had a quiet day yesterday… spent time taking photos of ornaments on the tree and the orchids…
a friend dropped off the fixings for turkey dinner which I warmed up at supper time… it was a lovely treat and made for a relaxed and enjoyable meal… ended the day with hot lemonade in my new mug and gifted shortbread…
this morning the living room looked lovely and I enjoyed the serenity as I sat in the quiet and enjoyed the lights…
the Ottawa kids and I Skyped and we opened our presents together… following our usual pattern, in this unusual time, we opened the gifts one at a time… it was great fun… they liked all their gifts, which made me happy…
one of my gifts from them was all the fixings for my New Year’s Eve dinner… usually on New Year’s Eve we have steak and lobster, although for the last number of years that meal has happened on New Year’s day… there was beef carpaccio, lobster, truffle chips, olives, red peppers, cookies, a lovely glass of wine (with gold in it) and a festive cracker…
there were also gifts from a number of friends, filled with goodies… I am blessed…
a bit later the Winnipeg kids FaceTimed as they opened the gifts I had sent over… I didn’t do so good with their gifts as two of them had received the same gift from their parents, lol…
yesterday I peeled potatoes and turnip, made stuffing, and produced Thai Shrimp soup so that there wouldn’t be too much to do today… I had decided that, even though I would be here alone, I wanted a proper Christmas dinner… it was delicious;-)…
today I got a lovely surprise when the doorbell rang and a bouquet of flowers was delivered…
I have been missing fresh flowers and they were even on my christmas list…
they were from a dear friend, and I have spent a good portion of the day taking photographs of them…
I have moved them from area to area as the day has gone on…
often I look up words to see if I have already used them for a post title, and today I found this post… it was for an event that this friend and I were both working on, lol…
three different present deliveries to me today… and one last night…
only spoke with each person for a second… it was chilly out there, but such a joy to have a socially distanced word with each of them… and these days that is an exceptional treat…
on Wednesday I ordered sushi for my dinner from Sei Sushi... it was so nice, although I missed my grandson who is my usual sushi partner, lol…
yesterday, I spent time in the morning making mashed potatoes so that when I warmed them up at supper they were better for me… I even made gravy to go with the chicken… it was delicious… although a more colourful vegetable would have looked prettier…
today I had a charcuterie board from Modern Plate Catering for my lunch… it was fun to set all the bits out on a tray and make it pretty…
with everyone learning how to connect with family and friends over the last six months or so, my daughter reminded me that we have been doing this for years…
just today, a Facebook memory was of a gathering we had eight years ago… my daughter was in BC, my son-in-law was in northern Alberta, and the rest of us were here…
technology has come a long way since then and there are many ways to connect… the main ones I currently use are Skype, Google Duo and FaceTime… I’ve been using Skype Organize a Conference Call without going through my Skype account, but over the last few weeks going through my account is working much better… I think I need to learn a bit about Zoom…
had a lovely front yard visit with a friend who dropped off some items from an online fundraiser…
before she arrived I put one of the deck chairs out by the bird feeders… she sat there and I sat on the steps… luckily, we each had our own tea, so that kept us warm…
got two poinsettias and a swag for the front door…
after she left, I spent quite some time hanging the swag on the door… there is quite a bit of fishing line holding it up, lol…
it was nice to have a face-to-face with another person…
yesterday I woke up to a world covered in snow… so beautiful, particularly as I didn’t have to go anywhere or should leave the house…
my grandson arrived in the morning to collect Indi’s winter tires and get them put on, and he brought me a beautiful orchid… he works for a store that, as of yesterday morning and the lockdown, couldn’t sell many of their items, so they gave the orchids to staff… such a lovely treat…
just before he left, he shovelled the sidewalk for me… I like to keep it clear for our mail carrier…
I went outside early, cleared the path to the garage, and moved a few chairs and other items, so he would be able to get to the tires without touching anything else… it was nice to see him, even if we didn’t get within 10 feet of each other…
later in the afternoon, I shovelled the deck so that I can get to the feeders I have set up… although, not sure I will be able to obtain sunflower seeds for them now that everything is locked down…
pleased with the dinner that was delivered last Friday from Modern Plate Catering… she is doing a Friday Family Dinner… I had used this business a number of times when I was working and found them efficient and willing to adjust for food issues… and the food was always top notch…
the directions were clear on how to heat everything and the packaging made it easy to know what went with what…
the meal was for two people so I knew I would get two suppers out of it…
added a couple of salads and while the oven was warming up I had the spinach one… it was delicious…
next I had one of the pieces of focaccia with some olive oil and balsamic from the pantry… yum, although now I was getting a little full, lol…
finally, I had the braised beef ribs, smashed potatoes, and roasted carrots and mushrooms… it was also yummy and filling…
I didn’t have room for dessert until the morning…
it had caramelized bananas in it, and cream… clearly breakfast food, lol…
up early and worked on a newsletter with a program I am still learning so it took a lot of brainpower, lol…
my handy person stopped by to check out the front door… he is coming back tomorrow with some weatherstripping which should fix the draft… and he is going to pick up some birdseed for me… yay…
a bit later Lyndsay, from Modern Plate Catering, dropped off supper for tonight – and tomorrow – which will be warmed in the oven… very happy about the fact that they deliver as I am without a vehicle or my personal shopper…
I also figured how to keep the lumbar pillow I am using in the den from falling down every time I get up… I came across it when I did some deep closet cleaning…
herbiggirlpants 