Saturday, December 28, 2013

Holden's Christmas, Making Suet Cakes for the Birds & Sneak Peek


On Christmas morning I went to Rachael & Chris's to watch Holden open his presents from Santa Claus. Diaper changed and he was off and running.....here he comes from the bedroom and look at him, our very own Elf on the Shelf come to life. He had to show me his toys that he opened on Monday evening (of course I was there then, and what he showed me I had bought him, lol). These jammies were from his Auntie Meghan. She had to work both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, but she was there on Monday evening with all of us.


This business of opening presents is all new to him. It takes him awhile to open one gift and then of course he is so absorbed with it that he doesn't want to open the next one.


His mom had to tear the paper a bit for him to get started.


It was slow going but he eventually got the idea.


Next year it will be a whole new ball game when it comes to Christmas morning.


Then it was back to the business of opening more presents.

 


We did have a simple breakfast, something fast, fried egg and sausage sandwich with cheese, and of course a nice cuppa coffee. It was good, but I left my camera on the dining room table as usual and didn't get a pic of the meal. We had a wonderful Christmas. The only thing that could have made it perfect would have been Roger being there, but his spirit was there with us, and that was a comfort. On Monday evening we opened a box of chocolate covered cherries, Roger's favorite, and we passed the box around and all had one in memory to him. Then I lost the cap cover to my camera lens and the girls said it was just like what their dad use to do. I did find it though, in the side pocket of my purse.

On Friday I made some suet cakes for the birds. Here is how I do it:


Have some sort of plastic mold. One from a suet cake you may have bought at an earlier time works well because they are the exact shape needed to fit in the cage or holder. I have used muffin pans too just don't fill them but half full.

 
Of course you'll need some birdseed and some sort of fat like beef trimmings (from the butcher) or I use bacon grease that I have saved.


Melt the grease on the stove til it is warm, not hot.


Add the bird seed and mix well.


As you can see I buy and mix dried mealy worms to my seed. They are crispy critters and the birds love, love, love them, especially the blue bird and woodpeckers.


You may have to add more melted grease to the seed once it is in the mold. Just be careful not to run it over the edge of the mold. 

 
I put them on a cookie sheet and transfer them into the freezer where they will harden up. Once that happens you can remove the cakes from the mold and put them in a plastic freezer container for later. I like to put wax paper between the layers. They last a long time in the freezer. This is a cheaper way to make your own bird cakes and also use up that bacon grease that you hate to throw away. The birds love them and they use the grease for their feathers and to help keep them warm through the winter months.

Lastly, I finished my mom's blanket last evening......oh what a relief it is! I will post more about it in the next couple of days but here is a sneak peek for now...........


I hope all of you had a safe and wonderful Christmas, and I hope you got to spend some quality time with the ones you love. If you couldn't do that, I hope you took the time to cheer someone up who is alone and has no family. Maybe you worked in a food kitchen for the poor or helped someone in need. It is all good and God knows of your kindness. I am certain that person will always remember you for your kindness ♥

5 comments:

  1. *C*O*N*G*R*A*T*U*L*A*T*I*O*N*S*!* on getting your mother's blanket done!! It's gorgeous and I can't wait to see more photos! Your grandson is an absolute doll, and that elf costume.. priceless! I showed the photo of him to my curly headed grandson and we both agreed they're both cute. :-)

    *:._.:*~*:._.:*~*:._.:*~*:._.:*~*:._.:*
      *H*A*P*P*Y* *N*E*W* *Y*E*A*R*!*
    *:._.:*~*:._.:*~*:._.:*~*:._.:*~*:._.:*

    ((hugs)), Teresa :-)

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  2. Hi Susanne, thank you so much for your lovely comment on my blog and for following back. I really like your blog, your grandson is adorable and you make such beautiful things! I'm glad you had a nice Christmas. It was nice to see Holden enjoying the unwrapping! I've always wanted to try making my own suet feeder but never have, thanks for sharing how you did it. I hope you have a Happy New Year!

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  3. Holden might get the cutest elf ever award, he is darling and growing up so, so fast. You are so right by next year he will be ripping apart his presents and probably every other present there is. I am so glad you were able to remember Rodger with a yummy candy and with warm memories. You are right he is always there with you in spirit, every single day.
    The blanket is spectacular!!!!!! i bet your Mom is going to love it.
    Hugs to you Susanne,
    Meredith

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  4. So sweet Holden. He's the star of the family. Christmas is a busy time for him. The making of bird cakes is new to me. How nice that you have threes have birds coming and feeding. Such pretty views I admire while we are in cement urban. Your blanket for mum is awesome. Pretty flowers.

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  5. Hi Susanne. I'm glad to see that you spent Christmas morning with your family and got to watch Holden open his presents. My great-nephew Asher did the same thing with his presents.

    I think your husband was letting you know that he was there with ya'll when you lost your camera lens cover. My sister Teri always made a chocolate pie for my sister Julie on Christmas day and since I'm the oldest girl in the family now, I decided that I would make one for her. She liked it. As a matter of fact, the whole family liked it - next year I'll have to forget the apple pie and make 2 chocolate pies.

    Thanks to the tutorial on how to make a suet cake for the birds - I'll have to try that one soon. Your Mom's blanket looks pretty hanging there on the railing - can't wait to see more. :)

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