It is a muddy, mucky midweek at my house but a great day nonetheless. We got 3.5" of rain Christmas day and yesterday. Even had some thunder! Today we aren't having any downpours so it's a big improvement. We needed rain....just not all at once, perhaps. LOL Enjoy your day and find time to relax at some point. That's MY goal, anyway. Darlene, we don't do a fancy Christmas dinner. The past two years I've bought a party tray of chicken from Publix and we have pasta salad, mac and cheese, relish tray, chips/dip, etc. Then, in the afternoon when my folks and siblings come over, we have sweets. Oh gosh, so many sweets. I'm going to put together a container of an assortment of cookies in the freezer for another time b/c I am already cookied out. Oldest daughter, Lindy, is going to take some to work with her. She is a nurse in a doctor's office. The staff loves when she brings in Christmas cookies!
Another Christmas is in the books and I hope you made many happy new memories, Darlene. We had the best day yesterday and I loved every minute. Now to bask in the joy and begin enjoying those gifts.
Our nice mild weather continues to spoil us here. It has been quite a busy day apart from the usual daily chores I went to town to have my hair trimmed, then off to collect a ceiling fan that I had ordered. The streets were so busy it was hard to find a park close to the store. Took me three attemps before I found one close enough. Fortunately one of the staff carried the box out to the car for me of that I was very grateful. Also went to the Post Office to mail the last of the cards then back home. Oh yes, I did pop into the supermarket to get a half Kilo of cherries. These have come from interstate and a reasonable price and most importantly are delicious. also some red seedles Table grapes & fresh apricots. I do like my fresh fruit.
Had not been home long when a friend called in. Tomorrow I'm expecting a parcel that I ordered online. Not sure what time it will arrive. I rarely order anything online. Usually if I need anything from Adelaide my daughter will collect for me on one of her trips there but she won't be going there for a few weeks and I wanted this before Xmas.
I'm watching the Cricket on TV as I sit here. I think that's sort of multi-tasking with pleasure LOL. Enjoy your day. Hugs Pat.
A busy week..it's been a blur. Hope to do some baking over the weekend. Going to try a new bread recipe (keto)..will finish up shopping too in a few days..just gift cards mainly. We are enjoying the sausage and cheese you sent. Very delicious, and we appreciate it so much. Enjoy the rest of your week ๐๐งโ๐๐
We've been in the soup around here; my hubby has A-Fib and a cardioversion didn't work. Well, it did for about 5 hours. They had him on a medication that was supposed to keep it from coming back, but it turns out he's allergic to it. Is that why the cardioversion didn't work? I have no idea, but it sure didn't help. An additional fun thing for both of us is the cold we both caught (probably while at the hospital...I always jokingly refer to the local grade school/high school as "germ factories", but hospitals have them both beat for how many viruses, etc. are available for catching). Unfortunately, this mess has settled in my hubby's chest--just where he needs it least. I've got a stuffy nose and my throat has been scratchy/sore. I'll be very happy when we both get rid of it and I'm hoping it will be gone by Christmas.
I happen to agree with your opinion of summer as something to be borne, rather than to anticipate. I have such a low tolerance for higher temperatures--fair skin & freckles don't get along well with summer's blast of hot, hot days.
There are no Cracker Barrel or Bob Evens restaurants 'round here. And the Black Bear Diners that we go to are pretty much a west coast chain. My pen pal from West Virginia often mentions restaurants or stores which are common on the east coast, but haven't spread to our part of the U.S. No Aldi's...what's the other one she mentions...Ollie's? I dunno. Tudor's is another one she has mentioned which we don't have. As long as the food is good at the restaurant chains that you do have, that's what counts. And yes, I have gotten splotchy silverware in restaurants before. Not often, as I think most waiter/waitresses pick up on that kind of thing and don't send them out to a customer. It can be off-putting, I grant you, but as long as it's not dried food on a utensil, I can live with a bit of a water-spotted spoon or fork. Dried food on it will get it sent back, every time. I don't care if their dishwasher machine probably sterilized it, I just don't want to eat off of something like that.
We do have a leaf blower. But my hubby doesn't always get it out and use it (and now I know why...he's been in A-Fib since SPRING and of course that saps your energy) so I get after the leaves with my broom when it gets too deep for me to tolerate. Mulching the leaves with a lawn mower is something that we do, too--but again, with the A-Fib...my Honey just hasn't been up to his normal work load. And I'd far rather he slacked off--but I get to have him around longer--so getting after what really amounts to minor chores in the long scheme of things is not worth it. All that stuff can wait until he is back in good health again.
I made myself a drink for my cold the other day. Frozen blueberries, frozen raspberries, ice cubes and a peach wine cooler. It was great except for all the sees from those raspberries. Especially as I wasn't bright enough to leave the stuff at the bottom of the glass. I wound up having to spit a lot of that out. But it does calm down my throat and I slept uintil almost noon, so I'd say it did what I needed it to do.
Yes, we have a dishwasher and it gets used, but we still have to wash dishes by hand. All the big pans and bowls, plus anything too delicate to risk being hammered by water under pressure and possibly broken. But even though we have a dishwasher, I kind of like it when it comes to doing the hand washing. The sink is in front of a window so I can look outside while I scrub what's dirty. It's a good place to kind of zone out and daydream some and I enjoy that.
There are some here on the Hill who don't mind chatting back and forth, but there are others who strictly send pictures. Not my thing, but I don't begrudge others their favored way of connecting. Some lean more towards visuals, whereas you and I are what another friend on the Hill calls "word girls". My pen pal in West Virginia is someone I "met" here on the Hill, in fact. She decided this place wasn't for her...but I was. We've corresponded for years and I look at her as my sister whom I've never met.
Your Thanksgiving dinner at Cracker Barrel sounded pretty darned good, Darlene! I had made pumpkin bread, two different dips/spreads, three salads, sweet potatoes and stuffing. My hubby made the turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy. I made cranberry sauce, too. And for dessert we had double-layer pumpkin pies with whipped cream on top. And leftovers for DAYS! I don't think I've ever had fried turkey. I'm guessing that if you do it right, that would make for a tasty turkey. I just don't want a vat of very hot oil anywhere near my house. I'll be just fine with it being baked/roasted. My hubby brines it and it always comes out moist and tender.
We don't have outside lights on our house, but I do have a wreath that lights up at the front of our house and our daughter gave us a copper-mesh rooster which lights up. We tried to have it at the front of our house but the winds kept blowing so hard that they blew Cogburn free of his anchor pins and he was spending more time laying on the ground than being upright to be enjoyed. Our son moved it today to the backyard and it's got a board underneath of it. I'm not sure how it's attached to it, but hopefully the wind won't bother it so much. Some of our neighbors should be able to see it and Cogburn is put up on the way to the chicken yard (yes, we have 16 chickens and one mean darned rooster...no, I don't like him, but this is my hubby's bailiwick. I avoid him but he likes to stalk me from his side of the electric fence, the big bully. He's a naked neck variety so he looks funny--like something happened to his neck feathers, but that's just the way those birds are.
It has gotten late on me, so I'm going to sign off and shut down the computer. I'm a night owl, but with this cold...my eyes feel a bit raw and so that makes me feel tired. If I don't get back before the "big day", I want to wish you and yours a very MERRY CHRISTMAS!! Keep warm and stay healthy, my friend!!!
Hi Darlene. One week to Xmas. It sure is coming up fast.
Overcast with a fine mist and temp just on 80f. Supposed to have a cold change blow in later today. I hope it passes quickly as I'm having both my little dogs bsthed and clipped for the summer months this afternoon and once their coats have been taken off they will feel that cold.
Went to the supermarket yesterday and stocked up on groceries also bought a few more decorations and lights. Have set them up also the Nativity set that my mother gave me when I was a wee child. Always think of her when I look at that.
Hope you have a most restful Sunday as we prepare for this final week before Christmas. It is a rainy, cool day for me and I see an afternoon of football and a possible nap in the cards. Whatever you may be doing, enjoy the day. Darlene, Dave's mom is 92. Our visit went ok. She was in a good mood. Sometimes she is in a funk so yesterday was a treat. Yes, I send Christmas cards but I'm down to sending only around 25. It seems to be a dying tradition and that makes me sad.
Wishing you a pleasant & peaceful Sunday:) Yes, saw Home Alone when it first came out and is one of the Christmas movies we watch each year. Maybe you're wrong and you'll get snow for Christmas. Will wish that for you. Thx for kind comment on my test page. *hugs* -di
Hi Darlene. I do very little decorating for Xmas now apart from some lights in the window, a Nativity scene and like you a small Xmas tree. Simple easy things that I can manage. Of course there's the Xmas Cards that I get through the mail. I know most folk either send them online or phone instead but I still like to send mine out and receive them.
I'm going for a drive with my daughter one night so that we can go around and look at all the lighted decos outside the homes. They are getting more elaborate as each year goes by.. It makes the running cost cheaper now as so many are worked by Solar power.
I need to go to the Supermarket this weekend as getting low on several items. I prefer shopping on the weekend as it's not quite so busy.
What Cherries survived last weekends storms will hike in price. I meant to get some a few days before the storms arrived but put it off and now I'll be lucky to get any. Theyr'e my favourites at this time of the year.. Chat again soon. Hugs Pat.
Wonderful Wednesday to you. A very pretty one here in my area. Went to Aldi this morning for 3 things and came home with10! You know how that is. Now I'm just waiting on laundry to finish and my chores will be complete. Hope you have been having a good midweek. 12 days until Christmas! Darlene, I know what you mean about the season of Christmas. It's a time all unto its own. It IS magical in every sense. I always dread its end, too. But I redecorate with wintry things so I still have some cheerful decor during the drab and gray winter. For me, spring comes early so then I can do a whole other bit of decorating. I try to make each holiday and season special in some way but Christmas is my favorite and the biggest deal.
13 days until Christmas! I always seem to want it to hurry and get here but I'm never quite ready for it to leave. My snowman collection is waiting patiently to be my decor once Christmas things are packed away. Keeps the house from looking/feeling sad after all the colorful, fun holiday things are gone. Do you do any wintry decorating, Darlene?
I hope your Saturday has you smiling. Doing anything special today? It's a gray and misty day here and tomorrow is supposed to be quite wet. Can't gripe; we need the rain. We ran out to the kids' this morning and then stopped at PetSense to get our two dogs something for Christmas. Yep, we are THAT kind of people. LOL Boy do I ever love your page, Darlene. So cute. I don't bake nearly the variety or amount of cookies at C-mas as I did once. The kids do their baking, too, and we always end up getting sick of cookies soon after the new year. I made toffee bars, sour cream chocolate chip, butterballs, cut outs, peanut butter kiss, and a batch of peanut butter fudge. Oh, and pizzelles. The girls bake some different ones than me so we share. Can't say I have a favorite b/c I have a sweet tooth and love all things that are bad for me. HAHA But I do love butterballs. Or some call them snowballs. How about you? As for wrapping, I don't wrap well. So almost everything is in gift bags. The bags are so cute and come in such a variety of sizes.
Happy Saturday, friend. Are you finishing up a Christmas chore today? Maybe shopping or addressing cards accompanied by Christmas music... perfect! Tis the Season to be jolly:) ๐๐๐๐๐
Hi Darlene. Temp reached 100f. yesterday and would you believe it has dropped to 60 today. The bureau predicted heavy flooding rains but all we have had so far is light showers.
Our Friday Ladies Meeting had our end of year get together yesterday followed by a Xmas lunch at one of the local Pubs. Next Meeting will be at the end of January so a few weeks break. Enjoy your weekend. Hugs Pat.
A chilly start here at 27 degrees, but we've slowly warmed up to 53. Another warm up this weekend..will see 64...rain on Sunday..Hope you're having a good week ๐๐๐๐
Nights are cold; days are mild. I hope you're liking the changing season, Darlene! Other than groceries, we shop online. Mostly from Amazon, tho occasionally some other online store. We are soooo spoiled now to AMZ and, as a whole, have always been happy w/the purchases from there. No, we don't walk down aisles any more in local shops. Just can't do it now. Thanksful for having things brought to our front door! :) Happy today, pal! *hugs* -di
I don't think I've ever had fried turkey. I'm guessing that if you do it right, that would make for a tasty turkey. I just don't want a vat of very hot oil anywhere near my house. I'll be just fine with it being baked/roasted. My hubby brines it and it always comes out moist and tender. 
