Holiday Preparations on Saturday

I felt tired and slept in on Saturday.  As a result, I took it easy in the morning. 

In the afternoon, I wrapped up some of the Christmas gifts I have bought or made.

Calendar: Psalms

I bought some calendars from the dollar store to give as gifts, this year.  The one below includes a smaller calendar and a planner, as well. 

Calendar: Kittens

As part of wrapping my gifts, I organized the wicker chest where I store the gift bags and rolls of gift wrap, etc.  I had tried to keep the Christmas gift bags on one side and the all occasion gift bags on the other side, but, over the course of the year, things had got mixed up.  So, today, I pulled everything out, sorted them, and put things back, again.  In the process, I found a new packet of white tissue paper, which I had forgotten I had!  A good thing, too, because I had been thinking I needed to buy another packet of white tissue paper!

I used all the Christmas gift bags I had in my stash, except for one rather over-sized one, as well as a few all-occasion ones (they were silvery and glittery, so I figured they would be OK for Christmas) for the gifts I had ready.  I used the few boxes I had, too.  I am going to need to get a few more bags or find some boxes for the rest of my gifts! 

After that, I set up the small dining table in the family room with some of the Christmas placemats and napkins, etc.  I can't set the big dining table until after the almsgiving.

Then, I dusted the living room and moved the furniture a little, as part of my almsgiving preparations!  Normally, the sofa and love seat are set up on either side of the fire place, facing each other.  For the almsgiving, I move the love seat to be in front of the fireplace so that it and the sofa are in an L-shaped arrangement.  The monks sit on the sofas during the almsgiving to have their meal, not at the dining table.  The sofas are arranged thus so that we don't turn our backs to any of the monks when we serve them the food.  The monks generally do not help themselves to a dish; we take the dishes to them and serve the food to their plates or begging bowls.  I could move the sofa, too, so that they form one straight line.  That would work, too, but that would mean moving the big brass lamp and the potted dracaena plant and that's more moving of stuff than I want to do!  The monks seat themselves in order of seniority based on how many rainy seasons they've observed as monks and the food is offered in order of seniority, too.

Speaking of food:

Gold Kiwi

 On one of my earlier trips to the dollar store, I had bought a bag of gold kiwi (1 lb. kiwi for $1), as daughter had mentioned trying them.  She had said to wait until they were soft and ripe, so, as soon as one was ripe, I cut it open to try it.

Gold Kiwi

It didn't look quite as golden as what is shown on the bag, but it was a paler green than regular kiwi.  It tasted quite sweet and mild, which I liked.  I am waiting until the rest of the fruit becomes ripe.

Today, I am grateful for:

- A sunny, warm day

- Being able to sleep in

- What I was able to accomplish

- Exchanging emails with a friend

- Video chatting with my daughter

Sunday's To Do List:

- Grocery shop for bread and milk

- Make two more table runners

- Dust the dining room and family room

- Vacuum

How was your Saturday?  What are your plans for Sunday?  Have you tried gold kiwi?