Q and A

There are new questions from Preppy Empty Nester today that I will answer. Maybe you can answer too in the comments....

1. What are your plans for January?

     January so far seems a lot like the months of 2020. I will be spending a lot of time just being at home. I spend the time reading or using the ipad and also watching a lot of Netflix. 

2. What do you want to see happen in 2021?

    The most important thing is to end the pandemic. It has been so hard for our country and our people when some people did not take it seriously at first. Now it is raging and my only protection is to stay home safely and wear a mask when I have to go out. I await the vaccine patiently. 

  The second thing I want to happen is to get great leadership in the government and end this division of our country. No matter who you support we are all Americans and we need intelligent and empathetic leadership. 

3. What would you give a 5 star rating?

    Bridgerton on Netflix. A great series and the duke was very easy on the eyes. 

4. How do you feel about memoirs?

   I love them. My dad gave me two full cassette tapes of his life story which I typed out and made into a scrapbook. Now we have a lot of stories about his life. He urged me to do it also. So this would be a great time to put it together. 

5. If you could join any musical group what would it be and why?

    I think the Supremes. They had happy music which rocked my soul in the sixties. 

6.  What is your favorite genre across all platforms?

    I love reality tv. Give me an episode of the Housewives or Top Chef and I am in heaven. 

7. What candle scents are your favorites?

   I love anything spicy...cinnamon, pear, eucalyptus, ..

8. What books are you reading?

    Right now...just finished Bob Woodward’s new one. Interesting how people in Trump’s circle can shed light on how the president acts when no one is watching. 

9. When do you decide it’s time to upgrade?

     I hate upgrading. It seems there is always something new to learn how to operate. If I’m happy the way things are I see no need to get something different. Keep it simple for the old folks. 

10. What is your favorite color and why?

   I like turquoise. It looks great on everyone. 

How about you now?

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

1. What are your plans for January?
 
2. What do you want to see happen in 2021?
 
3.  What would you give a 5 star rating? 
 
4. Do you have writing goals for 2021?
 
5. How do you feel about memoirs?
 
6. If you could join any musical group who would you choose?
 
7. What are your favorite genres across all media?
 
8. What candle scents are your favorite?
 
9. How well can you mimic other accents or voices?
 
10. What books are on your TBR list in 2021?
 
11. When do you decide it’s time to upgrade/buy something new?
 
12. Why is your favorite color your favorite color?
 
13. Who understands you the best?
 
14. Do you write letters?
 
15. How do you keep going when times are hard?

Puzzle time

Don just completed a puzzle of his Navy ship. It was black, gray, and white and quite difficult.  But he persisted. I think a lot of people are putting together puzzles to keep their minds active.  What have you been doing with your extra time?

Winter changes

How are you doing staying home? Are you finding projects to do that keep you busy? I am lucky that I am not an essential worker and have to risk my life to work every day. I have been retired for 18 years now. So I can stay home and stay safe. But staying sane? Just joking. It’s not bad to spend your day in your lovely home. But I am an extrovert and love being around people. And even though I love my home I miss my friends. I miss shopping. I miss concerts. Yes, I can find things to do. But I find myself sitting around more than I should and watching way too much television. 

  So today I did some redecorating. I love making vignettes. Maybe I should have been a window decorator. I took everything off my mantle and put up a winter mantle instead. 

I love the gray/white tobacco basket and I can find a way to use it in every season. This time with a spray of pine and berries. The metal pine cone was actually a free gift when I stopped at a Joanne FAbric shop in Winchester, Va. I was checking out and there was a table and you could choose things from it. The deer statue was from a coop near Knoxville, Tn. 

I didn’t want to put away the spiral tree so I kept it on the mantle along with three Louisa May Alcott books and a painting that I did. 

I think the birch pot fits in nicely with the plate in the background. It’s nice to see something different in the house and reuse items I already have. 

Christmas keeps on coming

This year the delay in the mail has really disappointed a lot of people. My packages to my sister still haven’t completely arrived yet. I was thankful that my family opened gifts when they were here in November. Today I did get a package from one of my sisters. The candle above was one of the gifts along with those fancy paper clips. 

  I took down all my Christmas decorations but left up things for winter. I carried them down to the storage room in the basement but now need to properly put them away. 

  It is cold out today with a high of 24. I am no longer walking outside. I really miss that. I am spending most days right inside the house. 

Christmas spirit

I guess I was feeling a little sorry for myself yesterday. I was thinking of Christmases past and the joy I always felt at this time of year. That peaceful feeling would come over me and I would know that all was right in my world. This year I was waiting for that feeling. I had it a little bit when I hauled out my Christmas decorations and distributed them around the house. (But I didn’t put them all out and pared back quite a bit). Then it came again when my family all came home for Thanksgiving and we exchanged presents. (But that left the month of December with no holiday activities at all.) The days passed and I waited for that excited feeling to come. But every day I stayed at home and listened to bad news in the world. My usual optimism had a hard time mustering up a smile. 

    But today it came back. That fun feeling. That holiday joy. And all it took was a trip out of town. Don and I went to Jamestown. He hasn’t been out of the house for months but wanted to go out to lunch. All of the restaurants in Pennsylvania are closed now so we really enjoyed the Olive Garden. I made two very quick stops at TJ Max and Michael’s but came out of the stores with no packages. I was really thankful that I had done all of my shopping early and didn’t have to stand in those long lines. But it was Wegman’s, a grocery store, that put me in the holiday mood. The town that I live in doesn’t have the variety of foods that this store displays. I really went wild buying things I don’t usually buy (like a pecan topping for the Brie that I will share with Don Christmas Eve.) And stuffed pork chops for our Christmas Eve dinner. We are having ham for Christmas Day. It was fun to be in the bustle of shoppers and I picked out some rum balls and a platter of Christmas cookies. (Since I am not making cookies this year). I even found a large white platter that I needed. (Along with some greenery). When I came out of the store I told Don that it was dangerous for my wallet for me to go in that store. LOL. 

     I was really in a great mood all the way home recalling that holiday feeling. Now to find some Christmas movies to watch and to make the holiday special even though it will be just the two of us. 

Can it be Christmas?

Can it be that Christmas is just a few days away? In this crazy year of Covid it seems that nothing is the same as it used to be. Pennsylvania is shut down again with restaurants only doing take out and most people staying home as much as they can to avoid catching this virus. I only leave the house now for a once a week trip to Walmart for groceries. Don hasn’t left the house in months. Even the library has closed again. Bradford has seen such an increase in cases that we are up to almost four hundred in our little town. I haven’t seen my coffee friends in weeks and haven’t walked with my friend Sandy much either because of the cold weather and deep snow. I am so glad we celebrated our Christmas at Thanksgiving because we will be alone at Christmas. We will wait for the vaccine so that we can once again feel safe being around people. Meanwhile I will stay right here.

Our Christmas is over

When the boys and their families were here for Thanksgiving we exchanged our Christmas gifts since we were all together. 

This picture is blurry but it tries to show Don’s sweatshirt with a picture of the ship he served on pictured on the front. He received a lot of gifts..mugs, puzzles, pictures of that ship. 

I loved my personalized gifts. 

The kids loved playing with Occulus virtual reality.  

 But look at our Christmas present.  Chris found a stray cat near his house. It was obviously someone’s pet since it was declawed. He tried to find the owner but no luck. So he asked us if we would take it. She is the sweetest cat. So lovable and all it wants is to sleep in your lap. chris called her Reeseie since her coloring is peanut butter and chocolate.