Merry Christmas from Simply Aroma here at Winkler Farm!!

Merry Christmas my Dears!!!!!

I hope this day fills your heart with love, merryment, and peace as only a day such as Christmas can give. <3

I got a fantastic Christmas surprise in today's mail!

Love the tape! ;)

That's me!! Handwritten on the envelope in top of the box.

The first item out of the box was a letter from co- founder, Andrew Khong. Thank you for the welcome!!

Classy sample display for parties!

The 13 first oils!!! Yay!

Everything is out. The diffuser works beautifully. The oils seem superb.  Isabelle and I diffused Shield, a blend similar to Thieves Oil (On Guard for dT). Sawyer wanted to smell the oils, even. It was quite the family affair!

We loved all the fun colors!!!

So now I can announce! My website is LIVE!!! Feel free to browse the 100% pure certified therapeutic grade oils and diffuser offered on my site. Schedule a party!

If you are local, lets do a make and take party or an open house style. If you aren't local, how about a book party!

Hostesses earn credits for FREE OILS!!!

Check it out here: www.simplyaroma.com/aliciawinkler


Enjoy your family. Stay safe and warm. God bless you! Merry Christmas!!! <3 We will be diffusing Frankincense while opening gifts around the tree in the morning.

A late Thanksgiving meal

Last weekend, I finally pulled my Steckler's Grassfed turkey from the freezer and began preparations for our Thanksgiving meal here at home. Often on holidays we are stretched too far with other family obligations to enjoy much of the blessings for which the holiday calls, i.e. Thanksgiving, Christmas, Independence Day, Easter... lol!

 Here was my menu!
Roasted Grassfed Turkey
Sweet Potato Casserole with Pecans
 Greenbean Casserole (greenbeans we harvested this summer)
Cranberry Sauce
Wheat Rolls with homemade applebutter (apples we picked)
 Pumpkin Pie (pumpkins we picked) with whipped cream (homemade!)

 The only CAN I opened was evaporated milk for the pumpkin pie! :D I have made several turkeys (sometimes we opt for duck for our Thanksgiving meal at home), and never dried one out or overcooked it. Well, this year was no exception! :) In fact it was THE BEST turkey I have EVER eaten!!! I promise I am not being partial or biased. My husband, who isn't much of a turkey fan (see above about duck) couldn't stop from stuffing every few bits in his mouth while carving. lol!

I made completely from scratch casseroles, cranberries, rolls, and whipped cream. I bought a frozen pie crust though. ;/ I put the spread together in about 4 hours! We ate leftovers for lunch 2 days!

 

Today, after simmering the carcass overnight, I made Italian Wedding Soup! Only I replaced the pasta with Cannelini Beans! SOOO Yummy and warm!

It made a HUGE pot! Enough for lunch and dinner!! Along with the soup for dinner, I am making my VERY FIRST batch of SOURDOUGH!!! We love sourdough, so I hope I did it right!!

Rise baby!!!

My starter!

 We are counting our blessings! Even though we lost again this year...  Did you count yours today? God bless!

Winter in the woods

Something about winter, especially snow, seems to slow the world down. People stay inside, watch a movie, bake some cookies, sip some cocoa or tea. Sure, the kids get out and play a bit (sometimes too long and come in with red fingertips and nose tips), but for the most part we shut the cold out and enjoy the warmth. Preferably by a toasty fire, said tea in hand.

Am I right?

There is a bit of holiday preparations and shopping, but no weeds to pull, flowers to plant, swimming at the beach....

Ahhh, but maybe not as true as we think.

When we learn to look outside our normal realm the world opens to reveal its going ons. Even in the cold. Sometimes moreso.

Today, my family and I braved the somewhat-still-icy roads in our Excursion for the return of a family tradition we have not partaken in as much over the years. Since time is a precious and cherished commodity, we never seemed to find enough with my husband working 64 hrs a week. We have found a bit more lately. ;) So we packed some snacks and headed out. For a family drive.

A few people braved the half cleared, patchy highways and main roads. We headed for the backroads. Where farmland stretched as far as one could see sometimes, covered in a blanket of white. Roads often dead ending at the river, a levy, or fields. Though we passed a couple of trucks and the ruts in the road were tell- tale signs that humans had trafficked the slippery trails, we were mostly alone.

Except the wildlife. The world around us was awake and busy! Foraging and seeing what could be found for their survival were deer, rabbits, ducks, songbirds, coyotes, and many other creatures of God's wondrous creation.

Even the bubbling waters seemed alive in the stillness of the snow covered land. What beauty to behold. All in motion while most of us begin our season of cabin fever.

Thank you Lord, for letting me enjoy this precious time with my family today. And for coming home to warm soup and fresh baked bread!! :)

I joined my first Blog Hop!! Hope I did it right! Thanks for letting me "hop" on!

"Sometimes we're simply helpless witnesses to bad. But I've learned we aren't given measures of bad without about 3-fold measure of good."- Mary Jane Butters

Words of excellence wisdom. Thank you Mary Jane. You give me hope.

Here is a shot of the roads yesterday afternoon. It's pretty nasty out there. Be safe everyone and God bless.

oh the weather outside is frightful. a fire would be so delightful! but for now I'll be thankful the heat is holding in our house.

News from Winkler Home

Sorry I haven't posted as much. I had considered shutting down my blog. But my husband reminded me, that with my depression, this is a therapeutic outlet for me. I need to be able to share. It helps soothe my soul.

My husband lost his job. Yes, right before Christmas. Sometimes I feel like we will never win. But God loves us. We have been through a Hell not many can imagine. And there are still more heartless people out there in our way. We must keep going, though. What choice is there?

On to happier things! Lord knows, I could go for hours on ^that^ subject.

Last week, one cool, but comfortable morning, I made from scratch Cinnamon Rolls! YUM! Afterward, Gabriel and I finished up our Thanksgiving stories and made a craft.

And for lunch today I made a Dumpling Soup. I made it with a rabbit, raised right here on Winkler Homestead! :) Lots of yummy REAL food here! I will be holding onto this one, playing with it, and adding it to my cookbook! Which reminds me. My notebook is missing. I keep praying it will show. :(

If you could say a prayer for my Daisy Mae. She has injured her leg somehow. :( I can't figure it out. She seems ok at times, and others we wonder if we will have to put her down. We will be so heartbroken. Here she is laying in the leaf pile last week. Isn't she precious?!

Have a great evening. Stay safe. We are expecting nasty weather tonight. God Bless!!