WEEKLY HAPPENINGS FROM MONDAY, 12-23-24 TO SUNDAY, 12-29-24

Hello Everyone, here are our weekly goings on, with thanks to all family and friends who once again let me know how much they enjoy them, and to keep going, though it's a shorter one this week!

Monday, 12-23-24: I didn't get much done today. I woke up feeling very grotty and spent the rest of the day quietly. I had a bad headache and it was a PJ Day. I think I may have picked up a bug but Gregg was okay thankfully. I blogged a little and slept a lot (and I was fine by the next day).

I can’t believe it is going to be Christmas in a couple of days.

Gregg went out and picked up a big bag of ice-melt. It will be another chilly one tomorrow and promises to be icy.

Tuesday, 12-23-24: Cards arrived in our mailbox again. I am far behind. Invariably the card list gets smaller by the year, for obvious reasons at this age.  For me it is more of a challenge to get them written as my fingers don’t cooperate as well. I decided to only send out to people who send to us, unless they are at an age where it is very difficult for them and they still enjoy getting a card through the mail. Also, the price of stamps gets expensive by the year and again difficult when on a budget. There are electronic cards of course, which are very pretty and always welcome. I do need to update my card list. A few will be getting New Year cards. Next year, starting earlier!  

The day will be spent getting ready for tomorrow. 

It is icy out! Gregg put ice-melt on the drive and the path leading up to front door.  

Tomorrow the meal is relatively straightforward, so not a whole lot of pre-preparation. 

Can’t remember what we ate today.  I am writing this on the 26th. Playing catchup again.

We had son's company for several hours. Our daughter-in-law is a Cantor at her church and she sings her second mass at midnight. For her it is her job but it is also a labor of love. She has an incredible voice and her range is powerful. She can really reach those high notes. I always get emotional when I hear her. Music, especially the kind she sings, has that effect on me. She sounds like an angel!

Wednesday, 12-25-24 and Merry Christmas to all. 

I have already shared here what we did today and won't repeat.

Thursday, Boxing Day, 12-26-24: spent the whole day relaxing and eating leftovers, pottering and reading and generally being rather lazy.  

Friday, 12-27-24: a break from leftovers and around 2:00 p.m. we were ready to get out and decided to treat ourselves to a meal at The Silver Diner. Our waiter was delightful. It has been three years since my last visit, but father and son enjoy going every now and again. We both ordered the chicken pot pie and a cup of soup, the soup not needed but waiter asked if we would like to try, and we said yes please as we love soup and didn't realize how big that pot pie would be. I'm glad we tried it as we both enjoyed and said we would order this on its own next time. The pot pie was delicious but far too much. We didn't need anything for the rest of the day. Our first and last meal. 

I am still not that steady on my feet but held on to Gregg’s arm all the way. He managed to get a parking spot close to the entrance. Ten more days and I will have my first physiotherapy session. I am doing light exercises shown on several sheets of paper the orthopedic doctor gave me but would prefer being shown the proper way by a professional. How far I can stretch, that kind of thing, and I have a list of questions to ask.

It is our dear daughter-in-law’s birthday. Son took her out for a meal in Washington DC, and then on to The Kennedy Center for one of their performances. I will find out more when we see him on Sunday.  Here is a photo they took from inside the auditorium. There are several theaters in the building.

When we first got married we saw a performance of Swan Lake, an incredible memory. I saw Madame Butterfly and the Mikado with friends, different occasions. Gregg and I went to a Randy Newman performance. We haven’t been there in years, but I am very happy our son and daughter-in-law are enjoying it now. The next photo is somewhere in Washington DC. They love going to old bookstores and I love the look of that old building.  

Saturday, 12-28-24: It is already 5:11 p.m. and the last light is in the sky. No breakfast but we had a very nice leftover beef sandwich a short while ago. Neither of us are very hungry. Grazing will be the way to go for the rest of the day. Nothing exciting but a pleasant day nonetheless. Reading, pottering, more reading and more pottering, and talking in between, and away the goes the day.

Sunday, 12-29-24: Our son wasn’t able to visit this morning as he is nursing a sore throat at home. He sounded very poorly on the phone. 'Tis the season for coughs, colds, etc. Feel better soon son!

Gregg went to the supermarket and for breakfast he bought doughnuts, and a coffee for me. It was a lovely treat.

A late lunch. He surprised me with a very simple meal. Usually, he enjoys a little more pizzazz but today he said he fancied boiled potatoes, cabbage, and heated up a dish of baked beans. The only condiments were salt and pepper, and vinegar for the cabbage. Very plain! So nice to have such a simple meal after all the bells and whistles this past week. 

It is 63 degrees right now and no birds. We put the seed down they like too. What's going on birdies? Must be a spa day for them!  (One dove turned up later.)

This is where I end my week and my thanks to everyone who reads it. Have a great week!

(As blogging friends have asked in the past how I do these signatures and such, the art I used at the beginning and end of my post today, was requested from CoPilot. I also used Paint Shop Pro to put our Christmas photo in the frame on the top right of the photo. It is always fun to do. Besides saying my hobbies are blogging, photography and cooking, I also like tinkering on Paint Shop Pro, a program I was introduced years ago when I joined a stationery group online. This is going back to my first days on the Internet.)

MONDAY MORNING RECIPE 12-23-24

Even though this is a recipe for lamb chops, we used it for pork chops instead, although I have left the ingredient list alone.  I came across the recipe at Living Lou hosted by Louisa. The marinade used was excellent and we knew it would be just as good using the pork chops we had just bought. I wanted something a little different, and found a recipe for the Greek-style marinade at Lou's food blog. 

The internal temperature needed for the pork is 145 degrees, instead of 135 for the lamb. We cooked the pork five minutes on each side to get the desired degree of doneness. You can look at Lou's recipe link above to read all her tips for making this dish.

Greek Lamb Chops - serves 4

8 lamb rib chops

¼ cup olive oil

¼ cup lemon juice, plus extra for serving

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 teaspoon oregano

1 teaspoon salt

In a large glass bowl, whisk olive oil with lemon juice, garlic, oregano and salt. Add lamb chops and toss to coat. Cover and marinate in the fridge for 30 minutes to 6 hours.

Pre-heat a cast iron skillet over medium-high heat. Add lamb chops, and cook for 2-3 minutes per side until browned and lamb reaches an internal temperature of 135F. Repeat with remaining lamb chops.

Lou's suggestion to serve with these chops was a  traditional Greek salad, and also homemade tzatziki on the side. These would also be just as nice with the pork chop.

Cooking the pork chops was a last-minute decision and all we were having that night was the last of the cheesy vegetable chowder we made. Gregg cooked the pork chops and we had a bowl of soup with it.

Here is the full address for the recipe, and I have added it in case you would like to copy and paste instead of using the link at the beginning of this page:

https://www.livinglou.com/greek-lamb-chops/

Thanks for looking everyone 

and I hope your day is a great one.

HAPPY SUNDAY EVERYONE - AN OLDY BUT GOODY

 This poem, shared in good humor, tickled my funny bone when I read it originally.  

(Photo from Pixabay, a free online photo website.)


When I'm An Old Lady

by 

Joanne Bailey Baxter

When I'm an old lady, I'll live with each kid,

And bring so much happiness just as they did.

I want to pay back all the joy they've provided.

Returning each deed, Oh, they'll be so excited!

(When I'm an old lady and live with my kids...)

I'll write on the walls with reds, whites and blues,

And bounce on the furniture....wearing my shoes.

I'll drink from the carton and then leave it out.

I'll stuff all the toilets and oh, how they'll shout!

(When I'm an old lady and live with my kids...)

When they're on the phone and just out of reach,

I'll get into things like sugar and bleach.

Oh, they'll snap their fingers and then shake their head,

And when that is done, I'll hide under the bed.

(When I'm an old lady and live with my kids...)

When they cook dinner and call me to eat,

I'll not eat my green beans or salad or meat.

I'll gag on my okra, spill milk on the table,

And when they get angry...I'll run...if I'm able!

(When I'm an old lady and live with my kids...)

I'll sit close to the TV, through the channels I'll click.

I'll cross both eyes just to see if they stick.

I'll take off my socks and throw one away,

And play in the mud 'til the end of the day!

(When I'm an old lady and live with my kids...)

And later in bed, I'll lay back and sigh,

I'll thank God in prayer and then close my eyes.

My kids will look down with a smile slowly creeping,

And say with a groan, "She's so sweet when she's sleeping!"

Thanks for looking everyone, 

and I hope your Sunday is a great one.

SATURDAY MORNING AT THE BIRD FEEDER - WHAT'S THIS?

But then....

And so it goes on a Saturday Morning at the bird feeder. You have to be quick around here, but never fear my feathered friends, things will be back to normal tomorrow.

Thanks for flying in everyone.

Have a wonderful day!

(bird ID's in the labels below.)

 

WHAT WE DID ON CHRISTMAS DAY

(My last jigsaw puzzle for the season.)

Wednesday, 12-25-24 - Christmas Day:

Early in the day we had a FaceTime call from my family across the pond. A lovely chat for about an hour. They had already had their festivities the day before. This was from my brother-in-law (who is more like a real brother as I have known him since I was 13 years old), and my niece and her beau, a delightful conversation.

Later, when son and daughter-in-law arrived, the four of us sat down at 2 o’clock for our meal. We set everything out on the kitchen table for everyone to help themselves and moved into the dining room. 

Another tradition since my childhood, Christmas Crackers at every place setting. Just before settling down to the meal, each person grabs the end of each cracker, forming a circle around the table and pulling each end. There’s a slight pop caused by the popper strip threaded through the cracker - you can see what those look like here - I also didn’t realize you could buy kits to make your own which I found online. I usually buy them on sale after Christmas, to be used for next time. 

Inside are 'crowns', folded-up tissue paper, which are worn during the meal. It is thought they may represent the crowns of the three wise men. Invariably these fall off heads during the meal and sometimes tear as they are so thin, but all good sports try to keep them on their heads until the end of the meal. There is also a small piece of paper inside written with a one-line groaner joke, and one sentence of trivia from somewhere in the world. Each person takes their turn reading theirs while everyone else begins their meal. We laugh at the groaners, and trivia learned is often interesting. 

A small trinket falls out of the cracker when pulled, a key chain, a compass, a type of wire puzzle, or a yo-yo, another tiny goody. Silly but fun and another tradition I introduced my own family to from childhood, and which we have enjoyed since our son was knee-high. I think they may be becoming popular in the States, as I see Christmas Crackers on sale in a lot of the stores. You can find more expensive looking trinkets inside depending on how much you want to pay for the crackers. And then if you make your own, any small gift can be put inside. If you would like to learn how these came about, you can click on this link.

The menu below has become our traditional meal, though the charcuterie board was new thanks to my dear other half who thought it would be a good idea for the hungry while waiting for the main meal. 

Menu:

Charcuterie Board, with three types of olives, cubes of feta, snap peas, small red peppers that were a little hot but not too much so. Gregg described them as tangy. There were also small, sweet red peppers, stuffed grape leaves and a pot of hummus. This was put out an hour before the meal.

Roast Beef and Yorkshire Pudding with Brown Gravy

Roast Potatoes, Carrots and Asparagus, with a Green Bean Casserole (all enjoyed but Gregg’s favorite was the casserole that his dear mother always made when growing up).

Dinner Rolls (we all like the Hawaiian Sweet Rolls)

Dessert: Pumkin Pie (son’s favorite), Cherry Pie (Gregg’s favorite), and because my family always had one on the Christmas table since I can remember, a Chocolate Yule Log.  

A bottle of Prosecco, no red wine today because I forgot to put it on the shopping list but had the Prosecco already chilled.

We always try to pick things on the menu with everyone’s taste in mind and everyone enjoyed their meal…

and ah now, the Yorkshire Pudding. It was decided to cook it in the 9" glass pie plate, a jigsaw puzzle to try and fit everything in and we had the two ovens full. They are smaller than a regular oven would be but still an okay size. 

The plan was to take the roast out to rest, leave the potatoes in to continue roasting and pop the Yorkshire Pudding in to cook the 20 minutes on 475, as the recipe suggested. Well…I said…that rack looks awfully high, but Yorkshire Pudding was put in and 20 minutes later when the timer went off, we opened the door.  Let’s just say we all had a good laugh and I said once again, “Good grief!” 

It had risen extra high and had ‘grown’ up into and around the elements. When Gregg pulled the dish out, half the Yorkshire Pudding stayed. We couldn’t stop laughing. We won’t be making Yorkshire for a while now, but what was salvaged was surprisingly tasty. 

When our darlings had left, Gregg set to dislodging burnt bits of Yorkshire Pud from the now cold elements. He will have another go tomorrow he said.

Here’s a compilation of photos thanks to the new app I downloaded on my iPad a few days ago.

The other gift from my Darlings was a new ornament for my wing themed tree. The first in a series I was told. It's beautiful and best of all it's made out of wood!  So many intricate little parts, I would dearly love to see how it was made from that first design to cutting out the pieces, painting them and putting altogether. This part of my curiosity comes from when I used to cut out my own designs and paint ornaments back in my craft show days, all painted on wooden shapes.

Our daughter-in-law asked if we would like to hear her sing again and I was very happy as I never like to impose, especially as they had to leave to go on to her parent's home soon.  She chose O Holy Night and one sung in German, Silent Night. It was amazing to hear her! I have shared her videos in German with my brother-in-law who asked me if she spoke the language as her dialect was perfect. She doesn't actually speak German she has told me before, but she knows many songs in that language. How she gets up to those high notes impresses me no end. She has the purest voice, a soprano.

Our Darlings left a few hours later straight from our house to our daughter-in-law’s parents for their second meal which was served in the evening.

Late afternoon the phone rang and it was the second Facetime that day with our niece and her beau. Her Dad had gone home by then and we chatted away for another hour, telling each other about our day and generally catching up on each other’s news. We both had our Yorkshire Pudding stories and both had a good laugh. Neither of us will be making it any time soon.  I for one am now tired of it and yes, gasp!  Well, at least til next year and we will give it another go. Did the heart good to be chatting to my niece, that’s for sure.

We relaxed for the rest of the day. That was our Christmas. 

I look forward to reading about yours very soon. I'm so tired I am off to bed, and so is my dear other half. I will be back tomorrow.

 

BOXING DAY - 12/26/24

 

Another short one today. I hope you all had a marvelous time with your families and friends or however you celebrated. It was a precious time for us. Here we are with one of son’s selfies. The snowman with those cute cardinals, one of my gifts from them, lit up and was like a lava lamp when turned on, all sparkly and much brighter than the photo shows.  My sweet babes know me well, I loved it.

I will go into more detail about the day later, but we had a whole lot of fun enjoying being together. 

Hugs from all of us and…

MERRY CHRISTMAS - HAPPY HOLIDAYS - 2024

Merry Christmas to all who celebrate.

To my blogging friends of different faiths, Happy Holidays!

I wish everyone here and around the world, a Peaceful and Happy 2025,

from our Family to Yours.

With love and hugs from Denise and Gregg

(Comments are off for today. 

Have a wonderful time with your families and friends.)

ANN'S CHRISTMAS CARD

 

I am sharing Ann's Christmas Card today. Many of you have already received it. I didn't want another day to go by without thanking you for your very special cards Ann. This one is also beautiful! I love the fact that there is an ornament on the front, making up the word "Joy!", and the lovely sentiment inside.

Thank you so much my dear friend! I have quite a collection now as these go right into my box of special gifts after the season is past and I take all the cards down.

Ann’s blog is called Ann’s Snap Edit Scrap and you can visit here.

Christmas tomorrow! How are your preparations going? Well I hope!

Thanks for another whole year of friendship. It surely has been fun visiting with you all.

MONDAY MORNING RECIPE - YORKSHIRE PUDDING

An addition to my Monday Morning Recipe. I added another Christmas Card today as I enjoy putting them together and hopefully it will bring you a smile. The ornament is one of mine, and the frame is from Pip, an app I have on my iPad

On Christmas Day our special meal is a Standing Rib Roast with lots of gravy, roast potatoes and all the fixings.

Whenever we make this, we always add a Yorkshire Pudding. It has become our tradition. With us having a turkey for Thanksgiving, years ago it was put to the vote if the family wanted it again so soon after. The general feeling was that they wanted a change and I asked if they would prefer this meal instead. The vote was most definitely. 

I normally put the batter in one large pie dish, but I have had four-space Yorkshire Pudding pans for a long time and decided to make individual ones. 

You've probably done these yourself, but I always followed what my mother did. In the States they look almost identical to popovers (I've never actually made them). These definitely looked as though they popped over all over the place!

The last two times I made the pudding in the usual pie plate, they didn't turn out very well, so I felt it was time to give this recipe a test run before the 25th. I think my dear mother would have approved.  

I found the original recipe at food.com here. To give you an idea of what the pan I used looks like, I added a link here. I'm not saying go buy it just for this recipe. I've seen people use muffin pans, or the one pie plate I have always used.  If I didn't already have this pan in my supplies, that's probably what I would have used. I just wanted to give you an idea of what I was talking about.

Individual Yorkshire Puddings - serves 6 to 8

8-16 Yorkshire Puddings

1 cup beaten egg

1 cup all-purpose flour 

¹⁄₂ cup milk

¹⁄₂ cup water

Salt and Pepper

1 - 2 tablespoons cooking oil or 1-2 tablespoons beef dripping

Preheat your oven to 475F. 

You can go to the website linked above, to see metric measurements and tips about making this recipe.

Put a small amount of oil or beef dripping into each Yorkshire Pudding pan and set aside until your oven has preheated. 

Put the pan with its drippings added into the pre-heated oven about 5 minutes. 

Put flour, salt and pepper into a large mixing bowl. Give it a stir to mix in the seasonings.

Make a well in the center and add the beaten eggs bit by bit, mixing as you go along.

Add the water/milk mixture gradually and whisk between each addition.

Keep whisking until all the liquids have been added. The batter may be lumpy - not a problem.

Cover and leave to rest for up to 1 hour.

Just before cooking, whisk thoroughly to break down any lumps (again, no problem if there are a few). This will make it a bit more airy.

When you have taken the pre-heated pie pans out, carefully fill the pans with batter just under the fill line. You might have to wing it a little bit as the amount will be up to you, depending on how you like the look of it after cooking.

The oil will be sizzling hot so please take care in not only filling the pan with the batter, but while placing them back into the oven. I have already put my pan onto a larger baking tray, for lifting in and out of the oven more easily.

This should be done relatively quickly to keep the heat in the oven and in your pans but again, don't rush and go carefully.  

Cook for about 20 minutes until well risen and golden brown. 

Even if you are tempted to take a look, don't open the oven in the first 10-15 minutes, or they will sink!

If you have two pans cooking at the same time, rotate them from top to bottom shelves after the 10-15 minutes so they cook evenly.

Serve with Roast Beef and gravy!

What did we think? I really enjoyed the smaller, individual Yorkshire puddings. They turned out on the crispy side. These first test ones aren't that pretty as seen in my first photo. 

Gregg preferred it done in one pan and a little more dense/cake-like. 

We cooked another batch a few days later and used my own stand-by glass 9" pie plate. It came out really well but again more crispy.

 My dear other half suggested using all milk next time. I am not making this a third time until Christmas Day so fingers crossed, this is it. That's not to say we didn't enjoy both versions, we just had different ideas on making it and the finished pudding.

Two comments I took note of but there are many at the website. 

 

"I have tested many recipes for Yorkshire, this by far has been the best. Did them in muffin tins (used bacon grease for tins) and they were superb. Really impressed my dinner guests. Thank you for such a great, easy and foolproof."

 

and

"My family love these when I fix a prime rib roast. However, they're great with any roast beef with lots of gravy. I put about 1/2 teaspoon of dried, crumbled parsley in the batter, and used bacon grease instead of beef fat as we always have bacon grease in a pot in the fridge." 

Back to my notes: personally I wouldn't use bacon fat, only because I'm a traditionalist with this recipe and wonder if the bacon flavor would be overpowering. One day I will try it but for now I will stick to beef drippings.

This was on the second try and done in the 9" glass pie plate. When I looked at it, I thought "Dutch Baby", or at least what I had seen them look like in photos. I have never actually made one. (There is a recipe for Dutch Babies here. Also, a recipe for Popovers can be found here.)

This second try rose so high in the oven it almost touched the oven roof, and I actually let out a 'good grief' when I opened the oven door. It was still crisp (which I loved), but hubby asked for all milk and no water next time.

I had read somewhere that a slice of Yorkshire topped with baked beans and a poached egg would go nicely. It may have been the notes in this recipe, I can't remember. Anyhow, we used leftover slices the next day.

Gregg had his poached eggs on toast, along with baked beans and a slice of Yorkshire on the side. I topped my slice (no bread) with beans and a poached egg. Honestly, it was a nice change of pace, but there again, I wouldn't use Yorkshire Pudding with anything other than roast beef and gravy. I just prefer it that way. I'll stick with poached eggs only toast.

My own father heated up his leftover slice and spread with strawberry jam. This was something given to him by his mother when he was a child.  Gregg tried this also and thought it was very good. I prefer mine savory.

The following is the full recipe address:

https://www.food.com/recipe/my-mums-easy-and-traditional-english-yorkshire-pudding-203349

If you have any of your own tips for making Yorkshire Pudding, I would love to read them in the comment section. Have you made Popovers or Dutch Babies?

 

HAPPY SUNDAY EVERYONE - MY WISH IS FOR ALL OF YOU TO RECEIVE AND GIVE…

 

SATURDAY MORNING AT THE BIRDFEEDER 12-21-24

 

Rudolph's cousin said he didn't think Camera Lady could put anything else on here, but all the birds cried in unison, "Wanna bet?" and then the stockings arrived.

And so it goes on a Saturday Morning at the Birdfeeder.

Thanks for stopping by everyone, and I hope all your preparations are going well.

NEIGHBORHOOD DECORATIONS 12-18-24

 When we were driving home last Wednesday, I asked if we could go the long way round to see the neighborhood lights. There were a lot of blurry ones, but I weeded out these to share with you.

I usually crop them so as not to show the whole house, but thought the sky was really pretty in this one. We were approaching the twilight hour. Below is the same photo but a closer view of the decorations.

The reindeer and sleigh were on the other side of their driveway.

Another photo and that sky. There were more pretty lights than actual figures, but I thought it was a lovely display.

And another house with pretty lights and sky.

and the same house a little closer this time.

Next here comes the snowman and toy soldier.

Another snowman with Mickey Mouse, penguins and BabyYoda, the character on one of the Star Wars shows on TV. 

A fuzzy picture of a few dinosaurs and another snowman.

Another dinosaur and a snowman.

and finally a Christmas Tree with reindeer.

People went to a lot of work to get their displays up, and I took photos of one couple in the process, not realizing they were there in the darkness until I took a good like on my laptop. I haven't shared that one. They didn't seem to notice us, and I didn't see them in the dark. There were many other decorations, but people were coming home and we didn't want to block traffic. I took these photos as we drove by. Hopefully, I will be able to get out again soon.