Innholdsfortegnelse for December/January 2022 i Country Woman

Linherited a love of all things holly and jolly from my mom. When I was a kid, we’d spend a long weekend decorating our house for Christmas—decking our halls with boughs of greenery, taping paper snowflakes to our windows and singing off-key to Bing Crosby songs while trimming the biggest tree we could find. So I’m thrilled to be joining the staff of Country Woman just in time to work on the holiday issue. I now have a home of my own, and I can’t wait to hang page 11’s sweet sock wreath from my door. The centerpiece and table settings on page 43 will probably be making an appearance on my dining table at some point this month, too—I never need much of an excuse to throw a dinner…

Q: How do you keep holiday messes to a minimum even when friends or family are visiting? Simplify! Cut back on the number of dishes you serve, the presents you give, the events you attend. Focus on what’s truly important. MIBHDLLD BOINDR ROCHESTER, INDIANA As soon as I start cooking, I fill the sink up with hot, soapy water. When I’m finished with a pot or pan, I drop it into the sink so that I have less to wash after the meal. JABKI EARION VEGREVILLE, ALBERTA Invest in crock servers! You can prepare dishes ahead of time and keep them on low heat until ready. SUZANND SDNTNDR CASSATT, SOUTH CAROLINA When baking cookies, I cover my table with a plastic tablecloth and put small amounts of each type of…

WHAT YOU’LL NEED Foam wreath form Colorful Christmas socks (these can always be found on Amazon or at local department stores around the holidays) Scissors Craft knife Hot glue SLICE the wreath in 1 place so that you can slide the socks onto the form. CUT the toes off of the socks. Slide the socks, 1 by 1, onto the wreath and scrunch them together until the form is full. Bover the opening with a sock, so the cut is hidden. USE dabs of hot glue to secure loose socks to the wreath form as needed. CUT a rectangle of fabric from 1 sock and tie it into a bow, then add it to the top of the wreath.…

I spend a lot of time around food. I enjoy making it, sharing it and planning for events that include it. Some of my favorite food memories involve the International Christian Fellowship, a group that I take part in through the University of Connecticut. The group often hosts international graduate students. I have long been involved (25 years and counting), and because of the group I’ve experienced wonderful things in the potluck world. One Christmas we hosted an open house for all international graduate students at the university. For the event, I made a number of dishes (I often use Taste of Home magazines to find winning recipes), and I encouraged our international friends to bring anything they wanted to share as well. A group of women visiting from China…

Use butter, stick margarine (with at least 80% vegetable oil) or shortening. Whipped, tub, soft, liquid or reduced-fat products contain air and water and will produce flat and tough cookies. Avoid overmixing the batter. If it’s handled too much, gluten in the flour will develop and cookies will be tough. For even baking, make cookies the same size and thickness. Unless the recipe states otherwise, place cookie dough 2-3 in. apart on a cool baking sheet. Leave at least 2 in. between the baking sheet and the oven walls for good heat circulation. For best results, bake only 1 sheet of cookies at a time. If you need to bake 2 sheets simultaneously, switch the position of baking sheets halfway through. Let baking sheets cool before placing the next batch…

It all started with a 2013 Super Bowl commercial depicting agriculture in America. “I didn’t see enough women,” says Marji Guyler-Alaniz, president and founder of a nonprofit called FarmHer. “And I realized it wasn’t just in that commercial—it was everywhere. You didn’t see what women really do on farms.” So Marji photographed a handful of woman farmers in hopes that she could share their stories on social media. “The ball absolutely rolled from there,” she recalls. “I realized that I had to open my arms wide and welcome whatever this could be if it meant helping people understand the importance of women in agriculture.” Today her business consists of several entities—a blog, a podcast, a YouTube channel and a television show on RFD-TV. To date, Marji has interviewed more than…

Night Light Nothing brightens our spirits quite as much as a beautiful display of twinkling lights, whether it is inside or outdoors. If you’re particularly proud of the way you decorated your home with strands of lights for the holidays this year, please share a few photos or tell us more about the project. Your submission might appear in our next December/January issue. Raise the Roof Have you ever designed and built a dollhouse from scratch, or found a clever way to customize a store-bought dollhouse with one-of-a-kind touches? If so, we’d love to see what you did! Small but Mighty The adage that “good things come in small packages” certainly applies to gardens. Share your best small-space gardening tips with us—your response could be featured in an upcoming issue.…

Tell us about yourself. I have been married to my amazing husband, Cavid, for more than two decades. We have four children and we live in the most beautiful place I can imagine. Palmer is a small agricultural community that is situated in a beautiful valley and surrounded by mountains. What are your hobbies? I love to read, knit, journal and play lots of board games with my family. I love gardening, too, but am not particularly good at it. The weeds always win. Who inspires you the most? I have some amazing friends—women who have been through so much and encourage me to keep my head up and lean on my faith when times are tough. What makes you a country woman? The mountains, the wildlife and the midnight…

I love Christmas cactuses! I like to decorate with pink and green for the holidays, so their gorgeous hot pink buds and waxy green leaves fit right in at my home. My momma bought me two small plants, and I couldn’t figure out what to put them in. I looked at a few stores but eventually realized that I already had what I needed: Fiestaware teapots that were missing their lids. My husband drilled a few holes into the teapot bottoms, and they were good to go. I love that they look great in my home all year!…

White Elephant Essentials WHAT YOU’LL NEED Card stock in blue, silver and white Small white favor box Tape roller Marker (or craft knife with cutting mat) Printer Cricut (or pencil and scissors) Ribbon INVITATION: Design and type up an invitation on your computer and print it on white card stock. Place pieces of blue and silver card stock under the invite. Then use a tape roller to join the layers. CUT out elephants from silver card stock using a Cricut. Or print out an elephant, trace it onto silver card stock and cut it out with a pair of scissors. Place an elephant at the top of each invite. ADD numbers to some of the elephant tags with a permanent marker. Or use a craft knife and mat to cut…

Winning Cranberry Glazed Ham Prep: 15 min. + marinating Bake: 21/2 hours Makes: 16 servings A friend shared the recipe for this tender ham dish with me. I have served it at graduations, weddings, reunions, baptisms and lots of holiday gatherings. It always turns out to be a big crowd pleaser. —Sue Seymour, Valatie, NY 2 cans (16 oz. each) whole-berry cranberry sauce 1 cup orange juice 1/3 cup steak sauce 2 Tbsp. canola oil 2 Tbsp. prepared mustard 2 Tbsp. brown sugar 1 fully cooked bone-in ham (7 to 9 lbs.) 1. In a large bowl, combine the cranberry sauce, orange juice, steak sauce, oil, mustard and brown sugar. Score the surface of the ham with shallow diagonal cuts, making diamond shapes. 2. Place the ham in a resealable…

Winning Cranberry Cheesecake Prep: 30 min. + cooling Bake: 1 hour + chilling Makes: 12 servings The holidays wouldn’t be complete without cranberries and eggnog. I use both in this cheesecake, which works well for a celebratory dinner. Set it on the table at the start of the meal to remind your guests to save room for dessert! —Nancy Zimmerman, Cape May Court House, NJ 1 cup sugar 2 Tbsp. cornstarch 1 cup cranberry juice 11/2 cups fresh or frozen cranberries CRUST 1 cup graham cracker crumbs (about 16 squares) 3 Tbsp. sugar 3 Tbsp. butter, melted FILLING 4 pkg. (8 oz. each) cream cheese, softened 1 cup sugar 3 Tbsp. all-purpose flour 4 large eggs, room temperature, lightly beaten 1 cup eggnog 1 Tbsp. vanilla extract 1. In a…

1. Pet Project On our family farm, chore time often turns into play time, especially for these two mischievous boys. Owen, 8, loves visiting his goat, Teeter. DBHOD CAVIS FAIRBURY, NEBRASKA 2. Airds of a Eeather My daughter Lilly is only 4 years old, but she’s already set up a business selling eggs from our farm. She calls it Lilly’s Layin Ladies, and with some help from the rest of the family, she does everything it takes to keep her business running. SHAYLYN JOHNSON LAKETOWN, UTAH 3. Sweet Creams Playing outside can be exhausting! Lucy fell asleep on her sled ride! KRISTI ANCDRSON HARTFORD, SOUTH DAKOTA Visit countrywomanmagazine.com/submit to share a snapshot. If we publish it, you’ll get a free year of Country Woman.…

When my then-4-year-old granddaughter CBampbell requested a cookie, I said, “What kind?” She looked around my chicken- themed kitchen and said, “You know, a cock-a-doodle cookie.” Snickerdoodles have had a new name in our family ever since. BETH HALSEY OSCEOLA, MISSOURI Our grandson was always interested in watching Papa cook and one day saw him tenderizing some meat for the grill. At dinner we complimented the cook on the meat, and our grandson announced, “That’s because Papa terrorized the meat!” PAT BARNHILL LINCOLN, CALIFORNIA As I was getting ready for a friend’s wedding, my granddaughter walked into the room. She saw me wiggling into my pantyhose and said, “Grandma, you’re never gonna get your butt in there!” LINCA L. PETERSON GLENVILLE, MINNESOTA After playing awhile at the park, our then-4-year-old…

Sweet and Sour I wanted to try my luck at canning some sweet pickles after reading Janis Parr’s June/July story, “Help from the Hoosier.” Her recipe was very thorough and easy to follow, and after giving it a try I am happy to report that I ended up with five jars of the best sweet pickles ever! ANND MARY BHARLDS FREDERICKSBURG, VIRGINIA Sew Happy Loved the August/September quilt issue. I don’t have a lot of experience, but I really enjoy spending time in my sewing room. My favorite projects are quilts with panels or appliques! CARLYN TIMM HERRON, MICHIGAN Stitch in Time The August/September quilt issue was so special. I just had to share my Travois ladder (built by my son Brian), on which I showcase a few of my…

Winter is quiet in Missouri’s southwestern Ozark foothills, but the town of Noel starts bustling during the Christmas season. In the generous spirit of the holidays, volunteers at the Noel Post Office have handstamped the same greeting on Yuletide cards for nearly 88 years. It’s a rubber-stamped bright red wreath or green Christmas tree that says, “Season’s Greetings from Noel, Missouri, Christmas City, USA.” Each year, in addition to the cards people bring in, as many as 40,000 cards arrive from all 50 states and several foreign countries to request the special holiday greeting. The post office staff can’t handle this monumental task alone, so about 30 volunteers handstamp the cards at a small table in the lobby. Dot Harner has coordinated the volunteers for about 10 years. “Beginning in…

Nothing is more festive than a locally grown, freshly cut Christmas tree filling your home with smells of forest and holiday. But by the end of December or early January, it’s more eyesore than centerpiece, littering your carpet with dead needles. This year, instead of kicking the tree to the curb as everyone else does, repurpose it in your yard—and watch as birds, insects and perennials reap the winter benefits. Insulate Perennials Cut or saw off branches from the tree and layer them flat over your perennial beds as winter mulch. Even if snow already blankets the ground, the branches add an extra layer of protection from fluctuating winter temperatures, says Vijai Pandian, a horticulture specialist with the Milwaukee County (Wisconsin) extension. Use only local trees, as the greens from…

AT A TIME WHEN HORSES WERE RIDDEN AS CARS NOW ARE DRIVEN, saddles were made with natural components instead of plastics and synthetics. Solid workmanship was the norm. I started collecting saddles by accident with the gift of a no-name association-style saddle from my former ranch boss. I’ve been very fortunate to have so many friends assist in my collecting. My former hay guy even donated his 70-year-old childhood saddle, a 1890s buckstitched piece. I’ve also found awesome saddles at tack and garage sales. A Bona Allen, a Reisacher, a George Lawrence and two Rock Island Arsenal saddles have been added to my ever-growing collection. Oh, to think of all the miles those cowboys rode, the views they must have seen and the roundups they were part of! These pieces…

Crisp Candy Cane Cookies Prep: 25 min. + chilling • Bake: 10 min./batch Makes: 3 dozen Every Christmas, my whole family gets together to make all kinds of desserts. These cookies are fun for the kids to shape and they’re delicious, too! I like to add red food coloring to my dough for a festive look. —Amy Johnson, Leesburg, VA 1/2 cup butter, softened 1/3 cup sugar 1/3 cup packed brown sugar 1 large egg, room temperature 1 tsp. vanilla extract 11/4 cups all-purpose flour 1 tsp. baking powder 1/4 tsp. salt 5 candy canes, crushed 1/2 cup white chocolate chips, melted 1. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugars until light and fluffy, 5-7 minutes. Beat in egg and vanilla. Combine flour, baking powder and salt; gradually add…

It’s a cold December night. The land around me is blanketed with frost and the stars above shine brighter than a thousand diamonds. The frozen earth crunches under my boots as I walk across the field to take care of the animals. The icy blades of grass glisten in the silver light of the moon like jewels in a sea. I shiver against the chill in the air and watch as wisps of my breath float away into the darkness. The air is still and silent, and it feels as if the whole world is at peace. There are no distractions. It’s nothing but me and God’s creation. In this night is an all-encompassing holiness. This is winter’s miracle. Just as a flowing creek freezes over, winter has a way…

Last December, my friend Susan bought six poinsettia plants, one for each of the neighbors in the cul-de-sac where she and her family live. After arriving home from the store, Susan left the flowers on her front porch, then went inside to freshen up before making her deliveries. But when Susan came back outside, the poinsettias were gone. She checked around the front of the house and finally asked her teenage son if he had seen the plants that she had put on the porch. “Sure, Mom,” her son answered with a big smile. “There they are!” Susan looked in the direction her son was pointing and saw all the poinsettias that she had bought, now freshly planted in a neat line near the garage. “I wanted to surprise you!”…

To make any of these fun seasonal shapes, first stack spare buttons in the desired order. » Holding them in place, use a needle to string coordinating colored embroidery floss through, from top to bottom. Be sure to leave a long tail of floss at the top of the stack. » Repeat the same process, this time using a button hole positioned opposite the first. » Trim the working end of the floss and leave a few inches to knot the tails together to form a loop. » Add some festive embellishments, such as ribbons or stars, as desired. Here’s to getting the tree all buttoned up!…