Friday, January 1, 2021

December Joys - Review

Time to review the list of Joys for December: some were activities that were joyful and some were simply things that brought me joy:

1.  A warm house - The house as been kept warm!  This is my one extravagance!  
2.  Cozy knitted blankets and throws - The blankets are very much in evidence, including the "Christmas" one that I crocheted.
3.  Homemade soup - Soup was made and shared with friends and neighbors.
4.  December Monthly Photo Mini Challenge - I participated in the December photo challenge and enjoyed doing so.
5.  Winter decorations - Most of the winter decorations were put up, this year, and enjoyed.
6.  Look forward to my daughter's planned visit home for the holidays - My daughter was able to come home for the holidays and her being able to do so has brought us both much joy!
7.  Make/send some holiday greeting cards - I made and sent some holiday greeting cards, some in time for Christmas and others in time for the New Year.
8.  The Winter Photo Scavenger Hunt - I participated in the Winter Photo Scavenger Hunt for December.
9.   Knitting - I knitted myself another sweater (although I didn't finish sewing it together).
10. Hot cocoa - Didn't have any.
11. Bake a pie - Didn't bake a pie.
12. Make a special cake with daughter when she comes down for the holidays - We plan to do this in January.
13. Winter gardening - Planted some cool weather vegetable seeds and they are growing!
14. Enjoy some candle light in the evenings - I enjoyed lighting a scented candle, several evenings, this month.
15. Make a list (of holiday gifts to give); check it twice! - I made my holiday gift list and checked it more than twice!
16. Make holiday gifts to give - I made the majority of the gifts I gave, this year; they included jars of jam and chutney and knitted items such as scarves and socks.
17. Drop off gifts (since we will not be visiting in person) - Gifts were dropped off and while I didn't have the pleasure of seeing them being opened, I had the pleasure of knowing they were appreciated, as people called or texted me their thanks and sent photos of them wearing the socks I knitted, etc.  
18. Bake cookies - Daughter and I baked some spritz cookies; some were included in the gifts we gave others and the rest are being eaten by us (me, mostly!)
19. Watch holiday specials on TV - Enjoyed watching several holiday specials on TV.
20. Listen to holiday music - Listened to holiday music and sang along, as well!
21. Play the piano (carols) - Learned to play several carols on the piano.
22. Sing some carols - Sang several carols, both by myself and with my daughter.
23. Play a board game - I tried to play a game by myself (UpWords), but, wasn't really in the mood for it and didn't enjoy it as much.
24. Watch Midnight Mass from the Vatican - I watched the broadcast of Midnight Mass from the Vatican
25. Spend Christmas with my daughter - I spent a lovely Christmas with my daughter; we dropped off gifts to family and friends and enjoyed the Christmas dinner that was brought to us by a friend.
26. Winter flower arrangement - I enjoyed several flower arrangements made with flowers from the garden.
27. Make some candies - Didn't make any candy as we received plenty as gifts!
28. Bake some bread - Something to look forward to in January.
29. Learn to bake scones - Again, something to look forward to in January.
30. Annual year end almsgiving (done a little differently, this year, since donations will be sent to the Temple in lieu of holding it at home) - Donations were mailed to the Temple.
31. Celebrate New Year's Eve - New Year's Eve was celebrated in the company of my daughter!  We toasted the New Year with non-alcoholic sparkling apple cider, I boiled a bot of milk until it overflowed for good luck, and made milk rice which we ate before we went to sleep!

I didn't do all the joyful activities I had listed, but, I did a fair number of them and December turned out to be a very joyful month.  January's list of joys will include some of the baking I didn't do in December!

Did you make a list of joyful activities to do in December?  If so, were you able to do some (if not all) of them?  Will you be making a joyful list for January?

6 comments:

  1. You got most of them in and it certainly sounds like it was a very joyful month!

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    1. It was a very joyful month, Martha, except for when I was worried that my daughter might not be able to make it home for Christmas! :)

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  2. I always plan to bake more around the holidays, but don't as there is so much other good stuff around to eat. We'll see if I pick it up in January or not. I tried my hand at making yeast dinner rolls that didn't turn out great. I definitely need more practice. Maybe I'll make that one of my January goals.

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    1. I remember the first time I tried to make yeast bread - I baked a loaf of brick! I guess I killed the yeast with too hot water and the dough didn't rise properly! Perfecting your yeast rolls sounds like a fun thing to do in January. I am planning to bake more in January, myself.

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  3. I enjoyed reading through your list and it's lovely to see that you did most of the activities you'd planned.

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    1. Thank you, Eileen. Yes, I did quite a few joyful activities, didn't I? It was a good month. :)

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