Saturday, December 31, 2022

One Week Since Daughter Came Home!

Sushi Rolls

It's been one week since my daughter came home for the holidays!  How quickly the week has gone by!  We celebrated with lunch picked up from our favorite neighborhood Japanese restaurant.  Daughter chose two sushi rolls - the Sunset Strip roll and the house tempura roll.  I am a stick-in-the-mud when it comes to food - I chose what I usually get - the beef teriyaki lunch special which comes with miso soup (in the container), salad, pickled vegetables, rice, and the beef teriyaki!  

Beef Teriyaki Lunch Special

Last night, we stayed up working on a new jigsaw puzzle and it was past 3:00 a.m. when I went to bed.  This morning, I woke up at 8:00 a.m., turned off the porch lights, fed the cats, and went back to bed!  

It was a cloudy, overcast day, with a light drizzle now and then.  In the morning, neighbor T's daughter called me.  She was next door, checking on things at her mother's house and wanted to know if I knew whose car it was that was parked in their driveway!  It was a car I had seen parked there earlier, too, and both M and I had wondered whose car it was!  I have a feeling it belongs to their other neighbor!  Maybe they assumed that it was OK to park their car in T's driveway because T wasn't there anymore?  Anyway, I went over and chatted with T's daughter a bit, asking after T, etc.  I had my mask on; T's daughter didn't have a mask on, but, we stood outside in the driveway and I figured it was safe enough.

After lunch, I did some laundry, including daughter's bedding, and remade her bed (she gets to put away her clothes).  I replied to blog comments etc. in the afternoon while daughter took a nap.  

Dinner was an assortment of leftovers.

After dinner, I realized that I needed to order a few additional groceries for December, after all!   Especially since my daughter will be staying on for the first week of January (her friend P went back to the Bay Area, today with another friend as a driving buddy; daughter will fly back as originally planned).  I needed a new container of milk to have on hand to boil on New Year's Eve and we needed another dozen eggs to make our traditional holiday Love Cake.  And since I needed to bring the total up to at least $35 to qualify for free pick up, I went ahead and ordered a few more items I needed or had been wanting to get.  So, I will not have a surplus in my grocery budget in December, after all (but, year end charitable donations will still be made).

Later in the evening, I called friend R to check on her and I chatted with my aunt C.  

I thought I'll post a couple of photos of the items my daughter made to give to her friends as holiday gifts:

Cross-stitched Marvel Characters Fridge Magnets



Crocheted Earrings - Flowers and Kitty Paw Prints

Today, I am grateful for:
- Daughter is staying on for another week
- A lovely celebratory lunch
- Being able to support a local neighborhood restaurant
- Working appliances
- Being able to order groceries online

Today's joyful activity was enjoying a take out meal from a favorite restaurant.

According to the forecast, we will have another rainy day, tomorrow!  An atmospheric river is what it is being called!  

Plans for tomorrow include picking up the groceries in the afternoon and seeing the New Year in!  

How was your Friday?  What are your plans for tomorrow?  Do you have any special plans for New Year's Eve?  Do you stay up to greet the New Year?


 

18 comments:

  1. popping by from Angela's blog. I never see the New Year in; haven't in years. We are going to our daughters today, as we are celebrating Christmas, there has been illness in the family over the Christmas holidays, so this is our first opportunity to get together. Happy New Year!

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    1. Hello, Gill, and welcome to my blog! I'm sorry to hear that there has been illness in the family over Christmas; my daughter, too, was ill with Covid just before Christmas and we weren't sure if she'd test negative in time to come home (she lives approx. 400 miles away in the San Francisco Bay Area), but, she did! I hope you have a lovely gathering at your daughter's home. Happy New Year to you and yours. Looking forward to hearing from you, again. :)

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  2. Another week with your daughter! I know you both will enjoy it. I especially like the crocheted earrings your daughter made for her friends. I will be working today on New Years Eve. We will be having a special program for the kids, "Noon Year's Eve" with fun activities to bring in the New Year at noon since most of them won't be up at midnight tonight.

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    1. Yes, we will enjoy spending another week together. :) The earrings are cute, aren't they? Oh, I do like the idea of that "Noon Year's Eve" for the kids! I'm sure the kids will enjoy that. :)
      Wish you a wonderful New Year's Eve, June, and a very happy and healthy New Year. Thank you for all your thoughtful and positive comments throughout the year. They have helped me tremendously.

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  3. That's nice that your daughter is staying another week. I wasn't sure what her plans were. And with the holiday travel calmed down, her trip home will hopefully be uneventful. Her gifts to her friends are fun and cute handmade items.
    That atmospheric river is doing good things for you. Is the rain nice and gentle?
    The Japanese food you get always looks so appealing. I don't know why but the carryout presentation on your entree is so pleasing to me.
    And as far as getting the same thing - I'd be doing it too. It's what you enjoy. Sticks in the mud unite! lol

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    1. Thank you, Debra. To be quite honest, we weren't sure of her plans, either! Originally, she had planned to come down last week with her friend P and was going to fly back up on the 8th (bought her ticket, etc.) Then, after she came down, a day or two later, P texted her to ask what her plans were for New Year's Eve, because P wanted to go back up before New Year's Eve (a new roommate was moving in to P's apartment and P wanted to be there to get ready for the new roommate's arrival). P also had a couple of other people who might drive back with him, but, he wasn't sure. Since he had been so nice as to delay his own visit in order to give daughter more time to recover from her bout with Covid, daughter told him that she will drive back with him if he needed a driving buddy. So, for awhile there, we weren't sure if she'd go back to the Bay Area on Friday (yesterday) or fly back as planned, next week. In the end, P texted saying he had a friend who will drive back with him (but, he would have still given daughter a ride back if needed) and daughter decided she will stay another week and fly back as had been originally planned. If the flights are cancelled etc. (the airline she's flying had cancelled up to 90% of its flights from here to the Bay Area, over Christmas), then, she can work remotely for another week or until her flight can be rescheduled.
      It's been mostly gentle rain which is the best type of rain for the garden. It is getting a good soaking. :)
      The entree does look visually pleasing, doesn't it? Their food is good, although not exactly inexpensive. We usually go there once or twice a year, as a treat. I tell my daughter that if I am paying for a meal, then, I want to get what I know I like! LOL. Yes, sticks in the mud unite! :D
      I hope you are having a lovely New Year's Eve, Debra, and wish you and your husband all the best in the new year. Thank you, again, for all your lovely comments on my blog and for the years of friendship. :)

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  4. I’m so glad you and your daughter have been able to spend this time together. I know you have enjoyed her company. She is very talented! I love her earrings and cross stitching! We will be staying in tonight. I’m sure we will hear tons of fireworks, though, around our neighborhood. Trying to decide now what we will have for supper. Y’all take care!

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    1. Thank you, Mandy; I'm so happy that I'll have another week of my daughter's company. :)
      Thank you; she usually gives handmade gifts at Christmas. I like the earrings and have asked her to make me a pair of the flower ones.
      I wish you and your family a wonderful New Year's Eve and all the best in the new year. :)

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  5. Your blog should really come with a warning that it contains photos of yummy food and that readers will be hungry after reading it! 😂 The sushi looks so good and I hope you enjoy the food from S this evening.

    I'm glad you daughter decided to stay with you for another week. I'm sure you'll have a great time just enjoying each other's company.

    I don't have any special plans for New Year's Eve. I'm currently watching Zulu on TV and will attempt some exercise later on, but that's about it. I'll be in bed long before midnight this year. xx

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    1. Oops! Sorry, forgot to post the food photos warning! :D I'm not a fan of sushi, myself, but, my daughter loves it. I'm looking forward to S's barbecue, tonight!
      Thank you, Eileen; yes, I'm glad my daughter is staying with me for another week and I know she's happy to do so, too.
      I wish you a lovely New Year's Eve, even if you won't stay up till midnight, and all the best in 2023. Thank you for all your comments and encouragement during this past year and for all the fun challenges! May 2023 be a blessed year for you and your loved ones.

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  6. Great food. Your daughter's sushi looks interesting. We are the same with Chinese takeout, always the same items, and come to think of it, we usually order another favourite same dish at a Canadian restaurant! No hassle ordering!
    Your daughter's crafted gifts will be much appreciated, I'm sure.
    Well, you are hardened and shameless jigsaw puzzlers, staying up till 3 am! I have been known to get up in the night and work on one so I guess that isn't much better. The current one is going fairly well.
    We have fog and light rain. We went out for some groceries and now we are staying in. Let's see what 2023 will bring! Happy New Year, Bless and your daughter.

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    1. My daughter said her sushi was great (I'm not a fan of sushi). I have my favorites from the different restaurants and that's what I usually order! It's funny, isn't it?
      I think her friends liked their handmade gifts. I want a pair of the crocheted flower earrings!
      Ha, ha, well. last night, we stayed up till 5:00 a.m. working on the puzzle (of course, we didn't sit down to do it till about 3:00 a.m.) We each took a corner and we're making good progress!
      We are having light rain, too! :) Hope you have a lovely New Year's Eve, Bushlady, and a very Happy New Year to you, too, and to your family.

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  7. Such lovely thoughtful gifts that your daughter made. Crotcheting, knitting and embroidery are, I feel, special skills that not all of us can do

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    1. Thank you, Ratnamurti. I've always encouraged my daughter to do needlework; they are useful skills to know. :)
      Wish you and yours a very happy New Year, Ratnamurti, and may you be blessed with good health in 2023,

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  8. Hi Bless, I'm glad to read that you are having a good visit with your daughter. It's nice she can stay awhile longer. I came home this afternoon after almost a week away, visiting my oldest sister and then some friends for a couple of days on my way home. It was a good short holiday for me, but I am glad to be home. My kind neighbor came in daily to care for my cat. Now she's following me all around! ( My cat, not my neighbor!). Your Japanese dinner looks excellent. I will have to grocery shop tomorrow for fresh veggies. Wishing you and your daughter a joyful and healthy new year!

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    1. Thank you, Celie. Glad you had a good visit with your family and friends and had a safe journey home. I'm sure your kitty missed you and is happy to have you back. I hope you are having a good New Year's Eve and wish you all the best in the New Year. Thank you for all your comments and support over the year, Celie. Looking forward to reading your comments in the new year. :)

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  9. Those earrings are so cute. I especially love the paw prints :)
    The holidays have gone by far too quickly for my liking. X

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    1. Thank you, Jules. The holidays always seem to go by quickly, don't they?

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