Monday, November 30, 2020

Wow! It is the last day of November. How was your Thanksgiving and your (hopefully) long weekend? Ours went by too quickly as they always do! I am linking up with Heather, Tanya, etc. right here.

I had school Monday and Tuesday and my kids were home from college so they did their thing while I taught in the basement.

Wednesday they had orthodontist appointments – still needing to wear the old retainer at night to keep the work their braces did. They got braces at the end of 8th grade and had them off before junior year I think.

I kept the Thanksgiving mantel and fall decor up until Thanksgiving day but I was chomping at the bit to switch it out. I started putting it away Thanksgiving night.

Wednesday was a nasty rainy day and I just enjoyed no school and hanging with the boys. We got Mexican takeout for dinner and watched t.v. together.

Thanksgiving morning I went to the patio and watched some of the virtual Macy’s parade on the ipad.

I went to the little bbq place to pick up our meal. Tom took a long bike ride and then did lots of chores with our renovation and the leaves this weekend. He also chopped some wood for the fire.

Then, I started drinking my apple cider mimosa when I got home. So good – I think I like it better than a normal mimosa.

More parade while I made french toast. Our plan was to eat around 4 so big breakfast and Thanksgiving meal. If you don’t have an electric griddle, I really recommend it. It is great for pancakes, french toast, grilled cheese, etc.

Throughout the day I just read and piddled and cooked a few things to go with our meal.

I made deviled eggs – only 6 because it was just the four of us and Mason doesn’t like them. Jack loves them.

And I made homemade cranberry sauce but I think I’m the only one who had any! I was also thinking I could strain it and use for a cocktail? Or I can try to make a cranberry simple syrup with the leftover cranberries I didn’t use.

I also made corn.

And, I heated up Sister Schubert’s yeast rolls which we all love.

So, we had mashed potatoes, green beans, turkey from the bbq place. Their stuffing was bad so I made Stove Top brand which I had on hand and…

I also made macaroni and cheese.

We had a nice meal at the table and our kids were appreciative of it just being the four of us and doing the “right thing”. They are very conscientious of the rules for Covid set by the governor and by their college. Their college has asked them to be responsible over break so that they can come back on campus for the second semester.

I had Costco pumpkin pie in the freezer – I sliced and wrapped individually and put in a container – but I am really the only one who likes it. So, I did something different and made a S’mores platter for dessert.

It was nice. Tom and I stayed out the longest and watched a show by the fire. One of the best things we did back in the spring is buy a WIFI extender so that we have strong WIFI on the patio and can enjoy streaming shows there. After the fire, I got a second wind and put up all of the Christmas. I decided to do just the skinny pencil tree in the family room this year so we don’t have to move furniture (except our side table) and I haven’t done ornaments yet, but I like the lights the most.

Black Friday morning I got to enjoy the lights with my coffee.

Over the weekend I have been watching this cute show.

Friday around noon, Mason, Tom, and I went to this little Christmas market at a nearby shopping center. Jack didn’t want to go.

We bought a charcuterie box to snack on later.

The rest of the day we just did some chores and hung out. The kids are enjoying spending time together playing video games and watching YouTube videos I think. They also have some papers and assignments due before their finals.

Around 5:30, we headed to the country for the art walk/light show you may remember me talking about in October. I thought the kids would like it, too. Before we ate at the restaurant and then did it after eating, but you can also just go without eating in their restaurant.

The farm where the restaurant and art walk are located:

Masked up and ready – We were the only ones for most of the walk and took our masks off. Mason found this old ski jacket at a vintage store and is loving it.

Your “ticket” is a glow bracelet.

It was fun and I think they enjoyed it! They had lots of inside jokes and it was good to get out in the crisp air. There just isn’t much to do right now! I think it will take lots of creativity this holiday season.

We stopped at Dairy Queen and got ice cream for after dinner and went home and had leftovers.

And, we watched some shows as a family and then everyone did their own thing. I have been so tired and going to bed around 9:30 most nights. I have been sleeping in until 7, too! It’s been really good for me to be off my wake up, log on, stare at computer all day routine.

Saturday morning I couldn’t wait to get back to my book I started Friday. Are you a Nicholas Sparks fan? Dude can write a story, in my opinion. I sadly finished it Saturday afternoon. I recommend it. I am going back to Louisiana Lucky but it is moving slowly for me.

Saturday was super lazy. It was nice and sunny out so I got some vitamin D and I finally captured a photo of the squirrel eating our pumpkin. So cute!

Late Saturday afternoon I went to Target for a return and to just look around.

Saturday night Tom and I met our friends on a patio. Our boys were happy to eat orange chicken and salad at home and have some time without us.

I tried a cocktail called a Ginger Snap. It was lemony and very gingery and kind of tasted like a Hall’s honey lemon cough drop. It was nice to see our friends and hear about everyone’s Thanksgiving.

And, now it is Sunday morning and it is time to pay the piper. I have so much work to do to get ready for the week. I have also had recommendations to write for students and I did two of them Friday morning. I have one more to write today, along with making handouts for classes and making Google Slide presentations for classes. These next 3 weeks before winter break will be intense. In some ways, it feels like it should already be winter break!

If you are still there, thanks for reading! I hope you had a wonderful holiday despite the limitations this year.

Amy