Memorial Day Weekending.

It feels late - even for me! - to be writing about the weekend when it will be Wednesday before many of you read this. But this Tuesday-as-Monday has been more like a Monday, except without my usual  knitting with friends in the afternoon and with a bunch of to-do's for this weekend's Women's Ministry leadership team (still without a Vice Moderator) kickoff meeting. It's honestly not very often that I cross things off my list on MondayTuesday, so at least that feels good!

As does looking back at the weekend:

We FaceTimed with our favorite little guys more than once. This is from Friday night's "goodbye". Sam is blowing a kiss and Charlie is getting ready to make a bubble (and next time I see him I'm going to have to ask what the bubble has to do with goodbyes...because now we can't remember).

Our weather forecast turned out to be wrong a lot - in that it did not rain for 96 straight hours and we saw some sun. Marc played three rounds of golf and I went to the lake three times - two times running and once walking. Sunday morning, I snapped that photo of the flag at the lake. It was a good reminder of why Monday was a holiday.

Running twice was a big deal. I haven't made two back-to-back runs (even short three-mile ones) in a couple of years. I'm sure the second one was better because I got new shoes!

That stack of books middle bottom is my "next up" pile. The bottom one and top two are not library books, but still - I need practice managing my hold queue! The good news is that the loans aren't due until June 23 and I'm actually thinking I might be able to read them all.

And finally, lower right, a three-day weekend means two two snack nights! and (not pictured) pork tacos. Marc is still the pro with our Instant Pot - we had a pork loin in the freezer (which he thawed) and then "slow" cooked it in about an hour. I added the guacamole, lettuce, tomatoes and cheese. This is definitely going on our repeat menu and I'll take photos and share the recipe next time!

I hope your week is off to a good start!

(Blogger is still not sending me emails about comments, so I apologize that I'm not replying if you've left one. Please know that I am reading - and enjoying - every one of them and I value the community this exchange has created in my life. Thank you!)

New Year Weekending.

Happy New Year! It was a quiet weekend around here. Marc played a little golf. I read, knitted and spent time with my journal. We made mussels for New Year's Eve dinner and went to bed early.

Turns out a good night's sleep was the perfect way to begin the New Year. as was a visit to see our two favorite little boys (and their parents). Charlie showed me how to use the stickers in Instagram stories.

He even made our annual photo session fun!

Today Marc is back at work (and dreading all the office talk about Georgia's win last night) and I'm undecorating. I'm going to miss those twinkle lights,

but it's time. The days are already getting longer ... and January seems full of promise.

Christmas Weekending.

I hope y'all had a wonderful weekend ... and maybe now you're enjoying a bit of quiet and a glass of wine, with Alexa playing Charlie Brown Christmas ... the perfect accompaniment to looking back on these last few days 😊.

Saturday morning I hosted the whole family (13 adults and two little boys) for brunch. All three of the non-local grandchildren (now living in DC, New York and Nashville) were here, which made it extra special. Sadly, I have no photos, so you'll just have to trust me - it was great to see everyone and it was all delicious. Much later, while Marc and Sara were napping, I wound a skein of yarn and sort of swatched for Joji's lacy Boxy.

Then we made snacks for dinner and watched Love Actually. after which Sara showed us this great follow-up (and makes me wish - all over again - that she lived closer so we could enjoy stuff like this more often).

Sunday morning, Holly and I walked to the lake (which is a nice way of saying I carried Holly on a 3-mile walk), mostly so I could take a photo to share on Christmas morning.

We had my mom over for brunch

(Marc played golf)

and the afternoon. We played Yahtzee

and started a puzzle before church. For sure, one good thing about Christmas being in December is that a 5 o'clock service is plenty dark enough for candlelight.

While I was at church, Sara made dinner ... and it was amazing. I've decided the food from the weekend deserves its own post. Stay tuned. Much later - in fact it was Christmas morning! - Sara and I finished the puzzle.

and stayed up for another 45 minutes to watch Charlie Brown's Christmas. What a lovely way to welcome Christmas Day!

Yesterday's plans were thrown a curve ball when Marc woke up sick. Sara and I did go to Katie's

Sara gave Charlie Tinker Toys and Sam a fun puzzle with locks

but we were home before dark, which turned out beautifully.

sunset from my front porch

We extended the celebration today with a girls' lunch out. and finally, a group photo.

Lydia, Paula (my sister's younger daughter), Mother, Karen, Sara, Katie, me

It was the perfect ending to a wonderful Christmas weekend and a great way to kickoff the end of 2017. I have grand plans this week for knitting and reading ... which I hope to share tomorrow. Do you have any "grand plans" left for this year?

Around Here.

Today was my day here at home (well, except for a quick trip to the vet ... no worries, Holly's fine!, a quick stop at my mom's - lots less boxes!, and a not-so-quick trip to Costco) and I finally got gifts wrapped and "stuff" cleaned up enough to make my annual photo walk through the house. Sadly, we have not seen the sun (in days!) so the light's not great, but it is December!

Here's the view from the front door. Four poinsettias by the stairs and three trees. The poinsettias are struggling (not as bad as last year); I'm not sure if it's lack of sun (I moved all of them in front of the windows for most of the week, but it hasn't been sunny) or overwatering, but I think I need to consider a new plan for next year.

Off to the right is the dining room. Much the same as previous years except for the table. The tureen in the middle of the table came from Marc's mom and is now our new centerpiece; I dressed it up for Christmas with a sugared fruit wreath I've had for years.

Continuing down the hall, here's our advent calendar/tree

with just two photos left to hang.

Then into the living room ... the word tree and the "big" tree.

The mantle here is just greens and mercury glass. Katie and I shared a bunch of mixed greens from Home Depot this year; worked perfectly!

Turning the corner, here's the family room

and the view I see when I turn my chair around. (well, except that now Marc and Sara are sitting on the two sofas and there's a movie on the TV)

I think this might be my favorite year of decorations since we moved into the house (in 2012 - yikes! how can this be our sixth Christmas here?!). It was relatively easy to get everything out (the artificial tree helped with that a lot), it looks warm and cozy (and red!) and I'm not dreading the un-doing.

Thank you for taking this walk with me while I made the notes for what to do next year!

Wishing you and yours a warm and cozy weekend and a very Merry Christmas (if that's the holiday you celebrate). I'll be back on Tuesday with a recap of ours.

p.s. I made Katrina Kenison's Cardamom Granola this afternoon. It smells wonderful and tastes delicious ... highly recommend!

Monday Merriment.

It seemed like I enjoyed a full month's worth of merry this past weekend, and yesterday ... seemed like a full week's worth!

I went with my mom to sign the final paperwork and pick up her keys (eeep!! we start moving in today!) Then we went to Target (first of many trips, I'm sure). After I dropped her back at my sister's, I raced home, cleaned up, did laundry and showered and drove to Katie's. We had front row seats for Charlie's Holiday Program!

waiting for his class' turn to perform

Charlie did not sing, but he was very good at standing in a straight line.

Charlie is just to the right of center...not singing

We went back to Katie's for an early dinner and then I enjoyed bath and playtime with the boys

before racing home (again) for bookclub. Our December meeting isn't a book discussion; we have an ornament exchange. and a birthday celebration! These two girls have December birthdays (Sunday and today) and were both surprised with the cake and candles.

I had 19 stand hours on my watch by the time I got home and settled on the sofa with Holly for a little knitting and the end of A Christmas Carol.

It was a lovely ending to most merry day!

Hope your week is off to a merry start, too - happy Tuesday!

Snowy Weekending.

I'm sure y'all have heard the big news by now - it snowed here this weekend. An early December snow is unusual here ... and 6-10+ inches is, too. We got both! The snow started Friday morning (thankfully after our walk) and didn't end until Saturday. Marc and I spent three hours Friday afternoon assembling our new treadmill

the photos don't show it - but I really did help!

...time very well spent since it will probably be a few more days before the sidewalks are clear enough for a dark early walk. 

Friday evening we had snacks and continued our binge through Bosch Season 3 (that show has really grown on both of us - highly recommend!) Saturday we were snowed in and it was great! I did take Holly out, but otherwise neither of us left the house. I baked cookies and knitted just a little and then we had more snacks and finished Bosch.

Sunday morning

Sunday's big highlight (because boo. no church. no Christmas music program) was a family cookie exchange ("family" here being the five local women who bake). The five of us each baked two kinds of cookies to share and while we were together, we made Lebkuchen, one of my dad's favorite cookies. Lebkuchen isn't hard, but it's sure better as a family affair!

We even remembered to take group photos. 

I certainly hope this is a "new" tradition - it's an easy way to have a delicious assortment of cookies and it's fun! Are you hoping to make any new traditions this year?

Here's to Monday (evening. already. yikes!)!

Three on Thursday | December Love.

December and I have a ... complicated relationship. Mostly my fault because of The Holidays and unrealistic expectations. but a little bit December's because dark and cold (and yikes, y'all, I live in Georgia!) Yet this year, I find myself feeling lighter (in the spiritual sense ... it's 4 o'clock and getting dark outside) and maybe (finally?!) ready to embrace the wonder and grace that December offers.

inspiration for my new blog banner/theme ... winter 2017!

And since it's Three on Thursday, here are three things I'm loving about December right now:

1. twinkle lights on the trees. I have three trees in the house and the "big tree" featured in the photo above has LED lights. whoa. (I predict you're going to see a lot more of those lights this month!)

2. a nicely (but not crazy) full calendar. during the week I get to walk, knit and meet up with friends and a few of the weekend days are filled with concerts, church programs and family get-togethers.

3. thinking about 2018. taking it slow. no pressure. being open to possibilities. 

Thank you to Carole for hosting us!

Thanksgiving Weekending.

I've already shared much of Saturday and Sunday's activities, so today, I have just three more stories. First up, the food.

Our "turkey sandwich Thanksgiving" was a huge hit. I decided we needed homemade sides so I did end up cooking more than I'd planned. Going along with the sandwich theme I made kale and brussels sprout slaw and in lieu of potato salad (Marc doesn't eat them) found a delicious wild rice stuffing (gotta love the Pioneer Woman - that's prosciutto frying upper right :-) I also made blue cheese dip to accompany store-bought potato chips. We repeated the whole thing on Friday when we visited Katie. and then again on Saturday and Sunday and we have one more meal to go - pretty good mileage for a few hours of cooking. I even got to watch the parade!

The highlight of Friday's visit with Katie's family was putting up the tree in the boys' playroom. We took over the tree and box of ornaments that Charlie and I put up last year.

In spite of Sam's best efforts to eat the ornaments, Marc and Charlie did a fine job getting them up on the tree. I must say, our playroom seems quite bare this year, but I'm delighted the tree is going to see a whole lot of fun in its new home. (and I didn't make a single "suggestion" this year about anything!)

And finally, one more from yesterday. My nephew (Lydia's son Andrew) starts a new job in Washington DC on December 4. We had a send-off lunch for him at a local pub and even managed a photo.

(great food, plenty of beer ... and of course the best company!) 

Today felt oddly quiet around here. I did do a little bit of decorating; for the first time in a few years, I think I'm going to be ready when December 1 comes!  Hope your week is off to a promising start as well.

Memorial Day Weekend 2017.

The rest of our weekend went much like the photos I shared on Friday. Blue skies and sunshine made it great to be outside. We played non-stop through Friday and Saturday (although I did get an hour of quiet time with a book on the deck Friday afternoon while a crew went to the pool).

The house quieted down when the Tiemans left Sunday morning. We spent a very relaxing (honestly, almost a little too relaxing for me - I can't remember the last time I sat around for four hours without a book or knitting) afternoon cruising the lake with one of Lydia's co-workers. The lake is huge - over 19,000 acres - so we didn't even begin to see all of it. We got back to the house just in time to make snacks and find the soccer game (gotta love live streaming on the iPad). Our team won - which made Sunday evening more fun.

I got home just after noon yesterday; Marc was out golfing until mid-afternoon ... two hours of complete quiet (except for Holly's snores) was a nice way to unwind.

Here are two more photos I just couldn't fit into the collage -  Lydia and I on the lake. (thank you to my sister for taking it!)

And my brother-in-law Ron with Charlie. They had a great time together!

What was your favorite moment from the weekend? (and were you fortunate enough to get a photo of it?)

Mother's Day.

Holly and I arrived safely home this afternoon; we did not travel the newly-reopened I-85, but the traffic on the other highways seemed to be responding favorably to having that thoroughfare back in business!

I have a few more stories to tell about the rest of our time in Florida, but for today, how about a quick re-cap of Mother's Day. At this point in my life, it is especially dear to me that I got to spend the day with my mom. We finished up the last to-do on her List (2016 taxes!) yesterday morning and celebrated that accomplishment with lunch out at one of our favorite places. Of course we had to "cheers" 

and then I'm so glad I remembered to ask the hostess to take our photo!

The only downside to being in Florida yesterday was that I did not get to see my favorite little guys in person. Katie made it a little better - she FaceTimed twice - first with Sam

and then with Charlie.

We spent the rest of the afternoon watching sports (bowling, baseball and golf ) and working the Sunday crossword (which we finished). Along the way, I also managed to finish all of Clue #4 on Thistle Rambles! One of Mother's friends joined us for happy hour and the day ended with more Yahtzee - and Mother's third time rolling a Yahtzee of ones!

I lost track of how many Yahtzee she rolled overall. We played every night I was there - maybe 20 games total? and I'm guessing she had about that many Yahtzees!! (Happy Mother's Day, right?!)

It was a wonderful day. Happy (belated) Mother's Day to each of you!