On Thursday

 

Polar Bear Teddy

Daughter crocheted this polar bear teddy as a gift for her friend's baby's first Christmas.  We went to the post office during her lunch break, on Thursday, to mail the gift along with the friendship bracelet she made for her friend.  I purchased a sheet of holiday stamps while we were at the post office.

I ordered groceries early in the morning on Thursday and picked up the items in the afternoon.  All the fresh fruit and vegetables I needed for the almsgiving and orange juice, plus the items that will be required for the pancakes/waffles brunch daughter will be hosting for some of her friends on Sunday.  This group of friends started having a pot luck holiday lunch at school when they were in high school and have continued to hold their annual holiday meal and gift exchange ever since.  Since one of the group of friends lives out of state, the annual holiday gathering is often the only time they are able to see each other.  Ever since they left high school their annual gatherings have been held at our house, although they all went out to  dinner at a restaurant, one year, before the Covid lock down took place. It's back to being held at our house, with daughter volunteering to host it,  So, I bought pancake mix, a bottle of pancake syrup, some breakfast sausages, a dozen eggs if they wanted to make eggs to go with their pancakes and waffles, and there's strawberry jam and peach jam (one of the friends can't have pancake syrup) and I've promised to make some blueberry compote as well.

Later, I cleaned the fridge, ran the dishwasher, cooked a chicken curry, wrapped a few more gifts, and made a few more cards.  

On Thursday, I was grateful for:

- Being able to order and pick up groceries
- Safe drives to the grocery store, post office, and back
- A sunny and warm (high of 79F) day
- Working appliances
- What I was able to accomplish 

Thursday's joyful activity was making cards

Plans for Friday include almsgiving preparations.  It will be a busy day.

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

She's Making a List...

 

Almsgiving Preparations Check List

And checking it twice.

Every year, around this time, I pull out my Almsgiving Preparations list.  Pictured above is a list I had made when the almsgiving was being held on a Sunday.  This year, the monks had another engagement on Sunday, so the almsgiving will be held on Saturday.  The preparations have to be brought forward by a day.

Here's this year's list:

Done Ahead:

✔️- Set the date
✔️- Invited the monks
✔️- Invited the participants
✔️- Confirmed the date with the monks
✔️-Confirmed the number of monks attending

✔️- Set the menu; bought some of the groceries
✔️- Cooked the "prepare ahead" dishes - Cashew curry, Dhal, Garbanzo beans, Murunga curry

✔️- Check supplies - paper plates/paper napkins, incense sticks, etc.; ✔️buy if needed

✔️-- Get the donations ready

✔️- Clean the living room

Still to do:

- Rearrange the furniture to set up the seating area in the living room 

- Set out candles, incense sticks & holder, lighter/matches to light the candles, etc.

- Clean the kitchen 

- Clean the bathroom
- Tidy the rest of the house 

- Take down the dishes used only for almsgivings and wash them
- Take out serving dishes, basins used for washing hands, serving spoons, etc.

- Set out items needed for the transfer of merit: teapot, cup, and basin; fill teapot with water
- Set out new bottle of water for blessing; bowl to catch drips when blessed water is poured out
- Set out items for washing hands: fresh cake of soap, hand towels, jugs of warm water & basins

On Thursday:

- Order ✔️& pick up Groceries
- Clean out fridge

On Friday:

- Pick up friend R
- Take out cooked curries from freezer and keep in the fridge to thaw

- Cook the rest of the curries: kale mallung, spicy potatoes, curried sauteed green beans, pappadum, boil eggs for salad
- Cut up pineapple

- Cover chairs and tables

- Take R home

On Saturday (Day of the Almsgiving):

- Cook rice (2 types - white and red) 

- Make the salad (hard boiled eggs, cucumber, tomatoes, red onions)

- Arrange fruits (pineapple, grapes, tangerines from the garden, raspberries, blackberries) in saucers; cover
- Arrange a variety of sweets (kavili; kalu dodol✔️, thala guli✔️, aluwa✔️, chocolates✔️,  cookies ✔️) in saucers; cover

- Serve desserts into bowls or saucers
- Pour palm treacle into sauce boat or jug (to be served over yogurt)

- Warm up curries; dish out

- Serve up offerings to the Buddha and offerings for the Order of Monks 
- Pick flowers from the garden and arrange in vases
- Boil water and keep warm for those monks who prefer hot water
- Pour water and juice into glasses

10:45 a.m. - Everything should be done and ready!

11:00 a.m. - Monks arrive; Offerings to Buddha, Order of Monks, etc. take place and service begins with devotions being recited.

11:30 a.m. - Lunch is served to the monks

12:00 noon - Monks finish their lunch (they are prohibited from eating after noon), plates/begging bowls are cleared, a sermon is said, blessings are chanted, merit gained from almsgiving is transferred to departed loved ones, and donations are offered to the monks.

1:00 p.m. - the religious ceremonies are concluded, the monks leave; usually, lunch is then served to all the guests who participated

Almsgiving Menu:

- Rice (red rice and white rice)

- Curries (cashew curry, dhal, garbanzo beans, murunga curry, kale mallung, spicy potatoes, sauteed curried green beans, salad, pappadum, tomato chutney)

- Sweets (5 kinds)

- Fresh fruit (5 kinds)

- Yogurt & treacle

- Maybe pudding or pie

Orange juice, water

I usually post the menu and the order of serving on the fridge so we can consult it to make sure that nothing is forgotten at the last minute.

The lists help to keep me focused on what needs to be done.  I will be updating the lists as I go.  

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?