How can something be an “almost log cabin”? Easy, when you have a big enough supply of 3” by 6” lumber. Of course we could have used it for studding, but Dad would hear none of that. Let me tell you about it. A little background first.

I like cabbage just about any way you fix it. Stuffed cabbage is my favorite, with cole slaw a close second. That said, there was often more cabbage in the garden than I could use. Those heads were wrapped in newspaper and hid away until December or so. That is when Scalloped Cabbage entered the picture.

This is a Christmas card my father received near the beginning of the last century. It was addressed to Master Owen Stimer. That was the way a young boy was addressed back then. It was a more formal time. Postal cards were sent rather than the folded cards we receive now. I have an album full of such cards. This card cost 1 cent for domestic delivery and 2 cents for foreign delivery.

Are you having ham for Christmas dinner? In our house, that feast is too close to Thanksgiving Day to have turkey again. We only like so much. A couple days of second-day turkey dishes and we are over it.

Anyway, turkey is a lot of work to prepare. There are a lot of ham recipes that don't take much time. With so many things to do on Christmas Day, roasting a turkey is not on my agenda. Opening presents is number one on my mind for Christmas morning.

Not really. This is the time of the year when we attend Christmas parties at church, at work and among family and friends. It's party time! After New Years Eve we are all partied out. That's when the bills start rolling in. So while we can, let's look at some recipes to enjoy. I like cheese balls and such. They can be made ahead of time, stored in the fridge and brought out a half hour or so before the first guests arrive.

Can you parallel park? I did once, only once. I quit while I was ahead. It is hard to do. I need a forty acre field on a good day. How I ever got through life without bumping fenders trying to park, I'll never know. Yes, I do. I always looked for a diagonal parking space or a parking garage where the attendant parked my car.

My favorite kind of chocolate to work with is cocoa. However, that doesn't work for making dipping chocolate. At least I don't know how to do that. I have several candy recipes I make every Christmas, but Anne's favorite is my Chocolate Bon Bons.

I came across this candy recipe a few years ago. It certainly didn't look like a candy recipe. What candy lists flour among its ingredients? This is the only one I know of.

There are handsome gingerbread men. This is not that recipe. This is an, oh, so soft, ginger flavored work of art. The aroma lingers in the air long after you bake a batch. Your kids coming in the door from school will head straight for the cookie jar. This is a cookie to make when a cold west wind is swirling snow around the yard and you hope the kids get the mail from the mailbox when they get off the bus so you won't have to go out in it. It is that kind of cookie.

Not everyone likes liver. It is safe to say that most people dislike liver. I love liver. My daughter Anne hates it. We live together, so I can only fix it if she is not going to be home that day. That out of the way, let me tell you why I like liver. Well, I don't know why, I just do.

I remember growing up on the farm. It was a boring time for me. That is until I discovered my escape in reading. I read most anything that had words I could understand, and I especially liked to read funny stories. When I heard the song, “The Twelve Days of Christmas”, the gears of my bored mind began spinning. What fun I could have with that scenario: