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

Hello friends and fellow bloggers,

I hope you are well and enjoying the festive season so far.

I have been taking it easy. Doing a little of this and a little of that. DH has been working a lot and is fighting off a cold. I seem to have finally gotten over the cold I've been struggling with. I hope it good and gone now though with DH fighting one I have to be careful.
  

I don't have big parties or too many events to attend this year. I've already attended Handel's Messiah and the annual Christmas Festival of Lights at the Van Dusen Botanical Gardens. Other than that I've been catching up on appointments and meeting friends one on one if they are free. It's a nice balance of quiet time alone with a lot of reading in between household routines, shopping and Christmas errands and the more social aspect of attending festivities and meeting with friends.  I'm more or less ready for Christmas but still have to buy the turkey, hopefully on Thursday and I'm also hoping to see a family member before the big day. 

So the title of this post is Christmas Gift to Myself. Do you ever gift yourself at Christmas or any other time? I will often buy myself something at Christmas that I may have wanted to get throughout the year. That way I get what I want and I usually get it on a sales promotion. 

I don't remember if I purchased anything last year.  But the year before that I purchased an Instant Pot (IP) and it has become one of  my favourite kitchen appliances. I actually had an IP for a year or two before that but it got damaged in a kitchen incident and needed replacing. When I bought the last one I purchased a slightly smaller one to take up less counter space.

This year I bought myself an air fryer/oven combo. I have been looking at air fryers for some time. In the end I liked the idea of a combination appliance that has several functions just like a real oven but much smaller. I purchased the model in the photo below. It's a ChefMan brand and I got it for less than 50% of the current Amazon price.  I actually purchased a second gift for myself.  Am I naughty or what? LOL. That one I'll unveil one day in the new year as it's related to my new word for 2024.

I'm pleased with it so far. I made baked chips on two occasions. The first time they weren't so good but after I figured out how to use it (I don't read instructions, lol), the chips were much better.  DH was so surprised that he didn't notice any difference in taste.

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.

🎄🎅🤶