Monday, December 4, 2017

Happy Homemaking Monday - December 4, 2017

Today I'm joining Sandra at Diary of a Stay at Home Mom
and all the sweet ladies of 
Happy Homemaking Monday!

Note: This post includes affiliate links.


Good Morning, Sweet Ladies! Happy First Monday of December! 😊 

What a wild (or should I say boring) week last week turned out to be. Sick all week...didn't do much of anything...read...watched a few Christmas movies on Youtube and Amazon. Missed another day of work on Friday. Then, turned around Saturday and put in a 15-hour day at Watkins Woolen Mill State Park and Historic Site. Came home super tired, but feeling better than I had all week. Praise the Lord!

John and I went and did our shopping for family Christmas yesterday...well...most of it anyway. I think we still need to get something for the little bitty guys, but, other than that, I think we're done. (Now...this is just for family Christmas coming up on Saturday. There is still much to be done once we get beyond the 9th.)

Since I didn't do much this past week, there's really not a lot to share, so let's get right on with the week ahead...shall we? 


Right now I am...

Working on this blog post, enjoying the Christmas lights and garland twinkling and sparkling on the little tree in the corner, and listening to the wind moan as it whips around the corner of the house.

On the breakfast plate...

Hot tea, egg-white and cheese omelet with turkey sausage. (I cook the sausage patty first, then cut it up into little squares and add it right into the cooked omelet.) 

The weather...

The weather over the weekend was beautiful! Highs in the 60's and 70's...in DECEMBER! 😲BUT...all that's fixin' to change! Today's not supposed to be too bad...mid-60's for the high...windy, with the chances of thunderstorms increasing throughout the day, but, then...the bottom falls out. Highs in the 30's most days with lows in the teens and 20's. We might even see a little snow on Friday. (Yeah!!!!) ⛄

On my reading pile...

Am still reading in the same books as last week
and am making progress in all of them. 
We have also added Unwrapping the Names of Jesus Advent Devotional
by Asheritah Ciuciu as part of our Advent study this year.
The book reading is okay, but her choice of scripture readings
are fantastic. We just take it over to the KJV. 


On the menu this week...

I never did get around to filling last week's menu plan in. We just snacked and munched on whatever we wanted most of the week. I'm feeling better now and hope to get back on track with regular meals this week. Although, with family Christmas coming up this week, I don't know how "regular" meals will be, but we'll see! 

- Monday - Guatemalan red beans and rice
- Tuesday - turkey burgers and oven-baked sweet potato fries
- Wednesday - something simple...soup, salad, and sandwich or leftovers maybe
- Friday - salmon, baked potatoes, and steamed broccoli
- Saturday -  family Christmas (John and I are taking chicken chowder soup and Italian Christmas cookies; am excited to find out what the others end up bringing) 
- Sunday - leftovers

On my to do list....

- Monday - 
plan week ahead, make lists, do weekly "home blessing"laundry
- Tuesday - sort and wrap gifts, do as much prep work as possible ahead of time for Saturday
- Wednesday - go for allergy testing in Springfield (more about that later); finish last minute Christmas shopping for the grands
- Thursday - go caroling at nursing home with dd, grands, and their church group, bake cookies for Saturday
- Friday - work; company coming for the weekend
- Saturday - family Christmas
- Sunday - church

In the craft basket...

Nothing at the moment.

My favorite blog post this week...

I love this gal's site! It's call The 1940's Experiment. This is her latest post...

How Cheaply Could A Person Live On WWII Food Rationing?

Looking forward to this week...

Spending time with our children, their spouses, and our grandchildren. 

From the camera...

Christmas on the Farm at Watkins Woolen Mill State Park and Historic Site was a huge success this year! The super nice weather is being credited for bringing out record numbers in attendance.

Visitors to the site walked from the visitor center down a long,
beautiful, and leaf-strewn lane to the Watkins home. 

Old-fashioned lamps lit the visitor's pathway
as they made their way to the house.

A long line of visitors kept forming outside the
Watkins home, as each person awaited their chance to
experience what Christmas was like in the mid-1800's.

The grand staircase leads to the master bedroom
 and a guest room on the second floor.

A view of the foyer below from the second-story landing.

The Christmas tree in the parlor. 🎄
One of the bedrooms on the second floor.
The dining-room table set for a fine Christmas feast. 
The dining-room table centerpiece consisted of
fresh fruit, greenery, and ribbons. 🍎🍊🍏

Father Christmas gifted each visitor with the traditional gift
of a fresh orange...a rare treat, indeed, in the 1850's. 🍊

Each visitor was treated to cookies that had been
baked in the oven of the on-site wood stove...

...as well as a cup of steaming hot wassail.

John and I in period clothing. My job was to hold a lantern
at the bottom of the stairs that lead up to the children's
bedrooms; his was to assist visitors moving them
through from the kitchen and out onto the back porch.


The biggest event of the evening is the lighting of the plum pudding. Here, our 
daughter, Amanda holds the pudding, while Luke (a volunteer from another state park)
 is chosen to light it. One plum pudding is lit every hour on the hour throughout 
the event. Amanda explains that in order to light correctly everything must be 
just right...the pudding has to be the right temperature, the brandy has to be 
right temperature, even the humidity comes into play. This night...four puddings 
were lit and every single one of them lit beautifully! Great job, Amanda! 😊


Scripture Passage...


Well, Ladies, that's it for this week. I pray that each and every one of you have a wonderful week ahead and that the Lord's blessings are many. 

Until next time...
~Rebecca

Today I'm joining Sandra at Diary of a Stay at Home Mom and all the sweet ladies of Happy Homemaking Monday!

12 comments:

  1. I love your photos from the historic site - love places like that. I hope to make it up to Colonial Williamsburg this holiday season.

    Don't menu plans seem to work out that way - you have the best intentions but life gets in the way!

    Have a great week.

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    1. Thanks for stopping in, Pamela! I love historic sites, too. Thus far, have never been further east than Alton, Illinois. Someday I need to go visit all the history-rich spots on the east side of our nation. Have a blessed week ahead! And thanks for stopping in! <3

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  2. Wow, love the photos of the home tour! Gorgeous! I gave up on trying to plan menus.. It just happens at our house!!!Just be looking at your book list I can tell we believe alike... I so wish our pastor did as well.. Denominations and pastors need to stop the tribalism and get with the Truth of His Word!!!This world needs the Spirit!!

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    1. Ahhh! I love you, Schotzy! Amen! The Truth of God's Word and what each of us chooses to do with it is all that's going to matter in the end. Have a blessed week ahead! <3

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  3. Thanks for stopping by! I'm so glad that you are feeling better. Being sick is not fun at all!

    Colletta

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    Replies
    1. Thanks, Colletta! I'm glad I'm feeling better, too! Have a blessed week ahead! <3

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  4. How fun my husband and I would love to do this.

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    Replies
    1. It's a lot of fun, Kim! Have a blessed week ahead! <3

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  5. I enjoyed all the pictures of Watkins Mill! Looks like such a fun event. I'll have to file it in my memory bank for next year, is it an annual event? Hope you have a great week ahead and wonderful early Christmas celebration with your family.

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    Replies
    1. Yes, first Saturday of December every year, Jean. Would be so nice if you could make it next year. Thanks for the well wishes for the early Christmas. I'm looking forward to it. Have a blessed week, my friend! <3

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  6. What a fun house to visit! That spiral staircase is amaing!! Have a great week!!

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