a long time ago that I made a cranberry, nut, cheddar cheese tea bread so I googled it and found a recipe.  The only thing I did differently is divide the dough into two pans rather than one.  I have always had trouble getting the inside done on the large size, thus, I divide it in two and have two loafs.  Check this picture out...

I had a piece this morning and it tasted great.  Sweet, tart and cheesy.  A perfect complement to my morning coffee!

Three days including today til Christmas...how are you doing?  I hope plans are proceeding nicely.  Be sure to take time to rest...

And speaking of taking time, one of the things I like to do at this time of year is watch my favorite movies and animated cartoons (yes, cartoons even at my age!).  Remember the Rankin/Bass features.  I loved them all but my favorite are:

    Frosty the Snowman with Jimmy Durante

    Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer with Burl Ives

    Santa Claus is Coming To Town with Fred Astaire

Other animated features that I love to watch include:

    A Charlie Brown Christmas

    The Polar Express

    A Christmas Carol with Jim Carrey

    Klaus

    Dr. Seuss' The Grinch

    The Muppet Christmas

    Emmet Otter's Jug-Band Christmas

And I can't forget the movies, especially the older ones.  These are some of my favorites...

    Miracle on 34th Street (the original one)

    It's a Wonderful Life with Jimmy Stewart

    The Bishop's Wife (the original one)

    White Christmas

    Home Alone 1 & 2

    The Santa Clause with Tim Allen 1, 2 & 3

    The Santa Chronicles 1 & 2

    The Gift of Love with Angela Lansbury

If you haven't seen any of these movies or animated features, check them out.  They will give your spirit a much needed lift if things are frantically busy or are not going well.  But, if that's the case, stop.  Take a deep breath and then think about what really needs to be done and what you can dispense with and still enjoy the season.  

If you celebrate Christmas, remember that the Christmas Season is 12 days long (remember the song...on the first day of Christmas?).  Who says that it all has to be done on Christmas Day.  I have a friend who gives their older children mostly money on Christmas Day rather than major gifts and then after Christmas Day they have a wonderful day out shopping for what they want.  So there's definitely more than one way to celebrate and have an enjoyable time.

Until tomorrow, take care, be safe, rest and enjoy the season...

Talk with you tomorrow...