Holiday Cheer

Hello, friends.  Last week, I made a double batch of Medical Medium chickpea noodle soup, and froze several portions.  I'd read some discussion recently about having soups on hand, to have in case you were to get sick.  I have lots of food in the pantry, but haven't been good at having much in the way of ready made meals, so this is a step towards being more prepared in that manner.  Hopefully, it will be eaten in times of health, but it's there if needed.  I decorated the tree, and J topped it with our rustic angel, and hung the last of the ornaments.  

I haven't cross-stitched in years, but saw a free post office pattern in Country Living a few months ago, and wanted to make it for my mail carrier.  I finally went through my supplies, and found all the colors of floss I need.  They weren't all the exact color called for, but similar enough.  The least expensive fabric was at Hobby Lobby, so that's where I went, and only bought that, even though there was a vintage looking pitcher that wanted to come home with me ;o).  On Tuesday, I started stitching, and have made sure to do a little every day, even if it's only five minutes.  We enjoyed our sweet potatoes, our lettuce in a salad, and a cauliflower dish for a dinner.  Another night, I harvested collards, and tried a new dish with them, as well as a new potato dish and a new roasted carrot dish.  They were all OK, but not wonderful.  I'll probably try the carrots again, but cover the pan with foil this time.  I think that may do the trick with them.  

We have no mantel, so get creative with our stockings.  I went to town to pick up books at the library, and also got a movie and a series to watch.  While there, I went by a thrift store, and found a frame for the cross stitch, several small Christmas bowls perfect for amaryllis, and plain scrap book paper I intend to make bookmarks with, using a free design.  So, the last of the gifts are taken care of for $5 and change.  I've been enjoying my free Peaceful Holidays station on Pandora while working in the kitchen and my studio, as well as some podcasts.  I decorated the house, and added two things to the donation box.  With changing over to well water, and the discoloration that comes from the high iron content, we noticed the toilet has a leak.  That may have been part of the reason we ran out of rain water.  We did have 1/2" rain midweek, but it only added ~1K gallons to the tanks.  I noticed one of the hellebores has a hint of a bud forming.  

I made a cranberry pie, which we enjoyed through the week.  Saturday started off with some rain, and more was in the forecast in the evening.  It ended up not being much, so we're on well water for the time being.  But, in the meantime, it was a breezy day, so I decided to do two loads of laundry, and hang them on the line.  The first load dried entirely on the line.  The second mostly dried, and 20 mins in the dryer finished them off.   The last of the Christmas cards were written and stamped.  I used our onion, garlic, and a pint jar of tomatoes in a tomato rice loaf for dinner, along with our lettuce in a salad.  J splurged on asparagus, so I roasted them while the oven was going, to have as well.  On Sunday, I harvested a head of lettuce, and 8 heads of broccoli.  It's been a better than usual broccoli year.  I used some in a new to me recipe, shared by Heather at Northridge Farm, which we both enjoyed.  There were a few adjustments, to fit our diet restrictions, but we both agreed it will make it into our rotation.  Wishing you a week of peace and good cheer.