Good afternoon everyone,

It is time again for a newsletter from home. I wonder how far across the country this cold weather has gone. I heard from someone in WV today that had below zero this morning. My thermometer showed 6 above zero. We had a strong wind over the weekend which made it feel so very cold. A transformation took place during the night. The trees, fences, bushes, etc were covered with hoarfrost.

Upon looking out the window when I saw the eastern sky lit up with a faint, rosy, pink sunrise I was amazed to see the frosty beauty everywhere. It was awesomely beautiful!

Saturday was butchering day for our family. We cut up 2 beef. The meat was divided to 7 households. It was a tiring but rewarding day.

The church sewing ladies had another enjoyable day of working on making comforters. We knotted 3 large comforters and sewed together 4+ tops.

The youth enjoyed their Christmas supper on Friday evening, at the home of one of the parents. On Sunday they had their Christmas program which is an evening of fellowship with the larger group of youth. Their evening to go caroling is still coming up.

Shopping is done and plans for family gatherings are being made, menus planned, etc.

Schools have Christmas programs as well. I attended where my niece is a teacher and it was very interesting. It is great to see how children can memorize, recite and sing.

There is not much to record about events in Mt. Hope.

Here is a recipe taken out of “Cooking with the Horse and Buggy People”. For those that use cake mixes for their cakes, it makes a bigger cake that tastes more like one made from scratch.

Better Cake Mixes

Stir flour, baking powder and sugar into dry cake mix. Prepare as directed on package, also adding remaining ingredients (water, egg, oil).

I hope you all will have a joyous Christmas and a healthy new year!

– Sovilla