It's Better After a Nap

According to Dancer, life is always better after a nap!  Here he is, this morning, relaxing in a sunny spot:

Dancer Catches a Few Rays

Thank you, everyone, for your kind comments on yesterday's post.  My daughter was very disappointed and upset; she doesn't get upset that easily, so, when she gets upset, I do, too!  After we spoke online for a couple of hours, yesterday evening, going over the situation over and over, again, she decided that she will have an early night.  She is as much a night owl as I am, but, she went to bed at 9:30 p.m.  And I wrote my blog post and published it a little after midnight.

At around 12:45 a.m., my daughter called me!  She had slept for about three hours and was now up and unable to fall back asleep!  So, we chatted online for a couple of hours!  She was in a better frame of mind after her nap.  We discussed the options, once again, and decided that if she couldn't get a ride home, she will drive herself down, no matter how anxious she might feel about driving.  We ended the chat by singing some traditional Christmas carols and some other holiday songs, including "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas".  We said goodnight around 2:30 a.m., but, I didn't go to sleep until nearly 5:30 a.m. and daughter apparently never went back to sleep!  

This morning, she texted me with some good news!  Her friend's roommate D, the teacher at the school where a student tested positive (not a student in one of his classes) had received a negative Covid test result.  Her friend P will be tested today, and, if the test results come back negative, then, there is a very good chance that they will drive down, this weekend, after all!  Daughter has offered to share the driving.  P has said he might take her up on that offer!  We are keeping our fingers and toes and everything else crossed! 

This morning, my aunt's funeral took place.  I texted my cousin, last night, and said that I will not be attending the funeral and made my apologies.  They were allowing 30 people in the church and an unlimited number at the cemetery and, although my cousin said I could stay in the car, I thought that it would be best to stay home.  

Today, I am grateful for:

- Dancer's wisdom!

- The benefit of naps!

- Kind and supportive blog comments

- The good news that the trip might still be on (pending Covid test results)

- Late night/early morning singing with my daughter!

Today's joyful activity is continuing to decorate the house!  (I didn't do any decorating, yesterday, as I didn't feel like it.)

Tuesday

Homemade Holiday Decorations

The Christmas throw I crocheted and the cushion covers my mother sewed have been spread out in the living room.  There are six cushion covers in two Santa designs:

Santa at Work

Santa at Rest

Well, it seems that it is very doubtful that my daughter will be able to come home for the holidays, after all.  Her friend who was to give her a ride has two roommates and apparently one roommate (who works in a school) has been exposed to a student who has tested positive.  They just found out, today.  Even though the friend and roommates have all recovered from their own bout with Covid, her friend is unsure if this new exposure means they can now be carriers, even if they, themselves, aren't likely to get ill, again.  Her friend is trying to get tested, again, but, it is possible that the trip will be delayed.  Daughter is unsure by how long.

She and I are very disappointed as we've both been looking forward to her coming home for the holidays.  We've spent the whole evening discussing options, over and over again.  Flying down is not an option as she has to take public transit to the airport and the risk of exposure is too great.  Option number one, I've offered to drive up to pick her up, but, she doesn't want me to (it's an almost 400 mile drive).  Option number two is for her to rent a car and drive down on her own.  Considering the fact that she hasn't driven such a long distance by herself and dislikes driving, I am a little worried about that.  The third option is for her to stay up there, but, she is really sad about having to spend the holidays on her own.

I wish I knew what the Universe is telling us, but, since I don't know, I am hoping that whatever happens will be for the best.

Today, I am grateful for:

- Daughter's friend finding out about the roommate's exposure before they drove down and not after!

- Having options (whether feasible or not is another question!)

- Our current good health and being alive

- We have safe and comfortable homes in which to stay, even if we have to stay apart

- Being able to video chat 

Today's joyful activity has been trying to count our blessings and trying to stay positive.

How was your day?

December Meal Plans - Week 2 Review and Week 3

Here's what was planned for December Week 2 meals and how it all worked out:

December Week 2 Meal Plan Options:

Breakfast/Brunch/Lunch:  Stuffing Waffle (Monday)✓, scrambled eggs and toast✓ or hash browns, toast with peanut butter and jam, pancakes, sandwich✓, soup✓, salad✓

Dinner:  Hamburger (Monday)✓/Cheeseburger✓, chicken curry✓ (with rice, cabbage, lentils, etc.), soup✓

Snacks/Desserts: Fruit✓, crackers with cheese or peanut butter✓, nuts✓, fish patties if I make some

Monday: 

Brunch:  Stuffing waffle

Dinner: Hamburger - ground beef patty, with bread ends as the bun (since I don't have any hamburger buns), lettuce, mayo, ketchup, and sweet relish (since I don't have pickles).

Snacks/Dessert:  Feijoa (the last three to fall from the tree), pineapple chunks, sesame candy, granola bar

Tuesday:

Brunch:  Salad (lettuce, carrot, grapes, cashews, "crisp apple and honey" dressing); half a tuna sandwich

Salad

Dinner:  Cheeseburger and fries!  Daughter called it "home cooked fast food"!

Cheeseburger and Fries

 

Snacks/Dessert: Salted peanuts, a piece of peppermint bark candy

Wednesday: 

Brunch:  Salad; half a grilled cheese sandwich

Dinner: Stringhoppers and chicken curry

Snacks/Dessert: Granola bar, peanuts

Thursday: 

Brunch:  Milk rice and chicken curry

Dinner: Macaroni and cheese with chicken curry

Snacks/Dessert:  Oranges, dry cereal

Friday: 

Brunch:  Milk rice and chicken curry

Dinner: Stringhoppers and chicken curry

Snacks/Dessert:  Orange, raisins and cashews

Saturday: 

Brunch: Scrambled egg, bacon, toast

Dinner: Baked potato

Snacks/Dessert: Orange, peanuts

Sunday: 

Brunch: Chicken and vegetable soup; homemade chicken stock and carrots, onions, green beans, green bell pepper, and canned red kidney beans.  I took some soup over to neighbor T (after calling to find out if she'd like some, of course).  I called friend R to ask if she'd like some, too, but, she declined.

Chicken and Vegetable Soup

Dinner: More soup

Snacks/Dessert:  Cereal, granola bar, orange

I think the week turned out quite well as I ate mostly what I had planned to have!  

On to Week 3!  I still haven't done a regular grocery shopping trip since early November.  I am running low on several things, but, I want to hold off grocery shopping until the weekend.  So, Week 3, too, will be based on what is in the fridge/freezer/pantry.  I start the week with at least one serving of chicken curry and several servings of soup!

December Week 3 Meal Plan Options:

Breakfast/Brunch/Lunch:  Pancakes, soup, salad, scrambled egg and bacon with toast or fried potatoes 

Dinner:  Chicken curry with rice and cabbage, etc., chicken and vegetable soup, baked battered fish fillets (frozen) with vegetables, spaghetti and meat sauce.

Snacks/Desserts: Fruit (oranges and pomegranates for fresh, plus canned fruit), crackers with cheese or peanut butter, nuts, granola bars, dry cereal

That is the plan, anyway!  

How is your meal planning coming along?

Christmases Past

I have been looking at my past blog posts about Christmas and thought I'd share some pictures with you.

Christmas 2014: I had been ill with the flu and didn't feel up to putting up a tree or pulling out any of my usual decorations.  Instead, on Christmas Eve, I cut out some paper decorations for the mantel; the ballerinas were cut using a template I found online, the trees were cut free hand, and the little cabin in the woods was made up as I went, without any instructions:

Christmas 2014

Christmas 2015:  I had received my first chemotherapy treatment earlier in the month and, although I felt well enough to decorate, I had a most miserable Christmas Eve and Christmas Day because the side effects had started in full force!  

Christmas 2015

The Christmas Tree - 2015

Christmas 2016:  I had completed my chemo and radiation treatments and was feeling well.  

Christmas 2016

2016 Christmas Tree

Christmas 2017: The year without any decorations!  Neither I, nor my daughter, felt like decorating and so, we didn't!  It was OK, we spent Christmas Day with friends who had invited us to lunch and with family who had invited us to dinner, later that night.  All the gifts were piled in front of the fire place:

Christmas 2017 - Dancer Checks the Gifts: "Which one is mine?"

Christmas 2018:  Daughter and I went to our friends' home to have Christmas dinner and, later, visited Aunt T to exchange gifts with the family.

Christmas 2018

Christmas 2019:  Apparently, I was down with a lingering cold, cough, sinus infection from December 10 and onwards, until I saw the doctor on December 20th and was prescribed antibiotics.  It was another year when I didn't decorate, but, we spent Christmas Day with friends who invited us to lunch and with family who invited us to dinner.  

Which brings us to Christmas 2020!  This year, my daughter (who in previous years didn't really care if I decorated or not) says she is really looking forward to seeing the house all decorated!  We are still hoping that her friend will be able to drive her down for the holidays.  Even if she's not able to come down, I will decorate the house and share it online with her.  

Finally, this is a picture of my 2012 Christmas tree - it was another year when my daughter said it was too much work to put up the Christmas tree, but, I felt the need for something, so, my avocado seedling (still in a jar of water), came to the rescue!

The Avocado Christmas Tree

I think Dancer was very confused that year!  LOL.  

Thanks for joining me in a walk down memory lane!

Decorating the Tree on Saturday

I woke up, once, at 6:00 a.m., this morning, and considered getting up for the day.  But, I had gone to sleep after 4:00 a.m. and knew that two hours of sleep wouldn't be enough.  So, after going to the bathroom, I went back to bed and slept till practically noon!  Oops!  But, I got eight hours of sleep!

After a brunch of scrambled egg, bacon, and toast, I started on decorating the tree.  I don't have a theme or a color scheme when it comes to decorating my Christmas tree.   My ornaments are a varied collection of colored glass balls I bought one year (1980) during an after Christmas sale (the first Christmas ornaments I bought), dollar store finds that reflected daughter's interests, and gifts from family and friends.  

Music Notes (the year daughter began piano lessons

Ballerina (year daughter began dance lessons)

Ceramic Angel from my mother

Snowflake from a friend

Light Bulb Cover 

It took me almost four hours to decorate the tree!  It reminded me of why I don't put up the tree every year!  LOL.  I did take a break to have a cup of tea and start sewing the seams on my new sweater.  I watched news and a couple of holiday specials on TV while I decorated.  

Today, I am grateful for:

- Being able to sleep in!

- My collection of ornaments

- Holiday traditions

- Memories

- Chatting with my daughter

Today's joyful activity was decorating the Christmas tree.

Assuming you put up a tree, do you have a color scheme or a theme for your tree?  Or, do you, too, have a collection of ornaments gathered over the years?

Friday's Happenings

Late last night, around 2:20 a.m., actually, my daughter phoned me to report that there was a fire behind the building across the street from her!  She said she called 911 to report the fire and the dispatcher had said that someone else had also called and a fire crew was on the way.  As far as she could tell, it was in the parking lot behind a row of shops and fast food restaurants, but, adjoining the library.  The fire fighters arrived shortly after that and they put out the flames and checked the adjoining library roof, etc.  In the meantime, daughter said she got dressed and kept her emergency backpack ready in case she had to evacuate her building!  I'm glad the fire didn't spread and she didn't have to evacuate!  No idea what might have caused the fire, though. 

Well guess what I saw when I looked out the sliding glass door, this afternoon?

Kitty Wins!

The photo was taken through the glass door.  When I opened the door, it jumped down and gave me that innocent, "butter wouldn't melt in its mouth" look!

"I didn't do it!"

Obviously I had to reinforce my Kitty Defense System:

Reinforced Kitty Defense System

I found some stronger sticks and poked them in the pot.  If you look closely at the picture, you will see Mama cat, checking it out (to the right of the planter, next to the watering can).  Gardener friend M laughed when he saw my reinforced defense system.  

Today, I vacuumed the family room and rearranged the furniture, a little bit.  Usually the two sofas are in an L-shaped arrangement, but, now, they are facing each other.  I also laundered the sofa dust sheets and put them back on the sofas.  Then, when M was here, I asked him to bring in the Christmas tree (artificial, pre-lit tree) and set it up for me in front of the family room window, where one of the sofas used to be.  I plan to decorate it over the weekend and M brought in three of the bins with decorations.  There are two additional bins of decorations, still in the garage.  I'll get to those sometime during the week.  

"Where are the gifts?"

Today, I am grateful for:

- Daughter wasn't impacted by the fire near her apartment building

- M's help with bringing in the tree and bins

- Phone calls from cousins and friends

- Working appliances

- Cute kittens

Today's joyful activity was getting started on decorating for Christmas.

How was your day?  What are your plans for the weekend?

The Countdown Begins!

Today is the first day of Hanukkah; Happy Hanukkah to everyone who celebrates this Festival of Lights.  Once again, I marvel at how light seems to play such an important part of all our varied religious observances and celebrations! 

Christmas Countdown

My little dollar store refrigerator  Christmas countdown magnet!  I bought it when my daughter was little and she loved to write the number of days for the countdown!  I am trying to get into the holiday spirits, but, so far, this is the only Christmas-related item I have set up! 

They say that news of death comes in threes.  On Friday, it was news of my aunt's death.  On Sunday, it was news of my friend's mother's death.  Last night, it was news of another friend's brother's death.  I had just spoken with her after Thanksgiving, reminiscing about the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays I used to spend with her, her parents, and her brothers!  I find myself writing sympathy cards instead of Christmas and New Year greetings cards.  

Today was a sunny day.  I did some paperwork, paid a couple of bills, and practiced the piano.

I received a letter from the radiology center, in today's mail, stating that they were able to obtain a copy of my mammogram from last year and compared it with the one from earlier this fall; apparently, they want to take some additional screening mammograms!  I am grateful that they were able to obtain a copy of last year's mammogram, do the comparison, and notify me of the need for additional tests!   I called and made the appointment; the earliest they could give me was January 7th.  I have an already scheduled appointment with the oncologist for later in January, so, that should work out well.  Hopefully, they will be able to obtain the newer results by that appointment and we shall take it from there, I guess!  I am trying hard not to worry!

Later in the evening, I chatted with friend R.

Today, I am grateful for:

- Help from my friend at the retirement office (I had more Medicare-related questions, today)

- Being able to pay my bills

- The radiology center was able to obtain last year's mammogram and do the comparison, at last!  And, they contacted me about it.

- I was able to get an appointment scheduled for the follow up mammogram

- Medical insurance!

Friday's To Do List:

- Vacuum the family room

- Rearrange the furniture in the family room to make room for the Christmas tree

- Ask M to bring in the Christmas tree and boxes of decorations

How was your day?  Have you started counting down to the holidays, whether it is the Eight Days of Hanukkah, or Twelve Days of Christmas, or some other holiday that is celebrated at this time of the year?