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| Cheese Board My Daughter Assembled |
Christmas Day began with an early morning a phone call from my aunt to wish me for Christmas (it wasn't that early in the morning, but, I was still asleep!) I mumbled "Merry Christmas" into the phone and she laughed, apologized for waking me, and told me to go back to sleep! Instead, I got up, fed the cats, etc., and had my morning cup of tea. Then, I called aunt back to wish her properly for Christmas, followed by other phone calls to various friends and relatives to wish them.
It rained in the morning, but, the rain ceased in the early afternoon. My daughter and I picked up cousin P and went over to cousin R's home for the family Christmas gathering. My cousins had prepared a feast and, after my cousin's daughter-in-law said grace and we all took turns saying what we were grateful for this Christmas, we enjoyed a nice dinner.
Later, we exchanged gifts. In our family, we don't draw names. We give gifts to everyone! I tend to give homemade gifts, for the most part, at least to the adults: jars of my homemade jams, holiday pot holders, cross stitched kitchen towels, etc. My cousins gave me more clothes!
Afterwards, my daughter and I saw cousin P safely home and came home. It started raining just as we pulled into P's driveway!
It was a lovely evening spent in the company of my cousins and their families. But, I am hoping, rather fervently, that there won't be any negative consequences from attending this gathering! We weren't very good about wearing masks throughout the evening and one cousin had a cold (although she hastened to assure us that she took a Covid test and it was negative).
This Christmas, I am grateful for:
- Having my daughter home for Christmas
- Being able to get together with family for Christmas
- Being vaccinated and boosted for good measure (which made it possible for me to be with family)
- A safe drive to the gathering and back
- More rain!
Joyful activities have included being with family this Christmas.
I hope everyone had a safe Christmas, this year.
That sounds like a lovely get together with your family and nice that you enjoyed a good Christmas. Your cheese board and fruit looks delicious!
ReplyDeleteIt was a good get together and, as I've mentioned before, might be the last time we four cousins would all be together, with one cousin moving out of state, in the new year. We took some pictures and I will scrapbook some of them.
DeleteI know what you mean. Even when I am around a group of people who are vaccinated and healthy, I am a little uneasy until time passes and no one gets sick. I'm a worrier.
ReplyDeleteWith that being said, I'm glad you were able to get out for the holidays. We had a couple of small gatherings and it was really nice to do that again.
I know I sound paranoid, but, I got a bit alarmed when I felt my sinuses acting up, last night. It's probably due to a combination of the weather (my sinuses tend to get inflamed when the weather is so damp) and being exposed to other people, after being more or less self-isolated this whole time.
DeleteI'm sure your family gatherings went well, June, and you enjoyed being able to be together again. :)
I am glad you had a great Christmas! We had a small gathering here complete with a pre-Christmas covid test for DIL who had direct exposure to Covid the week before. We were so very thankful she was negative (and equally thankful she was vaxxed) The rest of us here not only had been vaccinated but we had all had our boosters. I know it is not a "get out of jail free card", but we are still being careful and mostly staying in.
ReplyDeleteYou know it is a sign of the times when everyone got a car bottle of hand sanitizer with their other Christmas presents.
I'm glad your DIL tested negative and you were able to have your Christmas get together. Even with being vaccinated and boosted, we still need to be careful, don't we? I love the inclusion of a bottle of hand sanitizer with the gifts! :D Reminds me of last year when I gifted a case of TP to one of my friends! :D
DeleteFingers are crossed that you and your daughter remain safe from the virus, but it sounds like you had a lovely time with your cousins. From one of your responses yesterday I was expecting to read about chickens ... have I missed something?
ReplyDeleteThank you, Eileen; it was good to gather with the family. But, I've had a moment of panic when my sinuses began to complain, late last night. It's much better, today, and I don't have a fever or any symptoms of a cold, etc. Often, my sinuses act up when there is so much moisture in the air - we are not used to several days of rain (it's been raining, all day, today!).
DeleteI was too tired, last night to post about the chickens - they are in the post I did this morning. :D
That is a very professional looking cheese board! I'm glad you had a lovely evening with the cousins.
ReplyDeleteBoxing Day was rather lazy for us and dinner was leftovers. We did manage a walk in our woodlot in the afternoon. The lazy feeling is still hanging on and I haven't done a whole lot other than the usual daily chores.
Thank you, Bushlady; considering the fact that daughter doesn't like cheese, she did a good job, didn't she?
DeleteWe, too, had leftovers, yesterday, as we brought some food home from the Christmas dinner! I did some tidying up and finished another Christmas gift. Today is my day to be lazy and relax as I am having a bit of a sinus issue, probably due to the rain and getting exposed to my cousin's cold germs!
It sounds like you enjoyed a lovely day with your family, and your cheese board looks delicious. I've eaten far too much cheese lately :)
ReplyDeleteI did have a lovely day with my cousins and I'm glad I made the effort to attend it. The irony of my daughter putting together the cheese board is, she doesn't like cheese! We were all teasing her about it. :)
DeleteIt sounds like you had a nice day with your family. I'm glad you were able to spend time together.
ReplyDeleteThat cheese board looks divine. Very artfully arranged with yummy items.
And what a great board with the little sunken dishes and raised area.
It was a good gathering. Cousin P called and thanked me for giving her a ride.
DeleteThank you; for someone who doesn't like cheese, my daughter did a good job arranging the cheese board! The board itself is something cousin R had. I don't have anything like that (generally don't do a cheese board, myself).
That sounds great! Your gifts sound very heartfelt and thoughtful. I hope you stay healthy and that the vaccines and booster protect you. I always get nervous when someone is coughing and says that it's a cold...
ReplyDeleteThank you, Stephenie. I enjoyed attending the gathering, but, I worry, anyway! I've managed to stay in a very sheltered bubble all this time, but, I guess one needs to eventually venture out.
DeleteI try to make the majority of my gifts, partly because I enjoy doing so and partly, because it is easier on the budget! :)
Sounds like a really special day, with lots of love in circulation. So pleased for you. Hopefully it wasn't the last time you will be together with your cousins in one room but if it was, you all have great memories to look back on. Many thanks for your lovely mail. I told mum about it, and she was pleased. I'll reply properly soon but just to say we had a lovely day. I made the love cake on 23rd, and it turned out well but I haven't cut it yet. I planned to have parents over tomorrow but sister tested positive this morning (long story, I'll email about that too) so we are waiting for her PCR results before anything else can happen. Parents got PCRs today too. I'm still doing lateral flow tests, and so far they are coming back negative so we are all just hoping and praying at the moment. Here's hoping that you don't have any fallout from the day.
ReplyDeleteIt was a very special gathering and I'm glad I was able to participate. I am glad you were able to bake the love cake and I'm sure it turned out well. I'm sorry to hear about your sister's positive test, but, hopefully, she will be well soon and maybe you can all be together in the new year. Thank you; I seem to be having a bit of a sinus infection, but, I hope I will feel better by tomorrow.
DeletePS Wondering whether you finished the blanket ok, and gifted it. (I should add I haven't been online every day so might have missed it but I think am pretty up to date on your blog.)
ReplyDeleteYes, I did finish the blanket, but, I haven't been able to gift it, yet, so haven't posted any photos. My friend doesn't read my blog, but, her daughter used to, from time to time, although I don't think she's had time to do so, lately.
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