Last week was exactly what my weary heart needed. On Monday evening, we had Abram’s Christmas concert. I didn’t take one video or picture. I just enjoyed the opportunity to sit with friends and watch our kids’ perform. Tuesday, Abram and I headed to the Bucks game with fingers crossed that the storm that was being forecast wouldn’t strand us in Milwaukee. The next morning, we drove home in the rain, grateful for easy driving and grumbling about rain in December. On Thursday, we woke up to schools closed and snow. Heavy, wet, wonderful Christmas snow. The kids and I shoveled. Made pancakes. Painted name tag ornaments. And shoveled some more. It continued to snow on Friday. And Saturday. I shoveled and shoveled and shoveled and (almost) finished my Christmas shopping, and wrapped presents, and dropped off a few week-before-Christmas care packages. Sunday, Abram and Jesse went skiing while V and I stayed home and puttered in our own endeavors. It was glorious.
The kids have school until Thursday this week, and while part of me wishes they had a longer break, another part of me is grateful to have the time to finish up the last things I need to get done. This has been a year where plans have…not gone to plan…but we’re rolling with it. Some days I’m grinchy. Others, I’m grateful. Not judging my feelings makes grinchy feel less gritchy (Thank you for that word, Rita. It’s perfect.) so I’m practicing that.
Let’s talk some things. (I don’t have many.)
Knitting: I’m so behind on my advent calendar squares on my blanket. It was silly of me to think that I would have time to knit two squares every single day during the second busiest month of the year. (May is always nuts for us). I’ll catch up in January and February. I’m working on a scarf and wound the yarn for a baby blanket which will also be January and February projects.
Reading: Not a thing. I have a stack of books over 20 high and a TBR list that is growing ever longer.
Watching: I finally finished this season of Lie to Me (Hulu). I don’t like it. I keep watching it. It’s stupid. Violet and I have been watching The Dragon Prince (Netflix) and I’m loving it. I needed to get a couple of episodes in though before it connected. Silly me was too focused on the fantasy cartoon and Y7 rating. We’re about halfway through the second season and I’m always hoping they’ll suggest another episode. I also watched The People We Hate at the Wedding (Amazon Prime) due to your recommendations and I loved it. Such a great cast.
Listening to: Jazzy Christmas, Baby, Donnie Benét Radio, Reading Adventure (great moody winter music).
Making: Each year we paint Christmas tag/ornaments as part of teacher gifts. I shared my favorites above – V’s Spanish flag (Spanish), and A’s angel (Religion). We ordered these cutouts in 2019 and still have plenty. I keep them stored in an old Christmas cookie tin and it makes them so easy to pull out every year. My 2023 notebook (this year’s color is pacific green and it’s LOVELY) and currently notebooks have arrived. I didn’t do a perfect job keeping up with my 2022 analog systems, but I want to make a more concentrated effort in the next year because it’s fun to look back. I’m also a happier person when I make time for creative off-line endeavors. (V is in charge of my screen time passcode for IG and FB, and that is one of the smartest things I have ever done.) We renewed plans for the community garden plot and have gotten our seed catalogs so I’ve taken an inventory and am starting to make order plans. I’m also doing some prep work for a rest-my-house-systems February goal.
So those are my -ings this week!! I hope you are all doing well, staying healthy (and happy), and enjoying the season. If you aren’t, I wish you comfort. XOXO.
What a treat to find this in my inbox! Today is do the big Christmas grocery shop day, and I am grateful for a treat to fuel me before I begin that grueling task. 🙂
I snort-laughed at this: “I finally finished this season of Lie to Me (Hulu). I don’t like it. I keep watching it. It’s stupid.” YES. I dislike pretty much every character and do not see any basis for their friendships. And yet, I watch.
I am intrigued by your notebooks. It looks like something I’d like, but I wonder if I’d really do it? I am now curious about your notebook and what you put in it–how it’s different from your Currently notebook. And I definitely would like to know more about your rest-your-house systems. I don’t know what that means.
You say you don’t have many -ings, but I see lots: shoveling, cooking, painting, mothering, puttering, being. It sounds like a full, good life of -ings. It made me smile to read them.
I don’t have much in the way of -ings to report, but I am excited that I’ve almost finished a real paper-and-ink book (Winterwood by Shea Ernshaw, a YA book by an Oregon writer that is an easy, wintery read and that I chose because I once lived in the Oregon mountains; it gave me some Practical Magic vibes) and I bought myself a reading solstice gift (the new Beartown book by Fredrik Backman, The Winners). I want to read more full-length books in 2023, not just listen to them. Though I am happy to have found Karin Slaughter’s Girl, Forgotten available from the library yesterday. It’s a perfect listen to do chores with, and I have a lot of those today and tomorrow. I also started Crying in H Mart because I’ve heard so many good things about it, and I’m sure I will like it, too.
Well, I’d best get to finalizing my shopping list and getting myself to the store. My strategy is to go early. I hope there aren’t a lot of others who have the same plan. 🙂
I hope your grocery shopping trip wasn’t too crazy! We have another winter storm heading our way too so everyone is trying to get it done. I drove by earlier, looked at the parking lot and just said “nope”. I may regret it when we are deep in the pantry for Christmas dinner (or I’m shopping in a storm), but for now, I’m loving the extra day of breathing room.
A rest my house system would be lovely. Sadly, it’s a typo and was meant to say “reset my house”. As a place for everything/everything in its place type person, when things shifted and got messy with the remodel, I adjusted but I’m looking forward to putting new systems in place (and clearing out the clutter that has amassed in the chaos). Then I (and the house) can rest.
As for my notebooks, the currently is kind of a monthly art project. The other one is much more practical and kind of like a modified bullet journal. On Sundays (usually) I sit down and make a list of the things I need to do and any goals I have for the week. Any meal plan or grocery list. Notes I want to remember. I journal in it some. It’s not pretty or precious but at the end of each year and I can see all the ephemera that filled my days. I carry it with me almost all of the time so my 2022 version has the scores of a game of rummy I played with my siblings, the schedule for teachers conferences I forgot to print off and wrote down when I got to the school, a list of Christmas present ideas (and whether I ordered them or not), probably 40 grocery lists, a whole page of doodles when I was on customer service hold, a plan for a party I want to host, information about my dad’s heart surgery, the RSVPs I received from Abram’s birthday party, plants I ordered for the garden, a list of subscriptions (so I know which ones I want to cancel)- a repository of all the stuff I would otherwise toss.
I love Fredrik Backman and the Beartown series. I hope you get to enjoy some time celebrating tomorrow and enjoying it! (Please let me know what you think!) I really enjoyed Crying in H Mart a lot and am looking forward to hearing what you think of that too!
Now I’m off to go wrap some presents.
Oh, I’ve been working on reset my house systems all fall! Except, it’s more like “set my house systems” because I was simply lacking some that I needed. Most of mine have been focused on the kitchen, but I really need to tackle some financial things.
We, too, have weather in our forecast for this week. Horrible freezing rain/ice for Thursday. We also (I’m now chiming in on your reply to Kari) planned to do no gifts, but not everyone was on board and so now we are doing some scrambling this week. My own feelings have gotten in the way some, too. Maybe I care about gifts (the giving of them) after all? I don’t know. I just know I’m looking forward to the weekend. I’ve mostly enjoyed this holiday season, but I’m ready to get back to normal. I like routine.
Thank you for the clarification on the notebooks. I’m going to ponder that a bit. I like the idea of both of them. Though my grocery lists will now forever be on the Bring app. Speaking of systems, that’s one that works really well for me.
Take care with your snow! I know lots of folks are preparing to hunker down.
I like routine too. I ran out quickly today and did a few minute things and have decided that after I pick up the kids from school today that I am done. (Except for wrapping. I have a few things that I’m hoping arrive in time for wrapping!) But good enough will have to be good enough.
I’ve never heard of Bring. I’m such a late adopter to apps. (I was late to getting a cell phone too!) It wasn’t until the kids started really needing a calendar of their own that I moved to a shared calendar app. I’m kind of looking forward to the day when I go back to paper!! Off to go look up Bring..
Hope the rain/ice aren’t/haven’t been disruptive!
Not judging feelings…YES. I’m currently reading a book about (w)allowing in feelings, and it has been very in line with that way of thinking.
Thanks to Anna, we are hooked on The White Lotus.
I just ordered last minute gifts today. Only have a quarter of the gifts have been wrapped. A “blizzard” is on its way Thursday and Friday. 🤣
I hope you and your family have a lovely holiday! ❤️
I feel you!! Our plan was not to do presents but take a family ski trip but then V needed knee surgery so a family ski trip didn’t seem right so I’ve been in scramble mode. Honestly, I don’t even know if it’s that or I am just not feeling the gift thing this year (it’s usually one of my favorites.) I’m definitely feeling the cozy up at home and appreciate all the snow we are getting!! And yeah for kiddos who introduce us to shows worth watching.
I like how you say “(w)allowing”. 🙂
Very merry happy everything, Kari!!
Hello, Kate! Just wanted to post a quick comment to wish you and yours all the best this holiday season, and for the coming new year.
xo Marian
Thank you, Marian!! To you as well!! Xoxo.