Merry Christmas

 Merry Christmas to all!

The Calm Before the Storm

 We had another busy day of getting ready to meet and greet our neighbors and enjoy more than a bite to eat Christmas morning! We both had long lists of things to accomplish...and we made its through most everything. 

Tomorrow morning will be hectic, putting one dish in, stirring another, taking a casserole out, plating fruit and veggies, cheese and sweets, and getting them all in their places. Luckily the weather, if it cooperates, will be warm enough that much of the food can go out on the lanai.

Even though I had 'older' eggs for my hard-boiled eggs, evidently they weren't old enough! It took me far too long to peel them. I tried every trick, even my fail-safe method of shaking them in a jar of water. It was almost noon before I finished this one dish. 

I dropped the sugar container on the floor. 😜

Luckily it stayed upright and only a small amount flew out the top.

I had help cleaning it up right away. I laughed at the tongue tracks along the floor!

It almost looked as if a large snail had come through my kitchen.

I won the Stupid Award for the day! 😝

I decided my crockpot wasn't very festive so I wrapped a band of wrapping paper around it, cutting out a hole for the control knob.  Doesn't it look sweet? 

Now, I have to cook grits in it overnight.

Tell me, where is 'low'?

What about 'high'?

Does this model have a 'keep warm' setting?

So, now it is almost time for bed.

What's done is done.

What isn't finished can be addressed in the morning...

or perhaps it isn't that important!

This table holds serving pieces, sweets and crackers to be put together and put outside tomorrow.

The Mister's almost clean office is in the background. A few days ago one could barely walk in there. Since we moved it has been a repository for anything and everything we didn't know where else to store.

The hot foods will be served on the island. 

Coffee is set up in the background and other beverages will be on the counter to the left. 

As I said before,

what's done is done.

Merry Christmas to all...

and to all a good night!

Getting Ready for the Day

 The last few days have been busy. I've shopped a few times, at different stores and different times, trying to get everything I need for the varied dishes I'll serve for breakfast on Christmas. (Shopping at different stores and different times means I'm not hit with a huge surprise at checkout!) The Mister is in charge of the 'bar' and he has a few more things to get. 

I've been cleaning - mostly spending time working on the pool deck and the lanai...both areas we have neglected since the temps dipped to where neither of us prefers to swim. I've also pulled out serving dishes and seldom-used glassware so I can get them washed. 

I hemmed some Christmas fabric to make table coverings for a few of the serving tables and a card table for extra seating. The weather might be nice enough on Christmas morning so that we can open the sliding glass doors and put the card table by the pool. Have I ever mentioned that our new home is quite a bit smaller (I generally say 'cozier') than our previous house?! I'm still not certain where all of the serving dishes are going to go!

Tuesday I cooked 3 pounds of bacon. Using the griddle was a perfect solution. All of that bacon grease was so much easier to manage...and clean up was a breeze. On Christmas morning I can heat the bacon  and put it in the heated serving tray. The girls 'supervised' my cooking...hoping I'd drop a piece or two for them!

Tomorrow my prep continues. I have a list of food prep things I can do,  as well as the last minute house cleaning/tidying that would be nice to accomplish.  By the time I go to bed I hope to have all counters and tables ready for bowls, plates and trays...and I'll spend Christmas morning shoving casseroles in the oven, and pulling others out.

At some point I'll recover and remember why I wanted to invite all of our neighbors to breakfast on Christmas morning!

Look Through Any Window

 When I thought about starting this post, the title of The Hollies' song (1965) came to mind. If you are of my era, you may recall it.

Of course, now I have an "earworm" . That song is on instant replay in my head!

But, this post isn't really about looking through a window...it's about my former window, now a frame for some sort of painting. 

I am still not thrilled with the work, but, it'll do for now. 

It's all a learning curve!

The Lull Before the ... Party

As I mentioned previously, we invite neighbors and friends for Christmas breakfast. Unbelievably, EVERY neighbor did RSVP! It seems that in the past folks often didn't bother. We will have 27 guests...and I am providing breakfast for all of them! 

Here are a few pics from 2024:

What makes this a bit easier is that over the years I have kept a spreadsheet with all kinds of notes. Some of the tabs on the spreadsheet include:

Invitations - with a check off when I send one, or hand deliver one

Menu - this sheet is broken down into basic categories, like finger foods, egg dishes, etc. I also have a column for recipes and notes from previous years, like, "don't bother" or "folks liked this" or "double the recipe"

Shopping - as I review each recipe I list items I need to get, in columns by grocery type; frozen foods, dairy, and so on.

To Do - of course I have this one... listing all of the basic party prep things

 

and the most important sheet....

Timing! Here I break down things I need to do beginning about 5 days before Christmas. I try to cook as much in advance as I can, or prep things by chopping and sautéing ingredients and sticking them in the fridge for a day so I just need to pull out a baggie or

A Mahjong Blessing

 I penned a Mahjong Blessing for my friends. (It's fun to say "penned", but can one really say that when a computer was used to write it?!) 

A few days ago I had an opportunity to play Mahjong with three ladies from the "Branches" group, a subset of a newcomers group that I joined.  The Branches seem to be an active group of women, 

("older" women,  I guess I am one!),

 in the development in which I live.  

I gave each player a copy of the blessing:

Sadly, my blessing brought no luck my way. 

I was almost to the point where I needed to pull the quarter off to pay my debts. 

As in my recent BINGO (BING-NO) experience...

my Mahjong games were a bust!

Maybe next time!

Proverbs

 Do you have personal proverbs that guide your life? (Or perhaps there are adages that irritate you?) My dad constantly told me, as well as my brother and sister, (and probably my mom) that we should always be doing something constructive...and that we must finish what we start.

These sayings certainly have shaped my life. But, maybe not always in a good way! If/when I don't finish something, I shoulder a bundle of guilt and carry it around until I get that project that is nagging me completed. 

As a quilter and crafter, I have many UFO's - unfinished objects. See the two stacks of  bins on the bottom of my shelves? Those are just some of my projects-in-waiting! There are more projects scattered elsewhere in different stages of completion... as well as pictures with ideas for projects on my phone, and my head is full of ideas as well!

For some twisted reason, in my mind, I have decided that my dad would feel that sitting and reading a book is not constructive use of my time. Therefore, I find it extremely difficult to enjoy reading during the day! Well, it's not just the constructive thing weighing in, I also just see so many things around me that I want to do! Just yesterday I was raking up some leaves and cleaning up my back garden. As I swept the pea gravel off the stepping stones I realized that the large stone was begging to be made into a compass rose! Bam! Another constructive thing to add to my list!

I could paint something like this on that stepping stone...dontcha think?!