London 2025 - The Haul

 

Apart from lots of reuseable shopping bags (they are so pretty), and souvenir guidebooks from each of the major historic sites, my main haul was ornaments.  I have so many British-themed ornaments, it was time to give them their own tree (thank you, Tanya, for the inspiration).  There were so many beautiful ornaments in the stores and at the historic sites and by far the nicest ones were the felted and beaded ornaments that were quite flat and easy to pack.  I passed on the ball and glass ornaments for fear that they wouldn't make it home although I couldn't resist the shopping bags from Fortnum & Mason, Selfridge's, and Harrods.  I wrapped them very carefully to make sure they made it home.  The Costa Coffee tart is less fragile.

Here's a peak at all things felted and beaded and this holiday season, I'll share the tree.  I'm still working on some souvenir tea tins that I picked up at World Market.  I am going to have Vic drill a hole in the top of each tin lid so I can hang them.

The vendor tinkertailor.com is the manufacturer for many of the felted ornaments and I wish that they sold retail on their website and not just wholesale.  They do have a Public Enquiry section on the site so perhaps I'll give it a try to see if I can get one of the festive crackers that I missed at the Buckingham Palace Shop.

Life Last Week (January 26-February 1, 2026)

  

The weather for the week ahead:::

Slightly warmer this week.

On my reading pile:::

 

The Distant Daughter, The Secrets of Trelenna House by Lorna Cook - slow going - I really should have made making a dedicated reading time each day one of my New Year's goals.

On my TV:::

Still working our way through this.  We're up to Season 8.

I'm also working my way through Outlander again in preparation for the final season coming March 6.

Also, episode four of The Pitt.

And coming at the end of this week - the Winter Olympics!

Checked off the list:::

• Enjoyed the Honor Roll senior luncheon on Monday - sat at a table with some folks I'd not met before.
• Made Olive-Nut Spread for the small group meeting on Wednesday which ended up being cancelled so guess what we've been snacking on since then?
• Picked up a Confetti Nothing Bundt Cake for Sophia's birthday, put the final touches on her birthday package, and mailed it off.  It should have been there on Saturday, the day before her birthday but the postal service failed me, and it won't be there until today.  I found this idea online:

Because I was mailing the package, I used an empty Starbucks cup (the short size fit perfectly in the cup holder tray) and popped a Starbucks Happy Birthday gift card inside, I substituted a Jellycat Amuseables rose bouquet for the fresh flowers, and instead of the cosmetics in the center, I added an Amazon Happy Birthday gift card.  Sophia has a very long Amazon wish list, so I thought I'd let her do her own shopping.

So cute!

• Appliance repairman came on Thursday and will have to order parts to get the stove working - the digital display unit is out.
• Participated in another Zoom call with the Outlander tour folks which was so enjoyable.  Great to hear from others who have been on the tour and meet folks like us who are looking forward to a future trip.
• We noticed an irregular mark on the ceiling of the office, so Vic spent most of Sunday in the attic to trace the problem (it's a small leak) and then on the roof to figure out a repair.  The area home show is coming up at the end of April, looks like we may be roof-shopping!
• Happy Birthday to this little Munchkin, these were taken on her first Christmas.

Crafts roundup:::

December Daily is done!  On to the 2025 Christmas Card album.

And in other news:::

The camera roll was very slim this week.  Just a few to share.

Happy Anniversary to us - a goodie basket to take with us on our weekend getaway coming soon.

This popped up on my Facebook - our trip to Scotland next year won't take us to the Shetland Islands but they are a stop on a Viking Ocean Cruise that I have bookmarked for a future cruise.  I'd heard about The Shetland Bus on an episode of Shetland, so I'll check Amazon for a copy.

Farewell, January and Welcome, February from my favorite site on Facebook, Slow Simple Seasonal.

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.