Bully

 

We ate lunch at Hacienda Restaurant today. A bright festive place on a gray damp day. Watching over us as we ate our burritos was el toro negro. 

I feel "puzzled" out after doing a 1,000-piecer last week, but probably next week I will work on the jigsaw puzzle given to me by my husband for Christmas. 

This personalized puzzle was based on a photo at Flagler Beach, Florida in 2022. This was the kind of restaurant where the facilities are marked gulls and buoys for the female and male bathrooms. Though we enjoyed my birthday lunch, we were grieving the loss of my sister-in-law four days earlier. We stayed in a rental at Palm Coast. 

I am starting to put away some of the Christmas decorations. The lighted tree and the main creche are still up though. 

Do you leave your Christmas decor up well past New Year's Day?

Have a Blessed Christmas

 

Have a Blessed Christmas

Stained Glass Gift

 

Today when my husband went to the workshop, the stained glass creator was there with a gift for us. A cardinal couple suncatcher in a cute cloth bag made by his wife. He always includes the suction cup with his gift, too. How thoughtful.

Don is doing more advanced work now. Notice the metal leaves and the incorporation of glass beads.

Today when I did my grocery pickup all but one spot was full of cars. I usually go on Thursday or Friday so maybe because of it being Saturday it was busier. But by the size of the orders being loaded into the vehicles, I suspect people were getting ready for Christmas Eve and Christmas. I know some of my grocery items are for the holiday. 

My reindeer amaryllis is now taller than the clock. Still not ready to bloom, but it is fun to see the growth.

Christmas Plants

 

I hadn't planned to buy a poinsettia this year, but near the entrance to Meijer sat a display on sale. I couldn't resist. 

 My husband went out shopping today. When he returned and came in from his pickup truck, he sort of sneaked some packages into the garage. At lunch he mentioned he had some gifts for me that were going to be tough to wrap. I replied that if he had an amaryllis bulb/plant I would be happy to receive it early and watch it grow. Problem solved.

This amaryllis bulb on a slab of wood grows without any need of watering. Then came a second bulb in a "sweater". A Christmas reindeer! When the red blooms appear (probably in January), they will cheer me up during the cold winter. I found last year that a really good place for them to sit is on the cedar chest in the den. The light seems to be just right. 

Now I have a row of Christmas plants to enjoy. How about you?

Wicked Icicles

 

We have been in the deep freeze the past few weeks. Usually, we do not have icicles and when we do they last a few days.

We have had some sun and a few days around 30 degrees. The icicles melt and refreeze. Today the ones on the backside of the house have mostly broken off. I can see the shards lying in the snow.

The ones in the front have twisted and formed daggers. The kind of icicles that "broke" Ralphie's eyeglasses in The Christmas Story movie. At least according to Ralphie.

There has been spreading of ice melt pellets on the sidewalks. Usually I see white or blue pellets. Today for the first time I saw purple pellets.

I think the reason I noticed was because they were at Everwise Credit Union whose signage and logo have purple. Coincidence? 

What things are you noticing around you?

Sculpted Patterns and an Interloper

 

As I left my neighborhood to head to Fort Wayne, I noticed patterns that had formed on the roofs sculpted by sun and wind. I wish I had taken a photo then because the sunshine made them stand out.

Down on the east end of the block, the process was just starting.

Most of the time my grocery shopping is done online with parking lot pickup. That means the store employee picks out my purchases. When I am in the store, I open the carton to check for cracks and broken eggs. Today I opened the carton at home to check my order. In at least 50 years of buying eggs, I have never seen what I did today. There among 11 white-shelled eggs sat a lone brown egg. I wonder if the bird flu is making it harder to have adequate quantities of eggs to sell or if somebody with a sense of humor did some switching. Anyway, I was sure surprised to see this interloper.

Chocolate Advent Calendar

 

After seeing some ads for chocolate Advent calendars, I thought I would like to have one this year. My family and my church that I grew up in never celebrated Advent. As an adult, I have attended churches with the Advent candles and liturgy. 

I saw on Amazon an Advent calendar with a village scene and Italian chocolates. I can't say I have ever eaten chocolates from that country, but the reviews were good. I put it under my wish list knowing that I would be ordering other things in about 10 days. Alas, the product was out of stock by the time I got back on Amazon, and it stated there would be no new stock coming in. 

Lots of chocolate Advent calendars online. Some cost hundreds of dollars and have elaborate packaging with twinkle lights. I finally ended up with this Godiva calendar. I like that brand of candy. The box opens up like a book and stands upright. 

Today is candy piece number one behind tab one. Each day for the next 24 days of Advent, I will open a tab and enjoy a piece of chocolate. Unlike some Advent calendars with the days in sequential order, these are randomly placed. It should be fun to see what shows up on a particular day. 

Voila! December 1st candy is the milk chocolate praline heart.