This is a summary of some of the delightful Blog articles I have been reading during the week. I invite you to graze through these, and also through the archives of the creative writers who wrote them.

Food canning equipment, tool carts, compost bins, growing kits, cider and fruit presses, the Squeezo Strainer, food dehydrators, juicers, smokers, cold frames, greenhouses and so many more innovations contribute to making our lives organized and healthier and to turning our homes and properties into an oasis where the living is good.

All of these things exist because we are creative and because we have a unique ability to adapt to our environment. In truth, foodies, homesteaders and gardeners who write about their experiences are telling the ongoing story of our inventive spirit. On their pages, every tool and appliance is like a paint brush; ready to express a new vision.

You can access the entire Weekend Highlights series to date by clicking on that category in the sidebar at left.

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A note to fellow bloggers: I always place a link back to your blog on every image I use (even if the image is one I added). When I completed and reviewed this article, the image links would not hold. I will keep an eye on this and make sure links are included as soon as they stop disappearing. I am certain the WP tech team is looking into this. Now, to our Weekend Highlights… the show must go on!

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Ten days to Christmas! Can you imagine? Stop everything. No matter how frantic it feels, just stop. Granny speaking! Pay attention! Now, think back to last year. The last-minute preparations, the ingredient that was missing and seemed like it would jeopardize the entire meal, the baking, the cooking, the butcher, the baker, the candlestick maker… oops! wrong story.

Really, think back to last year’s Holiday season and I dare you to tell me it did not turn out just fine. Remember one thing: only you have on your mind the image of how that dish will turn out or how things will come together. No one has the same expectations and this is precisely why everything always falls into place just as it should. Sometimes, all it take is a little nudge…

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We begin this Weekend’s Highlights with just that. Introducing Bits and Breadcrumbs, an Atlanta, Georgia based Blog I discovered thanks to The Kitchen’s Garden. Make sure you add this to your reading list too.

Conveniently, the article I first came upon offers “a round-up of food and drink… you might enjoy this holiday season—the sweet, the savory and the in-between.” It is titled, appropriately so, A Holiday Round-Up: Some Sweet, Petite and Neat.

The author is Betsy Burts. A graphic designer by day, a passionate home cook, a lover of good food and drink, a supporter of organic, sustainable and local foods, and a Southern born and bred gal.” She is the recipient of several blogging awards, which means she is a much appreciated blogger, just so you know. Her blog includes an extensive list of food and sustainability-related as well as cookbooks.

The present article will surely inspire your Holiday table. Imagine Old Fashioned Ice Box Cookies; Sweet Cider Glazed Apple, Walnut and Oatmeal Cookies; Retro Cheese and Olive Bites, to name just a few tasty treats you might consider, including beverages to wash it all down. Read on!

I must add one more… Bacon Wrapped Dates with Pistachios and Apricots. Yum!

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Maybe we’re going for a food theme here. We’ll see. But we must stop by The Pocket Farmer‘s blog because it has been quite a while since we’ve said hello. Also, this being the time of year when we typically take stock, many questions may come to mind, though not all of them related to our behavior. How about this question: Why Bake? This is a question about tradition and this is the perfect time to revisit, and embrace, tradition. Sweet. Just like baking.

“…for me, baking for the holidays is steeped in tradition and memories…  It was the one time, all year, that the kitchen turned into a Willy Wonka factory and fabulous treats poured out for everyone to enjoy,…” begins The Pocket Farmer. “Test tasting was my favorite job!… Being able to share homemade holiday treats is like giving a gift and a hug at the same time,” she adds.

The holidays are about memories and memories connect us to our history. In homes across the country, we retell these memories every year. This keeps the oral tradition alive and reminds us of who we are. Interestingly, even now in the 21st century, much of the story of our traditions is told in the kitchen, around food. Read on…

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Thanksgiving sets the mood for the Holiday Season. In addition to asking whether we have been good or bad, both playfully and somewhat seriously, this time of year inspires us to pause and examine the many small and big things in our lives for which we are grateful. Family would be first, no doubt. But as much as we try to convince ourselves that “things” do not bring happiness, in truth, many things do contribute to our happiness and to a very real sense of abundance during the holiday season.

Feathers on The Ground offers a truly original version of The 12 Days of Christmas. In a recent post titled, The Twelve Days of a Farm Christmas, the author’s personal touch brings to light the essence of this song: gratitude.

“…On the second day of Christmas, my true love gave to me, two mallard ducklings and a farm in the country…” Come sing along…

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Thank you for stopping by to read this Weekend’s Review. Please take a moment to leave a few words on the Blogs you enjoy, if you feel so inclined that is.