Before abandoning the holiday theme altogether...

...I had to share this photo of a friend's baby checking out Santa Claus. It made me smile and I wish the same for you!

Happy New Year!

Want an easy snack recipe?

Spicy Seasoned Pretzels

Ingredients

16 oz (1 lb) bag tiny twist pretzels
1 cup vegetable or canola oil *** See note below!
2 teaspoons garlic salt (or 1 teaspoon garlic powder and 1 teaspoon salt)
2 teaspoons lemon pepper
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper ***

Instructions

Pour oil and spices into a gallon Ziploc bag. Seal and shake to evenly distribute oil with spices.
Add in pretzels, seal up Ziploc bag, and gently shake to combine.
There are two different ways you can finish the pretzels:

Option 1: you can leave them in the Ziploc bag and allow pretzels to soak up the seasoned oil for at least 6 hours, or ideally for 24 hours. Turn bag to shake up pretzels every few hours.
Option 2: Bake the oil soaked pretzels in a 200 degree oven for about 1 hour, stirring several times to ensure even baking.

Allow to cool before eating. Pretzels will keep in an airtight container for 3 weeks.

*** I reduced the amount of oil to 1/2 cup and used the cook-in-the-oven method. I found this works just fine, but if you wish to jack up your cholesterol... be my guest! I also upped the amount of cayenne pepper after the first time I made this to prevent me from gorging TOO much - these things are tasty and addictive!

Wishing you "peace on earth, good will toward men" at Christmas and throughout the year to come!

A continuation from last week's post...

On display at Durham Art Council

I love the seasons of the year!

Correction: I love three seasons of the year.

I'm not crazy about winter.

So I'm rewinding a bit to share a few fall photos! THAT is my favorite season of the year!

Some things I'm thankful for!

Here in the U.S., we celebrate Thanksgiving on Thursday. It's a good time to remember all the blessings we've experienced in our lives. So here are just a few that I thank God for.