Day 5 of the 12 Days of Christmas Blog Hop!

Welcome back everyone to the 

12 Days of Christmas Blog Hop!

Each day so far has been filled with tidbits, recipes, and a freebie... along with so much Friendship and Holiday cheer! I hope you have been enjoying it as much as I have!  Every post is a surprise to me as well!

I'm writing this post, while my nearly 3 year old grandson, Peter,  plays under my computer desk, so if I make some typos, please excuse me.  It's his bedtime soon and we are watching him for the weekend, which is always so much fun, but a little exhausting for Gramma and Papa.

Yesterday we visited with Debbie of Woolen Sails, and she gave us such a wonderful pattern for a JOY garland!  I just love it and plan to make one for myself next week.  Debbie is so talented, and it looks like baking is another one of her talents, because those Butterscotch Brownies sound scumptious!  If you missed Debbie's post, just scroll down to my post from yesterday to find links to her blog and shop!

Today we head to Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, where we meet up with Heather, also fondly know to many as The Country Schoolmarm, which is also the name of her blog.  Heather loves the open fields and big skies of her area, and while she enjoys the slower, friendlier lifestyle of Amish Country, she doesn't enjoy having to pass horse and buggies all the time.  

Heather is a teacher, so she especially looks forward to Christmas break, when she has over a week off, which, in her words is "awesome". ( I can well understand, as our oldest son and daughter-in-law are both teachers and are so looking forward to their break as well.)  Before break, however, she treats her lucky students to a crockpot of hot chocolate with candy canes and whipped cream, while they watch A Charlie Brown Christmas.  What a wonderful teacher she must be.

For the holiday, Heather's family, parents and uncle come over for chili and Wii bowling.  From what Heather says, it's a 'real smack down - it gets real" - boy, that sounds like a lot of fun!  Later on, they travel to her husband's parents' home and well...they feast, feast, and feast!

It seems that Heather and I have a lot in common, as she tells me her favorite Christmas treats are those lovely pressed Spritz cookies, which are like Italian wedding cookies without the nuts.  I find Spritz absolutely irresistible, and have purposely NOT made them the last couple of years so I won't be tempted to eat them - lol.   Heather has fond childhood memories of her Grandmom's Sandtart cookies, which she is going to try to make this year.  I have never heard of Sandtart cookies before, so I'm very curious as to what they are like.

Heather is also a very talented crafter, dabbling in just about everything.  She has taken to making and perfecting her extreme primitive dolls, which are just so cute and whimsical!  She sells them online and in a shop nearby.  You can find her work by visiting her blog or  Facebook page.

Guess I have rambled on enough for today, and I hear the school bell ringing!  It's time for teacher, Heather, to instruct us in her special blog hop post, so let's hurry on over...don't be late...The Country Schoolmarm awaits your visit!

I will see you tomorrow to introduce you to another wonderful blogger for Day 6 of the Blog Hop!