Monthly Musings - February 2024

It's the last Thursday of the month and that means it's time for Monthly Musings.  I'm joining Patty and Holly for how we are surviving the winter months (I had to remind myself that winter = December 21, 2023 to March 20, 2024).

1.  What do you do in the winter that brings you joy?  Stay home, stay warm, stay cozy.

A cozy fleece jacket is a firm favorite.

2.  How do you stay warm and cozy?  Wool sweaters, fleece, flannel, fluffy blankets, snuggling with Malone.

3.  What are you looking forward to this winter?  All of the above.

4.  Favorite wintertime activities?  Stay home, stay warm, stay cozy.  There's a pattern here!

5.  Favorite months of winter?  All four of them!  December because it's Christmas, January to look forward to the new year ahead, February for all of our family celebrations, March for signs of spring.

6.  Favorite dishes to make in winter?  Soups and stews, cozy CrockPot meals that crock away all day and leave the house smelling divine.

7.  Gas or wood burning fireplace?  Gas, love the look of wood but not the mess!

8.  Favorite winter hot beverage?  Coffee, tea, hot chocolate, no particular favorite although I'm partial to one of Starbucks' holiday drinks in December - chestnut praline latte was my favorite.  I also discovered cranberry orange tea when we went for afternoon tea one weekend.

9.  Favorite winter movies?  I'm probably still watching Hallmark's Christmas movies from the DVR so anything with snow scenes, preferably in some international location.  Norwegian Holiday was our favorite from last year's countdown.

10.  How do you stay healthy in winter?  Stay home, stay warm, stay cozy.  Not a lot of imagination in this month's musings!

Wednesday Hodgepodge - Volume 540

 

It's Wednesday, time for the Hodgepodge.  Click on the graphic to join in.

1. February is coming to a close. Give us a two-word phrase that tells us something about how yours went.

Celebrations galore!  (It was Sophia's birthday, Valentine's Day, my birthday, and our 31st anniversary)

2. If you had to describe how you're feeling right now as an amusement park ride, what ride are you on? Explain. 

I'm on the "It's a Small World" ride at Walt Disney World - slow and steady but with the same old song playing over and over in my head!

3. What's something on your desk or a nearby wall that cheers you up when you see it or walk past?

My IKEA Kallax unit behind my scrapbook desk that holds all my supplies. 

4.  Are you a salad eater? How many salads do you typically eat in a week? Your favorite kind of salad? 

In the winter, I rarely eat salad although since we've been going to our small group on Wednesdays, there is usually a salad as part of the dinner.  In the summer, maybe once a week.  I'm just not a big vegetable or salad eater.  My favorite kind when I eat a salad is the Olive Garden salad or a Caesar salad.

5. Without telling us the category give us your top five ______________. 

Paris and the Heart of Normandy

Rhine Getaway

Romantic Danube

Tulips & Windmills

Christmas on the Rhine

(Do I tell you the category now?  These are Viking River Cruises on my radar)

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

This week, I wrote down a random thought so that I'd remember it when it came time to post on the Hodgepodge.  Does anyone else have an issue with the myriad of surveys that are out and about these days?  I can't go to a store or buy something online without getting an e-mail after my visit asking me about the visit.  It's driving me nuts.  I guess that's the customer service of today, constantly needing reinforcement but they are wasting their time with me, I just delete them.

Happy Anniversary

 

Taken at our wedding reception on Saipan

Just you, only you, always you.

You are amazing.

Not only did I feel that way when we first met...

I've felt that way ever since.

You know how to keep life fun, how to make every day a memorable adventure, and how to make me feel appreciated and loved.

No wonder I'm crazy about you.

Always have been.

Always will be.

You're my chap.

31 years today.

Hello Monday - February 26, 2024

  

I'm linking up with Holly and Sarah this morning for Hello Monday and a weekend recap.

Pretty quiet day on Friday, started my morning off with coffee and leftover birthday cake with the latest episode of Call the Midwife, and then just the usual round of chores and laundry.  When Vic got home, we headed to church to decorate a table for the Haiti Mission Project Banquet and Dessert Auction that would be held on Saturday evening.

I picked up these silk hibiscuses at Joann's for a steal, on sale and then a coupon on top of that.  I printed out a large size flower and then added some text saying that the hibiscus is the national flower of Haiti.

Two Haiti flags and some little tent cards with facts about Haiti.

On Saturday, Vic headed out to a job fair while I met my Lunch Bunch for our monthly lunch.  I was looking forward to the fish and chips I saw on the menu, but it was disappointing, not photo worthy at all.  It was fun to catch up with everyone and we reminisced about the last time we were all together at this particular restaurant back in September of 2015.

Vic and I headed out to the banquet - this is our table #4 and the envelope contains the funds donated by our table.  Each table's envelope was collected and tallied and then the table that raised the most money got to choose a dessert from those on display and take it back to their table to share with everyone.  Here's just a selection of what was on offer:

Eclair Trifle - it was the first dessert to be snapped up!

This one didn't last long either.

There were a lot of apples in this pie.

Our table had the third highest donation tally.  Vic was our runner (table runners were called in 10 second increments to choose their dessert) and he grabbed this Chocolate Brownie Trifle which was amazing.

It was a wonderful evening and $13,000 was raised for our sister church in Haiti.  Yay team!  Our church hasn't been able to send a team for the last several years due to the volatile situation in Haiti, but the funds will go a long way to provide some much-needed resources.

Up on Sunday to head out to church and then stay for the Membership Meeting.  After that we headed to Costco for a few supplies, got gas, and then headed home.  Vic worked on a few job applications while I sorted negatives to send off to be digitized.

And that was our weekend!

Friday Favorites

  

I haven't done a Friday Favorites for a while so here goes.  I have to keep jotting notes down in my diary or I get to Thursday afternoon/evening and think to myself, "What were my favorites this week?" and draw a total blank.

Two for one to start off - we were in Trader Joe's and they had a demo station set up in the corner, their egg salad in little cups with a chip tucked inside to use as a scooper.  Oh, my goodness, what a combo!  I had to put both in my basket right away.  You might not be enthused by dill pickle flavored potato chips, but they are delicious.

I've talked about PBS Passport, PBS' streaming service.  For a $5/month donation, there is so much amazing programming available and this month, PBS is showing Call the Midwife Season 13 to Passport members one month earlier than the scheduled air date.  Instead of mid-March, the first episode was available last weekend and there will be a new episode every Friday.

My new book, any book with an Aga on the Home and Hearth intro page has got to be good!

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Around the 'Net

 

Amy over at Coffee and Cocktails at the Casa had a fun post yesterday, Are We Still Using Pinterest?, so I thought I would give it a try.  After all, Pinterest is on the 'Net, right?

The trend floating around on IG was to search for "celebrity, outfit, quote, and aesthetic".  A couple of my searches came up the same as Amy's so I went with the second photo for each one of those.

Celebrity:

Emma Watson aka Hermione Grainger

Outfit:

7 Simple Ways to DRESS BETTER - great tips

Quote:

I love Dr. Seuss!  Click on the graphic for the link.

Aesthetic:

I've never heard of GrandmaCore, a rising aesthetic trend that’s all about embracing the charm and simplicity of our grandmothers’ lifestyles.  Click on the graphic for the link.

Are you still using Pinterest?

Wednesday Hodgepodge - Volume 539

It's Wednesday so it's time to join Joyce for the Hodgepodge.  Click on the graphic for the link.

1. What kind of thinker are you - doer (concrete thinking), analyst (analytical and abstract thinking), orator (logical thinking), inventor (imaginative thinking), or original thinker (creative)? What makes you say so? You can try this little quiz (link here) to help with your answer. 

I took the quiz and I'm 88% an inventor or 75% an original thinker.  I would have thought of myself as more of a doer.

The Inventor: Imaginative Thinking

You tend to think in terms of images.

People who belong to this type have a rich imagination that allows them to imagine things they haven’t seen — either because it’s something from the past or because it’s something that never existed — and express it in their work.

Successful architects, designers, artists, and screenwriters usually belong to this type.

The Original Thinker: Creative Thinking

You have a rare and valuable ability to think creatively.

Creative thinking is the ability to look at problems and situations from a different perspective and find unusual and often surprising solutions.

Creative thinking is a rare skill and is needed in all types of work.

2. Do you own a crock pot, air fryer, and/or instapot? Do you leave said small appliance sitting out? How often do you use it/them? Favorite thing to make in one of these? 

I have an air fryer, this one:

It sits on the counter as it's quite large.  I have a CrockPot and it is kept in a cupboard.  I would say I use each one at least once a week, more often the air fryer as it's so versatile.  My husband makes a spinach-stuffed salmon dish that I bake in the air fryer, and it is delicious.  The air fryer also makes toast and crumpets, bakes potatoes, and reheats pizza.  I use the CrockPot for chili, pot roast, spaghetti sauce, and to cook chicken thighs that we cut up and mix with rice for Malone.

3. What's something you hold a strong opinion on that matters not at all in the grand scheme of things? 

The demise of things like RSVPs to invitations and then actually showing up when you say you will attend an event, thank you notes, beautiful stationery and penmanship, men standing when a woman approaches the table in a restaurant or younger people rising for older people, holding the door open for someone, or giving up your seat on a bus.  People are so concerned with themselves that they don't think of others the way it used to be.  It should matter in the grand scheme of things, but I fear it does not.

4. Describe the view from your window. 

From my office window, I look out onto the backyard and I have a small, diagonal view of the lake beyond.  I have a lot of photos of the front of the house, but not a good shot of the back.

5. Do you have a favorite brand? Explain.

I love The Body Shop beauty products - body wash, facial cleanser, and moisturizer - and for groceries, I do a lot of shopping at Trader Joe's.

6. Insert your own random thought here.

I'm drawing a total blank here.  I thought of something a few days ago that I thought would be a great random thought but of course, I can't remember what it was!  They say the mind is the first to go, lol. 

If this is Tuesday, it must be England #162

Happy 91st Birthday on February 22 to Katharine, Duchess of Kent.

Formally listed as Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Kent in the Court Circular (the official record that lists the engagements of the monarch and members of the royal family), she prefers to be known as Katharine Kent or Katharine, Duchess of Kent, having reduced her royal duties in 2002.  She converted to Catholicism in 1994, being the first member of the royal family to do so since the passing of the Act of Settlement (the Act of Parliament that limited the succession to the English and Irish crowns to Protestants) in 1701, and with the death of Queen Elizabeth II in 2002, she is now the oldest member of the British Royal Family.

An intensely private person, Katharine is strongly associated with the world of music and at one time, took a position as a music teacher in a primary school and taught piano lessons in a rented studio flat.

Her marriage to the late Queen's cousin, The Duke of Kent, was celebrated in 1961 at York Minster, the first royal marriage in that location in 633 years.  Katharine's family is from Yorkshire so it was a natural choice for her wedding.

Although she has reduced her royal duties, she attended the weddings of Prince William and Prince Harry, as well as the festivities for the Queen's Diamond Jubilee but she was not present at either Queen Elizabeth II's funeral or the coronation of King Charles III.

Hello Monday - February 19, 2024

  

I'm linking up with Holly and Sarah this morning for Hello Monday and a weekend recap.

I was supposed to be spending the weekend at a scrapbook retreat (Thursday afternoon to Sunday afternoon) but waking up with a scratchy throat on Thursday nixed that idea.  I didn't want to be sharing my germs with the group.  We also woke up to this on Thursday morning, so I was glad not be on the road.

So, I unpacked this lot and had a mini-scrapbook event of my own.

I had all the photos, paper, and embellishments pretty much laid out, so it was just a matter of cutting photo mats and journal cards and getting everything on the pages.

Whenever there is a federal holiday, Vic gets what's called a "96" which is a four-day weekend, so he was off Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and Monday.  On Friday, while I scrapbooked, he worked in the room that will be Sophia's bedroom, mudding the walls (I think that's the term for applying the joint compound over the smoothed walls), and then sanding over any rough spots to get the room ready for priming and painting.  He ran out of joint compound, so we bundled Malone into the truck, swung by Lowe's to pick it up, and then continued on to Chick-fil-A for dinner.

On Saturday, Vic said we had to leave the house at 10:00am for my birthday surprise.  We ended up at a British food store and tearoom a little over 30 miles away which if you've been reading my blog for any length of time, you know it's our favorite out of the house activity.  It was a shame, however, that supply issues meant the shelves in the food store were empty, but the tea was lovely, and we brought home a few pastry items for later.

Table for two

Tea for two

Delicious afternoon tea

You can see the empty shelves behind us, such a shame

When we got home, it was back to Sophia's bedroom for Vic and the scrapbook table for me.

Sunday, we headed off to church and then to the donut shop and the Asian food store for a few supplies.  After that, and a delicious lunch of Bombay Aloo pasties from the British tearoom, it was back to...you guessed it...Sophia's bedroom for Vic and the scrapbook table for me.  I've completed all of our outings in 2014 and 2015, and with Vic deployed January-August 2016, I only have a few outings left to work on as we left Washington in November 2016 to head back to Virginia.  I think I mentioned that these scrapbooks, Volumes I and II, will be titled "Adventures in Washington".

Bombay Aloo pasty with a filling of potato, onion, and tomato - oh la la, they were spicy!

And that was our weekend!

Around the 'Net

In anticipation of barbecue weather on the horizon, I found this marinade guide.  It doesn't give any measurements, so you'll just have to wing it. 

I had to laugh, yesterday I thought about this graphic and today I woke up to this:

Looks like we'll be sweeping the snow off the barbecue before we can use it!

Happy Valentine's Day

 

A little Valentine's walk down memory lane.

2016 - The inside of a Priority Mail box full of February goodies that I sent to Vic when he was on deployment.

2021 - Flowers Vic ordered in Maryland and had delivered to the house in Washington.  Unfortunately, the florist left them on the front doormat on the day I was having the roof cleaned so they were full of debris!  Gentle blowing got the worst of it out and we laughed about it after.  The vase is part of my annual Valentine's decorations.

2022 - A charcuterie idea from Instagram @inspobyrio - she has a lot of amazing boards.  I need this dish - this one by Emile Henry looks similar.