Drawing In: Number 12
Last weekend it was lovely to take some time off of social media and substack but now I have plenty to say!
Thanksgiving Week began with pie baking with Margaret’s Girl Guides group. They came over in the late afternoon and we made pie dough and filling and baked 10 pies! Each girl went home with an apple and a pumpkin pie and many happy memories.
Thursday, Friday, and Saturday were big cooking days - first for Thanksgiving and then for a bridal shower for a friend.
Sunday was First Advent and The Feast of St. Andrew so we rested and relaxed and I made Cullen Skink, a traditional Scottish Fish Stew. We always have it on St. Andrew’s Day as St. Andrew was a fisherman.
The big thing this week has been the slow moving out of summer and fall decor in favour of Advent and Winter. Monday, I went through the hutch and bins where we keep tablecloths and linens and packed the summer and fall pieces into a tote labelled Easter, Trinitytide, Lammas, Michaelmas, Martinmas. Then out came the Advent to Candlemas tote, with its more wintery and Advent oriented linens and decor:
Tuesday we had our first snow of the year! I spent a good bit of time putteringly cleaning my office, and the main drain line for the house backed up! Thankfully the water that came out of the line was drain water from the washing machine and not sewage. My plumber has a drain specialist on call and he was able to come out and remove the clog (tree roots about 70 feet from the house) enough that I can use the washer etc. He’ll be back next week to do a more thorough job when it isn’t snowing and he doesn't have a stack of emergency calls waiting.
Wednesday I hosted several mothers and their preschoolers for a Moms’ Morning Coffee.
There were four other mothers and six children and we had a lovely time to just chat and get to know each other better while the children played. I love the excuse to bring out my china and set a pretty table and am planning to do these about once a month. Local people feel free to message me for details. I think that there is so much need for spaces and times to be together and develop community through presence.
Yesterday, I spent doing some running around as well as a visit to urgent care for myself as I have been having trouble with a muscle spasm in back that wasn’t responding to any of my usual remedies. A couple of doses of muscle relaxer has put that nearly right again, thankfully, and I expect that some judicious stretching and a massage next week will have things back to normal again!
I did manage to get most of the grocery shopping done (walking was more comfortable than sitting) which I’m glad of as it is bitterly cold today (6F at the moment) and I’m not really keen on going out.
The plan for today is to clean out the fridge, do some pre-cooking, and stay warm!
I have a couple of good books to read, and need to take some planning time for the holidays and the new year.
Saturday is the Feast of St. Nicholas. I have my chocolate coins and candy canes and may try my hand at making spekulatius cookies this afternoon. Happy to have a recipe recommendation!