Smells Cozy

I made up a simmer pot today and my house smells so delicious right now. 

We had a little rain last night, but the clouds have moved on and it’s a sunny, blue sky. Not even truly coat weather. I put my coat on to go to the grocery store and was way too warm. We will be having record warmth this week and it’s definitely not going to be a white Christmas. I’m kind of bummed about the mild winter, so I’m making up for it by making my house cozy. Spicy smells, lights, candles, fireplace on my tv…whatever it takes. I’m enjoying lighting up the dark as we get to the shortest day of the year. 

I did what is hopefully my last grocery shopping before the holidays and picked up some books from the library. I will be going to work on Monday and Tuesday and then I’m off for 2 days for Christmas. Then I’m working from home the last week of the year. I don’t know why I think I’m going to have time to read, but that’s kind of what I’m planning when I’m not with my family. A little readathon by myself. Plus, I have puzzles and plans to make soup. And I’d like to take some time on the 26th and 27th to clean out my closets and bookshelves. Just seems like a good thing to do at the end of the year. Ha ha ok, I may not get as much reading done as I tell myself I want to do. But that’s ok. 

Done!

I got up early this morning and went shopping. I was at Target at 7:11 am. I hate going to that section of town during the holidays, but there was very little traffic that early. I finished all my Christmas shopping and then picked up groceries on my way home. 

It’s now 11: 00 am and all the gifts are wrapped, the cards are filled out, and everything is under the tree. I am ready for Christmas. I also took a family name from Utah Kids Foundation this year and their presents are purchased (most of it was done before my trip) and I’ll be dropping them off to the mom tomorrow after church. I’m praying that they like the toys and the clothes and shoes fit. It was a fun thing to do this year. 

I’ve started my laundry and need to do some dishes and practice the hymns for church tomorrow. I’ve done a lot already today. LOL I feel a nap might be in my future. 

I’m still deciding what to do for neighbor gifts this year. I’ve been cutting out a lot of the sugar I was eating and so I haven’t bought any of the Christmas junk food from the grocery store. I’m not sure I want to make cookies this year. I guess if I give most or all of them away, it won’t be a big deal. I just didn’t want to stuff myself on them. Although, I’ve been doing pretty good with the sugar for the most part. I’ve got some treats and a Dr. Pepper planned for Christmas Day, but I’ve been trying not to go overboard. I suppose one other day of eating a few cookies won’t kill me in the long run, but still. So still deciding about that one. If the neighbors don’t get something from me this year, they just don’t. 

Europe Travels

So this year when I turned 50, I knew I wanted to do something to celebrate in a big way, but didn't know what that was. Then I saw this trip listed on the WTT website and decided this was it. I loved going to the Christmas markets in Germany and Austria with mom in 2018 so seeing them in 4 countries seemed like a good idea, and 3 of the countries were completely new to me. 

I left the day after Thanksgiving and flew to Switzerland to meet up with the group. I upgraded myself to premium with my miles on the flight from JFK to ZHR and I think I will be doing that in the future the next time I go on a long flight. It was nice to have more space. I actually fell asleep for a couple hours. 

Zurich was fun and I did enjoy our ferry boat ride on Lake Zurich. The Christmas markets were almost entirely food stalls. I did eat a good sausage and Nutella empanada though. 

Limmat river

The next stop was in Basel, Switzerland. I can't say that I had any strong impressions of Basel. Where the Christmas market was, looked like a European town. 

Rhine river

Then we journeyed into France. Our first stop was the Museum of Printed Fabrics in Mulhouse, and I must say that I would have never chosen that type of museum but it was absolutely fascinating and I loved it. We had a private tour, which is another thing I wouldn't have gotten on my own. I bought a Christmas ornament in their gift shop with is just a ball printed with a fabric pattern they have in the museum. 

Then we headed to the Christmas market at Colmar and this was by far my favorite market of the bunch we saw. Very old European, traditional looking. I bought a few more ornaments here. They are wooden circles with pictures of old fashioned Christmas scenes on them. 

After our stop at Colmar, we made it to Strasbourg, where we stayed for 2 nights. I did enjoy Strasbourg as well, but it was very crowded and a very popular place to be at Christmas. The church was beautiful and it was nice to see something besides a market. LOL  Strasbourg has a lot of the half timber houses that look like they are leaning a bit from old age, and it was fun to see them. 

Then we left France and went to Luxembourg. I was excited for this one because it's not a country (or city) I would have ever chosen to stop at on my own. I loved it. The city is beautiful. During our walking tour, I got to hear all about their history, which was great for my history loving self. 

Bock Casemates - WWII tunnels

Palace of the Duchy

And after Luxembourg, our final stop was in Brussels. It was a big city and while the markets were fun, I didn't have any strong impressions, other than construction and traffic, and by that time I was ready to sleep in my own bed. I did bring back a lot of chocolate and ended up with a great bowl of pho one night. 

Besides, all the different countries and Christmas markets, I also took a macaroon class to see how they were made. That class included tasting and taking home some delicious macaroons (which I ate along the way since they don’t stay good for that long). We did a chocolate class in Belgium, which I wouldn’t exactly call a class. We didn’t learn much about chocolate but we got to fill molds with chocolate to make our own to take home, which was fun. I have no idea what I’m going to do with all that chocolate, since I also bought so much. Terrible problem to have, and I’m sure the kids will eat it. 

All things considered, it was a pretty good trip. 

I'm Home

I've spent the last 10 days in Europe and now I'm home. I'll have to put some details here later, but for now this will do. 

I went to Switzerland, France, Luxembourg, and Belgium. The stops in France (Milhouse, Colmar and Strasbourg) and Luxembourg (Luxembourg City) were my favorite. 

Now I'm home again and sick. LOL at least it waited until I got home to feel actually sick. I've lost my voice and have a terrible cough. And a few sinus problems. I don't feel great, but not truly terrible either. 

Luxembourg on a misty morning. 

Here It Comes

It’s been such a nice day. Today was the day my sister and I picked out our poinsettias at a local greenhouse. Even though I already had 2 small ones from our trip to the bigger nursery last weekend, I bought 6 more. Ha ha I’m not keeping all of them, but they are such beautiful plants and there are so many varieties. I also love the original deep red ones, so I just decide not to choose between the different ones. Much. :)  Truly, this is when the holiday season begins for me: when I have poinsettias in my home. 

I also ran some errands and picked up some groceries. I had a gift card to See’s Candies so I stopped by and spent it. My contribution to Thanksgiving dinner is rolls and chocolate!  Next week is my staycation and Monday is my big shopping trip with my sisters. I’ll see if I can’t get most of my presents bought on that day. Plus, I picked up a family from Utah Kids Foundation and I’m getting some gifts for them as well. My sisters are pitching in with that, which is nice of them. I just felt like I needed to do a little more this year. 

I haven’t exactly decided when to put up my tree, and I keep thinking I should just get it out and set it up so at least it’s ready to be decorated. Knowing me, that’s what I’ll be doing at bedtime tonight. 

Now if only it would rain and snow! We’ve got some snow in the mountains but I’d like to have a white Christmas. 

November 15

It’s been unseasonably warm recently, but I’ve been loving the late fall feeling. All the leaves on the ground and dark nights, even if it isn’t terribly cool. Not really sure what I’ve been up to, but I haven’t actually read a new book all the way through yet this month. I’m close to finishing a book, and I’ve done some re-reading, but it just wasn’t a good month for new reads. That’s ok. I’ll be going on a trip in a few weeks and will load up my kindle.

My sister and I got out this weekend and went to our new Trader Joe’s and favorite nursery. We’ll be going to our usual place for poinsettias next weekend as well. We have the primary program tomorrow and then that will be over with too. The year is really winding down. 

Since I turned 50 this year, I knew I wanted to take a big trip but wasn’t sure where to go and was browsing the website of the tour group I used before and found another Christmas market trip to countries I’ve never been to so I signed myself up.So that’s coming up in a few weeks and I’m getting excited. Still a little too early to pack and all that, but I need to start doing a little research for the downtime they give us. I’m looking forward to Thanksgiving. Because of my other trip, I’m not taking the entire week off, but still going to do a girls shopping trip the Monday before. Then my sister, Anna, is hosting this year so she gets to cook the turkey. I volunteered for rolls, no surprise there. About 6 weeks left in 2025 and I’m looking forward to them. My only wish is for a lot of rain and snow. 

One Week Later

I spent this past week in North Carolina. It's nice there this time of year. A bit warmer than we are here and the humidity is manageable. When I looked out my window this morning in the daylight,  I couldn't believe the difference a week makes. My trees are now almost entirely yellow/red and dropping leaves. Only a few green leaves remain. Many trees have dropped all their leaves completely. 

It was a long week; it always is when I travel for work. I ran into a few co-workers Monday evening in the hotel and went to dinner with them, which I rarely do. I prefer to relax after traveling all day. It was fun to catch up with them though. Then as an extra activity, a bunch of us purchased tickets to the musical Six which was playing in downtown (or what they call uptown) Charlotte on Tuesday evening. I had missed it when it came here and I liked it more than I thought I would. I can see myself listening to the soundtrack one of these days when I'm looking for some Broadway musicals to listen to. Then on Thursday we went to Game Show Battle Rooms and had a team activity. I though it was going to be awful and ended up having a good time. And then work and meetings during the days. 

I'm now ready for a slower paced weekend. Family dinner is at my house on Sunday so I'll be praying for patience and itching to clean up after everybody leaves, but that's ok. I bought apples and will be making instant pot applesauce in the next few days. I love it. I think tonight calls for book and cozy blanket.