Happy Monday! I hope you are ready to make it a good week. I’m choosing to push forward in the midst of these uncertain times and try to make the most of each day. There are a couple of big things happening this week that I can’t write about in detail here because they involve other people and are also personal. If you think of me, would you pray about these two things? The Lord knows what they are. Please ask for wisdom for those involved and good outcomes. Thank you.
Feeding the Birds
Each spring, the Serviceberry tree in front of our home is covered with bright red berries. The Cedar Waxwings come and feast on them. After that, we rarely see those particular birds again until the next June.
Last week I saw three or four of them around again and wondered what had changed. Then over the weekend there was a flock of them devouring the berries on our neighbors’ large burning bush tree in their backyard. We’ve lived here nine years and have never seen them do this. We made a point of adding raisins to our large tray feeder (like this platform bird feeder) in hopes of keeping them around. We had already switched to a different bird seed mix (like this Kaytee Nut and Fruit mix) in that large tray that includes berries (something Cedar Waxwings like). I haven’t seen one on there yet, but I’m keeping my eyes open. Cedar Waxwings are such lovely birds. It would be nice to see them all year which is entirely possible according to the Audubon Cedar Waxwing page.
David added the heater to the birdbath in the front of the house a few days ago (like this bird bath heater). The birds don’t like it when we first put it in there and we see far less birds once it goes in. But when the really cold temperatures come and they are looking for fresh water, they don’t mind it and come flocking back.
Thanksgiving
We’ll be at home with just the three of us this year. Our plans tend to be simple since we are only cooking for David and Caroline. We use an organic chicken because then I can eat it as well, but I can’t eat any of the other things I make for them. I need to make sure we have a chicken so David needs to start checking at Meijer to get one for us. Caroline says as long as she gets the Midwest Sausage Stuffing, she is happy.
So today I’m going to sit down and determine what we still need for our meal right down to checking all my spices and such. I don’t dare put it off any longer. We are already seeing some panic buying in our state again. This year has already been hard on Caroline. The least I can do is make sure she gets her Thanksgiving stuffing.
Christmas
I’m also starting to work on Christmas things a bit. I found our Christmas cards online from the Current Catalog. I’ll be ordering those today. I need to send David to the post office to pick up some Christmas stamps.
I checked our wrapping paper supply and we have plenty. I’ve asked David and Caroline for wish lists and they both gave me a few ideas. David mostly needs practical things (clothes, socks, etc.). Not very exciting, but he really doesn’t need or even want anything else. Same with Caroline. All of her technology has been updated this year. We’ve made sure to keep her stocked with art supplies. Most of the things we “need” as a family aren’t Christmas gift type things. This makes it hard because I truly enjoy giving gifts, but it makes no sense to buy gifts just for the sake of buying gifts.
We did venture out to Hobby Lobby last week and purchased a variety of canvas bags in different sizes and shapes that Caroline wanted to make gifts for people in her life, including some children she is working with as a volunteer. So she has that to occupy some of her time right now. I don’t know if you’ve been in Hobby Lobby recently, but their Christmas merchandise this year is wonderful. So many lovely designs. It would have been very easy to fill a few shopping carts!
Praying for Our Country
I am spending a lot of time praying for my country. I hope you are keeping yourself informed of what is going on.
We are truly in a Constitutional crisis and I am shocked by how many people have no idea that this country is literally hanging by a thread when it comes to the upholding of the Constitution. I’m not trying to be melodramatic or overstate it. It really is that serious if you are closely following what is happening. If you think the election is final or these investigations about the voting fraud are only about President Trump not wanting to admit defeat, you are sorely misinformed.
So what is going on in your world this week? What kinds of plan are you making for Thanksgiving this year?
Simple Living This Week No. 46 – Around Our Home, Purging Conservatives Online, Homemaking
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This week I’m working on potty training a child (which is going amazingly well so far), organizing the broom closet to get all the swimming suits and towels out of the way, and starting to think about what I can realistically accomplish this holiday season.
Hello Sallie;
Thank you for sharing. The pictures you add are a delight to my eyes! They add just the right “cheer me up” each time, 8-).
I will cover your loved ones and you in prayer Sallie.
My goals for the week:
1- biblical history to suppliment God’s soul food, each day.
2-do my quick clean list most days.
3-try a few new recipes. Meal prep for the work crew is finished for the season.
4-continue to add a few things to our emergency stash.
5-possibly start a shelf to shelf purge of learning material that are not needed anymore.
6-continue to read through my book collection. I just finished reading The Missing, Michael Rosen out loud. Such a deeply sad and moving book it is short but so easy to understand.
Birdie
Hi Sallie!
I will be sure to pray for you and your situations this week!
Your Midwest sausage stuffing sounds so much like the stuffing my mother has always made. I always request lots of extra because it’s my favorite leftover! I have never heard of anyone else doing it this way, but my mom forms it into patties and bakes it, so it’s served in patties for Thanksgiving dinner, then you slice one of the leftover patties to put on your turkey sandwich the next day. It’s also perfect for swiping a patty and eating it cold, with your fingers, as you walk past the fridge. LOL
For this year, I’m hoping to get together with my Mom and Dad for Thanksgiving. I know Mom will be up for it, but Dad has been fearful of COVID since this all started and we are seeing an upswing in cases, making him even more nervous. I did order a dinner from a local catering company, and will fill in with extra stuffing and pies.
I’m glad to hear you were able to get out to Hobby Lobby! It’s always a fun trip with lots of beautiful things to see. I gave up sending out Christmas cards long ago, so that’s not something on my radar. I’m usually a stickler about getting through Thanksgiving before allowing ANY Christmas, but this year, we’ve already been listening to Christmas music. 🙂
Have a great week!
Amanda
We ordered our turkey last week. We ordered the rest of the trimmings,etc and it will be delivered Thursday. We do not have a car so groceries are ordered on line. We have done most of our Christmas shopping on line. I ordered a lot from Current. There prices are reasonable. We do not have a Hobby Lobby near our neighborhood. We are in the process of mailing our Thanksgiving cards. We like to give each other books for Christmas. We are big readers and have a large collection of books. Marion loves our stuffing more than any thing for Thanksgiving. We use our maternal grandmother’s stuffing. It is similar to the stuffing in “An Old Fashioned Thanksgiving ” by Louisa May Alcott. It is just the three of us. Marion and Marilyn are twins and Joan is our older sister.We are praying for our country. it is a sad and scary time. Wishing you,David and Caroline a Blessed Thanksgiving. God Bless.
Joan,Marion and Marilyn
Joan,Marion and Marilyn
I need to talk with my family and figure out what we’re doing this year. I don’t know if we’re going to get together as a family or not.
I need to get back into planning specific goals for the week. This fall I got out of the habit.
I’ll be praying for your family. Pray for mine, my son and I were in an accident yesterday, fairly minor, but he was driving, and so it really shook him. We’re both pretty sore right now.