had a wonderful time with my BS buddies to celebrate Christmas, even after the decision to stop gathering in person…
this morning a charcuterie board arrived from DeLuca’s and I divided it into five along with a veggie tray, crackers and pistachios… there was ranch dip with it and I made some fresh hummus to go along with all the other goodies…
a couple of elves fetched gifts and then dropped them off at other locations with the boxes of food…
shortly after that we gathered by Skype and enjoyed our meal… there was lots of conversation and laughter… eventually we went around the rectangle and opened gifts…
lots of thought had gone into each offering… there were cozy things, handmade goodies, items for the kitchen, donations and love;-)…
we slid back into Skyping without a hitch… we had only been meeting in person since the end of July…
these are some of the most special people in my life…
yesterday I made the decision to go into my own personal lockdown…
it was a very hard decision at this time of year, but I have been struggling with the worry of getting sick after all these months of taking such care…
so, my Monday/Tuesday group will meet by Skype tomorrow for our Christmas celebration… I’d ordered a charcuterie board and I will divide it up with some veggies… two of my friends will pick up gifts and then drop off the snack packages before our call…
lunch and goodies via Skype… just like we’ve done before, lol…
and I won’t be having my grandson over for lunch on Christmas Day, although possibly he will stop by for a short visit in the garage… or go to my daughter’s for Christmas dinner…
presents will be picked up, phone and video calls made…
I have all the things I need in the freezer (I think) to make a lovely chicken dinner on Saturday…
another solo Christmas, and although I will miss everyone, I feel I will be safe…
and at this point that seems the most important thing;-)…
I’ve had a booster shot scheduled for the second week of January at my doctor’s office and had checked with a nearby drugstore to see if I could get one sooner as the rules recently changed… unfortunately there were no appointments left at the moment…
got a call this morning from a friend as one of them wasn’t able to get the vaccine today and they offered me the spot, after checking with the pharmacy…
left home at 10:30, wearing my KN95 mask and was back, all boosted, by 10:50;-)…
just last night I heard that this mask is currently the best protection…
very relieved to have all 3 shots as there are plans for a small gathering on Christmas…
I’ve been thinking a lot about how blessed and fortunate I am… and I’ve been taking time to focus on gratitude…
yesterday I spent a few minutes enjoying this sunrise from the bedroom window…
it was so pretty and the fact that I had the time to enjoy it is such a gift…
today I spent a good portion of the day sitting in the living room, beside the Christmas tree, reading a book by one of my favourite authors, and watching the various birds come and go from the feeders… even though it was foggy outside it was a lovely way to spend time…
I took this photo this evening…
most presents are wrapped, nearly all cards are written, and advent treats have been opened for the day…
a week or so ago, I cleaned all of the various bits and pieces off the front of the fridge…
put the container with the 24 magnets on it ready for Advent… my daughter sent them to me years ago… they covered two muffin tins and each held a tiny treat as they were opened daily during Advent…
then I put them away carefully🤪… and I didn’t find them until last year, lol… I am happy to use them this year, especially as I still knew where they were…
I think I might start with the 24th and then count back until Christmas;-)…
added ornaments to the drawers in the table… they look good…
spent a while deciding on where the tree should go this year… for the last few years it has been in the window, but I felt like it was time for a change…
dug out the tree and set up the space for it… added extra lights and fluffed the branches…
next I brought up the bin of snow people… after some thought I emptied some of the squares in the dining room wall and added the snow people… it was fun deciding which ones went together…
took the pottery pieces that came off the shelves and put them into the bin… it was very heavy, so I slid it into the den closet… it will be safe there and saved me from trying to carry it downstairs…
found purple, silver and clear ornaments and listened to Christmas carols as I added them to the tree…