Sunday, December 31, 2023
Sunday, December 24, 2023
A Very Merry Christmas to You & Your Household
Hello friends and fellow bloggers,
And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.
Luke 2:7
Thursday, December 21, 2023
I'm a Huge Fan
I just got two large surprises!
My 'baby' brother who usually joins me and other family members for Christmas, has just advised me that he will be away as of Friday, December 22nd until sometime in the New Year 2024. The trip came up very suddenly as he was at a conference recently and won the trip credits as a door prize. He is always lucky that way when it comes to winning air credits for travel. The same thing happened last year though it wasn't right at Christmas holidays. So it's a huge surprise. I'll will miss his presence over the Christmas holidays and I'll also have less help eating the turkey and all the fixings. I just bought the turkey today. Had I known he wasn't going to join us, I may have bought a chicken instead. Oh well, I bought a Butterball turkey so it ought to be tasty.
The second big surprise is my Christmas gift from him. He wanted me to open my gift right away. He presented me with a cute little gift box with a Santa waving on the front of the box. Inside was a handwritten note saying 1 ticket for me to attend the Rolling Stones concert when they pass through the city in July 2024. I can't believe it!!!
I've been a huge Rolling Stones fan since I was 16 years old. I still have very fond memories of me playing my only two (2) 8 track cassettes on a cassette track player I bought with my babysitting money. The 2 cassette tapes were Janis Joplin (I don't remember the name of the album) and The Rolling Stones (the Jumpin' Jack Flash album).
I would play those 2 cassette tapes all day long after school and play them loudly on constant repeat. Mom and dad were so good about it. They never, ever complained. In fact, they enjoyed the fact that I was enjoying the music. They didn't have any concerns about my music choices because they actually liked some of it too and they knew I was a 'good kid' who didn't hang around with the wrong crowd despite the music. My little brother who bought me the concert ticket, would have been about 5 years old during the time I was listening to these tapes. He would have barely been out of his "Ruby Ducky" and "Country Roads" phase, lol.😂
Anyway I look forward to hearing the concern next summer Lord willing. When I first heard the Rolling Stones was stopping in Vancouver, I thought I'd like to hear them. However I'm not the kind of person who will do whatever it takes to get a ticket. I thought I wouldn't stand a chance anyway but I did happen to mention to my brother that the band was coming to town and it would be my last opportunity to see them if ever since Mick Jagger, the lead singer is now 80 years old! Keith Richards is also 80 and Ronnie Woods is 76. They are all considerably older than I am yet they still have the stamina to put on a concert every night and travel the world.
Here is a video of the band performing Jumpin Jack Flash a few days ago in New York City.
What about you dear reader? Are you a Rolling Stones fan? Have you ever seen them live in concert?
Christmas Gift to Myself
These chips were cooked using the bake function. |
These chips were cooked using the air fryer function. |
The pork chops, onions and apples were fried on the stove top. |
I want to try roasting a whole chicken in the counter top oven soon.
Have you ever bought yourself any Christmas gifts and if so, what did you buy?
Thanks for stopping by!
I'm sending you my best wishes for a very Merry Christmas.
🎄🎅🤶
Tuesday, December 19, 2023
Notes ~ Reading Stats
- 24185 words read to date
- 67 books read to date
Tuesday, December 12, 2023
Tuesday 4 ~ Gifts
If you missed my reading challenge update, you can find it at this link. Thank you.
Welcome to Toni Taddeo's Tuesday 4.
It's the giving season and people are shopping for presents for people they love. Can we talk a bit about it?
1. Do you enjoy shopping for gifts at the holidays? Why or why not?
Yes, I enjoy shopping for gifts at the holidays. It puts me in the holiday spirit. I really enjoy pondering over what a particular friend or family member might like to have and trying to do it within a budget. Often I give hand made gifts and without exception, most of the people I've gifted with a handmade gift appreciate it. They recognize how much time was put into the making of it and it touches me. In general people don't appreciate the time it takes to make things when they have to pay for it but if you make it and you gift it, they seem to love it.
2. Is the price of things putting a damper on buying this year?
Not really because I don't buy expensive gifts anyway. I enjoy looking for gifts that don't break the bank yet are nice to receive. I keep my gift giving in mind all throughout the year and buy things here and there for those birthday and Christmas gifts that will be needed. I also make handmade gifts and the fabric and yarn I use can add up to a large sum if the item made is large. Usually in those cases I am using what I already have on hand and have purchased at sales prices throughout the year.
3. Do you shop online or in stores and why do you choose that way to shop?
I do both. I would say I shop on line for 50% of what I need and 50% in person. Sometimes you just need to feel or see a gift to determine if it is the right thing so in person shopping is preferred. The beauty of on line shopping is convenience. So far, I've never purchased a gift on Amazon though I do order from the site for myself. I tend to shop at the big box stores in town online and in person , and in the small shops in person.
4. Which people do you find hard to select gifts for and what do you do when you just have no clue!
So far I've never really had an issue with selecting gifts although I do find for the men in my life, it is harder to buy them something. My gift ideas for them are not as plentiful as for the women but so far, it's all worked out.
Sunday, December 10, 2023
Update on Reading Challenge 2023
- Confederacy of Dunces (hard to classify but seems to fit into comedic satire)
- The Removes (historical fiction based on expansion of the American west and the mistreatment of Native Americans)
- The Sorbonne Affair, (murder mystery),
- There, There, Valley of the Birdtail, Bad Cree (all written by indigenous authors)
- Remarkably Bright Creatures (fiction centred around friendship between humans and an octopus).
- One Drop (biography written by the daughter of a man who passed all her life and the impact of finding out her real roots).
October Memories ~ Tuesday 4
Welcome to October's first Tuesday 4 kept in memory of Toni Taddeo. 1. What memories do you have of Octobers past? I have 2 memorie...
-
This is a lovely gospel song sung in Swahili and has special meaning for me. It is special because on my first trip to Kenya a gr...
-
"Better keep yourself clean and bright; you are the window through which you must see the world." -- GEORGE BERNARD SHAW Cli...
-
Hi friends, It's been incredibly hot here. Yesterday on the news they said it was the hottest day of the summer so far. But I went out...