The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

Christmas Eve is in only 2 more sleeps.  :)

These next several days are some of my favorites.  School is out, which lowers stress all around. Finals are behind us, hooray, celebrate all A's for all three kids!  We have very few outside commitments.  It is time to bake, play games, watch movies, be creative, and wrap gifts.  I love having everyone home!!  

At our house, Christmas Eve day is an extravaganza spent at my parent's home followed by a trip to church on the way home. Christmas day we get up, open our gifts, and then drive 3 hours to Jeff's mom's house for more food, family, and fun.  We are so very blessed.

So, these days before the festivities are to begin take on a preciousness all of their own.  There is the added joy of anticipation.  There is the simple pleasure from quieter times.  For me, these are the best days of the season.

Let's Get Perking

As it happens often, I find myself rediscovering an old treasure, when faced with necessity.  Just last week, we happened to have a sample of this amazing coffee while out shopping one evening.

Problem is that we no longer own a coffee maker and this coffee doesn't come in the coffee pod we need.  And, I had to have some of this coffee because it is just that yummy.  So, I went home empty-handed yet determined to find a way.  Should we buy a small, inexpensive drip coffee maker?  Should we get some reusable coffee pods? I weighed the pros and cons of both options and decided to order some reusable coffee pods.  In the meantime, we went back to the store and got the coffee on another trip.

That brings us to today.  I had the coffee and the pods were still on their way.  So, I decided to dig out my stovetop percolator.  This was a gift to me many years ago from my kids for camping.  Turns out we never needed to use it to make coffee.  I used it for tea water, so it was not a bad gift.  But, I never had used it for coffee, always being a bit intimidated by the process.   I mean, I love my push-button coffee maker.  We are a perfect match.  It always delivers the exact same coffee, day after day.

But, I wanted to have my yummy coffee, so I got brave.  I watched a couple YouTube videos and then gave it a try.  Of course, it worked.  I was very pleased with the results.  I do need to tweak it a little, but that will come with practice.  It was a bit strong.  I will just use less coffee next time.  Hooray!

My Favorite Webcam

I stalk a webcam.  Yes, I do. I even take screenshots, way too may screenshots.

The following are just from today.

The camera is sometimes focused closer to the beach and other times far away.  This camera is kind of like a friend to me.  It keeps me connected to an area of my state that is dear to my heart.  Tell me I am not the only one who loves a webcam?

Bonus:  this link goes to a camera on Miller Beach, Gary, Indiana   It is live!

50 Favorites Meme ... Why not?

1. your favorite way to spend a Sunday~ Church, then lunch with extended family, back home to relax until time to go back to church for youth group and a date with Jeff.  
2. your favorite outfit~Jeans and a pretty sweater
3. your favorite cookie~ Chewy snickerdoodles
4. your favorite holiday tradition~ Christmas Eve at Mom and Dad's
5. your favorite podcast~ "What Should I Read Next" by Anne Bogel
6. your favorite sound~ My kids laughing 
7. your favorite color~ Apple green
8. your favorite flower~ Sunflowers
9. your favorite book~(fiction) Can't name just one!  I love Gene Stratton Porter, Barbara Pim, LM Mountgomery, Jane Austin
10. your favorite movie~ Gone With the Wind
11. your favorite dance move ~ I don't dance
12. your favorite holiday memory~ Christmas Eve at my grandparent's
13. your favorite memory overall~ Our wedding
14. your favorite thing you’ve ever made~ ???
15. your favorite museum~ Indianapolis Children's Museum 
16. your favorite way to give~ Through church offerings
17. your favorite trip to take~ To Lake Michigan
18. your favorite person to talk to~ My mom
19. your favorite dinner to eat when it’s cold out~ Homemade soup and bread
20. your favorite quote~ Jer 29:11: For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.
21. your favorite thing to look at~ The sun setting on Lake Michigan or my cat's blue eyes
22. your favorite act of self-compassion~ Give permission to say no when needing down time
23. your favorite kind of weather~ Sunny and 60 degrees
24. your favorite poem~ Something by Elizabeth Barrett Browning
25. your favorite way to brighten your day or someone else’s~ Do something nice for them
26. our favorite time of the day~ Early morning
27. your favorite fabric~ Cotton
28. your favorite word~ Grace
29. your favorite way to practice self-care~ Make time for being home
30. your favorite place to rest~ At home on the couch 
31. your favorite photo~ My grandparent's wedding photo
32. your favorite beverage~ LaCroix
33. your favorite blog~ Like Mother, Like Daughter 
34. your favorite way to play~ At a state park
35. your favorite piece of jewelry~ My great grandmother's ring
36. your favorite work of art~ A painting my grandmother gave me that hangs in the dining room
37. your favorite dream~ ???  
38. your favorite mistake~ My cats!  
39. your favorite part of your body~  My hands 
40. your favorite topic to read about~ Getting organized 
41. your favorite gift~ New tires for our van this Christmas
42. your favorite way to feel loved~ Being noticed, treated with courtesy, treated with respect
43. your favorite way to move your body~ Ride my bike
44. your favorite song to relax to~ Jazz
45. your favorite song to dance to like no one’s watching~  Still don't dance
46. your favorite voice~ My youngest son's voice
47. your favorite holiday scent~ Pine
48. your favorite scent in general~ Baking cookies
49. your favorite thing to read when you need a pick-me-up or pep talk~ The Psalms
50. your favorite place to hang out, where you can genuinely be yourself~ HOME!!!