Something For Sunday

I just love looking at Christmas trees and decor. Here are some of my favorites this year:

I adore tons of pillows. The guys in the family--not so much!

If we were celebrating at the beach, I could really get in to this color palette!

Another beautiful beachy scene.

This is pretty awesome if you don't have room for a tree. I hope it's all fake. Otherwise it seems like ti could be a fire hazard. I can't figure out what all that stuff in front of the hearth is. Looks like rocks. 

The pillows💖💖💖

Gorgeous!

That rug! Swoon!!

So I find that I am partial to the red rooms. Personally I've had many different colors and decor types over the past 53 years. But ever since I got a flocked tree--probably 10 years ago--I've always done it in red because that's about the only ornaments that would show up on it. I had it in the living room until Covid in 2020. We didn't get a live tree that year, so just moved the artificial to the family room. I have never looked back! Love it so much.

I took a page out of Sandy's book and just added more red! All my pillows are from Walmart and very cheap!

About three years ago, I decided to use all red for wrapping too. I'd love to have that rug above, but then there would be the hassle of changing it out (hmm maybe I could just put it on top) and then storing it. I think I'll leave well enough alone!

What does your tree look like?

Scrapbook Saturday

Friday Funnies

This is just like the stuffing/dressing debate. Where I'm from, it's pe-caaan and dressing!

Ten Things Thursday

                        

I love this sentiment! 

How clever is this? Great idea if you have to take an appetizer.

Now on to the dessert charcuteries:

This is for a fun hot chocolate bar. I love those little santa mugs.

They are all so beautiful! 

I'm not even baking cookies this year. By the time the rest of the family brings their home-baked goodies, we have enough. I am a cookie lover and do not need to have them around! Still, it's kind of sad that we no longer have our traditional "family baking day!" I miss the fun, but definitely not the mess!

What I Buy Wednesday

Well, it's time to start thinking about groceries! Don't wait until the last minute or you might not be able to find your favorites.

You are not going to believe this, but believe it or not--it took me two and a half hours--yes, 2.5 hours to plan the 10 food "events" coming up that I need to cook for. All that time was in planning what to fix, pulling recipes, making the grocery list, checking the sales, dividing the sales list between Publix (me) and Kroger (Butch), and checking the pantry. 

Whew, it was a lot, but now I feel on top of things.

Monday was my first shopping foray. I always like to get the non-perishibles a couple weeks ahead. I don't like grocery shopping. I put it off until I need so much that I have to do it. Butch fills in the gaps. He tends to like going--or I should say, errands that get him out of the house. He can't sit still for long.

Anyway, I stopped on the way home from our "Monday movie"--side note: "Bonhoeffer, Pastor, Spy, Assassin" is so good--and a true story. Definitely worth seeing if you like WWII period pieces. He's considered one of 10 modern martyrs. I don't know who the other 9 are and didn't look it up--but I will. Ahhh, I digress--doesn't take much!

Back to the grocery store. I'm starting to be confused with all of the choices. How do you choose? Low sodium, unsalted, fat free, and gluten free (I still don't even know what gluten is). I just want the regular old packaging. I want the regular old stuff. I can no longer tell what is the closest to the original. Case in point: I needed cream of chicken soup. Since when are there so many types? 

So how am I supposed to know which is the closest to the original? I don't want my recipe messed up. Same with the Cream of Mushroom soup.

I ended up just getting the "heart healthy" for both. But, does that mean I need to add extra salt to the recipe? It only contains half the salt. Shouid I add more?

It's a quandry for sure. And I'm sure there are more decisions to come as I finish up shopping next week. We'll see how it goes.

P.S. When making your list, don't forget the extra things you might need: foil, saran wrap, toilet paper, kleenex, spices and condiments or any other staples that we tend to take for granted.

November by the Numbers

Well, I'm quite late posting my "numbers" list. There are several things on it worth noting: books to read and shows to watch. 

November by the Numbers:

Movies Seen—5

5 stars:

*****Here

*****Wicked

Books Read—8

5 stars:

The God of the Woods

We Are Completely Beside Ourselves

The Situation Room

Once We Were Brothers

Broadway Shows:

Shucked

Concerts:

The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band at the Ryman

Podcasts: 1

Lunch Out: 8

Dinner Out: 5

Documentaries/Movies/Series Streamed 

Netflix 

****The Zodiac documentary (3 episodes)

*****Focus (movie)

*****Buy Now documentary

Amazon Prime

*****The Apartment

**Bell Book and Candle

*****Mario Lanza documentary 

*****Jack Warner: the last movie mogul documentary,

Paramount +

Twilight Zone (13 ep.)

*****Larger Than Life: the rise of the boy bands—documentary

*****JFK-documentary

Listen to Me Marlon—documentary

Regular TV:

Found (6 episodes)

Trips: 3

Disney

Charleston, SC—Mother/Daughter trip

Bloomington, IL—Morgan & Olly’s--which led to Springfield and then on to 

St. Louis, MO

Scrapbook Pages Completed: 2

Bridge: 2 

Me on Monday

Well, I've said it before and now I have to say it again. I'm an idiot!

You might remember the first time I admitted to it--the day I gave Americans a bad name (all the way back in 2015--click the link to refresh your memory). Well, this time it's just me giving myself a bad name! Here's the story:

Last Wednesday, I was taking Butch to the airport. He commented that I should take my car to the carwash to wash off all the salt and dirt from our snow-filled trip in St. Louis. 

I asked him what the procedure was since we have a monthly subscription where you can take your car as often as you want. He handles it--I've only taken my car once and that was months ago. 

I pulled up and said I had the subscription---didn't have to prove it in any way. He handed me a receipt and waved me to the entrance. There was another car in front of me, so I waited until the "guy" waved me in. I rolled in until he told me to stop. 

Okay, here it is--the stupidest thing I could do: I rolled down my window to ask the "guy" if I should put my car in neutral---exactly as he started the sprayer and sprayed me right in the face! He was horrified. I was dumbfounded! Talk about embarrassing! I sort of pretended nothing had happened and asked my question. 

Luckily I carry a towel under my seat to dust my car with. I wiped myself off. No harm done. All I could think of was that I was so happy that I hadn't showered and done my hair yet! 

Still, what an idiot. I'm sure it won't be the last time! 

Oh and one last thing. It looks like anyone could get a free carwash just by saying you have the "plan." I didn't have to prove anything and no one collected the receipt!