Life Last Week

 

Finally getting back to a regular blogging routine now that the sickness than ran through our house is gone.

The weather:::

A break from the rain until Friday but it's oh so cold out there!

On my reading pile:::

The Tattooist of Auschwitz by Heather Morris

On my TV:::

Our January Rudolph Day movie was Once Upon a Christmas Miracle, inspired by a true story.

And also inspired by true events, The Last Rifleman starring Pierce Brosnan.  Have your tissues ready for the ending.

Checked off the list:::

• All the Christmas decor is finally put away!
• Vic is back at work full-time and no overtime right now, so he's been able to devote the weekends to the deck.
• I sorted through Vic's uniforms and got them ready to donate to the costume library at the local school district office.
• Not on the list but a new discovery - I joined the I Love My Aga! Facebook group.  Oh, my goodness, how to be dissatisfied with your range/stove set-up.  I grew up with an Aga, but we'd have to reinforce the kitchen floor and take out a second mortgage to put one in this house.  For now, I'll have to be content admiring the beautiful photos in the group.

And perhaps I'll pick up one of these.

Crafts roundup:::

The Christmas 2024 and Hallmark Cruise album came to a halt when I ran out of 8 1/2 x 11-page protectors - I use them to save family newsletters and other letter-size items I want to include.  They should be here tomorrow.  All of my photos are off of my phone and ready for me to sort, label, and print.

And in other news:::

Finally made it to IKEA to pick up a Raskog cart to organize my December Daily supplies.  I have been ruthless and just kept what fits in the cart.

Another failed tea - I had such high hopes for this one but no, too many faults.  I think I should be a tearoom judge!

Mismatched cups and saucers.  I guess it's supposed to be eclectic but there are so many places to pick up matching cups and saucers.

Another teapot fail - we drank the first pot and asked for a second whereupon the server just poured more hot water into the pot.  The result was tea that resembled dishwater.

Always a fail for me - afternoon tea that starts out with salad and/or soup - nice enough for a lunch but not for afternoon tea.

Sandwich tier - tomato ricotta tart, coronation chicken with crackers, ciabatta roll with prosciutto, open-face cucumber sandwich.  Tart was lukewarm; why oh why didn't they put the chicken between two slices of bread, cut the crusts off and serve it that way; prosciutto on ciabatta was awful, hard, stale, so bulky; cucumber sandwich was just ok.

Scones were the wrong texture with zero flavor.

They tried with the dessert tier, creme brulee was delicious, neither one of us cares for peppermint so we didn't eat the tarts, macarons were tasty but look at the ginger cookies.  How hard would it have been to cut them, so they were not so misshapen?  I know, picky, picky, picky.

$52 per person and a score of 4/10 from us.  Even Vic was more disappointed with this one.

On a happier note, this weekend brings Sophia's birthday, and I have been asked NOT to include her age on her birthday card!  I think she's at the stage where she is 29+ forever.

From this:

To this:

Finally, anyone else feel this way this month?

Rudolph Day - January 2025

 

What's Rudolph Day? Here was the definition according to Organized Christmas, sadly the Rudolph Day pages don't seem to exist any longer, but I fortunately saved the details:

A few years ago, members of our Christmas community began to observe "Rudolph Day" on the 25th of each month.

On that day, we take a few moments to plan some simple tasks for the month ahead, in order to get ready for Christmas Day with plenty of time to spare. By starting early--and working a bit at a time on each month's Rudolph Day--it's easy to prepare for Christmas, save money on gifts, and cut holiday stress.  

Here's the annual line-up with the sub-theme in parentheses:

January - Tie Up Loose Ends (gather ideas and organize your Christmas notebook)

February - Begin a Holiday Letter

March - Birthday Gift-Buying Strategy (party planning for the holiday season)

April - Plan Holiday Crafts 

May - Catalog Shopping Tips

June - Recipe Round Up

July - Choose a Holiday Plan (Christmas in July celebration)

August - Craft Control (thinking ahead to Elf on the Shelf)

September - Prepare for Holiday Gifts and Giving

October - Plan Holiday Meals

November - Write Holiday Letter

The bottom line is...prepare for Christmas by doing something every month and make the 25th of each month a Rudolph Day by doing something Christmas-y!

Tie Up Loose Ends is your opportunity to sweep through the house and see if there is any Christmas decor still out.  A holiday towel in the bathroom perhaps, or late Christmas cards still in your in basket?  I did pretty good, just need to remove all the Handlez from the kitchen cupboards.  I've been walking by them every day and haven't given a thought to taking them down but down they will go today.

If this is Tuesday, it must be England #182

 

King Charles III, along with many other members of the ruling families of Europe, will be present in Poland for the 80th Anniversary of the Liberation of Auschwitz on 27 January 2025.  May we never see such horrors again in our lifetime.

Memorial and Museum

Auschwitz Birkenau

Wednesday Hodgepodge - Volume 585

 

Here are this week's questions, which you should answer on your own blog and then pop over to Joyce's blog (click on the graphic for the link) Wednesday to add your link to the party.

1.  It's been said January is 'the month of opportunity, inspiration, and change." Which of the three do you need most right now? Elaborate. 

Change - out with the old and in with the new as they say.  It's time for new planners, decor refresh, any resolutions to be put in place.

2. Do you consider opportunity as something that comes to you or something you create for yourself? 

I suppose it's a little of both.  An opportunity can come up when you didn't expect it but you can also plan for one.

3. The British Museum opened on this date (January 15th) back in 1759. Do you like visiting museums? Do you have a favorite? 

I love museums.  The museums in Washington DC are among my favorites - Sophia and I visited the National Gallery of Art and the National Museum of Natural History on a trip to DC when we lived in Virginia.  We also toured the Franklin Institute on a trip to Philadelphia and the Air and Space Museum in Hampton, Virginia was Vic and Sophia's favorite.

4. It's National Oatmeal Month (yes, apparently it gets a whole month as opposed to a single day). Do you like oatmeal? How often do you eat a bowl of oatmeal? How do you like yours? What about an oatmeal cookie? Is that a sweet treat you enjoy? 

I like oatmeal but it's usually Quaker's Instant with maple and brown sugar.  Yes, to an oatmeal cookie and I make these raspberry oatmeal bars that are delicious.

Recipe

5.What's something useful you learned in high school? 

I learned a lot in Home Economics.  I can still turn out a mean fried chicken using the seventh-grade recipe, and my Choco-Peanut Butter Bars were from that era as well.  I was thrilled to find the recipe on one of those sites where you can research old recipes and restaurant dishes.

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

In the midst of all the junk on Facebook these days, I was happy to see a recommendation for this page - Slow Simple Seasonal.  Its description is Create a Beautiful Life from Ordinary Moments.  Every day there are lovely illustrations that just warm my heart.

If this is Tuesday, it must be England #181

  

Two milestone birthdays coming up for ladies of the British Royal Family this week.  On 15 January, Princess Michael of Kent, wife of the late Queen Elizabeth II's cousin Prince Michael of Kent, turns 80.  A somewhat controversial figure in her words and actions over the years, Princess Michael has mellowed especially in light of the 2024 suicide of her daughter's husband, Thomas Kingston.  Thomas Kingston and Lady Gabriella Kingston had been married since 2019.

And celebrating her 60th birthday on 20 January is The Duchess of Edinburgh.  Formerly The Countess of Wessex, wife of King Charles III's youngest brother, Prince Edward, she has been known as The Duchess of Edinburgh since her husband's elevation to the title in 2023.  A full-time working royal, you can read more about the Duchess and her support for the monarch here.

The Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh at the coronation of King Charles III

Share Our Lives - January 2025

 

It's the second Monday of the month and that's time for Share Our Lives.  The topics for 2025 are listed below.

January's prompt is Saving Time on Chores.  I'm a paper planner girl so I'm resolved to log what needs to be done when and keep to the plan.  I've been a bit hit and miss for the last several months.  I like the room-a-day schedule, but since we have the hairy monster, Malone, I have to add a daily whiz over with the vacuum to keep the dog hair and at this time of year, the pine needles, at bay.

My favorite planner sticker Etsy shop, Bottled Honey Designs, has a great sheet of stickers to add to your planner or calendar.  It keeps you on track with what room needs attention and you get that sense of accomplishment when it's checked off!  Some others use a program like Fly Lady as their cleaning guideline.

I also find that clutter is a big time waster when it comes to chores.  A quick once over before you go to bed ensures "Everything in its place and a place for everything".  It also prevents those things like "Where are my keys?" and "Where is my wallet?" in the morning!  LOL, that's for you know who, perhaps you have one in your house!

I'll give you an update next month.

Friday Favorites - January 10, 2025

 

Back in August of 2023, I finally scored a cabin on The Hallmark Channel Christmas Cruise.  We didn't make it on the inaugural sailing but when they put on a second ship, we were high enough on the wait list to have our first choice - a mid-ship balcony cabin on Deck 11.

Then we began the long wait until sailing day November 17, 2024.  We had pre-booked our seats for the premiere of a new Hallmark Christmas movie that would be shown on the cruise and as time went by, we were able to join the lottery for the wine tasting, cocktail tasting, and Festive Feud, a Family Feud-type game with the Hallmark talent and contestants from the audience.  We were only successful in getting spots for the cocktail tasting.

Our flight to Miami left Seattle at 7:00am with a layover in Houston.  It was a very short layover, and it was a long, long walk between gates, so we just managed to make it.  I made a quick stop at Sunglass Hut as I remembered I left my sunglasses in the car at the airport.

We spent the night at the Mariott in Miami with a great upgrade to a suite.  It paid off to sign up for the Mariott credit card as it came with an intro $250 gift card as well.

The next morning, it was up and off in an Uber to the port.  We dropped our luggage and headed into the terminal.  Love these photo op spots.

There wasn't too long of a wait to board and so we walked around the ship until they announced that the cabins were ready.  The decor on the ship was amazing.  They really went all out.

These were the elevators.

Our cabin was really nice.  A large bed (I think it must have been at least a queen) and a couch.  There was a desk across from the couch along with the TV and cabinets.

Our balcony was spacious - this is a shot while we were still in port, that's Miami in the distance.

Former safety professional that he is, Vic had us do a life vest check.  His light was broken so they added another light (the green thing about C1) but Vic said he wasn't taking any chances and put on his Christmas lights necklace.  If he went overboard, they would be sure to see him!

Door decorating is a big thing, especially on themed cruises like these.  I bought this sign from Etsy and spotted several of them on cabin doors.  I also bought small magnets and our Christmas stockings.  It was fun to come back in the evening and see the goodies our stockings held.

More decor.

There was a lot of controversy on Sail 1, the inaugural sail, because some passengers were smuggling the pillows back to their cabins and then taking them home.  I couldn't turn down this photo op, "Honey, grab that pillow and pretend you're going to steal it".  Vic is such a sport.

Another great photo op spot.

Sunday night was the Sail-abration as we left Miami.  This guy's shirt was great!

Our MC for the cruise was Jonathan Bennett, one of the Hallmark stars.  He was hilarious.

Monday's main morning event was Bingo Blitz.  We paid $90 for six Bingo cards - yikes, I know!  We didn't win anything, but it was fun. 

Monday afternoon was our movie premiere.  It was Three Wiser Men and a Boy, the sequel to Three Wise Men and a Baby.  It was very entertaining.

Monday's late-night activity was the Ugly Sweater Party & Contest.  Our sweaters were really ugly because the print was more like moss green and berry, not the Christmas red and green that were featured in the Etsy details.  The shop was very accommodating and sorry that the colors were not right and refunded our money.

We headed over to the ADA area because by this time, I needed to sit down.  I had used my cane every day and it seemed like we walked miles.  The only problem was that as the pool deck became more crowded, people stood right in front of us so we couldn't see anything.  I give the cruise organizers 0/10 for not handling this situation better.

Tuesday was our port day in Nassau, Bahamas.  We booked a Land and Sea excursion.  The sea portion was very enjoyable; it was a nice ride out on the water and the guide was very entertaining.  The land portion not so much.  We boarded a little bus and headed up to the highest point of the island where there are a couple of historic sites.  It was so crowded, so many buses and people.  The whole area was grim, the bus driver called it "over the hill" which is the Bahamian term for 'hood or ghetto.  The whole area around the main port area was very run down, so many buildings boarded up or in disrepair.  COVID did serious damage to the economy, and it just didn't recover in many places.

Wednesday was our cocktail tasting but due to a change in the schedule because of impending rain, it now conflicted with Festive Feud and that was an event we really didn't want to miss.  There was a Hallmark star as the captain of each team, and each of them were traveling with their mothers.  The contestants from the audience were very animated and it was a great event.

We were really disappointed with the food on Norwegian.  We ate at three of the restaurants that were included in our cruise price and at the buffet.  All were meh.  Really disappointed.  When I posted my photos on Facebook, several of my friends commented that they found Norwegian's food disappointing.  Here's Vic wearing his "This food is awful" face.

Included in our cruise was a photo op with the Hallmark stars.  It was basically come in, stand on the X, snap the photo, and exit to the right.  As you can see, I wasn't ready at all, but Vic is so photogenic.  I'm surprised they got such a great shot because a few seconds before, he'd been chatting to Sarah Drew, the redhead to his left.

We took part in a few other activities, but the lines were just horrendous.  The cruise organizers didn't think ahead on this one and used venues that were too small for the number of people who showed up.  Twice, we stood in line only to be told "Sorry, this event is full".

So, some definite negatives but it's a favorite because of the great time that Vic and I had together.  We haven't had a get-away-from-it-all type of trip in so long and we just had lazy days, even managed a couple of afternoon naps when we got tired of the long lines.

Thursday was departure day.  We waited in another line for the airport transportation and then endured a nail-biting ride.  Between the driver holding a microphone in one hand and avoiding the construction on the sides of the road, I was so thankful when we pulled up the airport.  We were sitting at the gate for our flight home when a message on Facebook popped up to say a 2025 cruise was scheduled.  I hope they use bigger rooms for events or have a sign-up in advance option.