Christmas is just around the corner and once again I'm no where near ready! I always have great plans of starting early and avoiding the rush but something always happens to slow that down for me.

We're into month three of our Book Club. This month we've even picked a holiday theme book to read. Check in with our new club, it's easy. You can simply read the book, or join in the discussion, or even pick a book for one month. Be as involved as you want to. Details on our book club and the books we are reading can be found here.

We're wrapping presents and packing the box for our Christmas Family as I type this. Thank you to all who offered to help, I hope we've succeeded in making our third family in as many years have a better Christmas than they expected.

There are still MANY families who have not been adopted at the Angel's Program. Do take a minute to check them all out. It doesn't take a lot of money to make someone have a Christmas they can remember (the first year we adopted a family I was broke and unemployed...but we still did it!)

Soon, between Christmas and Thanksgiving, we'll have more Turkey left overs than we know what to do with...oh wait a minute, WE know what to do with them! Check out our recipe section this month for great ideas!

Our online polls continue with still no scientific backing at all! Be certain to read this months results on our poll about Christmas Trees. Look also for the new poll in this months "Ramblings" on Seasons.

As usual, I'd like to take this moment to welcome all of our new subscribers and bid a 'welcome back' to our returning ones.

• December's Leftover Turkey Recipes
  • Turkey Shepherd's Pie
  • Turkey Pot Pie
    
• Decorating with Murals
  
• Ramblings
  • Easy ways to enjoy the holidays
  • Thank you for your support

Turkey Shepherd's Pie

• Break up all the left over turkey and place it in the bottom of a cassarole pan (any size, determine this by the amount of left overs)
• Cover with gravy and mix.
• Pat down in pan
• Cover with layers of left over veggies and/or stuffing
• Cover the entire top with left over mashed potatoes. If your potatoes are not mashed, take a second to mash them down before placing them on top
• When the top is fully covered with potatoes, place uncovered in a 350 degree oven for half an hour until fully heated through.
• Enjoy!
• This recipe freezes well. A good way to get left-overs out of the fridge without going to waste.

• To Make the Turkey Mixture:
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
• In a medium saucepan, combine 2 cups of the broth, the Onions and the Vegetables. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat.
• Cover and simmer about 5 minutes.
• In a custard cup, stir the remaining 1/4 cup of the broth and the cornstarch until smooth.
• Slowly stir this into the broth-veggie mxiture. Then stir in the milk. Cook and stir over medium heat until the mixture comes to a boil.
• Reuce the heat. Cook and stir for 1 minute more. Then stir in the turkey, parsely and sage.
• Transfer the mixture to a shallow 2-quart casserole.
• To Make the Pastry Crust:
• Lay one sheet of the phyllo dough on top of the turkey mixture.
• Spray the dough with no stick spray.
• Repeat layering and spraying the phyllo dough two more times.
• Fold or crumple the edges of the dough and tuck them inside the casserole dish.
• Bake for 35-40 minutes or until golden brown.
  
• The phyllo dough crust will get soft once you refrigerate it, it will get flaky again if you reheat it in the oven.

Childhood is a magical time of life, a time when the boundaries between fantasy and reality are pleasantly blurred, when you aren't sure if the very wall you lean against might not give way to a fairy-land instead of just holding up the washer and dryer on the other side.

All too often, this period of woozy fantasy is cut short. One way to enhance and extend it is by bringing fantasy into your child's bedroom.

How better than with murals that encourage your child to take a trip into another world every time he shuts the door?

In the hands of a competent muralist, nothing is impossible. Your kid wants dolphins leaping over the waves? Or a trip downriver with Winnie-the-Pooh and Christopher Robin? No problem.

Such fanciful murals clearly speak to the first of the Sheffield Guidelines to Interior Design–function. The function of a child's bedroom should be not only to provide a place for the little one to sleep off the day's activities, but also should provide an escape from the mounting demands of life: tidying up toys, setting the table for supper, and drawing all those cute pictures you put on the fridge.

Allow your child to slip into another world, and you're fulfilling the function of the room. You're also paying attention to the second Guideline, mood, by providing a mood that is childlike and carefree.

Finally, think about the third Sheffield Guideline, harmony: you want to make sure that whatever is painted on the wall, the furniture and other objects in the room harmonize with it.

So how to choose a subject for a mural? Ask your child, and then work with her to hone the subject. She might want life-size Mighty Fighting Half-Human Dogs, and you can gently push this into an outdoor scene with real dogs, recognizable even by you. Make sure that whatever you choose, it's general enough to last for a few years; make sure it isn't only reflective of your child's interest of the moment.

And if you don't have the money to invest in a professional muralist, you can still add your own small touches. Paint the walls blue, and then paint grass growing above the baseboard, and use stencils and white paint for clouds.

Soon, your child will be happily dreaming in fantasy land.

–Sarah Van Arsdale

Reprinted with permission from the Sheffield School of Design Web site at http://www.sheffield.edu

Christmas is a time of joy for everyone who celebrates it -- but it can be a time of great stress too. Decorations, presents, wrapping, food, more presents, more decorations, even more food...it can be a never ending drain on an already tapped out bank account.

How do you make Christmas special without spending a mint? Make it yours, not commercial, but all yours.

Regardless of the age of your children you can make decorations for both the house and the tree. My own Mother's most prized ornaments are the silly bread dough ones that my sister made over 20 years ago. She made a figurine of each member of the family as she saw them (I had on a baseball cap and a bag of chips in my hand, my brother had a guitar) and put paper clips in the back before she set them to dry. Once dried, she painted them and 20 years later we still laugh when we see them each year.

An easy recipe for the dough is as follows:

Last year my 28 year old Step-Daughter surprised us all by giving us framed pencil drawings that she had done herself. These treasured gifts were some of the best I've ever received. Create a special photo album of memories for someone in your life. Birth to now, or a special event create a book of memories that will be cherished forever.

Every year my children receive a dated Hallmark ornament but I still think my favourites are the paper angels or pine cone snowmen that they made.

Christmas Eve we take advantage of the local outdoor Carol Sing in our community. Some years we've just about frozen to death, but it's still a tradition that we love to repeat every year -- and it's free! Nothing gets us in a better Christmas Eve spirit than this wonderful event.

Finish off your Christmas Eve as a fun family event. Sit down with a game of Yahtzee, Monopoly or whatever your favourite board/card game is. The fun and the laughter of this kind of warmth will be fondly remembered by your children for years to come.

The New York Institute of Photography sent a wonderful article on photographing Christmas Lights but it was far too long to post in this newsletter. If you're interested in seeing it, click here.

I'd like to end this issue with a thank you to everyone for their support during the unexpected passing of my ex husband on November 6th due to a car accident. Regardless of what went on between he and I in the past, this is my children's father and someone I loved very deeply during my life. His loss was profound to our family and I'm still trying to figure out how to get the children though it. The support and love of everyone -- friends and strangers alike -- who came forward with support was amazing. I have printed out each and every message and put it in the children's memory box so they'll know how many people cared.

Our December Poll is somewhat related to this. Even though I'd been separated for over 7 years my ex and I never divorced (or even legally separated). It was an odd situation to be in and could have been a legal nightmare as I was still his legal next of kin. It got me wondering how many other people don't see the rush to get divorced and stay physically separated for many years. My word of advice, unless religion prohibits it, or unless you're hoping to get back together a divorce is important. Funeral costs, outstanding debts, and medical decisions will all be legally yours if you are still married. Make it something to think about because you never know where life will lead you.

For those who took part, last months poll ended up as follows:

Well folks, that's it for another month. As usual, if you have any suggestions or contributions let me know! We're always up to suggestions and recipes sent in also have the chance to be included on the website.

Jill Lassaline, editor
Single Parents World