'Twas the Night Before the Night Before...

It is Sunday night to be exact. Tomorrow is Christmas Eve. When I make up my To-Do list, I will stretch it over two days because I will be leaving here on Christmas Day (weather allowing) to drive to Smiths Falls to stay over at my brother's house. I announced today that I will be bringing my overnight bag to stay over so that I can partake in a glass of red wine at Christmas dinner. Also, I have not  liked driving at night recently. If I stay over, we will be able to play a game of cards or a board game which I have not been able to do in the past because I have had to get home for the dog. My plan is then to drive on Boxing Day from there to my friend's place in Charleston Lake. Her son and DIL and the NEW BABY will have arrived on Christmas Day. I will present their gifts to them at that time, have dinner and I will get to hold the new little one. After all of that excitement I will come home to decide the rest of Christmas Week.

Today I vacuumed the whole of the downstairs. I also made a loaf of keto bread for the first time ever AND I made another batch of those keto Amaretti cookies because they are just so darn good. I have been eating them directly from the freezer over the past few days, so I needed to make more for Christmas. I will take my bread and cookies with me on my travels. I have also been requested to bring a dish of sweet potatoes to share with my SIL (because my brother will not make them) *laugh*

 I was very pleased with my first attempt at bread. I love that this loaf bakes up nice and high. That's because this recipe asks for 6 eggs, separated. The whites are beaten until soft peaks form and then gently folded in at the last to produce that height. I can even toast this bread. Yum. 

I have all my food gifts wrapped and tagged and ready to be delivered. But I will still be busy tomorrow getting the Christmas Eve dinner prepared. I don't think I will be back on the computer until after Boxing Day, so I trust that everyone will have a good time with family and friends and I will talk to you again later in the week. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays.

Day Twenty

Only four more days to get everything done that you are hoping to accomplish. It seems to me that the busier I am, the more likely I am to write posts on my blog. I virtually had nothing to do this month, but I am not staying accountable to my readers. I can only hope that YOU are all too busy to notice.

I drove over to Amerstview to pick up a prescription on Tuesday and decided to get my free flu shot while I was there. I had to stay in the drug store for 10 minutes afterwards, so I walked up and down the aisles just "looking". I found some Christmas wrapping at "Boxing Day" prices, so I grabbed them up. I paid for them by cashing in a winning scratch ticket for $6 that was sent to me in one of my Christmas cards this year. So no OOP  at this store. I next went over to the LCBO again and bought another 2 bottles of wine.

I bought 4 (11x8 1/2) gift boxes,  a wine gift bag, 25 cellophane bags, a 3 coloured pack of tissue paper, and 6 DVD boxes which I can use for small wrappings....ALL for under dollar store prices.  I filled my gas tank with gas on the way home.

Yesterday morning I called ahead and went over to see my friend to check on her. She has been busy filling out the paper work and visiting the government offices that she needs to go to after the death of her husband. She seems to be managing things well enough, but reportedly not sleeping very well. I took over a box of hot chocolate packets because I knew that both of her girls love these. When I came home I made up another roasting pan full of the "Nuts and Bolts" mixture and packaged it all up in the cellophane bags I bought on Tuesday.

After his shift, my son and my DIL came over for a visit. They are not able to stay over on Christmas Eve after all. I was very disappointed until I learned that he has picked up  an extra shift for double the wage; and with her in school, they could not turn this extra money down. So we will open our presents together on Christmas Eve, and I am fine with that. While my son did laundry and my DIL wrapped her presents at the dining table, I cleared all the cans and packages of food in my food storage that I can no longer eat, and packed it up into 2 large reusable grocery bags for them to take home and use up. I was thinking of giving them to my friend after the New Year, but I think my son can use them more right now. His hours have dropped down significantly.

Today I got some news of my Dad. The doctor's office called to ask them to come right down to the hospital to receive 2 units of blood. The results of the blood test he had done yesterday  were available this morning. His hemoglobin, which was so high only 3 months ago that his doctor had decided to take him off of his iron supplements, was now so low it was alarming. It doesn't sound good, but on the other hand,  his sister (my aunt) had a similar medical history where she needed to go in every few months to receive a transfusion. On the bright side, when it is finished, he will feel so much better. It takes several hours, so he won't be ready to come home until about 9 tonight.

So I haven't been doing much these days, but it seems busy nonetheless. I made my moussaka this afternoon and can't wait to dig in. It is a very time consuming meal to prepare but well worth it. I felt such an urgency in October and November to get ready for Christmas early, and I am so glad I listened to my inner voice. Hope you are all on track for the holiday season.

Daybook: Monday, Dec. 17/18

Outside my window.....it is dusk. The outdoor Christmas lights have turned themselves on and a light snow is falling. It looks very "Christmas"-y.

I am thinking.....that one week from today is Christmas Eve. I will  be busy making a meal and waiting for my guests to arrive.

I am thankful for.....all the preparations I did in October and November. This month was mainly for enjoying the season with little stress.

From the kitchen.....I finished all the  baking  I am going to do,  except for an apple pie and a keto bread loaf that I will make on the weekend, closer to Christmas Eve.

I am wearing.....a pair of blue jeans, a 3/4 length sleeve blue print blouse, an ivory coloured cardigan  and navy blue socks.

I am creating.....2 winter themed note cards. I sent one off today as a "Thinking of You" card, along with a sympathy card for my friend. The second one I will mail to my mom in a few days time., to arrive after Christmas Day.  I printed out some dog gift tags to attach to the little bags of treats I packaged a few days ago.

I am going.....nowhere else today. I went into Kingston mid day to No-Frills to pick up a few more groceries for this week and for the holiday dinners coming up. I stopped at the Post Office and picked up 3 more Christmas cards. I called my friend who just lost her husband to see if I could pick up any groceries for her while I was out, but she assured me she was fine.

I am hoping.....for world peace, but won't hold my breath.

I am hearing.....only traffic on wet roadways.

Around the house.....I need to vacuum once more and clean the powder room again.

One of my favourite things.....is my tablet where I can see photos and movies of my grand kids enjoying all of their Christmas activities the day they happen. I have watched them watching the Santa Claus parade, the antics of the "Elf on the Shelf", stage presentations and even a ballet performance by my youngest. Sometimes technology is the greatest.

A few plans for the rest of the week.....include picking up  a prescription tomorrow and perhaps going  over to visit my friend if she is up for it.

Here's the picture I am sharing.....

My "new to me" 7 foot long red leather couch. Each half is a recliner. You may recognize my cushion covers that I bought this past summer at Value Village (thrift store). Aren't they just the perfect match? 

Thursday

Shortly after writing Tuesday's post, my friend in Palliative Care passed away. I didn't find out until much later in the day, so while I was "waiting" to hear any news at all, I busied myself by working in the kitchen. I made a second batch of rice krispie squares, cut and wrapped individually in saran. I also made TWO keto recipes for cookies...one was a nutmeg cookie made with ground walnuts, and the other was an amaretto thumbprint cookie made with almond flour. Of course I had to test one of each to see if they tasted anything like a cookie, AND THEY DO.

You can taste the erythritol sweetener in the walnut nutmeg cookies (it has a cooling sensation in the mouth), but I think anyone would find the thumbprint cookie to be really good.  The no sugar strawberry jam adds a lovely flavour.  They may not be the most delicious cookies in the world, but I found them to be mouth watering. I will be able to partake in the "sweets" during the holidays. 

Yesterday morning I drove over to my friend's house with the lunch items I bought them on Saturday. I only intended to drop them off but stayed for two cups of tea.  We talked, and cried, and laughed a lot. She didn't want me to leave, so I stayed as long as I could. I had a doctor's appointment in Kingston that I had to get to, and some errands to run.  As a result, I was out most of the day yesterday and didn't get anything done at home.  I will try to stay in close contact with the family and help out any way I can, but I have told her to call at any time she wants.

Today I started the day by washing a load of laundry and hanging it upstairs to dry. My SIL phoned to announce they are arriving this weekend with their leather couch which they are gifting me to replace my green sofa that is looking quite worn. They just received a new living room suite delivered yesterday that is their Christmas gift to each other. I am excited to receive this couch but it is winter. I won't be able to get rid of the green sofa until Springtime, so I needed to move some furniture pieces around to accommodate everything.  I also packaged up all the doggie biscuits into cellophane bags so they are ready to deliver to my doggie friends. I have 11 ready to go.

I can't believe the weekend will be upon us again tomorrow. The days are flying by.

Daybook: Tuesday, Dec. 11/18

Outside my window.....it looks cold and overcast with light snow flurries.

I am thinking.....about all the people I know who are sick and frail. When I wake in the mornings, I don't know if I will hear of someone's passing. That sounds very depressing, but it is a fact of life right now.

I am thankful for.....my many blessings, including my own good health.

From the kitchen.....I have been making food gifts for Christmas. I have already made a double batch of doggie biscuits and a double batch of "nuts and bolts". I made one batch of rice krispie squares and wrapped each square separately in saran. Today I am going to attempt my first baked keto recipe for cookies.

I am wearing.....blue jeans, a pink button down long sleeved shirt over a white knit camisole, and gray socks.

I am creating.....the beginning of a birthday gift for my mother. I won't share it yet because I haven't figured out how it will eventually look. I also sent off another homemade "winter" card for her in the mail. Apparently the residents are helping themselves to each other's cards, but not to worry....my mother is also "stealing" theirs. *laugh*

I am going.....nowhere today, I don't think. I haven't made any plans so far. I have started to receive Christmas cards at the Post Office. I went out yesterday to No-Frills to pick up some more missing ingredients for my nuts and bolts mixture. I have everything I need to make a second batch of rice krispie squares and my keto cookies.

I am hoping.....for a good week for my DIL who is finishing up her last week of classes. She has a full week of presentations, assignments due, and finished projects to hand in. Finally she will be able to relax a little bit and prepare for the holidays before the second semester starts after New Year's.

I am hearing.....the sounds of tires on wet pavement outside and the blower on the furnace when it comes on.

Around the house.....I have remnants of materials out from several projects I had on the go last week, on the kitchen counters, on the dining room table, and around my chair near the living room window. I should spend some time today cleaning up those areas.

One of my favourite things.....this week are the little cellophane bags and Xmas tins I already have to package up my treats for gifting.

A few plans for the rest of the week.....include a doctor's appointment tomorrow afternoon. I have no other plans, but most of my activities lately have been spontaneous.

Here's the picture I am sharing.....

My recipe calls for 7 c. of  cereal, so I use 2 c. of Shreddies, two c.  of Cheerios, 2 c.  of Rice Chex, and 1 c. of Cheez Sticks. Then add  2 c. of pretzels, and 2 c. of peanuts (but I use 1 c. of peanuts and 1 c. of mixed nuts). I like this recipe because you can use what you like as the 7 cups of cereal to suit your own tastes. You can use small crackers or bagel bites as part of your mixture. Chex mix in the States is comprised of a combination of wheat, rice and corn chex, but we don't have all of those in Canada. I LOVE this version; however, had I been able to find Crispix cereal yesterday, I would have used that instead of the rice chex. Melt 1/4 c. of butter (or margarine) with 1 tsp. of onion powder, 1 tsp. of garlic powder, 1/4 tsp of ground cayenne, and 2 tbsp. of Worchestershire. Pour over the top and roast in a slow oven(225 degrees) for 45 minutes stirring the mixture every 15 minutes.  I find that the Worchestershire, salted butter, cheez sticks, pretzels and nuts add enough salt that I do not need to add any to this mixture.  This is a very yummy savoury treat.

End of Another Week-end

I have come to the close of another week-end, but this time I am not feeling like I have accomplished much this past week. I am still in my "reflective mood". I don't recall having done anything from my cleaning list. I know I have made a few crafts, but mainly I have been thinking about my next projects. To sum up the week in a few words, I have been shopping and I have been taking naps on the couch in the afternoons (specifically Friday and Saturday). My friend in Palliative Care has had his family around him 24/7 over the weekend, and I expect a call at any time. I took out some groceries to the house yesterday but found their place completely empty. I now have the food in my fridge....waiting. I would normally make a casserole, but I don't have the ingredients in the house. So I went out yesterday to buy bread, milk, margarine, lunch meat, cheese, grapes and other things I could think of to make a quick lunch. When I am feeling anxious, I don't get much done.

Yesterday morning, when I went out to buy those few things, I also went to the Bulk Barn. I haven't been there in a very long time. I was able to pick up some ingredients to bake a few things this week. I have already made two batches of dog treats. (I only needed to buy a small bag of flour to use up ingredients I already had in my pantry) I also made my first batch of rice krispie squares. These will make up a gift for someone on my list, as he expects to receive them every Christmas. I am also going to attempt a batch of keto Christmas cookies to share, and maybe enjoy one or two of them myself. I also plan to make a batch of savoury bits and bites (or nuts and bolts) for gifting.

This afternoon I am colouring my own hair. I have watered the downstairs plants again. I started working on my mother's birthday present which I will not be sharing yet. And I have been looking on Pinterest for "elf on the shelf" ideas to share with my daughter. I have been doing a lot of on-line searching lately....maybe too much. Anyways, hope your weekend has been grand.

In lieu of a casserole, I will bring some lunch over to the house.

Thrifty Thursday?? Hardly.

I did it again. I posted without any content. I have discovered that after I write in my title post, I need to tab down to the main body. Sometimes, I forget myself and hit the enter key instead. My bad.

I went shopping today. I left the house early to drive into Kingston to the Giant Tiger store to purchase their weekly specials (they were that good). When I got there I discovered that others thought the deals were good as well, because I had to wait in line for a parking space to become available. So in one way I was able to be thrifty by taking advantage of some sales, but GT is a favourite store of mine. It entices me to buy more than I need. It was a struggle to only buy what was on my list but I think I did pretty well.

From there I went to Freshco which is another grocery store on the way home that begins its weekly specials on Thursday. Their large tubs of yoghurt were still only $1, so I bought 3 more. I also bought some ingredients that I do not keep in the house because of my diet, but I bought them to make food gifts and for entertaining. Whatever is left that I don't use, I can give to my son and DIL.

Four pounds of lean ground beef were selling for $7.99 a bag (normally $12) Yogurt was still only $1 a  tub this week. Everything but the sugar free Jello was on sale. I will save the kielbasa for entertaining.

I bought these items for entertaining (Christmas Eve dinner and Christmas morning breakfast)  or to make things with. I will use the marshmallows to make rice krispie squares. I will use the Tenderflake  and flour to make pies. I also plan to make some savoury snacks like Bits and Bites to gift others.  Besides making pies,  I had to spend money on flour so I can use up the oatmeal, cornmeal, peanut butter and canola oil that is still in my cupboards, (but that I cannot have) to make up doggy treats for all of my canine friends.

I also bought some items I have not photographed. The final damage came to $93.96, but I had a total of $32.81 in discounts and savings.  Looking back, I guess I didn't do too badly. I certainly have spent more than that on groceries at Christmas. I also have been able to spread out the purchases over several weeks this year. I guess I am just troubled by spending any money at all. Oh no. I am turning into Scrooge.