AuburnChick's Adventures

Y’all, this past week was a tad busy for this home-loving girl.

Monday was COLD.

The drive into work was much more solitary with the absence of students quite evident.

Auburn is so pretty during the holidays.

My walk into work was miserable. Thank goodness for the hand warmers I bought last year. They’re rechargeable.

My colleagues and I attended a holiday lunch in another building. They handed each of us a goody bag and a very lovely rain jacket embroidered with the Auburn logo and our department name.

After I got home and had freshened up, the Mr. and I headed out to a Christmas party – an annual shindig hosted by dear friends of ours.

I don’t know what I was thinking, though, because I should have remembered that the couple always leaves their patio doors open with the food and seating outside.

The temperature was frigid; my legs and toes nearly froze. Thank heavens for their beautiful fireplace inside, which allowed me to thaw out midway through our visit.

Next year, I’m wearing a warm, dressy pants outfit. Ha!

Tuesday, I left work early for a hair appointment.

Wednesday, we had another holiday lunch with a department one floor up. We work very closely together, so it was nice to have time to chat about non-work stuff.

I left work early for physical therapy.

My therapist had several new exercises for me to try out. My shoulders were on fire when I finished: the TENS stimulation was a blessing before I headed home.

I watched the Survivor 49 finale when I got home. I really enjoyed this season and was satisfied when the winner was announced.

While I watched, I finished knitting the pair of mittens I’d restarted after running out of yarn.

I cannot wait for my granddaughter to open her gift.

Thursday, I got to listen to workers drill on the wall outside of my office. The result was this . . .

We aren’t quite sure what’s going to be displayed on this screen – hopefully directions to each of our departments because people are forever getting lost in our building. There are lots of nooks and crannies.

Thursday evening, the Mr. and I decided to try a new-to-us Thai restaurant that a gal at work had told me about. We have a favorite local sushi bar that we frequent once a week, so we were a little nervous. You know how it is when you change things up.

We saw this list of specials when we walked in.

Oh y’all, why was I worried?

The menu was extensive. I saw several things I had to order. I’m usually a cheap date because restaurants rarely offer many vegan items.

It was going to be an expensive night.

My appetizer was fried tofu with peanut sauce. It was very light in texture – so good!

A robot delivered part of our meal. This was my first experience with a robotic waiter. Our server came over and apologized after explaining that she’d been busy and had sent the order over. We didn’t mind one bit.

I opted for Massaman curry for my entree. I’ve been a fan of this dish for many years after first trying it out when we lived in the Florida Panhandle. My standards are pretty high because I compare every restaurant’s take on it to the first place I ate it.

It did not disappoint. Wow!

I had plenty of leftovers.

By Friday, campus was a ghost town. My director had taken the day off, an advisor left at lunch, and my supervisor left mid-afternoon.

The calls still rolled in, though, with people responding very gratefully that we were there, answering the phone.

As much as I love my job and my gals at work, I did the happy dance as I walked out the door. The two-week break is something I look forward to each year.

The university will be closed until January 5th.

Whew! It’s time to turn off my weekday alarms and see if my body will let me sleep in. Years of early wake ups have trained my eyes to pop open when it’s still dark outside.

I hope y’all have a wonderful weekend!

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One year ago, I was coming out of surgery to repair my left shoulder after several months of intense pain.

The night before my surgery, I had experienced the worst pain I’d ever had in my life (with the exception of when I broke my ankle).

I chattered in nervousness the entire way to the surgery center. The Mr., normally not a morning person (especially at 4:30am) didn’t complain at all. He knew I needed an outlet. He’d seen all I’d been through since September.

I was absolutely exhausted and rated my pain as a 1000 on a scale from 1-100 when the nurse took my vitals as she prepped me for surgery.

I was beyond ready to start down the path toward healing.

I was looking rough when I got home from the surgery center . . .

When the nerve block wore off, I was feeling pretty rough too. The pain was something else, let me tell you. Thankfully, a phone call to the pharmacist helped us get my meds straight so I could start recovering with some measure of comfort.

Christmas sure did look a lot different last year, but thanks to the wonderful care provided by my hubby, I managed to get out and about, albeit very slowly and very infrequently while I regained my strength.

Figuring out how to get dressed was a daily struggle. I didn’t win any Best Dressed awards, that’s for sure. Comfort was the most important thing.

Although I’d been warned how tough the recovery would be, nothing could have prepared me for the beastly twice-weekly physical therapy appointments.

I almost threw up during the first one. It took a few visits before I actually started smiling during those pain-laden hours.

I haven’t done an exact count of the number of PT sessions I’ve had since this journey began, but I think a conservative estimate would be between 65 to 75.

I missed one week because of our cruise and maybe two and a half weeks while I waited for my second surgery.

It took me a long time to get comfortable with the fact that I would have a lot of tough weeks, with good days sprinkled in sporadically.

I wanted instant relief.

Yeah, that was a pipe dream. Ha!

Ibuprofen, Aleve, ice, and a heating pad became my best friends.

It took months for my arm to hang straight down. This photo was from last spring. You can see how I was still favoring the left arm. Gravity was not my friend – the pull on my shoulder still so painful.

During one of my follow-up appointments with my orthopedic surgeon in May, his nurse told me, “One day, you’ll realize that you’re not hurting as bad. It will happen out of the blue.”

She was right.

I finally hit that milestone nine or ten months into my recovery, but when I did, I almost felt like crying – because it was a blessed respite given that I was in the midst of h-e-l-l thanks to the June surgery on my other shoulder.

Undergoing two shoulder surgeries in a six-month time span isn’t for the faint of heart.

Although the journey has been l-o-n-g, as my physical therapist likes to say, I’m moving forward. That’s what’s important.

I couldn’t reach my arm straight up one year ago.

I certainly wasn’t decorating a tree last year.

That’s a new tree – a temporary one until next year when I can help the Mr. lift our much bigger, heavier pre-lit tree.

I’m still in physical therapy one afternoon a week, and I still experience pain for a day or two afterward. Strengthening my angry muscles has been a tedious affair. Regaining mobility has been absolutely grueling.

I’d say my left shoulder is about 90% better. The rotator cuff on that side starts yelling when I’ve over exerted myself, and my bicep doesn’t enjoy it if I reach too far across the front of my body. Weirdly enough, my shoulder feels okay when I reach behind my back, which I couldn’t do even three months ago. Yay me!

The difference from where I was last year is incomparable, and I find myself so in awe of what God has done for me.

It’s been a hard year but I’m thankful for the mile markers that I’ll always have to look back on when the next challenging season of my life hits.

God is always with me. He never abandons me. He’s my strength, provider, and healer. I am nothing without Him.

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Happy Wednesday, sweet friends. We are on a countdown around these parts. I have three more days before I’m off for the wonderful two-week break that the college generously grants employees each year from Christmas through New Year’s.

Alrighty. Let’s get to the questions Joyce has bundled together for us this week.

1. What’s one thing on your to-do list that you want to get done, need to get done, or that must get done before the year ends? 

I’ve been itching to go through the clothes in my closet and grab the items I no longer wear, so my husband can donate them before the end of the year. I’ll probably do that first thing next week. I’ve got a lot, let me tell you, so I’m looking forward to all of the empty space that will be left behind.

2.  December 17th is National Maple Syrup Day…are you a fan? Do you like maple flavor in other food items such as candy, cookies, donuts, oatmeal, hot toddies, coffee? 

I love maple syrup! Fun fact: My mom was from Canada. In fact, I was born there too. My grandfather had maple trees. The maple syrup on tap is NOTHING like pure maple sap that comes from those trees. It’s almost clear and heavenly.

As a vegan, I use maple syrup quite often. I’ll take it in anything when given the choice.

3. Time magazine names a person of the year every year.  The tradition started back in 1927 with a ‘man of the year’ but has since changed to recognize not only an individual, but also to consider the impact of a group, movement, or idea that most influenced the year. The selection is not always someone or something good (think Hitler in 1938 and Stalin twice). 

This year they’ve named The AI Architects as their ‘person of the year’. What say you? Is this a good choice, an obvious choice, a logical choice? Who do you think should have been named person of the year? 

What a terrible choice! I’m so disappointed with the popularity and promotion of AI. I’m also scared of it. With everything that has happened in our world this year, why choose that group of people? I’m convinced there’s a whole lot of people with no sense whatsoever.

4. What’s a city, state, or country you’ve visited that you never care to visit again? Tell us why. 

Seattle, Washington is a place I’ve been to twice – enroute to both of our Alaskan cruises. It sure did change a lot from one cruise to the next – a span of about ten or eleven years in between visits. I was disappointed by how dirty the city had gotten. The airport was a nightmare to navigate through as well. I’ll purposefully avoid this city in the future.

5. Next Sunday (December 21st) marks the first day of winter (or the opposite if you’re living down under). What’s one thing you love about this new season? 

I’m not a big fan of winter. It’s way too cold when I walk into work each morning, and the darkness I face when I leave each afternoon is depressing. I guess the main thing I like about this season is that I can finally justify hunkering below a big pile of blankets.

6. My Random Thought

Y’all, we have had the hardest time getting things we’ve ordered online delivered lately. Oh, it’s not a problem getting things to my house. Things that we are having sent to our daughter’s house, from MAJOR retailers, are going missing on the way to the shipping companies.

What is happening?

If I hadn’t been on top of my tracking, I wouldn’t have known either because NOBODY bothers to communicate information any more.

I’ve had to reach out a total of four times (twice for each company) in the last week to get down to the bottom of things.

This “Person of the Year” award shouldn’t go to the AI people. They obviously haven’t figured out a way to get our packages to show up at the intended addresses.

Maybe if they could do that, I’d be less salty about the nod they were given.

I’m stepping off of my soap box now.

Ha!

Have a wonderful Christmas!

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Happy Monday, Friends!

First of all, brrrr.

It. Is. Cold.

So, how was your weekend?

If I had to use one word to sum up mine, I’d call it “productive.”

But first – Friday. When I got home from work, the Mr. told me that he’d accidentally had my sister’s Christmas gift sent to our daughter – but the address didn’t match her address, so he had no clue where the package was going.

Y’all, what the heck? The chat support wasn’t connecting, so we drove back to town to visit the brick and mortar shop (where we should have purchased the item from to begin with, but that’s another story).

They couldn’t help us with the tracking on the original order, but I did manage to buy the item in the store.

What a mess.

For the record, we figured out the address situation the next day. It was my son-in-law’s parents’ address. Whew!

Crisis averted – for the moment.

We finished watching Slow Horses that evening. I think we had two episodes left. It had taken us a few months to watch them because football had taken over our lives.

Saturday

Although I typically like to stay in my pajamas on Saturdays, I had things I needed to do, so I went ahead and got up, washed my hair, dressed in regular clothes, and put on makeup.

One of the gals in my office had mentioned a cute little shop I’d never heard of, so I wanted to check it out. I was on the hunt for a trinket or two to add to my sister’s Christmas present.

While I waited for the Mr. to get up, I did a few of the chores I usually complete on Sundays. It was nice to get ahead for a change.

Bed linens were washed, as was Gambit’s water dispenser.

The Mr. opted to stay home once he heard what I had planned for the morning. It was a gorgeous day!

I made my way to a little town called Waverly.

The road reminded me so much of the tiny town I grew up in.

This is the view of the five or six shops that encompass the town.

The shop I stopped at was Fig & Wasp. I didn’t take a picture of the front, but my goodness, it was so cute!

There were a lot of odds and ends inside.

I saw this beautiful nativity, but the price tag was too hefty for me.

I saw this puzzle and knew it was going home with me.

I bought a book for the Mr., who happens to be a big John Wayne fan. We aren’t doing gifts for each other, but we are still doing stockings. This won’t fit in a sticking, but whatever.

I didn’t find anything for my sister, but I did get ideas.

On the way home, I stopped by Ulta to grab a few things.

When I got home, I started another knitting project – a pair of mittens to accompany the scarf I made my granddaughter.

Here’s the finished scarf.

I added a personalized tag, which I’d purchased last year when I crocheted a few hats as gifts.

I looked in my yarn boxes for yarn for the mittens and pulled out the remnants of this skein, which I thought would complement the blue on the scarf.

The first mitten knitted up fairly quickly, but after weighing it, along with what was left of the skein, I realized I was going to be short what I needed to finish.

Sigh. I decided to let that be a problem for the next day.

Saturday evening, we walked a few houses down to attend an open house a neighbor was having for the people who live on our street. They moved in a couple of months ago and were simply precious.

When we got home, we watched Auburn basketball (we won), and we watched the other school in our state get beat. Yay for that. Ha!

I slept fitfully that night because my sweet Gambit got me up every single hour. He’s almost 15 and is starting to show his age mentally. I’m concerned that he’s getting senile. He seems so lost sometimes, and it’s breaking my heart. He jumps off of the bed at night and stands in the middle of the hallway just staring at nothing before I am able to coax him back to bed. Nights are just tough for our little old man.

Yawn.

Sunday, the Mr. and I headed to church and heard an amazing sermon.

When we got home, I headed back out to the gift shop I’d visited the day before because I wanted to grab a couple of things for my sister’s birthday, which is in January. I always buy her birthday gift around Christmas since there’s not much time in between.

I should have taken a picture of the watercolor book and paints I bought her.

Does she paint? Nope. Will she after her birthday? Yep. Ha!

On the way home, I stopped by Michael’s to buy another skein of yarn for the mittens.

Knitting had to wait, though, because I needed to make a tin of toothpaste using this coconut oil/baking soda recipe.

Then, I meal prepped Tofu Mahkani.

The spice combination for this was unique but tasty!

It was my turn to work on the advent puzzle. The Mr. and I are trying to play nice, but it’s hard, y’all. We are competitive, but there aren’t enough pieces in each day’s box to share fairly, so we take turns with the days.

The puzzle I got this year is difficult. The colors all look alike, so we have to be very mindful of how they fit together (and they all seem to fit well together at first glance).

I was pooped when I finished all of the things, so I relaxed the rest of the day.

I restarted the mitten (no picture yet). I also watched a few episodes of Season 21 of Survivor. This is the season Jimmy Johnson was on. I honestly do not care for this cast. It’s going to be a long season.

How was your weekend? Did you get much accomplished?

Have a wonderful week and stay warm!

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Today marks six whole months since I had my second shoulder surgery.

I am in awe of how far God has brought me through this journey because, if I’m being quite frank, it’s been quite the experience.

Having two shoulder surgeries within six months of each other was a daunting task. After going through the first one, I dreaded the second.

Look at me now, though.

I am almost where I need to be with regard to raising my arm over my head. I couldn’t do that even a week ago – a testament to trusting God to do His thing – in His time.

This week has seen some big milestones. I almost feel as though something loosened up Tuesday.

During Wednesday’s PT session, my therapist worked on pulling the back of my shoulder blade down, and we both felt a pop/release – twice! Oh my goodness! We have been waiting so long for this!

I can even, as of a few days ago, use my right arm to open the blinds.

I’m still in PT once a week, but I have a feeling those appointments will be coming to an end soon – most likely later this month or sometime in January. I still have some important functional issues that need to be resolved.

I’m still unable to reach behind my back at all, and I am limited on how far I can stretch my arm across the front of my body. Putting on deodorant and washing under the left arm are still difficult tasks.

These are goals we are honing in on during my physical therapy sessions.

I still have almost constant pain, but it’s fainter than it was and only makes me grit my teeth when I raise my arm in front of me to do such things as reach for the garage door opener in my car, reach up in the kitchen cabinet, or fix my hair. This is due to my labrum injury and subsequent repair. Strengthening my bicep muscle, which was relocated during my surgery, will help eliminate that pain.

There have been a lot of ups and downs with this second shoulder surgery recovery – frustrations and fears vying for space in my head during tough days.

But God.

He has shown Himself to be incredibly tender and faithful in the way He cares for me.

I know, from what I’ve dealt with regarding my left shoulder, that the next six months will bring about even more healing in this second shoulder, and I am here for it, let me tell you.

Happy Friday, y’all! Have a wonderful weekend!

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Hi friends! Happy Wednesday!

How goes it?

Students are currently taking finals, so the college has a quiet vibe. Traffic will start to thin out after this weekend’s graduation festivities. Getting home each day after work will be a snap!

Anyhoo, enough blathering. It’s time for my answers to this week’s Hodgepodge questions, posed by the always fun-ever inventive Joyce!

1. Do you struggle with the commercialization of the holiday season? What helps you keep your focus when the season’s busyness and commercialism start to take over? 

Honestly, I’m not the shopper in the family. My hubby is, so he’s the one dealing with all of the things. I live life a bit blissfully – somewhat unaware or ignorant of the rampant commercialism. When I am the person doing the purchasing, I try to select something outside of the norm – something handmade by me or a local artisan.

I also keep myself focused on the Word – the fact that Jesus came to sacrifice himself for my sins. That puts things into perspective and helps me to, as much as possible, avoid the trappings of the commercial world we are living in.

2. What’s one small thing you want to savor before the year ends? 

I want to savor small moments of rest – when the only lighting I see is the twinkling from the Christmas tree. December evenings as an empty nester are quiet affairs. I’m especially looking forward to the two-week break I’ll have – a generous gift from the college – and one that is very appreciated. It’s been a hard year, physically.

3. December 9th is National Christmas Card Day. Do you still send Christmas cards? If so does yours include a photo or is it a more traditional card, or maybe homemade? How do you feel about the tradition of exchanging cards at the holidays? If Hanukkah is the holiday you celebrate in December do you send cards to mark the occasion? 

Oh, this is a bone of contention with the hubby and me. He wants to send cards; I do not. I don’t even know where our address book is. It got lost somewhere along the line during one of our multiple moves.

We used to send cards, but somehow, we stopped. I do enjoy getting them, but I don’t want to be bothered with addressing envelopes.

Plus, with social media in the mix, I feel as though cards aren’t really that necessary.

4. What’s your least favorite holiday related task? What’s your favorite? 

Putting away ornaments after Christmas is my least favorite task. There’s such a blah feeling to it – that the season is over.

My favorite is visiting my kids. I love watching them parent their own littles during this special time of the year.

5. Let’s do a little holiday this or that? 

• shopping or wrapping – WRAPPING
• baking or decorating – BAKING
• eggnog or wassail – EGGNOG (a vegan version please)
• real tree or artificial – ARTIFICIAL
• turkey or ham – NEITHER (I’m a vegan)
• white lights or colored lights  – WHITE LIGHTS
• ugly sweaters or matching pjs – NEITHER (we have not done either and don’t plan to)
• peppermint or cinnamon – PEPPERMINT
• presents Christmas Eve or presents Christmas Day – CHRISTMAS DAY (one gift to open Christmas Eve though – a tradition we had kids and that we did in our own family)

6. My Random Thought

Monday, I had my appointment with a cornea/cataract specialist. You may remember that I’ve got nuclear cataracts, and they are making my nearsightedness worsen very quickly. Hence, my appointment with the specialist.

Because my eyes were going to be dilated, I’d planned on not returning to work afterwards.

Thank goodness I’d asked for the rest of the day off because this appointment ran almost two hours long! I was impressed with the thoroughness of the staff. They ran all of the diagnostic tests on my poor eyes.

Because I had LASIK and PRK on my eyes almost 25 years ago, my situation is a lot more complicated. The doctor carefully examined the notes sent over from my regular eye doctor in the effort to piece together which eye had which procedure. Unfortunately, my paperwork from my long-ago the eye correction surgery got lost in the many moves we’ve made since then.

The doctor determined that I am definitely in need of cataract surgery. He presented my options, and we decided to correct my distance vision.

Before I left, I’d scheduled both surgeries. My first one will be on my non-dominant eye – which is, surprisingly, my right eye. Conveniently, it’s the worst of the two.

I’ll have my first surgery early January and the other one early February. There will be a couple follow-up appointments after each surgery.

It was a lot to take in – especially given my addled brain from my dilated eyes.

I’ve got everything on my calendar now, and I’m very excited about the surgeries. I’ve read that people can see vibrant colors after they heal from cataract surgery. I’m looking forward to not having a film over my vision.

Point of note: Since my appointment Monday, and once my brain had time to process everything, I’ve been going back and forth about correcting for distance. I’ve done a lot of research and think my best option, given my love of reading, crafting, and cooking make me think I should correct for near vision.

I’ve drafted a long list of questions and plan on calling the doctor’s office today to see what he thinks. The thought of spending hours wearing reading glasses to enjoy my favorite hobbies just doesn’t appeal to me, and given one of the doctor’s first comments to me when I met him about how he didn’t want to put me in glasses all the time, I think he’s probably going to agree.

Lots to pray about and ponder . . .

Have a great week, y’all!

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Phew! Y’all, it took me a hot minute to recover after our last round of company left Thanksgiving weekend.

I had absolutely zero energy to blog.

Z-e-r-o.

So, here we are with two weeks of catching up to do.

Thanksgiving Week

The college gave employees all of Wednesday through Friday off, so I had time to get things ready for my company.

But first – PT that Wednesday. My right shoulder was a hot mess that week, so we tried a prescription patch with electrodes to get the pain in check.

My physical therapist added prescription liquid to activate the electrodes.

I felt the patch working immediately and had relief from my pain for a few hours. This allowed me to prepare two desserts for the next day.

First up was a Vegan Chocolate Pie – a recipe I’ve made before that is absolutely decadent.

I even took the time to prepare the crust from scratch.

It always comes together easily and is a beauty when it’s finished.

My son and his little family arrived late-evening the Wednesday before Thanksgiving.

They scarfed down the fried chicken the Mr. had picked up, and then Little Miss and I settled in for a hour of play time. She was not happy to go to bed. She hadn’t had enough NatNat time.

Be still my heart.

My daughter-in-law got busy preparing a cheesecake – her speciality – after E went to bed.

We had to taste test the No-Bake Peanut Butter Cup Cheesecakes I’d prepared earlier in the day.

They were incredible!

Thanksgiving Day started early. I made sure my table was set, but instead of using my fancy china, I opted for decorative paper plates. With ten people eating, I wanted an easy cleanup.

I have shared photos of my kitchen before. It’s my favorite room in my house. My island is huge, which is always perfect for big feasts. Instead of putting the food on the table, as I’ve done in the past, I decided to line everything up on the island to make serving ourselves easier.

Our families divvy up the cooking, which I was especially thankful for this year with both shoulders still recovering from their respective surgeries.

The Mr. smoked a turkey breast this year. It was the first time he’d done this, so he was nervous. Everyone said it turned out great!

My sister brought burnt turkey ends from a local eatery.

I was told these were similar to pulled pork.

The dogs were exhausted from all of the company.

My son’s dog is four months old and is quite the hoot. He is ALL puppy and into everything.

We watched a lot of football, and I played outside with E all afternoon. It was a great day!

Friday, we ran a couple of errands before my daughter-in-law’s parents arrived. They usually come down during Thanksgiving and stay at the Mr.‘s parents’ house. They live in our neighborhood, so it’s very convenient.

We had everyone over again for leftovers. It was a wild time.

Little Miss and I played inside most of the day. The temperature had dipped; it was cold!

Saturday, we ran downtown to do a tiny bit of shopping and take in the crowds, which had arrived in force for the Iron Bowl.

My DIL’s birthday was Sunday, and she wanted her little girl and my son to pick out a gift for her at a boutique she loves.

After a quick lunch back home, the other grandparents began their journey home, and my son’s crew packed up as well. They live over three hours away and wanted to get back in time to watch the game.

The Mr. and I ran around the house like maniacs as soon as they pulled out of the driveway to prepare for the game, which we had tickets for.

I decided to forgo fashion for comfort given the frigid game-time temperatures that had been in the news all week. I was sporting a snazzy pair of Lululemon leggings under those loose blue jeans. The sneakers were for warmth.

We visited a friend’s tailgate and got to see the flyover, which was done early since it was going to be dark at game time.

The lines to get into the stadium were super long over an hour before the game, and since I don’t like missing the pre-game festivities, we decided to skip going to a second tailgate.

I never tire of the traditions.

Night games are the absolute best!

The game was actually solid, and we thought we might have a chance, but in the end, we just couldn’t pull out the win. The Mr. and I didn’t say a word on the way back to the car. It had been a tough season. We didn’t get home until after 11, and I went on a cleaning spree, so my head didn’t hit the pillow until after midnight.

Sigh.

Sunday, we got up for church and listened to the last in the annual series that our church always presents – each week’s message based on a movie.

The Mr. and I were wiped out by the time we got home and took a rare nap to prepare for an evening we were going spend at our siblings’ house (remember that my sister is married to my husband’s brother).

Y’all, that was just Thanksgiving week!!!

Are you as tired as I am just recounting the fun?

The Monday after Thanksgiving was rough.

I was exhausted, and I walked into a computer mess at work. Many of our systems were messed up, so getting things done was challenging. It took the powers that be until mid-Tuesday to get things buttoned up.

I felt like I was behind the eight ball all week.

I had an eye appointment scheduled for Thursday, but the doctor’s office had to change the appointment, so that was one thing off of my plate.

I got home Wednesday and discovered this . . .

The Mr. had bought a small tree for our den and had decorated it.

He added a new tree skirt (because he didn’t want to dig through Christmas decoration boxes) the next day.

We spent the week ordering gifts, having various gifts sent directly to my girl (and her hubby at his job) because having kids who live in different cities requires a lot of coordination and a bit of sneakiness.

Just sayin’.

The Mr. and I started our advent puzzle.

We also squeezed in a visit to a recently-opened sushi bar.

My poke bowl was the best I’ve ever had. That’s tofu, prepared in thin squares, on the top.

I ate leftovers for three days.

Friday, we bid farewell to one of our students.

She’s been with us for two and a half years and will graduate Saturday. She was my work daughter, and I’m truly going to miss her.

I’d planned for a slow Saturday to recover, and that is just what I did.

My house looked like this Saturday morning . . .

The Mr. wasn’t awake yet, so I watched a couple episodes of Survivor. I’m almost finished with Season 18. Who remembers Coach? Oh, and I figured out that one of that season’s contestants was the principal of a middle school in town. How cool is that?

I stayed in my pajamas all day and only changed to a clean pair after a quick shower. It was divine

I started a knitting project after getting the idea to make E a scarf in her favorite color.

When she was here for Thanksgiving, she’d borrowed one of mine to keep her warm.

I dug in my stash and found this skein of yarn. There’s no telling what I originally bought it for or how long I’ve had it.

I am loving this pattern, which is from The Yarn Harlot.

It’s working up very quickly. I may try to make a pair of mittens to go with it.

I am trying to pace myself with this knitting project because I don’t want to make my shoulder more sore than it already is. That happened in the spring when I tried to start knitting again. I learned the hard way that repetitive motions aggravate shoulder injuries.

Sunday, we attended church, and then I prepared a batch of my ginger-turmeric juice.

I’d been out a couple of days but hadn’t been able to muster up the energy to make it.

I think I heard my immune system singing happy songs when I finished.

I also prepped a pot of black bean soup from this book . . .

That’s the book that started my vegan journey (it’s not touted as a vegan diet, but it actually is).

The soup is my absolute favorite. I’ve made it countless times.

And that, my friends, recaps the precious two weeks.

I’m trying to catch up on my blog reading, so please forgive my lapse in getting to you and even responding to comments.

Our revolving door of visitors, along with the early descent of darkness each day and the rainy weather had me all in a dither. I think I’m finally back to normal after this weekend of purposeful rest.

Y’all have a wonderful week!

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Hello friends! Wow! We made it to December. November was a blur for me with all of the visitors we had. I’m still recovering, in fact, which is why I didn’t even write a weekend recap post on Monday. I’m looking forward to a slower month, even given the holiday season.

Speaking of holiday, here are my answers for the questions Joyce posted for the week.

1. What does it mean to have the ‘holiday spirit’? On a scale of 1-10 how is yours this year? (10=off the charts, 1=still looking for it)

Having the holiday spirit means finding joy in the midst of a season focused on giving and remembering that this “giving” spirit should ultimately point to the gift of Jesus coming to earth, in a human body, to bring salvation to mankind.

If I can be honest, I’m probably a five on the scale this year. I’m usually an eight or nine, but my house isn’t decorated because the hubby refused to get the tree out. It’s heavy and requires two pairs of hands. With my post-surgery shoulders, I’m out of commission still, so no tree. I also like my tree up before Thanksgiving, which helps me get a head start on the season, so with nothing decorated and it being the first week of December, I’ve got no wind in my sails.

I have been purchasing gifts, so the season isn’t a complete bust, and I’m definitely not being a Scrooge.

2. What’s your favorite character from a (December) holiday-themed movie, book, or TV special? Tell us why. 

I love Buddy the elf. His innocence and love for the simple joys of Christmas make me smile and remind me that I’m never too old to experience Christmas with childlike wonder.

3. Do you like gingerbread? Are gingerbread houses part of your holiday tradition? 

I like gingerbread okay, but I’m not actively going to seek it out. I used to put together gingerbread houses when my kiddos were young. What a fun mess we made. These days, I stay away from them. The royal icing is a pain to deal with. I just find the process a bit fussy.

4. Much of our vocabulary is determined by where we live or where we grew up. What say you-

sprinkles or jimmies? lightning bugs or fireflies? soda or pop? sneakers, trainers, or tennis shoes? sub, hoagie, grinder, or hero? freeway, highway, or motorway? frosting or icing? sauce or gravy?

Sprinkles, fireflies, soda, tennis shoes, sub, highway, icing, and gravy.

5. Share a favorite holiday memory from your childhood. 

I had a canopy bed until I moved out on my own. My sister and I used to decorate my canopy for Christmas. We’d hang ornaments, lights, and tinsel from the canopy’s bars, and my sister would often sleep in my bed. When we’d get up in the morning, the tinsel would brush our faces. It was magical.

6.  My Random Thought

A few years ago, I started a new tradition of buying an advent puzzle. This is the one I purchased this year.

The pieces are divided among 24 boxes, so the puzzle comes together over the course of the month.

It’s a fun way to spend a few minutes each day. Last year, with all that I was dealing with leading to my first shoulder surgery, we got behind, so, in our effort to get caught up, we had little competitions to see who could complete a day’s box the quickest. I usually won. Ha!

Have a wonderful week!

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