HAPPY THANKSGIVING

 for those who are celebrating…

and for everyone else, 

I hope you also have a wonderful day.

I am not back yet. I put these on here ahead of time as I wanted to let you know I am thinking of you all and miss you. Looking forward to catching up probably when December arrives. 

Comments are still off. 

(The top image is a jigsaw puzzle completed on my iPad) 

WEEKLY HAPPENINGS FROM MONDAY 11-25-24 TO SUNDAY, 12-1-24

With thanks once again to my family, friends and blogging friends. Here's this week's catch up and happenings. As you can see by the weather forecast it is chillier, as expected now that we are in December. We have had a very mild November fortunately. 

I have put updates on the knee as you have been asking for and very much appreciative of your concern. This is a good way of letting you know what’s going on as sometimes when passed around, it naturally gets changed a smidgeon and takes on a life of its own, so I give you the horse’s mouth, so to speak.

Monday - 11/25/24: Today I went shopping for sneakers for the winter. We drove over to a department store and headed for the shoe area. I didn’t have any success and am still looking. 

Two ladies at different times, customers, heard Gregg and I chatting. Both were very nice. One of them was heading to Europe over the holidays she told me. It was a Christmas market vacation she said, and she needed a good pair of comfortable walking shoes. Sounds wonderful I said. 

She had heard us discussing what kind of sneakers I was looking for, color, size and no white band around the sole please. I like them completely black, very plain. Though at a later point I would have taken anything that fit. I found the photo below online and smiled because I said to myself those are cute. I would wear those if I could find a comfortable fit and they were the only ones I could find. I don't mind going back to childhood for the cause. Trudging in snow, however, would do them in!  

Talking about fit, my knee was pitching one, so I sat on a seat at the end of an aisle rubbing away. Gregg disappeared to take a look for me. He is a gem! The lady who had talked to me about her holiday, must have noticed and taken note, as she came around the corner with a box of sneakers which were exactly what I was looking for. How sweet was that? I badly wanted them to fit as she had been so kind but unfortunately, they did not. My foot on the same side as my bad knee is swollen and no matter how hard I tried, one shoe fit but it was way too tight, and the other did not fit at all. There were no bigger sizes.

I didn’t realize this would be an issue before I left the house. When I shop I normally look for a half to one size up with an extra wide fit. I don't have the tiniest feet truth be told. Anyhow, I didn’t want to buy anything after that. I will have to wait a while longer. My ratty, tatty old sneakers will have to do for the time being, but I am not sure I can wear them either at the moment. Before I left the house, I decided to put on some “been-everywhere-in-these-things” slip-ons. They are a light beige color, definitely a summer shoe with soft leather and more like a ballet slipper, but at least I could get them on my feet. They wouldn’t be good in the height of winter though. I have a couple of pairs of dress shoes tucked away in boxes upstairs, not exactly the kind I can wear in bad weather either.

The other lady who turned up ten minutes later while I was looking at my third box of shoes dear found for me, told me that I would really like this brand. Hers were very comfortable and she felt like she was wearing slippers. She pointed to her feet and yes, that's what she was wearing. She stayed to chat for a few minutes, and left to find a seat so that she could try on her own shoes. 

After trying my best to fit my feet into these, it soon became apparent there would be no joy in Shoeville that day. I took a photo of the box with the details. I will sort it out sometime but I am leery of getting anything else online. I had already sent away for one pair, only to have to send them back. 

Good news is I got some sunshine and exercise, met two very nice, very kind ladies, and I will keep on searching. I also thanked my dear other half for all his help. I think this is the first time he has been in the lady’s section of the shoe department, at least in years.  

On the way home we were passing the fire station and saw a big crane outside. They had only recently erected a very tall cell phone tower, and curiosity being what it is...

we took a closer look from their parking lot. It was fascinating to see…

and yes, I take pictures of everything.

Tuesday - 11/26/24: Gregg went out early to have a bagel at Manhattan Bagel Shop, and then drove to Wegman’s. I was still asleep and I barely remember him leaving. The next thing was he was yelling up the stairs to say he was home. That was a quick trip! I slept later than I usually do.

Breakfast: Weetabix with a small banana, a tablespoon each of chopped dates and pumpkin seeds, and I added 6 pecan halves, because they were right there, and I was putting the green bean casserole together for Thanksgiving. Besides my fizzy water I also had a cup of black coffee not long after.

Lunch which turned into a snack, was a bowl of our favorite popcorn, because breakfast was actually closer to noon by the time I got round to it.

Dinner: Toasted cheese and tomato soup. I didn’t feel like anything else.  

I sat myself down at the kitchen table and peeled and cubed a pot of potatoes for the sweet potato casserole on Thanksgiving. I plan to cook them tomorrow and partially put it together.

More ornaments were put on the tree throughout the day. I began doing that yesterday. It is starting to look pretty. I dropped one of my ornaments and it broke. Fortunately, not one of the sentimental ones but it was a Snoopy and Woodstock that I like and bought a couple of years back. The crazy glue will be out after Thanksgiving. I should have known better as I was tired. It was time to quit and go to bed. I figured if I don’t get to putting everything on the tree before the 28th, that will be okay. More bird ornaments will take wing before Christmas. Tomorrow we are going to be busy with other things.

Wednesday - 11/27/24: the darlings are coming early tomorrow morning, about 10:30-ish. We will try to get our meal on the table by 11:00 (a good brunch time). They will spend a few hours with us and then off to daughter-in-law’s family later in the afternoon. We will enjoy their company on our low-key day, and not traveling far these days anyhow.  It’s been fun getting things prepared early.  

Evening: we spent the day pre-preparing dishes so there will be no rushing tomorrow. I don’t have many ornaments to put on the tree as through the day I have literally been putting up to five on each pass, and only have a few more left. All projects done at a tortoise pace. Lovely says this particular tortoise. The hare is on holiday elsewhere.

Fluffy Kitty surprised us earlier and appeared at the window again. Those smart birds and squirrels left and I thought perhaps a hawk was nearby. I peered up into the trees and around the deck rails to check. And no sooner had I done that, then she appeared looking in the window staring straight at Gregg sitting on the sofa. He is not a cat person but he recognizes she is a beautiful cat, and she doesn't recognize him as a non-cat person. She appears fascinated with him.

Fluffy Kitty stayed for a while at the window, still staring at Gregg, and then for a few more minutes sat at the top of the steps, and then she was gone. I originally wondered if she was a stray, but she is so clean and healthy looking. I truly don’t think so. She looks like someone is taking very good care of her.

Yes, I really do think the blue-eyed one goes home after a wander around. It is hard to take a peek to see if she has a collar as there is so much fur. I will continue to check the neighbor app for lost kitties, just in case. So far she fits none of the photos published.

I haven't seen another cat around here in literally years. We see and hear more dogs. Fluffy Kitty had been gone half an hour when Wren turned up, and then slowly the other birds and squirrels resumed their positions.

We prepared several dishes and jig-sawed them into the refrigerator.  I want to set the table before bed and we will have gotten 90 percent of the work done  

Earlier I had taken the cranberry sauce out of the freezer and as it was thawed out, I said we should give it a taste test. Gregg put a scoop of cool whip on his and declared it dessert. I have to say it was excellent but I told him no cool whip will be put next to the turkey tomorrow.

(I know this is late in the day now, but I just found the following. The vet would be the one to check this with.) 

It looks an interesting list for every day, all year round, though it has been a lot of years since we had a dog. Dog parents, I apologize if I am sharing something you already know. If I ever find one for cats I will share that too. 

Thanksgiving - Thursday - 11/28/24: Our son and daughter-in-law left an hour ago, and we had a fun time. We sat down for our meal at 12 noon. Getting most of the dishes made ahead was just perfect. Gregg said it only took us until we reached our 70s to figure this out. 

The meal was put on the kitchen table for everyone to help themselves, and all enjoyed their choices.

Our menu:

Turkey Breast and Gravy

Sweet Potato Casserole 

Roasted Rosemary Potatoes 

Roasted Carrots and Mushrooms 

Green Bean Casserole 

Corn Pudding

Cranberry Sauce

Dinner Rolls

and for dessert:

Pumpkin Pie

Cherry Pie

Vanilla Ice Cream

We made extra dishes to suit everyone’s taste. We certainly don’t need to cook anything for a few days. I suggested we cut everything down to half the size while planning. We made small but hearty portions and there are still leftovers.

Our son had seen a movie called The Blitz a few days ago and asked me questions about my parents during that time. I told them both of what I remember Mum telling me, some stories son had heard before, others not. My Dad never really talked to his daughters about his experiences overseas, but he had told Mum and she passed them onto me, and now I have passed them onto our son. It felt good talking about his family history from my side. My parents passed away by the time he was 13. He knows quite a lot of his paternal grandparents. 

Father-in-Law and Daughter-in-law got into a conversation about fountain pens, which they both like using. Gregg has a collection and he showed D-in-L one he had bought recently and gave her a sheet of his special writing paper to tried it out. This is what she did and of course I had to take a photo for posterity. 

The hours went by far too quickly and it was time for them to go to their second Thanksgiving meal at her parents. We are very grateful that they share their company with all of us. It certainly makes for a very special Thanksgiving, and I am looking forward to reading all about yours.

Something I also feel is very important to add, I would like to thank our farmers and farm workers for bringing the food to our table. And a shoutout to the truckers who complete the circle, and everyone else in between. A big thank you from our family to you and yours.

I found this poem online by Jimmy Osbourne.

For the rest of the day we relaxed, not doing much other than talking, reading and seeing what other family members and friends had been up to over here and across the pond. A lot of distance between us all but another reason to be thankful, is today’s technology that keeps us all connected. The day went quickly and now after I finish today’s journal, it’s time to put the lights out at 11.09 p.m. 

Friday, 11-29-24 - 3:05 p.m: Breakfast was a banana and later Gregg popped up to the bagel shop to get his usual. He then stops by the coffee shop to pick up my latte. This is not a daily thing but enough for me to enjoy it as a treat. I may have mentioned before that he never developed a liking for coffee. He told the baristas once and when they found out that these coffees were for his wife, his standing went up a notch. As soon as he steps through the door there's a "Hi Gregg!" The people behind the counter chat to him and he enjoys the conversation. He asks how their Thanksgiving went. They are genuinely only too happy to answer, and chat back and forth for a few minutes. Then he leaves with his order and brings my coffee home. I joked that I will never be able to give them up now even if I wanted to. A friendly bunch!

Another quick story about these people, one time he saw someone he knows from the shop, sitting in his car with the window open. He said hi how goes things as he walked by, not wanted to interrupt the young man eating his lunch. It was a wrap cut into two halves. He insisted sharing with Gregg, passing one half out of the window, saying you must try this, it's delicious. He would not take no for an answer as he sincerely wanted him to try this food from a new restaurant in the area that friends of his had just opened. Gregg knows no strangers, he enjoyed his unexpected lunch and it saved him a trip to the bagel shop. 

Lunch: leftovers from yesterday.

Dinner: leftovers from yesterday.

Son called and we had a half-hour chat. From our house they went over to his in-laws as I mentioned. Lovely people and he always enjoys their company. After a five-hour break from having a meal with us, they sat down to their second yummy Thanksgiving Dinner of the day. 

Gregg went over to CostCo earlier. It was on the quiet side even with the big sales going on today.  We absolutely do not need any more food in this house, and he bought mainly paper products.  

Our evening was spent quietly. Reading for him and and blogging for me. We didn’t turn the TV on at all, not even to watch football. 

Saturday, 11-30-24: this photo popped up on my iPad, with a message saying that it was taken a year ago today. An ornament that is already on the tree, a polar bear holding a bird as he takes a selfie. Below you can just make the top of a Noah's Ark ornament. That must be in another box as I didn't find it in this one.

The sun is shining. In fact, it is going to be a good week but cold, next Wednesday being the highest with 48 deg. F.  The good news is that my knee has felt a lot better since last Monday. I took over-the-counter pain medication during Thanksgiving which helped a lot. I am a little leery of taking even milder pain pills, so I stopped those too and I will see how it goes.  

Ask me what we had to eat today? Leftovers!

Gregg went out to fill the bird feeders and replenish the water in the fountain. I heard a tap on the window, looked up and saw him holding a circle of ice that had formed in the bird fountain. It was so pretty with the sunlight shining through the ice, and I reached for my cell phone. When he said he was going to throw his new 'frisbee', I said "Hold on, I'll take a video." Here it is.

It is sometimes the little things in life that make us laugh, and Gregg and I are always laughing at ourselves in various situations. We don’t take ourselves too seriously.

The birds and squirrels now have a fresh supply of water and seed.

We ran a few errands and found ourselves driving by Lowe’s Hardware. They had the decorations out, greenery and an inflated Grinch with Rudolph I think it is supposed to be.  

He is not going to make it to our house.

Coming through the neighborhood there was at least one Santa, along with Snoopy. In between them the snowman that was in Frozen. I am probably one of the few who didn’t see the movie, except for small excerpts on TV. I do know his name is Olaf. We have no inflated decorations but they are popping up all over the neighborhood. 

I also saw the sign of a company who puts up the lights for you and took a photo. I said to Gregg you never know. He gave me a side-eye smile and to myself, we are both getting up there for standing on ladders to put lights up. I've been banned from them! We don't bother with lights usually.  One of Brad's school friends years ago once said we were that dark house up on the hill. I remember being rather sensitive about it, replying that there were candles in each window and a wreathe on the door. I don’t think we will get them done this year either, why start a trend now?  I popped the picture of the sign in our community folder just in case. Maybe next year?

Sunday, 12-1-24: son came over shortly after 8:00 a.m., after dropping our daughter-in-law off at work, which is about half an hour from us.  We have his company until 12.30 p.m. today. Breakfast was a latte and a lemon-poppyseed muffin, thanks to son who stopped off at our coffee shop before coming here. An hour later his dad cooks bacon, eggs and toast. I didn’t have any because of eating the muffin earlier.  We took selfies before he left.

3.47 p.m: Football is on the TV, showing the highlights of various games.  I am starting a new jigsaw puzzle. All is quiet at the bird feeder.  It is 41 degrees F. right now.

Our dinner today was steak, Brussels sprouts and grilled onions, courtesy of the man of the house who decided we finally needed more food. 99% of Thanksgiving leftovers have been taken care of. I put two containers of sweet potato casserole in the freezer.  

We are finding out that we did such a good job of cleaning up over the last few days, that neither of us can find things we need. Two baking sheets have totally disappeared, my vitamins, and several other items. Gregg found the following link on Instagram and we both had a good chuckle. This says a lot!  Next year we have decided we are making a list with items tidied away and where we tidied them away too. If we tucked them into a corner in the garage, it could be months. Our garage is like a black hole. 

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DC4NWO4PWo1/?igsh=MXZsOGF1cnI4NTN4dQ==

I am finishing off with a collection of ornaments. I downloaded a new collage app and had fun playing. This one allows you to move frames around with your finger.  Practice makes perfect, I hope! 

Thanks for visiting and 

can you believe it’s December already? 

Have a great one!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

 

Thanksgiving

The year has turned its circle,

The seasons come and go.

The harvest all is gathered in

And chilly north winds blow.

Orchards have shared their treasures,

The fields, their yellow grain,

So open wide the doorway,

Thanksgiving comes again!

  ~an old rhyme~

A snippet of history for you. 

Did you know that when the Pilgrims began their 66-day journey aboard the Mayflower in 1620, they weren’t wearing the buckled hats and black suits and dresses they are known for today. Sailing from Plymouth, England, to their settlement near Cape Cod, Massachusetts, the Saints, as they called themselves, actually wore clothing more tailored to their arduous voyage. The term “Pilgrim” didn’t originate until the early 1800s.

For those of you who are celebrating, 

I wish you all A Very Happy Thanksgiving. 

WEEKLY HAPPENINGS FROM MONDAY, 11/18/24 to SUNDAY, 11/25/24

Hello dear family, dear friends, and dear blogging friends.  I hope you have all had a great time since my last post. As you have told me how you enjoy them, I am keeping these daily journals going, for the time being at least, even though they seem very dreary to me in parts. There are times I think reading this must feel something like watching paint dry, but I am an extremely detailed person and it all goes in here, so once again feel free to skip. 

Several of you have also heard about this knee problem I have and have asked for details, so I add  progress reports along the way. Not a lot of getting out and about lately because of it, and with the even more colder months heading our way, not a chance I will be going outside to dance on the ice. 

Thank you for the encouragement, and for all the lovely emails, advice and other comments you have offered. And it certainly is fun catching up with you.  

Monday - 11/18/24:

I stopped my pain medication three days ago, because of being warned by my doctor not to take them longer than two weeks. They are too strong. I have an extremely sore knee today. Very disappointed!  I had a bad headache all day, withdrawal maybe?  Knee pain is not as severe as before I got that injection so counting my blessings. Maybe a few more days before I get to Green Spring Gardens. I will continue with the strengthening exercises. 

Gregg went to CostCo. It wasn't a big shopping trip and I can only remember that he bought Popcorn. See note below.

One more delay on making our soup. We had an email from our local supermarket telling us of a serious issue with their carrots. There was a Listeria contamination. The number they gave was on our bag. This sounded very serious so they were tossed immediately. If we had returned them they would have refunded us, but they had already been thrown away when we found that out.  

Breakfast was at noon. I fixed myself a poached egg on top of mashed sweet potato on top of a Trader Joe’s scallion pancake, and 6 fl. ozs. of orange juice. (Gregg was gone for a couple of hours out and about.) My breakfast will end up in one of my Monday Morning Recipes sometime. Not much of a recipe, but I want to remember to put it in rotation. 

Dinner: Gregg fixed a chicken sandwich with lettuce, lacy Swiss cheese and a thin slice of a beefsteak tomato. It was very tasty.

Snacks: a bowl of organic popcorn from CostCo made with olive oil. Gregg read about it. Excellent snack and above all, healthier than the regular popcorn we have gotten in the past. I was never too fond of it before but I like this better than any we have ever tried. Being CostCo, the bag is huge. You could stick a pole in there and make a tent out of it.  But, we have a small dish if we feel peckish, and it is good to have around. It makes a nice change of pace from celery sticks, raw cauliflower or broccoli. We know someone who was able to lose a substantial amount of weight replacing regular snacks in part with this, so we are sold and will have them every now and again in between enjoying the veggies. Variety is the key for me.

Tuesday - 11/19/24: we go to McDonalds for lunch one day a week. Afterwards we stopped at the supermarket to pick up another bag of carrots. I stayed in the car and watched the world go by. People-watching can be fun. Not as much fun as watching squirrels. Yes, I am joking but no one was jumping over mounds of leaves in the parking lot because they would feel icky and sticky to the bottom of their shoes/paws/feet. Customers weren't chasing each other away from the food inside their shopping carts, or performing acrobatic jumps in the trees. So boring and triple smiles. The parking lot wasn't that busy and Gregg said the supermarket was quiet also. He wasn't gone for long. 

We spent part of the afternoon making a very comforting tortellini soup, which hopefully I shared yesterday if I was able to post it in time. A lot of prep work, more than the normal amount of ingredients to prepare. If I was doing this on my own in the old days, before Gregg retired, I would start early in the morning. These days we share the work and it went quickly. I sat at the kitchen table and chopped garlic, sliced carrots and diced zucchini. I didn’t have to cry dicing the onions or use a mallet to punch down on the knife I use for cutting through the cabbage, and he did all the standing at the stove, cooking and stirring the soup. Everything was ready by dinnertime. At six we were sitting down. I knew it was going to be a good soup, but this was above what we expected, very flavorful.

Christmas decorations have gone up at all the shopping areas. It seems to me they are earlier this year. I saw Christmas Wreaths outside the store as we drove by, plus other kinds of holiday decorations, and even saw Christmas trees for sale on our way home. 

In our neighborhood, inflated Tom Turkey was spotted in a few gardens. You can always tell where the kiddos live.

I also saw inflatable Santa Clauses and Christmas trees in other gardens and more. Even decorations in the neighborhood feel earlier this year.  

Wednesday - 11/20/24: Not much to write about today. I mentioned my sore knee previously but today it is okay. I have had two medications to take and I took the wrong one, the painkiller I was supposed to stop taking, except that it was still next to my other meds that I have been keeping close by and I got them confused. The pills I shouldn't be taking have been moved into the spare bathroom medicine cabinet. 

Breakfast: Weetabix with almond milk, a tablespoon each of dried chopped dates and pumpkin seeds, plus six almonds.

Lunch: Gregg fixed chicken sandwiches from our already cooked rotisserie chicken from the store. He is a great sandwich fixer.

Dinner: He is out with our son this evening and I heated up a bowl of the tortellini veggie soup we made yesterday. It is now my new favorite soup, rainy outside and comfort food inside, perfect.

I made a batch of cranberry sauce for a head start on Thanksgiving. The recipe has instructions on how to freeze.  A wonderfully simple recipe with no bells or whistles.  

Thursday - 11/21/24: I am hoping we are going for a walk around Green Spring Gardens today. I will take my cane so, fingers crossed.

8.29 p.m: I am happy to say we did get over to Green Spring earlier. I was so happy I was doing jumping jacks followed by cartwheels and yes, all in my head.  Everything is starting to go to sleep but there were still some flowers to take photos of and I made it as far as just beyond the moon gate. There will be photos soon.

It wasn't a long walk but it was wonderful to get out. Cold but not bitterly so. Enough to keep most people away though. There were two ladies getting their exercise as they fast walked around the green. There was also a lady my age walking with her daughter. At least I thought it was her daughter, but she could have been her nurse. The lady was like me, walking with a cane. She was much better at it than I was, moving along quite fast but more with a shuffling gait. My cane still feels awkward in my hand and not a shuffling gait but a heavy limp. Maybe there is a YouTube out there giving lessons. Of course, the best person to ask would be the physiotherapist when I go for my first appointment. Why am I so awkward with this thing? That would be my first question. As a child I was often teased, not in a mean way. My family nickname was Neesy, and still is with my family over the pond. My other two nicknames were "Born” and “Awkward" used together, relating in part to me being a bit stubborn, but also to my tripping over everything. Even as a child I was a wee bit klutzy. This lady at the garden was making use of all the benches as I did. Because of the chill in the air, those seats felt as though they were akin to ice cubes, especially the metal ones. I didn’t sit on them for long. Born Awkward decided she had had enough and off we went back to the car. The important thing is we got a little exercise, and it was a start.

Near the university we passed an electric scooter that had been left at the crosswalk. We see them everywhere now and you have probably got them in your area. They all have GPS and you can pick them up at their original station, and drop them anywhere, as in this case at the traffic light, next to the crosswalk. A business employee comes around in a van and picks them up. You use a credit card and slip that into the scooter slot to start, you are tracked and your card is charged. I wondered what their statistics are on theft? The wheels would automatically lock I imagine. No one can drive them anywhere until the process is started all over again. I suppose someone could pick this one up and go further with another credit card, unless its battery is too low. 

I find it extraordinary.  I still have one foot in the old world and perhaps a few toes in the new.  It’s this just being able to drop them anywhere that I find a bit mind boggling. Very convenient for those who need them for relatively short trips. Walking is great but if you are running late? I wonder what their range is before the battery runs out? A lot of people own electric bicycles nowadays and you can also rent them at stands like the scooters. I wouldn't mind one of those. Gregg looks at me and says no, I don't think so. Born Awkward asked why not? Of course, no way says I. He did mention that there are electric bicycles that look like tricycles, and that makes me smile, but with everything else going on I think Born Awkward may be having a daydream. 

I heard the forecast say that bad weather was moving into Virginia, with maybe snow! Not sure if we are on the edge but we have bags of snow melter for our driveway and path up to the front door, just in case. (Added note: Apart from rain we missed most this bad weather. I hope those of you who had it are okay, safe and warm.)

Friday, 11/22/24: I treated myself to two Christmas ornaments, and one of them arrived yesterday. The second one should arrive tomorrow. They will go on my wings themed tree, the same as last year. This will include angels, birds and woodland animals, the last not necessarily with birds or wings, but they are honorary wingers and are always welcome. I started this theme last year. I have a collection of different birds. I accumulated many over the years and thought I could put them all on one tree. Many were given, all have sentimental value, all loved and treasured. This one had a red heart, and it spoke to me as its description reminds us of loved ones.

I would like to get the tree decorated in our family room in time for Thanksgiving, only the one this year. It is smaller, narrower and fits against the window in the space between the kitchen and family room. With a lot of people it is tradition to get these trees up in time for Thanksgiving. I thought that is a lovely idea. It allows more time to enjoy. I will not decorate the front room tree this year. I am trying to manage expectations, energy, ability levels, and a flea in the ear by my dear other half. He nodded sagely when I agreed with him.

Breakfast: as yesterday, Weetabix with pumpkin seeds and chopped dates, warmed milk as I ran out of almond milk.  

Lunch?: I can't remember. I may have eaten breakfast late and didn’t feel like it.

Dinner: Gregg bought home rye bread earlier and he made a chicken sandwich with lettuce and lacy Swiss Cheese, and a small bowl of our tortellini soup. There is enough left for one more bowl. We have been told to cut down on anything white. He doesn’t enjoy wheat bread, and he looked up on Google what would be a good one for him. He was told sourdough or rye. We haven’t had rye in a very long time, but sourdough occasionally. He brought two half loaves home and put them in the freezer, leaving enough to make the sandwiches. He is also the Freezer King. 

So, do you eat bread and if so what do you like!  I am being a bit nosy I know, but always curious and looking for new ideas.

Saturday, 11/23/24: I was hoping to get out today but was feeling a bit off.  It certainly couldn’t have been the coffee and donut my dear other half brought home from the supermarket. Tomorrow it will be oatmeal but oh that donut was a delicious treat. Not complaining at all. (Tomorrow wasn't oatmeal as you will read in a little bit.)

So, breakfast taken care of then and eaten late.

Lunch was skipped.

Dinner: steak, rice and peas courtesy of Freezer King 🤴

We made stock today for gravy (Thanksgiving again). Trying to get a good head start. 

Early night needed and I am off upstairs at 7:00 p.m.

Sunday, 11/24/24: our son arrived early which is the highlight of our week, as you may know if you have been reading my around and about posts for a while. He carried the tree up from the basement storage room and he and his dad put it up. I am now decorating it in bits and dabs. Hopefully I will have it completed by next Thursday, when son and daughter-in-law come over. I promised other half I would go at a snail-pace, a few at a time. When I think back to when I was very young, my family didn't put anything up until Christmas Eve and always took it down on 12th Night. That hasn’t changed, I still put everything away on 12th night.

I have quite a few on there now, including the two new ones, an angel with a cardinal on her shoulder above, and the one holding a heart below the old one of the bear also with a cardinal. I have had a passion for collecting Christmas Ornaments the whole time I have been married, as did my mother before me, with me adding one or two a year. Then there are those precious gifts family and friends have given me. I love getting the older ones out of the box...

and I am happy with the two I added.

Breakfast: Coffee and Lemon-Poppyseed Muffin which son brought from our local coffee shop. It was delicious, thank you son!

Lunch: Chicken salad sandwich on Rye Bread, toasted. 

Dinner: We finished off the tortellini soup. It was excellent, but I am ready for a change now. I was going to freeze some, but the dear man said we wouldn't need to do that. He was right.

I put the stock made yesterday in 2 cup and 1 cup portions in the freezer. I only need 4 cups for the gravy on Thursday, and will keep the rest until we make something else that requires it.

It is 9.21 p.m. and I am going to finish off here as I am off to bed. 

See you next Tuesday with another Around and About, and…