Silver Linings

 I hate to sound like a broken record but The Mister and I are still down for the count. I got up yesterday and did a bit of much needed housework and then I felt like Bambi on ice for the rest of the day. The Mister, who was feeling much better, decided to help himself to a roast beef and stinky cheese sandwich last night. He then spent the entire night very sorry he did. Bwahahahahah.....sorry, but I told him not to eat it and well, the "I told you so" was mean but at the same time very satisfying.

There is however, one good thing from all this misery. We woke up to this view this morning.

It's not very often that I get to see snow while the Christmas tree is still up and it made me happy. Even better, the outside lights are still up too. I would have yanked it all down last week if I had not been sick and been very sorry for it today.

The one fly in the ointment is that there won't be a big pot of spicy Hoppin 'John on the stove tomorrow to welcome in the New Year. The rice we can do. The beans-not so much.
Happy New Year's Eve!

Laughter is the Best Medicine

 On my third day of the tummy thing I decided to just give up and spend the day laying in bed binge watching stand ups on Netflix. By bedtime I was feeling better. I managed to eat a baked potato and a little applesauce. That's the only food I've had since Tuesday and I hope I don't regret it. I wanted to lose a few pounds this holiday but this is ridiculous.

Pup has not been enjoying this down time but it's been so cold we wouldn't have been romping around much anyway. My sunny bedroom has been nice and warm.

A complete recovery can't come quick enough though. Let me remind you of what the bathroom off my bedroom looks like. It was a long, cold walk to the unheated basement bathroom every time I had to go and I think it's been about a million times. Ugh. What a week.

Thanks for all the book recommendations from yesterday's post. I went looking for some titles last night and I stumbled upon a page of books offered up in a 2 for 1 sale. I can't believe I've never read this as much as it's referenced. It's mine now.

I had never heard of this book before someone left a comment about it and there it was on sale. I got my money's worth because it's 44 hours and 59 minutes long. Yowza. Now I just need to get out of this bed. I listen better when I am doing something. If I'm not knitting or stitching, I just fall asleep. Thank goodness for Alexa's 30 minute sleep timer.

A Classical Resolution

  I don't have a thing to post about today because The Mister and I have both been in bed for two days with a nasty stomach bug. Ugh. We have both been so sick. This is what my world looks like. Not much going on I'm afraid.

I am very happy that I bought several new Dots for my bedroom and for the craft rooms when they were on sale right before Christmas. I've been using all this down time having Alexa catch me up on my Audibles.

I never know what to do with my monthly credit and usually either save them up or use them for something I don't end up liking. Last January I decided to use it to buy a classic or at least a book that has made some kind of important impact on the literary world. I started the year with Great Expectations. It was 30 plus hours of pleasure and I usually stay away from books that long.

With all the political references in the headlines I thought I would go to the source.  I could never get all the way through the movie but the book is so much better. Even though I knew the ending it kept me on the edge of my seat.

This was scary.  I love a good WW2 story but when the horror comes to our shores and affects our way of life it's terrifying.

Wow. Just wow. This was a tough listen.

In the spring I went for something romantic-which of course, usually turns into anything but. This was no exception.

This book was shocking. I've seen the movie but the book is very gritty and dark.

This book will also shock you if you've seen the movie. It goes far beyond what the movie censors would ever allow in language and cruelty and it will tear your heart out. A bonus is that the narrator sounds just like Henry Fonda.

This is the Welsh version of The Grapes of Wrath. Books like these remind you of how much we have to be thankful for and how important it is to fight to preserve it.

I ended my year of the classics with of course. what else. Again, it you have seen the movie you will be amazed at how many other places the book takes you. I think I may continue this little project next year as well since I don't see any Jane Austin here. Do you have a must read classic? I'd appreciate any suggestions.

All Soaped Up

 In between the holiday sewing projects, making cookies, wrapping presents and working on my Santa puzzle I managed to make more soap last week too.

 I have been looking for a reason to use this special oil I got from of all places-the vets. The bird vet wants me to feed it to my parrot but as soon as I saw it I knew it had to also be soap.

 It looks like pumpkin guts but I have read that it is amazing for the skin.

 I also wanted to use a new fragrance sample that came in the mail last week. It's White Thyme and Rosemary and it smells wonderful. Like Herbal Essence for those of us old enough to remember that popular shampoo.

I bet you can guess which one got the red palm oil. Yep. The one on the far right. That bright yellow is all red palm and it smells like Patchouli. The middle one is Nuture Soap's Awaken which is lemongrass and bergamot. With these three additional loaves the grand total right now is 81 little bars curing-but I'm not done. I've got a few more fragrances I want to do before my drying racks are full again. You just can't have enough soap.

Dribs and Drabs

Christmas doesn't happen all at once around here and I don't put it all away at once either. First the clutter goes. You know, the things that get in the way. All the glittery doo dads are the first to be packed away.

 The puzzle has to come off my sewing table. I've got things to do. Taking it apart takes almost as most time as putting it together. Not really but it seems like it. It takes a while.

Every year I end up with a peppermint collection. Why do I always  think it was a good idea to get hundreds of candy canes? Seriously, I bought a box of 110 candy canes. Why????

The tree stays up for a few more days but I don't turn the lights on anymore.  It actually looks better unlit. I am going to have to work on the lighting next year. It was pretty bad.

 The table runner and the new mini quilt are staying on the buffet until New Year's because I didn't want to relocate all that booze quite yet. We added a lot of bottles to the collection over the past few weeks and now I am going to have to do something about that mess.

 Pup's not ready to give up her Christmas toys yet. Poor crinkly Santa took a beating this afternoon.

 After cleaning up all the Christmas clutter what did I do?  Watched an episode of The Crown 2 and played with some paper piecing.

I need a January mini quilt and I've got a stash full of blue winter themed material. Seems like a plan but can I get it done before the first? I doubt it but I'll give it a go.

And to All a Good Night

 I am so tired right now that trying to put a few sentences together for this post seem an almost impossible task but I'm going to try since there is a lot I'd like to remember about Christmas Day. First, a friend in France who always sends me a box of gifts took my breath away this year by including a box from his mother's stash.

That's angora there people. Several balls of exquisite angora. Yowza.

 Then there was Pup. I bought her a dress to wear to Christmas dinner as a joke. She actually wore it all day and didn't seem to mind. She looked adorable.

 Before dinner we had lots of good things to nibble on.

 Then there was the big unwrapping frenzy. The Grands were both under the weather with colds but they still got into the spirit of the day.

 The table was beautiful.

 The food was delicious.

Dessert was heavenly. Now I am ready for bed where I intend to stay for a long time. I think I've finally got my fill of Christmas-it was a very good year.

Season's Greetings

We are off to the Grands today. Yesterday I scrubbed my floor. Really scrubbed it. On my hands and knees. No tile left untouched. It's a Christmas Eve tradition that always give me a good case of the feels. I cry. I laugh. I sing along with Mitch. It's my connection to Christmas past when the family would gather here for dinner and general mayhem. I would clean for days.

I clean while the winter minestrone bubbles. We always do Italian on Christmas Eve.

Lasagna is traditional. Always was. Not sure why but it's what we do. It's just The Mister and me now but I still cook for a herd.     

I hung silver icicles on the tree since my tinsel was a bust. Amazon delivered them yesterday morning. Imagine that.

Peppermint martinis after dinner made us nostalgic.

We looked at photos of Christmases past.

The Santa puzzle got finished.

So did the poinsettia mini quilt.

And Daddio's wonky Christmas log cabin. It was just what I needed to snuggle under while watching A Christmas Story last night. No snow. Just rain but all was merry and bright.
Happy Christmas!