This Week In My Home: December 1

Hello all,
Now that Thanksgiving is over, it's time to start enjoying December.  This year, I was ready to decorate for Christmas earlier than usual...but John, who likes Christmas right well these days unlike the long ago days when he groused and groused, reminded me that Santa always comes at the END of the Thanksgiving parade, not at the front of it, lol.



Well never mind, I quite like keeping my holidays separate and celebrating them one at a time if possible.  However, I plan to take a page from Patsy's book and thoroughly enjoy December and the lovely things that only this month brings: twinkling lights, decorated home, good seasonal foods, family, gifting, carols, movies themed for this time of year, rides in the dark to admire decorated yards, etc.

While I was entirely too tired to put up the tree Thanksgiving evening, I did listen to some lovely carols before going to bed that night.   And yesterday afternoon, I played a London Symphony Orchestra album of Christmas music.

I prefer those years when Christmas and Hanukkah are clearly separate but this year Hanukkah falls in the midst of Christmas.  So they will overlap (and then I remember for the 19th time that I must buy candles for the hanukkiah!) this year.

I started my day yesterday with putting away the vast amount of dishes I'd washed the day before, doing light housework then heading out to the shed to gather all I mean to use in my home for Christmas decorating this year.  So far, I've hung my pictures (which I change out seasonally...cost to me was $0) and I have the buffet in the dining area done.   John is quite pleased with both of those areas.  My tree is up and fluffed but yesterday was just half lit...sigh.  Katie stopped at the dollar store on her way to buy more lights and then checked fuses and bulbs.  No clue why that one bottom strand won't light.  Since the top part is plugged into that plug and it all works I'd say it's got electricity for sure.  The new strands of light  went on and it didn't hurt a thing to add them in.

After Katie went home, I decorated the tree using some brown beaded birds, some glittery red birds and the sheep plus my little frosted pinecones.  With a ribbon as garland, it's enough...I'd thought I'd add more ornaments yet but I think it's just right.

 I have a garland on the mantel which I wound with color lights that I found in a bin and John's childhood stockings and his old light up Santa is sitting on one end of the mantel, but I've no idea where I'm going from there besides weaving in the same ribbon I used as garland on the tree.  Very much a work in progress.

I came into Sabbath evening with a messier home than usual and it bothers me.  I have to load up all the fall things  and I have to finish the  mantel and dining table and do something in the kitchen then haul the items I didn't use back to the shed (and put away...I must put things away and not pile them up as I am wont to do).  I ordered a new wreath for the back door last night.  I found I'd discarded all my old ones last year.  I should have made a note somewhere about it as I searched high and low before realizing what I'd done.   Goodness, it sounds like I've started my to do list already doesn't it?  Well so I have, so let me just continue properly:

Work this week:  
Move Fall décor items out to shed and put  away properly.

Decorate the tree and mantel, and embellish a few other areas and figure out a dining table centerpiece.

Gather unused Christmas items up and take out to the shed and put them away.

Start work on the baking center cabinets.  They are in a mess and things are not only disorderly they are not in logical working order.  I have baking items well away from the mixer and storage pieces just above and too much on the counter...Can you tell I've been frustrated with it this past week?

Buy candles, both for the Hanukkiah and for the dining table.  When I bought candles last month I did not buy any to use for the Christmas sabbaths.  I like to have pretty red or green or even white ones for this season of the year.  I'll decide which I'll purchase once I have a direction for the dining table.

Get ready for the big family holiday weekend.  I'll need a meal plan for the weekend aside from the family gathering meal which will be a taco bar.  I'll prep ahead as much of that ahead as I can.

I'll need to bring in the folding metal chairs to use at the table and possibly go buy two more as I need six for the children's table.  I'll need to wipe my four older chairs down thoroughly.  They sat on the porch after the last family gathering and gathered quite a lot of pollen and dust.

Harvest week duties: Banking, mail bills, shop for groceries.  Groceries will mostly be things for the family holiday meal and some produce for our use.

Celebrate December.  Each day I want to do something that is quintessentially Christmas.  Today (Saturday) I've decorated my tree and that is about as Christmas as one can get I feel.


Meals this week:
Shepherd's Pie, Salad, Thanksgiving Pie leftovers
Katie joined us for this meal.  She also carted home the bulk of the leftovers from Thanksgiving.  I saved a pan of dressing for Sam, which I'll give him later and put a whole pie in the freezer.  There's just enough turkey for John to have a sandwich and then it's time to cook the bones up for the final assault on the bird.

Spaghetti a la Diable, Salad, Green Beans (we never ate this last week)

Corn Dogs, Coleslaw, Oven Baked Fries

on my own

Kale and Farro soup with Feta, Crusty Bread,  Apples

Meatloaf, Scalloped Potatoes, Steamed Broccoli

BBQ Chicken, Rice, Brussels Sprouts