A Different Kind of Christmas

 I hope you were able to have blessed Christmas and New Year's Eve celebrations.  It was a bit different, I'll bet.  We were not able to host our annual Christmas gathering at our home for my side of the family or attend J's side of the family either.  Phone calls, texts and cards had to suffice

Little Jack also had a Covid exposure at his preschool right before Christmas.  He and his parents began their quarantine immediately and were tested at the appropriate time.  Fortunately their tests were negative but decided to err on the side of caution and not join us Christmas Day.  We switched presents on the doorstep one day and opened them 'together' via Zoom on another day.  I will say, technology sure made all of this a bit better!  

We had snacks for lunch including deer meatballs, veggies and dip  and a charcuterie platter.  Our son and his girlfriend and my dear mother-in-law joined us in person.

We were able to post them on our television so they were almost life-sized!

They called later that evening while we were playing cards and we were able to visit again!  Jack loved his new toys!!  

J and I normally go out for New Year's Eve lunch then stop by a grocery or seafood store and pick up something to prepare for our evening meal.  We had to plan ahead this year as we are not making many trips to the store these days.

The day was pretty nice so we enjoyed our outdoor fireplace as J grilled on the back porch.

I set a table with some festive tableware.

We started with shrimp bisque

then enjoyed sharing ribeye steak, scallops, fettuccine and a salad.

For dessert we had creme brûlée.  

(While reorganizing the pantry, I found a box of this!  

Not quite instant but very easy and pretty good!)

We had some nasty weather New Year's Eve night and we were both very happy to be warm and cozy in our comfy clothes watching TV!

I hope your Christmas this year was blessed and that you were able to create some special memories!  Things may have been a bit different but the reason we celebrate remained the same!  

Wishing you many blessings in the new year!

Zenda

Don't forget to visit other great table scapes at:    

                                                                                   

A Cold and Quiet Start to the New Year

I hope your holiday season was happy.  Our Christmas and New Year celebrations were different this year, like everyone else's and I will post about that next time.  Today I want to share some wintry pictures from our outing today.  We were able to make it to church, then decided to make a morning of it by having a drive-through breakfast at Hardee's and then take the long way home.  There has been a bit of ice and snow over the past two days but the roads were passable and the view so pretty.  

Even thought this NEW year has arrived with some wintry weather, I'm hoping you are finding some quiet and cozy moments to enjoy.  I'm also praying that 2021 will bring us back to some normalcy and good health!  

Happy New Year!

Zenda

I Spy

One of my Christmas presents for little Jack will be an "I Spy" quilt.  I snagged this idea from KatyQuilts.net. https://katyquilts.net/2020/06/04/i-spy-2/    It's not too complicated and I know I can get it finished before the big day!

I started with these.  There are two of each print.

                                        

and sewed them together to form small blocks.

The top is complete, a blue border has been added and it's ready for quilting.

I had this wild animal print in my stash and it was big enough for the backing!  It's almost more fun the the front!  Perfect for an "I Spy" quilt, don't you think?

Now to decide how to quilt it.  Hmmmmm...  any ideas?

                                    Wishing you a great week!

                                                Zenda

A Little Space for Jack

When we built our home four years ago, there was a little square space near the basement stairs that was just right for a little playroom.  We have great nieces and nephews and I saved many of our children's toys for these little relatives to enjoy at our house.  This little playroom was pretty rough with unfinished walls and an old area rug but it gave them a fun spot to play when we hosted family gatherings.  

Now that I spend a lot of time here with our grandson, Jack, I decided to give it a little facelift.  J finished hanging drywall around the stairwell, I taped, primed and painted all of the walls.  I'm not a professional and it's not perfect but I was going for 'better' not perfect.  :)  I forgot to take pictures before we got to the drywall phase but here are some rough before and after photos.  I also primed and painted the concrete walls. The chalkboard is one from my childhood home.  It is an antique slate board my dad brought home after helping demolish an old 

schoolhouse in our hometown.

After priming and painting -

To cover the concrete floors, I ordered a new 8 foot by 10 foot area rug. (Home Depot: Sophia Salle Garnier Gray)   Since the room is a bit bigger than that, I decided to paint the floor the same color as the walls.  (Leftover paint from our bathrooms - Nuance by Sherwin Williams).  I am consider sealing the paint but it's holding up pretty well for now.  

With the addition of the area rug, it looks much better!  

Jack really likes it and that makes this Grammy happy!

We added some tractor and construction equipment decals for the walls at Jack's height.  

Just a few for now.  I'm looking for some posters to frame.  

This little room is starting to look nice and cozy.  

It has lots of fun play space for Jack and his grandparents!

Thanks for stopping!  

Zenda

Enjoying Every Last Minute of the Warm Weather!

We enjoyed a fun morning today with our son, Andy, and our grandson, Jack.  Jack gets to see his Uncle Andy every month or two and he really loves him!  

We started the day feeding the chickens and ducks.  We let the ducks out each morning so they can spend the day at the pond.  Jack gave them a little snack before they headed off.

Next, it was over to the sandbox.  Jack worked in here while Grammy finished cleaning off the rest of the garden.  We placed the sandbox near the garden and raised beds so he and I can work together.

Later that morning, we went to play golf.  J's birthday is tomorrow and since Andy was in town, we decided to play 9 holes.  Jack really enjoyed riding in the cart and running from the cart to the hole.  We used lots of energy during those 2 hours!  This was the first time J played golf since June 10 and he played VERY well!!  He said it felt so good to be back on the course!

We only live 10 minutes from the golf course but Jack didn't make it out of the parking lot before falling asleep!

J said he had a GREAT birthday!  I think I can say we ALL enjoyed the day!

Thanks for stopping by....

                                                Zenda

A Lesson in Being Content at Home

I hope this post finds you safe and healthy.  The pandemic has found its way to our rural section of the Midwest.  Several of our friends and neighbors have been affected - some feeling rotten to some being hospitalized. Whatever one wants to believe or hears on television, we are not nearly over Covid-19 yet.

Lately, I've been feeling very blessed to be able to find contentment at home and I'm wondering if that might be a lesson I can take from this experience.  After retiring, I found a lot of opportunity for volunteer work.  However, the more I did, the more there seemed to do.  I guess that's the way things work.  I remember a wise man once saying, "If you need something done, ask a busy person."  Now that my calendar has been cleared for months, I have found time to do things for myself and my family.  I've remembered what retirement is supposed to be. When this is all over and things start to return to normal, I will do my best to remember this lesson and choose to volunteer for only the things I truly feel called to do.  What have you learned about yourself over these past months?

As the season changes, I'm truly blessed to enjoy these sights from our home and along some of our local roads.

   Mornings from our back porch...

On some of our property that J has been removing brush...

Our farmer reaping a bountiful harvest....

The last of the garden cosmos before a heavy frost....

A beautiful way to spend a Fall evening at home....

 

I hope you able to find some contentment at home enjoying the simple joys of nature and God's blessings.

                                                                            Zenda