Wednesday, January 4, 2023

Start of the New Year

The Completed Jigsaw Puzzle

Yesterday (Monday), my daughter and I finished the jigsaw puzzle we were doing.  She wants to tape it up and mount it on her wall.  In the meantime, I wanted the dining table cleared and so we put it on a piece of cardboard that wasn't quite large enough and took it to her room, dislodging several of the edge pieces in the process!  

The reason I wanted the dining table cleared was a visit from neighbor S and her daughters, later in the evening.  Their visit was brought forward by a couple of hours, but, there was just enough time for me to tidy up the place before they came!  Last year, we visited them for the holidays; this year, they visited us.  We were all wearing masks and I really appreciate them wearing masks whenever they visit me.  They admired my holiday decorations, we chatted a bit, and we exchanged gifts.  I received a lovely warm scarf, a pair of fuzzy socks, and a pair of what the label said were "slipper socks" with nonskid soles.  I had to try on the socks and the slipper socks:

Fuzzy Socks and "Slipper Socks"

They will keep my feet cozy and warm!

Later in the evening, after a dinner of leftovers, my daughter baked some chocolate chip cookies for dessert:


Freshly Baked Chocolate Chip Cookies


They were delicious and today (Tuesday), daughter took a few over to neighbor S's.

Yesterday, the weather was drizzly, on and off.  Today, there were a few drizzles in the morning and it was cloudy but dry in the afternoon and evening.

In the morning and early afternoon, I watched the procedure to select a new Speaker of the House.  It was very interesting to see; the vote will continue tomorrow and I plan to watch it, tomorrow, too.

Daughter and I decided to order dinner to go from our favorite Italian restaurant; you order online, select your pick up time, drive to the restaurant, and they bring the food to the car.  The meal comes with your choice of soup or salad, plus breadsticks; we chose soup.  Daughter got chicken marsala pasta and chicken and gnocchi soup.  I selected a combo plate with pasta, chicken parmigiana, and lasagna, with zuppa toscana.  

Italian Dinner

There are enough leftovers for another meal, later.

We had cookies for dessert!  I will be starting on my healthier eating meal plan next week!  LOL.

In the evening, I wished one of my cousins for her birthday and chatted with friend R for a bit.  Then, for the first time in many months, I sat down at the piano to play a little bit; the usual pieces I always play by ear.  The piano is out of tune, again; need to call the piano tuner to tend to it!

We also gave Dancer his flea prevention medication.  He does not like that and is sulking under the dining table!d

I am grateful for:
- Time spent with my daughter
- Visits with neighbors
- Rain for the garden
- Restaurants offering curbside pick up 
- Safe drives to the restaurant and back

Monday's joyful activity was having neighbors over for a visit.
Today's joyful activity was playing the piano.

Tomorrow's weather forecast calls for more rain as a major storm is supposed to be headed our way.  

Plans for tomorrow include M tending to the garden (provided it is not raining a lot), watching the selection of the new Speaker of the House, and doing a bit of housekeeping and paperwork.

How is your week coming along?  What are your plans for Wednesday?




22 comments:

  1. What a lovely day! Well done on the jigsaw puzzle. Jane had lots of them in her house and although I don't do them, my walking friend does so I passed them along to her. After she does them she passes them along to her friends. Walking friend has completed several of them that she has taken photos of to share with me. Jane had several mounted in frames too.

    The gifts sound lovely. I love fluffy socks. My feet always seem to be cold. The cookies look delicious too. So glad you are enjoying the time with your daughter.

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    1. That was very kind and generous of you to pass the puzzles along to your walking friend and for her to share with her friends. :)
      My feet are always cold, too, and I wear socks practically all year round (except when it is in the 90s and 100s in the summer!) And the cookies were a bit too delicious because they are almost all gone! LOL. Thank you, Sharon; I'm really enjoying this time with my daughter. :)

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  2. That's a pretty puzzle. I understand why your daughter wants to preserve it. My husband (the main puzzle worker) is working on a very difficult puzzle right now. My son had a puzzle made from a picture he took on vacation last fall. The difficulty is arising from the fact that most of the pieces are similar shapes and everything looks like it fits. I like puzzles, but don't have the patience to do one with this much tedium.

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    1. Thank you, June. Sounds like your husband is working on a very challenging puzzle! But, what a special puzzle it'll be once it has been assembled!

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  3. Love all the food.
    www.rsrue.blogspot.com

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    1. Thank you, Regine. All very delicious food, too. :)

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  4. Daughter, company, gifts and cookies! Life does not get much better than that does it?

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    1. You are right, Anne, it doesn't! It's been a lovely way to end the old year and start the new! I feel very blessed!

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  5. That's a pretty jigsaw and will be nice to have on the wall! I was given a jigsaw for Christmas but have not yet started it. I need the table once more, and then can start :o)
    Sounds like a nice evening with your lovely neighbours, well-chosen gifts and yummy takeaway!

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    1. Yes, it is a pretty puzzle, isn't it? I told her to choose what she liked and this was her choice. There is one other puzzle that I have received, a farm scene, to be worked on next. We've had a lovely couple of days and I'm looking forward to the next few days before daughter has to go back. :)

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  6. The puzzle is beautiful! My grandmother loved doing puzzles and she did a special one for me a few years before she passed. I treasure it! How fun that you got to spend some time with friends! Warm fuzzy socks are something I really appreciate now in adulthood! Hope Dancer is over his hurt feelings by now, bless it! 😁

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    1. Thank you, Mandy. How lovely that you have a puzzle your grandmother did for you! It was good to have friends visit - I don't do a lot of that since the pandemic, though. Warm fuzzy socks are very welcome! I wear them around the house and to bed, too!
      Dancer has recovered from his sulk! :D He's too funny for words!

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  7. I love the jigsaw puzzle. You did well to be able to move it. I have mine on the end of the dining room table each time I do one and if I need to use the whole table I cover the puzzle with some heavy plastic and put a big table cloth over it. Your slipper socks look cosy. I'm glad you are getting back into playing the piano again.
    I changed the bed and decided to resurrect some navy blue sheets that I hadn't used for years, because the beige sheets I use every other week are getting threadbare! I haven't been anywhere to replace them, so these are a convenient alternative and I rather like them!

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    1. Thank you, Bushlady. I usually break up the puzzles after I do them, although, one time, I taped the back of one of the puzzles and hung it up on the wall for some time.
      Good idea to use the navy blue sheets to replace the worn out beige ones. Might as well use what you have, at least until you are able to buy the replacement sheets. :)

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  8. Cosy slippers and freshly baked cookies! What more could you wish for. The jigsaw looks beautiful, but my eyes hurt just thinking about completing it :) Xx

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    1. Couldn't have wished for anything more, Jules. :D My daughter did most of the jigsaw; I did one corner!

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  9. That's a pretty puzzle. My friend tapes her favourites and mounts them on the wall but it's not something I have ever done.

    It sounds like you had a lovely time with S and daughters and received some nice useful gifts ... I like slipper socks! The Italian meals looks delicious.

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    1. It is a pretty puzzle, isn't it? I've taped up one of my puzzles - of an all black cat's face - and mounted it on the wall, one time. Partly because it was such a difficult puzzle to put together.

      It was fun having S and daughters over for a visit and I'm wearing one of their warm gifts right now, as I type this! The Italian food was wonderful. We've done quite a bit of eating take out, this holiday period, but, I generally don't to a lot of take out when I'm on my own, so I indulge when my daughter is home. :)

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  10. How nice that neighbor S and her daughter came over for a Christmas visit. Sounds like a new tradition may have been established with alternating visits.
    Your Italian carryout meal looks really nice. I like the idea of the platter you got with several different pastas.
    What a perfect gift for you those socks and slippers are!

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    1. It was very nice to have S and her daughters (N and C) visit us for the holidays. N said she thought I would like the socks and slippers because I like warm things. Yes, please! The slippers are non-skid and they are washable, too.
      I usually get the platter with the three items as it gives me three different meals. What I should do is make a pan of lasagna and freeze it in portions!

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  11. What a fun puzzle! The Italian food has my mouth watering. Time to take a break from blog reading, and grab a bite to eat.

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    1. It was a fun puzzle! :) The Italian food is now just a memory (I finished the last of the soup, today); hope you were able to get something to eat. :)

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