December Faves

 

We've had our first major snow fall this past Tuesday and it's not even officially Winter yet....but we love snow in December around our house (and last year we didn't really get any until after the holidays!) so I'm thankful we have some because snow in December is just magical.  

Speaking of magical......I've had some uncanny blessings this week.....I'm here to share those 2 along with 3 other special blessings that made me smile and say "Thanks, God" because as most of you know, all of our blessings are from our Lord.

To join in, head over to Susanne's site for the FFF. 

• FAMILY TIME:  Last Friday, we were still in the Plymouth area (MA) and it was 30 degrees colder than the day before. Thanksgiving week in eastern MA was very mild with temps in the high 50s and it hit 60 on Thanksgiving Day.  Friday, though, was only 30 and it was a bitter cold one due to the wind.  But the sun was out, we had hiking clothes and layers and off we went: Dave, my self, our oldest daughter Courtney and her boyfriend Tyler.  It was a beautiful morning with the crisp, cold air and the leaves crunching under our feet.  We spent most of the morning hiking 2 different trails and then went to Dave's brother's house for lunch (leftover turkey, etc). I'm so thankful the 4 of us did these hikes and that our youngest daughter Claire got to go out to brunch with our niece Hanna and then visit Grammy. (Dave's mom).  The cousins rarely see each other and Courtney and Tyler also got to go out with Hanna and Claire on Friday night for cocktails and dinner while us older folk ordered Thai food. I'm really thankful we had a wonderful Thanksgiving filled with family and fun. 

Rail Trail in Plymouth County, MA
 28 November 

Dave on the Skim Milk Bridge Trail
West Bridgewater, MA

Courtney and Tyler on Skim Milk Bridge

Dave on Skim Milk Bridge

• SCORCHED BUT SAVED!  I had made a fried egg with tempah "bacon" on Tuesday morning for breakfast in the same small brand new frying pan.  I added cheddar jack cheese on top of the egg and turned the whole thing into a breakfast sandwich with 12 grain toast.  I had turned the pan down on very low (We have a gas stove/oven) and went to refill my coffee mug.  When I came back to the pan the tempah and egg were done just as the bread popped up from the toaster. At the same time I was putting the egg from the pan onto the toast, I was also reading a text that had just come through.  I finished making the sandwich, ate, did my devotional post, answered a text, and took a shower. When I came downstairs (Dave had left for work before I made breakfast due to the snow storm just beginning at 7:30 AM) I smelled a weird scorched smell and saw that there was smoke curling up from the frying pan. I had neglected to turn the burner completely off!!  The pan was  scorched but I put hot water in it, along with my dish soap and let it sit for about 15 minutes. Thankfully the pan became clean and was almost like new again. I am SO thankful a fire didn't start.  I'm thankful I saw the pan before the smoke alarm went off. I never leave a burner on and the only thing I can think of that made me forget was the phone pinging with yet another text from someone in my book group just as I was reaching for the spatula to lift the egg and tempah onto the toast. From now on, I'm keeping my phone on the focus feature until I'm completely ready for the day. (before this incident, my Focus times were 11 pm-7 am; now they are 11 PM-9 AM). 

• FAVE FLAVOR!  I happened to see this hot cocoa box in our local grocery store and there was a sign saying it was  for a limited time only. Of course I had to buy it because Almond Joy is one of my fave flavors and although I don't typically drink hot  cocoa, I decided this would be fun for cold, winter afternoons. I had a mug of it on Tuesday afternoon after shoveling the 6 inches off my driveway which I am not supposed to do but someone has to do it and Dave was at work. It really does taste like an Almond Joy candy bar! I'm thankful I spied this at the store and that it will make a nice addition to my hot cocoa mixes for the upcoming Xmas party I'm hosting next week. 

a corner of our backyard
taken from the side yard

• DECEMBER SNOW!! Yes, I'm actually thankful for the first snow fall. I'm thankful we have it for December as our Summer and most of our Autumn (it's still officially Autumn until Dec 21st!!) were considered to be in droughts. We need the moisture and I like snow in December to put us in the Christmas mood.  I do love living where the four seasons are distinct.  What I don't like is the bitter temps dipping below 25 degrees F but they don't usually last for more than a week at a time so.....let's just be thankful for the beauty of snow. 

• SURPRISE SNOWSHOES!  My hiking friend Pat texted me asking if I wanted  to try a pair of her snowshoes she's selling for only $15.  I said Yes right away and it's uncanny because I had been thinking of buying Dave and I a pair for Christmas so we could get some exercise in the winter months.  She dropped off the pair you see above and another longer pair (for Dave) in bright blue. I hadn't been on snowshoes since I was about 12 yrs old and then it was my dad's old wooden ones and it was summer. HA!  I  put them on and tried them in the backyard and I love them. I do believe I have found a new thing to do  to keep me from going insane during the long winter days. I love being outdoors but with the spine issues I cannot  ski, skate or snowboard (Not that I've ever wanted to do those things anyways, and I haven't skated since I was 14). These snowshoes are like brand new!  She said she only used them a few times. I'm so thankful that she thought of me, and that she's basically giving them away because these are LLBean ones and if I were to buy them new they'd cost $220 (including the poles). Since I already have trekking poles for hiking, I'll just pop on the winter bottoms for the poles, and use those. 

Those were the blessings that really jumped out at me this week although there were other blessings like getting a birthday card in the mail from Deb from this blog, along with 3 Christmas cards from my cousin, a neighbor, and Deb.  I love when the Christmas cards come rolling in. We hang them on the Basement door so that when we are in the kitchen, we see them. 

I hope you have a wonderful  weekend doing something Christmas-y.