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?!

Sweet Memories

I had a conversation with Mom today. I unpacked Christmas bins and memories came flooding back. Mom gave me these candles as a Christmas gift...some time around the turn of the century! When I chatted with her today I told her how pretty they still are, and how I wish she was here to enjoy them.  Christmas was her favorite time of the year - I inherited that from her! 

They have always been too pretty to burn!

I'll find a way to gently heat them and correct their candle scoliosis!

Maybe this year I'll actually light their wicks.

Maybe not!

Love you, Mom and Dad 💕

You are here this Christmas,

...in my heart.

BING-NO

We belong to the Civic Association, which runs a monthly dinner and BINGO.  Neither of us are huge BINGO aficionados, but it gets us out to see other folks and have an inexpensive evening of fun(?)!

Dinner and BINGO cost the princely sum of $11 each.

This month's dinner was 2 hot dogs, a bowl of beans, chips and ice cream for dessert.

You can't argue with that price!  

After dinner our certified BINGO caller steps up to the mic, and things get serious...

well, maybe not!

Daubers are at the ready.

I silently appeal to the BINGO Gods to announce a number I can use.

It rarely works. 

Another month /year of not being able to call out "BINGO"!

For me, it was definitely BING-NO!

 

Horse Show

 Our community Equestrian Association had a fun-time horse show on Saturday.  It began with a costume parade that was fun to watch. 

This sweet pony was very fuzzy.

This stocky horse seemed to have a marvelously calm disposition.

This was another calm horse, and he seemed to like showing off is decorations

The donkey was my favorite equine.

The horse behind the donkey later decided he wanted to roll in the sand, and plopped down before the rider really knew what he was doing. Luckily, she got him back up before he flopped on his side.

Santa came to visit as well. He was a grateful, jovial guy, just like a Santa should be.

But, not everyone wanted a picture taken with the big, red elf! 

I did not stay to see any of the other competitions, but it looked like they had a fun line-up of classes that would appeal to beginners as well as advanced riders, as well as both English and Western riders.

A Perfect Day Gardening

 Although we had a chilly (for central Florida) start to the day on Friday, it warmed up and we enjoyed a beautiful sunny day.  I did a little work in the garden. 

It's a bit of a challenge trying not to grip anything with my right hand!  I did manage to transplant three walking Iris. I planted them in a shady area of the garden last year, then we had trees removed and the area became too sunny for the Iris. They were quite unhappy.

The Mister, after having dug up an area for the Iris, planted a Leyland cypress we had purchased quite some time ago.  I added a few baubles for the season.

As I puttered around the yard I came across some prettiness I had to share:

Gerbera Daisy

Tractor Seat Plant

Azalea

Our first Camellia bloom of the season

All of the blooms were on plants we planted over the past year.

Holiday Preparations

 I have slowly been preparing for Christmas. 

Very slowly!

I did climb up to the attic to hand down some bins and boxes of Christmas doo-dads to the Mister, who stood below waiting to grab things. I always find it fun to rediscover Christmas! This year I'm finding that I'm missing things. Hmmm, did we give it away? Throw it away? Bring it here, but it is still hiding in a box somewhere?

I have jettisoned many Christmas items from the past, and occasionally I do miss them, but we just didn't/don't have the space. 

I did find our fake tree, and found a corner where it will work. I have more ornaments to add. Frequently I grab one and hang it as I go by the tree. I want to get tinsel. It can make a huge mess, but I love the way it sparkles. Do you fondly recall tinsel of old...like the leaded tinsel that we carefully saved each year?! (Or wadded up into balls to toss at siblings!)

Our stockings are hung....

we don't have a fireplace.

For now they are on this display cabinet.

Later I may put them under the TV, and access one of the online fireplace displays,

complete with cracking log sounds!

I threw this hanging together once we moved up here. 

I quilted it on my embroidery machine.

I'm glad I have a long arm quilting machine 

because using the embroidery machine for this purpose is a PITA!

Here and there I have a few other seasonal items I've hung onto.

We put up some lights outside, and I have a few wreaths to hang on the front and side doors.

I'm sure we will put up a few more Christmas items before the day.

But, the big deal is that we decided to continue our long-standing tradition of having our neighbors and friends come to our home for breakfast on Christmas morning.  

I sent out invitations earlier this week. 

(If y'all are in the area, come on by!)

It started over 30 years ago. Both sets of parents were living within 15 miles of us. My mother and father always celebrated on Christmas Eve. My in-laws always celebrated with a huge Christmas dinner. What was I to do?  Why, of course, the only meal left: Christmas breakfast! 

Then one year a friend and her family had no one visiting. So we invited them to our breakfast. The next year we expanded, and invited a few more friends without family. and our family for breakfast.  Following that, we invited our neighbors, friends, and family. 

We have only briefly met folks in our neighborhood. We decided to continue our tradition, and perhaps get to know our neighbors a bit better. We could have 4 extra folks in, or we could have 24...either way, it will be fun to have folks here to celebrate the day. 

Do you have special holiday traditions?

Do you host a special meal over the holidays?

What is your favorite dish?

Saddle Up Your Horses...What Horse??!!

The Mister and I attended the Pine Ridge Equestrian Association Christmas party last night. 

They had a DJ and a barbecue dinner. Additionally, there was a silent auction as a fund raiser for two local horse rescue organizations.

Showing some Christmas spirit:

My favorite thing at the party was watching Smores and Butterscotch (Hasbro 'ponies' from 2006) react to the music. They were a hoot to watch. 

The Mister and Dan chat at the table to the left. Dan happened to have a Nichols School cap on.  My dad went to Nichols.  It turns out that Dan's dad was also a student there, and our fathers probably were in the same class! It is such a small world!

The silent auction had over 100 items - most were horse-related, and were donated by members. Some items were new, others were well loved. 

The saddle on the bottom of the rack, covered by the other, was a Passier saddle from Germany.  I used to have a Passier saddle. Out of nostalgia I kept looking at that saddle. I don't have a horse.  But no one has bid on it. Even if I had a horse I probably wouldn't ride it.  But it is only $3.00. I'll put a bid on it and then someone will overbid me. The saddle is in great condition..it is an all-purpose saddle, so it would even be good for trail riding...if I had a horse...and if I chose to ride.  

I now own a saddle!

What will happen next??

Eep Jeep!

We have a Jeep Grand Cherokee 4xe hybrid.  Other than our first mishap with the vehicle, it has performed admirably. Well, OK, there was the one time when the engine battery died... but truly, the car has been great. Some weeks the engine rarely runs on gas as we are just toodling along on electric. A few times the engine has insisted on running on gas, even though the battery is fully charged. It seems that the car keeps track of its gasoline consumption, and if gas isn't used for a while,  it will insist that the motor use gas so the fuel does not become stale!

We received a recall notice:

1. Battery Fire Risk (NHTSA Recall 24V-720, expanded 2025):

   • Models Affected: 2022-2026 Jeep Grand Cherokee 4xe. 
   Problem: Battery cells can have separator damage, leading to fire risk while parked or driving. 
   Action: Park outside, away from structures, and do not plug in to charge until fixed. 

Well, cr%p...so we now have a Jeep that, until a fix is found, can't be used as a hybrid. Additionally, we need to park away from any structures or other vehicles....and our new garage is almost finished. Such irony.

Then, we hear about an additional recall:

2. Engine Fire/Failure Risk (2024-2025 Models):

• Models Affected: Specific 2023-2025 Grand Cherokee 4xe. 
• Problem: Sand from manufacturing left in the engine can cause catastrophic failure, loss of power, or fire. 
• Warning Signs: Engine knocking, warning lights. 

Oh, wonderful, our car can catch fire if it is standing somewhere outside, or it can catch on fire while we are driving it. Not sure I am a fan of either option!

The kicker??? Jeep does not have a fix for either problem yet. 

The Mister had a wee chat with a representative from Jeep/Chrysler today. He was put on hold several times while the rep researched the information and/or chatted with a supervisor. It seems that we may be able to rent a car and be reimbursed when/if a fix is found for our vehicle and it can be repaired. 

Swell!

Plants of a Different Kind

When the Mister and I ventured forth to Grumbles House we picked up a few plants. (Of course we did!) The Mister selected a few succulents and some carnivorous plants, he's always found them fascinating. 

I liked this gnarly-leafed succulent and planted it in my 'succulent rock'.

Then we noticed a few Pointsettias that are quite different from the usual grocery/hardware store variety.

One has much smaller flowers bracts. It is a Princettia.

and the other is the Christmas mouse (perhaps the one that wasn't stirring on Christmas Eve?!) It is actually the Mouse Ear Poinsettia. 

I needed some sort of sun-loving plant to replace those we lost in the garden when we had trees removed, and suddenly the area was too bright and hot for them.  As we wandered through the plants we came across the Chinese Hat plant; "Holmskioldia". We now have two of these ornamental perennials...which could grow rather large if not kept pruned a bit!

I think the Chinese hats are cute as can be, and they bring a spot of color to that part of my garden.

Pretty Bows

I bought some red flocked ribbon to make bows for outside decorations.  I wanted the bows to be consistent in size. Being somewhat handicapped by the brace, and an admonition from my Doc not to pinch anything between my thumb and forefinger, I wasn't sure how best to make the bows. 

I remembered seeing a video years ago about using a fork to make tiny bows. I ventured out to the barn to get a large fork...

I propped the fork up, and followed the tutorial I found online. 

I was able to make 19 bows out of the 75' roll of ribbon. I might get more ribbon and adorn the front fence!