Holiday Gifts

 

A New Pair of Socks

On Tuesday, I finished knitting another new pair of socks - the photograph doesn't show the colors properly, but, the socks are knitted with dark blue and light blue acrylic yarn.  This pair will be given as a New Year's gift to one of my relatives.

I spent part of the day wrapping gifts and tagging them.  I also ordered two additional gifts that I wanted to complete the gifts I had planned to give to two young people on my gift list.  A set of pens to go with a journal for one person and a set of crochet hooks, yarn needles, and stitch markers to go with a book on crochet for another person who wants to learn how to crochet.  This seems to be the year of crafts/activity kits.  I had bought some unfinished wooden signs with saying from the dollar store and they will be paired with a set of acrylic paints and paint brushes to be given as gifts and one other person is receiving a painting kit.  

I also sorted through and tidied two of the drawers in the sideboard where I store gift wrap and gift bags, etc.  I have Christmas related gift wrap in one drawer and all occasion gift wrap in the second drawer.  I still need to sort through the third drawer  I am hoping that I will be able to store my card making supplies in that drawer.

On Tuesday, I was grateful for:

- Being able to order the last of the gifts online
- Free delivery
- Weekly trash collections
- My yarn stash
- Working appliances

Tuesday's joyful activity was knitting.

Plans for Wednesday include tidying the third drawer in the sideboard and making more cards.

How was your Tuesday?  What are your plans for Wednesday?  

Mid-December

 

Omelet with Mizuna and Mugwort

I made an omelet for brunch, one morning, last week, and added some freshly picked Japanese herbs to it.

Here we are, midway through December already!

On Monday, I wished a cousin's daughter for her birthday, wrapped a few more gifts, got some of the almsgiving donations ready, washed my hair, and took the trash can and recycling bin out to the curb.

In the evening, daughter and I visited my cousin V.  One of her daughters who lives in New York was visiting with her two young sons so we had a little family get together.  Cousin V made appa (hoppers) for dinner - they are made from a fermented rice flour batter that is swirled around small bowl shaped, mini wok type pan,  The batter makes a thin crispy border, while the extra batter collects and steams at the bottom of the pan to made a soft, pillowy center.  I didn't take any pictures of the appa this time, but, here's a picture I took on a previous visit when V made appa:

Appa/Hoppers

We took the two gifts I had wrapped earlier and tagged with the snowman themed gift tags to give to the two boys as early Christmas gifts.  

Daughter drove us there and back.  She said she didn't like the drive there, but, felt more relaxed on the drive back.  

The rest of the evening went by quickly.  I tidied up the big dining table where I had set up my  gift wrapping station and ordered more gifts for the people on my gift list, with daughter's help (five of the gifts I ordered were for young women in my daughter's age group and she's friends with them, so she was helpful in selecting their gifts).  We ordered seven gifts in total this time, with two of them being shipped directly to relatives who live out of state.  

I enjoy giving gifts, although I often struggle with selecting gifts.  I budget $25 per month for gifts for the extended family and friends (for birthdays and Christmas/New Year's), for a total of $300 per year.  There were some lean years when I budgeted $10 per month for a total of $120 per year.  This budget does not include gifts to my daughter.  When it comes to Christmas/New Year's gifts, I try to keep the spending to an average of $10 per person.   The challenge is to find something suitable in that price range.  So far, I've been able to find board games and books, crafts kits and toys, specialty cookies, homemade jams, and accessories.

On Monday, I was grateful for:

- Visiting with my cousins and family
- Cousin making appa for dinner

- Daughter had a safe drive there and back
- Daughter helping me with choosing and ordering gifts
- Free shipping

Monday's joyful activity was getting together at my cousin's house for dinner.

Plans for Tuesday include making cards, wrapping gifts, and maybe decorating the Christmas tree.

What are your plans for the week?

On Sunday

 

Aloe Flowers in the Back Garden

The aloe flowers in the front garden haven't opened up, yet, but, this plant in the back garden (a different species of aloe) has several flower stalks in bloom.

On Sunday, daughter spent the day in the company of several of her friends.  They did their White Elephant/Stocking Stuffers gift exchange, played some games, did a couple of escape rooms, had dinner, and visited another friend on the way home.  Daughter said she laughed for the first time since Dancer died.  

I spent a relaxed day at home.  I walked for 20 minutes, added more lights to the Christmas tree, sorted through and disposed of a few of Dancer's things including the brush we used to brush him, wrapped a couple of gifts, watched some online videos and knitted.  

I like to save the holiday greeting cards I receive and I often reuse the card fronts to make new cards or to serve as gift tags:

Old Card Front

Reused as a Gift Tag
(I pleated the gift wrap to create a pocket to
slip the gift tag in)

I was happy to find snowman themed card fronts to coordinate with my snowman themed wrapping paper.

Another Card Front

Another Gift Tag

On Sunday, I was grateful for:

- Daughter had a good day out with her friends
- I had a relaxed day at home
- Garden flowers
- Being able to reuse old card fronts
- My yarn stash

Sunday's joyful activities included spending time in the garden and knitting.

Plans for Monday include visiting my cousin in the evening, after daughter gets off work.

How was your Sunday?  What are your plans for Monday?

Moving On

 

Winter Roses

Thank you, again, to everyone who has sympathized with us over the loss of our much loved Dancer.  I've shared your comments with daughter and we both appreciate your caring. We really miss him.

On Friday, I did another load of laundry, swept and mopped the kitchen, the bathroom, and my bedroom.  I made a few phone calls and confirmed the date of the almsgiving with the monks at the temple and made plans to visit one of my cousins as her daughter and grandsons are visiting from New York.  

M was here to tend to the garden on Friday evening and he took down the bin with the spare strands of lights for the Christmas tree, but, I haven't made any further efforts to decorate the tree and daughter is not in the mood to do anything, either.

Friend R visited on Friday evening to pick up her packages that she had delivered to my address.  We chatted a bit and had tea before she left.  Daughter and I offered to drive her to her apartment, but, she didn't want to trouble us, she said.  So, daughter called for a ride for her.  Friend R has offered to come and help me with the almsgiving preparations, which is very kind of her.

Much later in the evening, daughter wanted to talk and we got into a rather intense discussion about religion and why I believe what I believe, and did I think action A carried more merit than action B, etc.  She had a lot of questions and I tried to answer to the extent I could.  By the time we finished our discussion, it was past 4:00 a.m. and then, daughter went to bed.  I, on the other hand, stayed up till after 7:00 a.m.

On Saturday, daughter woke me up at 11:00 a.m. to let me know that one of her friends had called to let her know that she wanted to drop something off.  I had only had 4 hours of sleep, but, I got up and got dressed.  Her friend brought us a lovely orchid plant and stayed for a chat and a visit.  

Later in the afternoon, daughter and I went to the pharmacy to pick up one of my medications and afterwards, we went to the adjoining dollar store to look around.  I bought another packet of white tissue paper, white paper napkins for the almsgiving, and some frozen food (Jamaican hand pies, burritos) and snacks (microwave popcorn).  Daughter found a couple of crafts supplies.  I think we both benefitted from being out of the house for a bit.  

I cooked some ground beef for dinner, with tomatoes, grated carrots, and spices added to it, and I boiled some spaghetti.  Daughter had her spaghetti with the ground beef mixture and pesto.  I opened a jar of spaghetti sauce for my ground beef and pasta.  The leftovers are in the fridge for another meal.  

I also spoke with Aunt C in the evening.  According to her daughter, Aunt C has been diagnosed with dementia.  I had my suspicions based on previous chats with Aunt C, but, I didn't want to say anything until my cousin confirmed it.  

Plans for Sunday include making my New Year cards and wrapping up a few gifts.

I am grateful for:

- Everyone's kind comments and empathy
- Daughter's friends being there for her
- A lovely sympathy card with a personal note from Dancer's vet
- The availability of medications
- Working appliances

Joyful activities have included spending time with daughter, knitting, planning the almsgiving.  

Hope you are all having a lovely weekend.

On Thursday

 

Flowers from the Vet's Clinic

On Thursday morning, this lovely bouquet of flowers arrived from the doctors and staff at the animal hospital/vet clinic where I had taken Dancer from the day he came into our lives.  I thought it was very sweet of them to do so.  

Thank you, everyone, for all your kind comments on the previous post about Dancer.  My daughter and I appreciate all the sympathy, empathy, and love you've extended to us.  Your comments have brought us comfort as we grieve the loss of our Dancer kitty whose presence in our lives was such a blessing.

Daughter, especially, is heartbroken over losing Dancer.  She cried herself to sleep on Wednesday night and woke up crying on Thursday morning.  She took the day off from work because she needed a little time to grieve.  

I, too, miss him, but, I think I had been mentally preparing myself for this eventuality for a few months, now.

I busied myself doing household tasks.  I did laundry and washed all the sofa dust sheets as well as our clothes.  Now that Dancer is gone, we won't have to cover the sofas to keep his fur off them.  I dusted and vacuumed the living room and dining area and removed the bowl of kibble and the open bag of kibble he insisted on having access to, as well.  I washed all of Dancer's food and water dishes; I'm not sure if I will donate them to the animal shelter or just toss them.  I cleaned his litter box one last time and removed all the pee pads and newspaper we had put down around it for the times when he couldn't make it to the litter box.  And I tossed the fluffy white knitted scarf he had claimed as his "lovey", which he would carry around with him:

Dancer and his "Lovey" in Happier Times

I also ordered and picked up groceries as we needed more half and half, bread, fruit, and a few other items, including a couple of treats.  Ground beef was on sale for $5.99/lb. and I bought two packages.  I kept one in the fridge to cook this weekend and froze the other.  

I had boiled mung beans for brunch on Wednesday and daughter had some of the leftover mung beans for her brunch, on Thursday.  Later, she ate some of the croissants I bought as part of my grocery order.  I had a croissant sandwiched with tuna salad for my brunch.  Later, I cooked curried pork chops and broccoli for dinner, which we had with leftover rice.  For dessert, we had a Sri Lankan treat called kalu dodol - made with coconut milk cooked with jaggery until it forms a dark, sticky, gelatinous fudge.  It is one of the items I brought from the Sri Lankan store.  

On Thursday, I was grateful for:

- The bouquet of flowers the vet's clinic sent
- All the kind comments everyone left on the previous post
- Daughter was able to spend time with Dancer before he had to go
- Daughter was able to take time off from work to grieve
- Memories of a loving kitty

Thursdays joyful activities included reminiscing about Dancer.

Plans for Friday include putting away a mountain of clean laundry, tending to the garden with M, cleaning the kitchen, and a visit from friend R who is coming to pick up her packages.

How was your Thursday?  What are your plans for Friday?  

Dancer

 

Dancer: Always Found the Sun Beam 

He "danced" into our lives one August evening in 2008, after a Friday evening ballet class at the dance studio where my daughter and I took dance classes.

Another student had found him and his two siblings behind a shed and rescued them.  When she brought him into the class, we lost our hearts to a tiny ball of grey fluff we named Dancer.

And for 17+ years, we danced to his tune when it came to his choice of food and favorite napping spots, yielding our seats on the sofa when he chose to sit there and stopping what we were doing when he wanted cuddles.

He was always our helper kitty, always willing to lend a helping paw with whatever we were doing:

Quilt Quality Control

Assembling the Raised Planting Bed with Daughter

He would, sometimes, write a blog post and share his view of things and his words of wisdom.

He always found the spot with a beam of sunshine and that's what he did, on Wednesday afternoon, December 10, around 3:00 p.m., when I took this picture of him.

Dancer, in the Sun Beam

This is the last picture we took of Dancer at home, asleep in the warmth of a sunbeam.  We took him to the vet's clinic, one last time, at 4:00 p.m. and, of course, true to his self, he threw up on the way, just before we reached the parking lot.

He had been having health issues for a few years now, diagnosed with hyperthyroidism, kidney disease, and arthritis, decreasing in weight from 16 lbs. to 5lb. 6 oz. today.  We noticed a rapid decline in the past couple of days .  He was not eating.  He was not drinking.  He was finding it hard to walk with his hind legs sliding out from under him and his front legs buckling.  He cried in pain and he hid under the furniture.

The vet diagnosed him with kidney failure.  She said they could do some aggressive treatment but, it would not enhance his quality of life and only prolong the inevitable for a short while.  We made the difficult decision to spare him the pain.

In Daughter's Arms at the Vet's Clinic

For 17+ years, he was a big part of our lives.  He leaves his paw prints on our hearts and a big Dancer-sized hole in our lives.  

May you sleep in the sunshine and be at peace for ever more.  

I am grateful for Dancer and the love and joy he brought us.

Yet Another Cat Hair!

 

The First Decoration

The poor Christmas tree is still without the additional strands of lights, but, I hung the first decoration on it - a felt stocking that my daughter made in grade 1.  For years, she disliked how it turned out, because she tried to "dress" the gingerbread man with bits of felt and it didn't turn out the way she envisioned it, but, now, she is old enough to appreciate the efforts her 5-year old self took to decorate her stocking.  

Today (Tuesday), I had my annual check up with the ophthalmologist.  Last year, during my visit, he found and removed a cat hair from my left eye.  Today, he gazed deeply into my eyes and asked me, "Do you have a cat?"  I said, "Yes".  And he said, "I knew it!  You have a cat hair in your right eye!"  And I reminded him that, last year, too, he found one in my left eye.  He called two of his assistants to have a look for themselves before he removed the offending cat hair!

"Meow gets blamed for everything!"

The rest of the visit was quite routine and I am to return in one year's time.  I made the appointment before I left the office.

Daughter had taken time off from work to accompany me to the ophthalmologist's so she could drive me back.  Then, she returned to work.  

I made myself a peanut butter toast with a little strawberry jam for brunch and daughter made herself a bagel sandwich.  

Friend R called to say she would be passing by my house a little later in the afternoon, and could she stop by to pick up her packages.  I told her that yes, she could, but, I couldn't drive her home because my eyes were still dilated and daughter was working; R would have to wait until daughter finished work to drive her back.  R decided that she would stop by tomorrow, instead. 

Afterwards, I took another nap on the sofa!  

After I woke up from the nap, I brought in the emptied recycling bin (daughter had brought in the emptied yard waste bin and the trash bin, earlier, before the recycling bin had been emptied) and made us some tea.

Dinner will be salmon, with rice, dhal curry, and curried green beans, plus chutney.  

Today, I am grateful for:
- Being able to have an annual ophthalmology examination
- Everything seems to be fine other than having a cat hair in my eye!

- Medical insurance

- Daughter being able to drive me home, afterwards
- Weekly trash/recycling collections

Today's joyful activities include knitting and taking a nap!

Plans for tomorrow (Wednesday) include:

- Tending to the garden with M
- Ordering and picking up groceries
- Waiting for friend R to collect her packages and driving her home 
- Making some phone calls to set up appointments

How was your Tuesday?  What are your plans for Wednesday?