Tuesday, November 23, 2021

What's Up in My World

It was a real treat to go to a restaurant on Monday night. I had so many errands to run and I didn't want to make a late dinner so I opted to go to a local Vietnamese restaurant. 

This dinner consists of pork brochette, roll dip, crepes and fried rice and though it was a tad over done it was still very delicious. (Click on each photo to enlarge).


I also made a library run. I picked up these three books which came up early on my hold request. I'm still working on 2 other books. I hope I can finish them all before someone else makes a request for them. That's always the challenge with popular books.


While at the library I took notice of their digital language services. Some day I've got to investigate further and use the service. 

Likewise with these free creative lessons also on digital offer. 


I haven't done anything crafty for awhile so I started this doily.  I love making doilies and have missed doing so. 


I've also been using the Instant Pot for cooking dinner these days. It keeps flavor in and makes cooking so much easier. 

Pot roast, cabbage, carrots, onion and potatoes with gravy.

Chicken (cooked in IP) served with roasted fries topped with chili, green salad.


I think I mentioned before that I try to follow the Fly Lady house cleaning routine system.  I've never been one who liked a lot of structure and routines but I found that with everything I want to get done, I needed more structure to my days.  The daily and weekly routines keep me fairly busy.  At the same time I'm also downsizing, decluttering, redecorating, bringing paperwork up to date, enjoying hobbies, working on Kenyan missions, following through with all the doctors appointments and doing all the things that arise with daily household and family life.
 
I've also started Christmas preparations slowly but surely. Last week I prepared most of my Christmas cards, printed recipes to include with some of the cards, made frequent trips to the post office to pick up parcels and send mail, purchased some artificial flowers for my yet to be made holiday bouquet.  I've also been scouring the on line shops for the last few gifts I want to send to loved ones and friends.  Hopefully I'll be done with all but three cards and gifts by the end of November.

With all these activities I can honestly say I'm never bored. I just wish I could accomplish things a lot more quickly than I seem to do.  But slow progress is better than no progress. 

How about you dear reader?  What is keeping you busy these days? Have you started Christmas preparations? Do you have a lot to do? 

I don't really have a lot to do to get ready for Christmas. I could get by with preparing a simple meal and putting up  minimal decorations. However, I like to reach out to others at Christmas and try to make a bit of an effort at the holiday.  After all they only happen once a year.  This means remembering people with cards and notes and often making hand made gifts if time permits, otherwise I look to buy something suitable.  Some years I give fewer gifts than other years.  A lot of that depends on what my loved ones need or what they may be going through.  Much of the time most of us in the family really don't need more things when we already have so much compared to those in the Kenyan villages where I've seen first hand the suffering and the hardships.  There is a great need for even the most basic of things (food, medicine, education, books, pens and so on).  One year I was fortunate enough to be in Kenya during Christmas month and I enjoyed visiting several villages and taking basic food supplies to many widows and orphans.
 
I would love to do a bit more baking at Christmas but I don't like to bake if I don't have more people to share it with so the past few years I've only made Christmas bark because we always eat chocolate and nuts. Since the pandemic began I have only visited with 5 people:  my nephew and his girlfriend (we visited outside in the park), my brother and his wife (we had dinner at a restaurant) and one friend (we've met for coffee a few times which we usually drink outside the coffee shop).  Of course I've mingled with others at the post office, the pharmacy and the grocery store but my world has become very small and I take all the precautions.  I have been fully vaccinated and all of my contacts have been fully vaccinated too. I'm due for a booster shot early in December.

Last but not least, I want to mention that I've put a new Pay Pal link on the blog for those that are able to donate to Kenyan missions. Perhaps some of you are thinking of a Christmas gift to the missions. It will be a huge blessing to those in Kenya who have no social safety net. You simply need to click the red flower on the side bar and it will take you to the right place. My friend Jo says to tell everyone that "it's dead easy!" Thank so much for your consideration.

Happy Thanksgiving to all my American readers 🦃🦃🦃🙏🙏🙏
and 
Happy Season of Christmas preparations to all. 🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄






10 comments:

Jeanie said...

Oh, that Vietnamese food looks good -- I haven't had any in ages! And I hope you like The Riviera Set as much as I did. I found it fascinating -- such a totally different way of life!

I usually do quite a lot at Christmas in decorating but this year and I am so tired and will probably be starting a fairly tough medication round in another week or so, so we'll see what all happens. I need to get out of town gifts mailed, hopefully this week, and I'm trying to finish there. I look forward to baking. Even though I don't see many people these days, I will drop off cookies and such. I hope I get a groove going; I'm not sure about that yet.

Joyful said...

Sorry you will be feeling the effects of medication. I hope it ends up being milder than you expect. I'm actually still not adjusting to the new medicine I've been on but I'm trying. I hope you get your groove going. I know you've been very busy so don't be too hard on yourself right now.

Mari said...

I like Jodi Piccoult books!
I enjoy my Instant pot too.
Your doily is pretty!

Joyful said...

Thank you Mari. As you can see, I was able to pick up the Max Lucado book you recommended. I was happy to see it at the library.

affectioknit said...

Hi Penny,
...I do like Jodi Piccoult...and I'm a huge fan of DuoLingo for my languages...I think your crocheted doily is gorgeous!
~Have a lovely day!

Joyful said...

Thank Teresa! I've found another Jodi Piccoult fan :-)

Pamela M. Steiner said...

You always have the most interesting looking meals! I don't have an IP, and not sure if I would use it. I tend to like to do things the old fashioned way. I laugh at myself when I say that because I used to try to get my MIL to try new-fangled things and she refused to try them, and now I am getting to be the same way. LOL. Oh, learning a new language would be interesting and challenging. I took 4 years of spanish in H.S., but haven't used it enough to remember much. And I don't know how to crochet...that looks so pretty and dainty! I am a lefty and very awkward when it comes to needlework, so won't even attempt it, but I appreciate what others can do. You are very gifted. Take care my friend. Tomorrow is our Thanksgiving, so I am in pre-Thanksgiving mode tonight. Gotta get to bed early so I can be ready for tomorrow. Take care and God bless you.

Joyful said...

Thank you so much Pamela. I really appreciate your always lovely and thoughtful comments. They meant a lot. I think you would probably pick up Spanish quite quickly if you had a chance to use it again. I know what you mean about being a lefty. My late sis was also a lefty but she did teach herself to crochet and do a few other things using her left hand. It always look so awkward to me and I'm sure it hard to figure out. Have a marvellous Thanksgiving dinner with your loved ones. God bless. xx

baili said...

i loved visiting you dear Penny .you have such amazingly well managed blog !

glad you enjoyed dinner out ,best of luck with reading and i liked your dishes very much!

being a house wife i have lot to do during one day and i literally enjoy what i do ,no matter how tiring it is but the sense of achievement and peace is well worth doing so :)

best i for all you choose to do friend!
health peace and joy to you and yours! oh i absolutely LOVED your knitting :)

Joyful said...

Hello Baili, Thank you for your visit and your beautiful comment. I know what you mean about being a housewife and having a lot to do. It never ends but it does give a sense of accomplishment and contentment. I send you my best wishes for your health, peace and happiness too!

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