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| New Year's Treats from Neighbor S: Doughnuts, Vegetarian Cabbage Rolls Homemade Armenian Pumpkin Preserves |
On Sunday, my daughter and I masked up and called on neighbor S and her family, paying them a holiday visit! They wore their masks, too, and asked if we would like to stay outside in the garden or come inside. We really appreciated being given the option, but, we chose to go inside. We all stayed masked during the visit and they kept the front door open for ventilation, which we appreciated very much. We exchanged gifts with them, which included these mini wallets my daughter crocheted as part of her gifts to S's daughters:
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| Crocheted Mini Wallets |
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| Crocheted Triangular Shawl |
A basket of gifts I put together:
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| Gift Basket |
And a tea cup candle.
Along with their gifts to us (make up and skin care products, a lovely plaid scarf , a packet of chocolate wafers, and chocolates), S gave us a plate of doughnuts, a jar of homemade Armenian pumpkin preserves (different from the Sri Lankan pumpkin preserves we used to make the love cake), and a plate of vegetarian cabbage rolls, made by her sister-in-law, filled with a mixture of grains and lentils. Apparently, they are a traditional New Year's dish.
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| Armenian Pumpkin Preserves |
I was grateful to receive all the food, but, I shared some of the doughnuts with neighbor T, because my daughter and I have been eating too many sweets since before Christmas! Spread the joy and the calories! LOL!
After we came home, I called friend A to check on her; she's feeling a little better, she said, but her younger daughter was having a fever. We will visit once everyone is feeling well, again.
Cousin R had called and left a message while we were out, so I called her back. She had her booster shot, last week, and had been down with side effects. She said she cleaned out her closet, after Christmas and kept a bag of clothes aside for us! It's a good thing my daughter went through her closet and set aside a bag of clothes to donate! LOL.
Later in the evening, I called friend R and chatted with her for a bit.
My daughter is doing some meal planning this week and cooked some chicken breasts in a spicy garlic sauce today:
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| Spicy Garlic Chicken |
She sauted the chicken and added the sauce she mixed up (soy sauce, sriracha sauce, minced garlic, onion powder, and a little bit of sugar) and let it cook down. Delicious!
Today, I am grateful for:
- Being able to visit neighbor S and family
- Their continued generosity
- Phone calls with family and friends
- Working appliances
- Daughter meal planning and cooking
Today's joyful activity was visiting neighbor S and family.
Plans for tomorrow include some house cleaning and tidying!
How was your Sunday? What are your plans for Monday?
Wow, glad you had an amazing weekend.
ReplyDeleteThank you! Yes, it was a good start to the new year. :)
DeleteYou have some very considerate neighbours, giving you some COVID precautions & gifts. Mr Man & I also ate far too many tasty treats over the holidays & thankfully they are finished. No more treats on the grocery orders! It's bark & water (lol) for January.
ReplyDeleteThe COVID precautions were much appreciated! Our numbers are absolutely horrible, and going visiting or having people visit is, once again, going out of my comfort zone!
DeleteBark & water? Oh, I hope it's some tasty bark (like chocolate and nuts or chocolate and peppermint)! :D
I'm glad you were able to meet with your neighbour and spend time together. It's reassuring that they made the effort to keep you both safe through wearing masks and keeping the door open. The shawl you made looks beautiful as do the little purses your daughter made.
ReplyDeleteThe food as always looks lovely and I thought it was very kind of you to share the calories with T! Daughter's chicken dish is the sort of thing I'd enjoy, so will add a sub-section to my cooking with Bless folder for your daughter's recipes.
I admit I laughed on reading that Cousin R has a bag of clothes for you - will you need more hangers? 😂
I met with friend J for lunch today and am now in the middle of meal planning for the next couple of weeks.
It was nice to visit S and family, and I really appreciate them taking all the precautions. As I mentioned in my earlier response to Mary-Lou, our new case numbers are crazy and going visiting or having visitors over is, once again, stepping out of my comfort zone. I think, after this week's almsgiving, I shall retreat to my bubble, again!
DeleteHa, ha, yes, it was very kind of me to share the calories with T, wasn't it? :D But, actually, she likes doughnuts as much as I do; in happier times, we used to go to the doughnut shop at the top of the road, once a month or so, to enjoy a doughnut and have a chat. :)
No! I refuse to buy any more hangers! I won't have enough hanging space on the closet rod! LOL.
I'm glad you were able to get together with friend J for lunch, today. That social interaction is so important, isn't it? Have fun meal planning! :)
How nice to have a visit with neighbour S and exchange presents. Your shawl and the gift basket look lovely and those mini wallets your daughter crocheted are sweet. I see you got more clothes, from your cousin R this time. I think there has to be a clothes fairy trying to derail your decluttering efforts!
ReplyDeleteWe had more wildlife today - at least 9 huge wild turkeys wandering around the back yard! Maybe it is the cold weather bringing out new wild visitors. I wonder what will come next?
It was nice to be able to visit with them. I met S when we were both taking our trash cans out, this evening, and she said she has hung the holiday hot pad and towel in her kitchen and the snowman coasters are doing double duty as Christmas tree decorations! :) She had put the table runner I gave her a couple of Christmases ago on her coffee table and she said she had received a lot of compliments on it.
DeleteI haven't picked up the clothes from cousin R, yet, but, yes, there seems to be a clothes fairy, determined that I will be better dressed! LOL.
Ooh, the turkeys must have realized that the holidays are over and it's safe to return! It's a good thing they waited until the fox left! :D
What a lovely holiday visit you had with S & family, and how caring and sensible of them to take precautions to make you two feel at ease.
ReplyDeleteIt was a lovely visit and yes, it was very considerate of them to take precautions. We are averaging 20,000+ new cases a day in our county!
DeleteSpicy garlic chicken looks yummy. I'm going to remember that recipe.
ReplyDeleteBecause I'm a bit nosy, I tried to figure out what you had in the gift basket (especially those white circular thingies with blanket stitch), but I couldn't. LOL
I hope your cousin R feels OK now. About 12 hrs after my booster shot, I had body aches, like I had flu. But it didn't last long.
I too am going out a bit more now, though I still wear a mask and try to keep 6 ft distance whenever possible.
Last month I volunteered at two food drives and also attended an outdoor wedding.
Have a wonderful week, Bless.
The chicken turned out really well. I mentioned your miso recipes to my daughter and she said she has made the miso soup, etc.
DeleteThe basket contained a Christmas book, a jar of my homemade feijoa (pineapple guava) jam with a holiday spoon attached, a kitchen towel I cross stitched, a holiday patchwork hot pad I sewed, and a set of snowman coasters (the white circular thingies); I posted a picture of them on this post:
https://bless2cents.blogspot.com/2021/11/feasting-continues.html
Cousin R is feeling better, today, thank you. I called her to check on her. She is a special ed teacher in a middle school and not all her students are vaccinated. She said they have weekly Covid testing.
Yes, please keep that mask on and take as many precautions as you can. That was very kind of you to volunteer at the food drives and I like the idea of an outdoor wedding.
Hope all is well with your mom and sisters, Nil. Enjoy the rest of your week before classes start.
So glad you were able to visit with your neighbor, and yum. . .the goodies look delicious. I finally tossed some cookies because like you we have overdone the sweet treats. We both made a commitment to lay off sugar for a while. Maybe once a week until I begin Keto again.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Anne; I'm trying to resume some normal activities, but, our Covid numbers have been so high recently, that I'm being very cautious! My house is bursting at the seams with sweets and treats! But, both my daughter and I are trying to be good! She's better at it than I am! :D
DeleteThose little crocheted mini wallets are too cute. I love receiving homemade gifts. I know what you mean about all the sweets. We have been eating way too many sweets lately. We have so much, which is a blessing so I shouldn't complain. And giving to family is not an option because they have just as much, so we just try to pace ourselves. Wishing you a Happy New Year. Denise
ReplyDeleteThe mini wallets turned out well, didn't they? I, too, appreciate receiving homemade gifts. :) A little bit of over-indulging during the holidays is part of the fun, but, we do need to pace ourselves afterwards; some of us, more than others! I hope you enjoyed a lovely Christmas with your family. Wish you a very Happy New Year!
DeleteSitting here drinking my morning tea, your plate of goodies from Neighbor S look so good! Good thinking passing on some of the doughnuts. It can get a little overwhelming this time of year. Not complaining because I enjoy all the seasonal festivities surrounding food but I am glad to be back to making and eating our normal meals.
ReplyDeleteThose little purses your daughter crocheted are very nice.
I'm glad you mentioned the preserved pumpkin - in your video it looked white, very pale. How does that happen with an orange fruit? Is it because of what it's preserved with? Or did I misunderstand what I was looking at?
The chicken your daughter made looks good. I use those ingredients when I make sauces for different things but I've never cooked chicken in it. Thanks for telling us how she did it.
Hope you were able to enjoy a virtual doughnut with your morning cup of tea, Debra!
DeleteAh, yes, pumpkin preserves - the Sri Lankan pumpkin preserves are made with a type of gourd, (scientific name: Benincasa hispida) which is also known by the common names of winter melon, ash gourd, or, in Sri Lanka, ash pumpkin. It has a green outer skin and the inside is usually white, sometimes with a pink tinge. The Armenian pumpkin preserves appear to be made with regular orange pumpkin. :)
The chicken my daughter cooked was very delicious. It'll go well with stir fried vegetables and rice or pasta, etc. :)
I like the mini wallets and the shawl you made. It's good that you were able to spend time indoors with your neighbours. It sounds like you had a great weekend.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Eileen. I was happy to be able to visit indoors; one has to weigh the risks, of course, but, we kept our masks on and there was ventilation. I did have a very good weekend! Hope you did, too. :)
DeleteWow how lovely! Both you and your daughter are so talented. The gifts look lovely. I am so glad you were able to visit!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Sharon; the gifts were well received. :) I am glad I was able to visit; I know I'm being paranoid, but, I feel I have to be extra careful as our numbers are so high!
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