I was up with the sun on Saturday. A mild morning with such a fiery sky it
took my breath away for a few fleeting minutes.
Followed by scattered bird songs from around the garden, I sat down
to listen on the front porch, wrapped in a chunky cabled throw, coffee
mug in hand, hoping this would be a good day.
I picked up a lovely bunch of mixed fresh cut greenery from a nearby
garden center - today I will arrange it on the mantel and hopefully
it will remain pretty through Christmastime.
Now it's already Sunday with a little rain from the night glistening
on the shrubs and grass, but the sun breaking through and a pleasant
day reaching 68F predicted. . . . . . .perfect for me!
Yesterday this bluebird was caught showering in one of the backyard
baths - always a sweet bird to see.
Cooking this weekend included a tasty cauliflower soup - and although
not shown here, I added a teaspoon of Dijon mustard noted in a French
recipe, and it did give an extra flavor layer which was really tasty.
I also made that good spinach quiche again - it's delicious right out
of the oven but, for me, the leftover portions reheated gently are actually
my favorite when the ingredients seem even more tasty.
At long last the city leaf collection truck showed up in our
neighborhood on Friday - here they are working on our pile.
Fortunately the leaves were dry and sucked up quickly - of course
there are still more to come down but hopefully a second clean up
will happen in January.
The 'Apple Blossom' amaryllis continues to bloom - four flowers
open fully now, one more bud just beginning to open this morning.
This has been a stunner.
The old bulbs are showing a bit more green but it will be
some time before a stem and buds appear - if ever! Fingers are
crossed for them, also for the Christmas cactus which hasn't
done much despite my care in the year since I was gifted with it.
with beautiful stamps waiting in the mailbox at the end of the
driveway. So far, this year, my favorite is this one on my card
from my family in France. It's not actually a Christmas stamp but
it's a lovely illustration of the facade of Notre Dame Cathedral.
All snail mail cards are so welcome, especially with the
exorbitant cost of postage for overseas mail.
I had a health scare last week which included having to return for a
second (diagnostic 3-D) mammogram when my annual screening one
showed an abnormality. Thankfully it was determined by the radiologist
not to be anything resembling cancer - and I walked away from the
clinic feeling free and so grateful after several days of nervous thoughts.
Always have your annual check ups even if, like me, you are older.
I was going to skip my annual due to COVID and having to go
to a medical facility - thank goodness I didn't.
They can save your life!
Here's to a good week ahead for everyone.
Hope your 'different' plans for Christmas this year will go smoothly.
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