SUNDAY DAY BOOK

 

FOR TODAY

LOOKING OUT MY WINDOW: A beautiful cerulean blue sky, full sunshine and frozen snow that we just received yesterday morning!  It's a beautiful but very cold Sunday.  It is currently 12 degrees F and it is noon. When I woke up at 6:30 AM it was 4 and when we left for the 9 AM church service it was 6.  BRR. But so very pretty and Christmas-y.

I'M THINKING: about who is going to show up at church later today for our indoor caroling and prayer time (we had to cancel our outdoor caroling due to extreme frigid temps tonight). this would have been the first time our choir was going caroling! I'm disappointed but at least we can still get together. 

 

I'M THANKFUL: for central heating, warm, thick sweaters, and cozy socks

ONE OF MY FAVORITE THINGS

my African violet...Patti

I AM WEARING: Black straight legged jeans, jade green thermal shirt, a cropped  cardigan sweater (red/green/white/khaki with  Xmas trees and deer and beautiful buttons), green striped thick winter socks, red earrings, my Dec birthstone, my wedding rings. 

I AM WATCHING: birds flit to and fro from the feeder to the pine tree and to the maples and pear to the suet feeder. I'm also watching on Netflix:  Virgin River season 6 and last night watched an amazing faith-based flick with Priscilla Shirer called The Forge. I highly recommend both!

 I AM READING: Midnight in Everwood (a re-imagining of Nutcracker) and The Blessed Home (non-fiction about setting a calm/healthy tone in your home and life); Postures of Advent devotional. 

I AM LISTENING TO: a motor idling outdoors on the street (probably my neighbor's daughter who still lives with them) and on Spotify I've been listening to Pentatonix Christmas albums.

IN THE KITCHEN:  today we are celebrating our youngest daughter, Claire, who is coming over for dinner around 1 pm. Our oldest daughter will arrive shortly after the 11 AM service. We are all celebrating Claire's birthday which was yesterday with this vegan pot pie I created for her and with her fave vegan Chocolate Crinkles I made for her. 

veggies and rice pot pie with Herbs de Provence

ready for the oven!

vegan chocolate crinkles...made with coconut oil
and flaxseed "eggs" 

WORDS OF OTHERS:

one of my fave quotes about winter

A MOMENT FROM MY DAY: 

relaxing after the early church service
yes, i sometimes allow our feet on the coffee table!
Highly unusual though :) 

I hope whatever your Sunday before Christmas brings, that it includes laughter, light and the love of the people around you. 

TAKE NOTE

 

READERS: please take note! 

In my comment section, there should be a pop up or something that says I accept comments if they are not inappropriate language-wise and if you sign with your blog name or your first name. Anyone commenting under "Anonymous" will be deleted. 

I have had some disrespectful comments on book reviews in the past and lately, some comments that alhtough are fine, are signed by "Anonymous".  If you don't have a blog, simply type in your first name and last initial (optional).  First name is fine! Otherwise, the comment will be deleted. 

Thanks for your cooperation and respect!

Week Before Christmas Faves

The week before Christmas! And tomorrow is Winter Solstice!!  And our youngest daughter's birthday!  And the first day of Winter! So many things to be grateful for this month and week so I will share FIVE that top the list. I link up at Susanne's site where you can pop over and learn how to join in. 

 

Dave in his 1920s look 

• SATURDAY PARTY FUN:  My husband's company had a 1920s themed party Saturday evening in a venue in the city to the west of us.  I opted not to go this year and I wasn't the only wife who didn't accompany her husband! But I did help Dave purchase clothing from this place so he could look the part. Everything he bought was on major clearance and he had a really good time with his work colleagues. I'm thankful my husband had a night out with friends and co workers and made it home safely. I spent the evening with my oldest daughter and we had such a great time at our own little dinner party. I made some chicken and garlic stuffed ravioli with steamed broccoli and cauliflower and drinks. We had some Christmas cookies for dessert and watched 2  more episodes of the Handmaid's Tale. We talked like friends and that's such a cool feeling when the children are grown up, young adults, who want to spend time with you and actually converse about serious things!  My heart was full...and thankful. 

the stage at church before the worship team comes out

• CHRISTMAS CAROLS:  I loved our church service last Sunday morning. I went to the 11 AM service and sat with my oldest daughter. Dave had to serve on the production team that morning. WHen I first got into the sanctuary/auditorium the stage was set for worship although the lights in the "christmas village" weren't on yet. Usually we have had Christmas trees along the back and sides. this year it is set up to look like a village. I'm going to try to get a photo when the lights are on so you can see it better. I'm thankful for all the Christmas songs we sang, for the Advent message and for the prayer time. 

our kitchen door that leads down to basement
this is where we typically display cards

•  CHRISTMAS CARDS!  I'm always thankful for friends  and family near and far who send out Christmas cards.....we have a fairly good amount so far this year: 19.  Plus I received 9 birthday cards in the last 2 weeks from family and friends both near and far. It makes my heart happy to both send and receive cards. One of my college roommates and I have exchanged cards every year since 1982!! It's fun and the only time we connect (we both send newsletters). We are both hoping, now that we're both retired from teaching (she lives about 3.5 hours northwest of us in north-central NYS), to meet somewhere half-way between our homes for lunch this summer. I'm thankful for  long term friendships. 

Vischer Ferry Nature Preserve
Wednesday mid-day

walking path along the Erie Canal

a mallard couple

• MID-DAY WALK: On Wednesday morning, I had to run two errands and one was out of town. After I was done, I decided to do my daily power walking in the nature preserve in the town I was in because it was so close by to the store I had just been in.  It was a beautiful day with sunshine in and out and mostly blue skies although in my photos they look more grey than blue. There were only two other walkers there and they were both leaving as I arrived. The only other humans I saw were 3 different people on bikes. I walked one mile towards the old lock, turned around and walked the mile back giving me a nice 2 mile power walk. While I walked, I listend to a Christmas concert that a friend of mine had texted me the link to. She was in the choir.  I'm thankful to have had some outdoor exercise this week. I was able to walk every day except yesterday!

Sunday Dawn 
from my deck

Moon sinking low as the sun came up behind me
Sunday morning from my front yard

• DECEMBER DAWN:  Sunday was just gorgeous. The dawn was particularly lovely. For some reason I was up early...Dave actually had to be at church by 7 AM as he was on the Production Team this past weekend and for some reason everyone had to be there a half hour earlier than usual. I enjoyed a walk and coffee before showering and breakfast and these scenes from our deck and front yard just made me say "Thank You, God for your beautiful gift of Creation". 

Happy Winter Solstice tomorrow!!  The first day of winter!!  Here in the Northeast we celebrate all of the season!! And maybe we will actually get some snow here in eastern NY this weekend.....

ENJOY the weekend and the final preparations of Christmas. 

2024 Book Review #54: Nemesis

 

This is the 12th and final book in the Miss Marple Mystery series by one of the world's greatest mystery writers. I am done with the series!  My oldest daughter challenged me to complete it in one year. The year was up in September but hey.....I finished it in 2024 at least! 

STORY SUMMARY

Miss Jane Marple receives a letter from an old friend's lawyers.  The old friend was someone Jane met while on vacation in the Caribbean a year ago. They really were just acquaintances and he was in a wheelchair due to being paralyzed in the legs. But they both loved a good mystery and  while in the West Indies, they helped to solve a murder mystery.  This old friend is Mr Rafiel.  However, the letter has been sent posthumously as Mr Rafiel passed away a few weeks prior. In the letter are some instructions for Miss Marple, and if she follows them, she will inherit a large sum of money from Mr Rafiel's estate. But..he doesn't  give her many clues! All she knows is, she is supposed to investigate a crime that has taken place. But she has no idea where, or when, or with whom this crime was committed! 

Miss Marple is intrigued.....so...she sets out to figure out this very odd request. 

What will she discover?? 

MY THOUGHTS 

So I'm super happy that I was able to  correctly guess the murderer!  This has only happened a couple of times in the Miss Marple series.

This was a good book in that, as usual, the characters and setting are very well developed and there were no editing errors.  NONE! At least that I could find. 

I'm finding that most books before the 1980s are edited much better than today's books. Not sure why that is!

I loved how there were several diverse characters and that it was sort of related to a previous book (A Caribbean Mystery).  

This is a fast-paced mystery with a lot of drama and you do have to pay close attention to certain details if you want to figure out this "who done it" story. 

I'm thankful I've read all of the Miss Marple mystery books by a well known and much loved classic mystery writer. 

My absolute favorite one continues to be A Caribbean Mystery, followed by A Pocketful of Rye and the third fave is At Bertram's Hotel. 

I highly recommend you read some Agatha Christie books. There's truly no one like her! 

In my opinion, this book is appropriate for ages 12 and older. 

On a scale of 1-10, with 10 being the highest, I rate this a 9. 

Week Before Christmas HodgePodge

 

Loved the HodgePodge questions again. Thank you to Joyce for doing this.  Click here to learn more. 

1. What's one thing you want to get done before the calendar flips to a new year?

I'd like Dave and I to firm up our  Spring travel plans to New Mexico and actually put a deposit down on the air bnb we found. 

2. What's something that brought a smile to your face this year?

Lots of things!a few of them are:   Getting a proper diagnoses via MRI after a 2.5 year wait for answers regarding daily headaches and upper back pain; having the daily headaches (which ended up being cervicogenic) ease up and not be constant; seeing both daughters get raises at their work places; starting and leading a hiking group; meeting 3 new women friends who love hiking and doing life together; spending time with Dave at a camp literally right on the water near Plymouth MA and just being alone with him with no obligations

3. What do you like on a cracker? Do you have a favorite cracker variety? 

Things I like on a cracker:  roasted red pepper hummus or lemon beet hummus; very sharp vermont cheddar cheese; cucumbers and basil leaves; mozzarella and basil; Saratoga Maple peanut butter.

A fave cracker is this one. SO good.a second fave is this one.  I also like Triscuit Garden and Herb whole grain crackers and in a pinch, a good old low sodium Ritz cracker.  But the ones I linked to are  my absolute faves. 

4. Do you have plans for ringing in the new year in a fun or special way? Are you typically awake at midnight on the last day of the year? 

When our girls were very young (5 and newborn; then up to when the oldest was about 8) we would stay home and have friends over or go out to a party.  When the girls got older, we would invite friends with kids our daughters' age and have a huge party where everyone brought a dish to share, etc and we always provided the drinks.  Once they got to college age, we stopped going out.  It was just the 4 of us or they would be going out with friends and we would stay home. This year, we are having some friends over for drinks, games and snacks. We typically stay up and watch the ball drop from Times Square but last year Dave and I were in Boston for First Night!  We also did First Night once when our oldest was in college..the 4 of us went and spent the entire day and most of the night in Boston and rang the new year in back at the hotel that year. 

My fave way to ring it in is to go to Boston. This year we can't as my husband couldn't get the time off from work. 

5. What are three words that describe your 2024? 

Creative, adventurous; informative 

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

WINTER SOLSTICE IS ALMOST HERE!! 

Week Before Xmas Menu

 

Today I decided, before going off to do the weekly food shopping, to get a dinner plan outline mainly so I can see what exactly we need so I don't over spend which is easy to do in the grocery store. I spent $50 less than last week so I feel pretty  successful.  Here's my outline.  (some of these days might get swtiched around as I tend to leave a plan pretty flexible).  We typically eat anywhere between 6:30-7:30 depending on the day. 

• MONDAY:  Shepherd's Pie with ground "impossible meat"; fruit cup of grapes, honeydew, oranges,  pineapple, blueberries, cherries,  and pomegranate. 

• TUESDAY: Oven Baked Parmesan Crusty Chicken; Roasted Sweet Potatoes; Steamed French  Green Beans with fresh Mozzarella and light tuscan italian dressing

• WEDNESDAY: Italian Joes over Garlic Toast; Creamy Orzo with red onion; Tossed salad with Romaine, cherry tomatoes, cucumber, red and green pepper.

• THURSDAY: Tofu Scramble (minus the potatoes) over jasmine rice; fresh clementines

• FRIDAY:  Tomato-Basil-Orzo soup; Grilled Cheddar Cheese Sandwiches; Dessert night:  Christmas Ginger Snaps

• SATURDAY:  We might order out or go out.........not sure yet.....

• SUNDAY:  We're having our daughters over to  celebrate the youngest turning 26 the day before. She has requested my Veggie Pot Pie (vegan) and Steamed broccoli, and Vegan Chocolate Crinkles. We will be eating after church as later that evening, we are going Christmas caroling with other choir members. We will either grap Indian food after caroling to eat late Sunday evening or make sandwiches here at home. 

What's on your menu this week? 

Do you have a favorite Friday evening dinner or do you order out/go out every Friday night like we used to??