Friday Favorites - Care Packages

 

Several readers have posted recently about care packages, usually sent to college-age kiddos as a little "I love you and I'm thinking about you" gift.  There is nothing nicer than opening a package to reveal all sorts of (often themed) goodies.  Here are some of the ones I sent to Vic when he was on deployment.

This was the January Bon Voyage box - the one I gave to Vic as he was leaving - it had some cold/flu type items and mini cans of Sprite as well as his favorite snacks

February's box for Valentine's Day - I used Large Flat Rate Boxes from the post office and 12x12 scrapbook paper to decorate the bottom and sides as well as letters cut with my Cricut on sticker paper

March's St. Patrick's Day box - this was the DVD age, and they could watch the movies on the ship

The empty Easter box

April's Easter box - the plastic eggs held Hershey's Kisses

The Game of Thrones box - Season 6 had just been released - this was a box for Vic's office, full of treats to share with his crew

A Just Because box

Filled with as many blue things as I could find

Father's Day box - I have no idea why I sent him a Tread Depth Gauge when he was out to sea!

July 4th box

The spicy box - whatever chips, jerky, and other spicy things would fit

The coffee box, another box for his office - full of instant coffee packages and assorted coffee time snacks

Second to the last box - Mahal Kita is I Love You in Tagalog - decorated to look like the flag of the Philippines

The box was full of things I picked up at the Asian store

The final box - inside the envelope was a heart-shaped puzzle card that I had broken apart

This is a box I sent to Sophia for her 21st birthday - she was blogging at the time, and this was a box of beauty items for her to blog about - I suppose these days it would be to put up Instagram stories!

I sent boxes regularly when Sophia was in college - they had monthly themes (easy to do when there is a holiday in the month) and always included things for her to use to decorate her dorm room door as well as holiday treats.  Unfortunately, I don't seem to have any photos!

If you're thinking about making a care package, I hope this post has given you a little inspiration.

Monthly Musings - January 2026

 

1.  Snow-less!

2.  Snowshoeing and cross-country skiing.

3.  A cup of tea.

4.  Bringing Malone in after he's been outside - his paws are always wet and muddy, and he would rather not sit still to have them cleaned.

5.  I made chili two days ago and it was delicious!  I use the recipe on the back of the McCormick chili seasoning package and have sour cream, shredded Mexican cheese blend, and red onion for toppings.

6.  Milk chocolate - most of my favorites are pictured here.

7.  We're off to the coast for a getaway weekend.  February is a big month for us with Sophia's birthday, Valentine's Day, my birthday, and our anniversary.

8.  I have a red scarf with hearts on it that I wear (when I remember) and some Murano glass heart earrings that I love.

9.  No, but I pick up a selection from the grocery store.

10.  Receiving Gifts - giving thoughtful gifts as a way to express love and affection - I love it when Vic stops by after work and picks up flowers.

Wednesday Hodgepodge - Volume 638

  Welcome to the Wednesday Hodgepodge!  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. I live in the south so we're pretty much only talking about the weather right now. Give us a weather report from where you live. Does the kind of weather you're having today affect your mood in some way? 

It's cold here (nowhere near as cold as most of the country but it's cold nevertheless) - about 36 degrees.  The car windshields are iced over in the morning but are melted by about noon.  It doesn't affect my mood, as I like cold days when I'm cozy at home.  I just wish we had a little bit of snow.  As I told a friend, "A light snowfall that starts on Friday night, covers the ground over the weekend, but is melted by the time everyone has to hit the road for work or school on Monday".  Not asking for much, am I?

2.  Avocados, kale, cauliflower and cottage cheese have all had their time to shine. 2026 brings us the year of the cabbage. Is this a vegetable you like? If so, what are some of your favorite dishes that call for cabbage?  

I like cabbage.  I like it with corned beef, I like it the day after we have it with a roast dinner when I mix it with leftover potatoes and Brussels sprouts to make bubble and squeak, and I like it raw in coleslaw.

Bubble and Squeak

3. Was a Cabbage Patch Doll a part of your childhood? Or maybe your children's childhood? What's a toy trend from your childhood you remember wanting for your own?

No, I thought and still think Cabbage Patch Dolls are really ugly.  I remember that they were so popular that people would pull their cars over to the side of the road, put the dolls on the roof, and sell them that way because the stores were completely sold out.  I remember similar crazes for Teddy Ruxpin, Tickle Me Elmo, and Beanie Babies.  A toy trend from my childhood would be Barbie.  We all had Barbies with the outfits and the accessories. 

4. Something you've spent a lot of time doing lately.

Trying to sift through our London photos to find a few to include in my annual December Daily album.  I'm failing miserably as I can't make up my mind so far too many of them are ending up in the album.  It's getting ridiculously thick.  I have to add here that I am making a dedicated album for the trip but since it occurred in December, it has to feature in December Daily.

5. Somehow, it's the last week of January...sum up your month in just three sentences. 

It's time to pack our Christmas away, it's time to plan our next trip, and it's time to plan something for December because I love to visit somewhere that is decorated for Christmas.  I'm thinking about the Biltmore, has anyone visited?

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

Speaking of Barbie, have you heard the one about Divorced Barbie which retails for $199.  Why is it so expensive?  Because she comes with Ken's house, Ken's car, and Ken's boat!

London 2025 - The Final Day

Up early on Friday to head home.  Our driver, Perry, was waiting for us just before 6:00am and we headed to Heathrow.  We had checked in online, so we dropped our bags and headed to security which was a breeze.  Time for some breakfast and then Vic stayed with the bags while I browsed around the duty-free shops in the terminal.  I was on a mission for the Day of Color 2025.

My color was green and here's what I found.

Pistachio Lindt Truffles - I don't remember seeing these in the US

Aero Peppermint - one of our favorite candy bars

A Palm Pals Christmas tree - they are a dupe for Jellycat Amuseables

Salt and Vinegar chips

Cornishware jug - kicking myself that I didn't buy this

Harrods reusable bag with green trim and Alfie, the 2025 bear, on the front

Harrods Tea

Harrods Chocolate Collection

Harrods shopping bag

After Eight mints - another favorite

Rowntree's Fruit Pastilles

It didn't seem like it was too long before it was time to head to the gate.  Uh oh, another no jetway situation and it was raining.  Do better, Delta.

Bye bye England

Premium Economy again, this time in the second row which had plenty of legroom and a place to put a bag under the seat in front of us - we were in two seats together on the left-hand side of the aircraft

Vic slept most of the way home - he can sleep anywhere - while I watched all three Downton Abbey movies

Home Sweet Home

We downloaded MPC so passport control and immigration was a breeze.  Checked bags retrieved from the carousel and we were on our way to the off-site parking.

What a trip!  We can't wait to go back.

Life Last Week (19-25 January 2026)

 

The weather for the week ahead:::

It feels a lot colder than these temperatures show but thinking about those the path of Winter Storm Fern and all the first responders and service personnel who are still working in the freezing temperatures.

On my reading pile:::

 

The Distant Daughter, The Secrets of Trelenna House by Lorna Cook - it's been on my Kindle for ages, and I finally opened it up.

On my TV:::

Still working our way through this.  We're up to Season 6.

Also, episode three of The Pitt.

Checked off the list:::

• Finally put away all the Christmas ornaments and took down the tree - the living room looks very empty.  This is about halfway through - forgot to take a photo when I first started - it was all-day job.

• Video call with Jodie - we set ourselves the goal of completing our December Daily by our next call - February 4.
• Took a meal to a family from our church who just had a baby - our oven is not cooperating, so I picked up ravioli lasagna, Caesar salad, and bread from Costco.
• Assembled all our tax documents to take to the tax lady.

Crafts roundup:::

Busy working on my December Daily so I meet my goal of finishing by 4 February.

And in other news:::

Monday was a federal holiday so we took off on a little outing in search of the Pacific Northwest trolls.  Number one is not too far from us and I love that the handout I found online has a recommendation for a coffee or lunch spot while we're out.

We stopped at the Pegasus Coffee House where this was hanging on the wall

Stay warm out there!