Thursday Things

As much as I love the holiday season – and I do!! – it’s hectic. And my to do list is as long as my arm right now. There’s shopping and baking and wrapping and merrymaking and it’s good. But hectic. And so, today, you get a list of the things I’m thinking about because that’s about all the mental energy I have for the blog right now.

chocolate peppermint cupcakes for carole knits

  • I made those Chocolate Cupcakes with Peppermint Buttercream Frosting last Saturday. They were very very good. The recipe is from Tide & Thyme and you can find it here.
  • Speaking of last Saturday, it was the Kiwanis Club’s 31st Annual Christmas on the Common. As Immediate Past President of our club I was chairman of this event. It was a lot of planning and preparation and work – not just on my part but also on the part of the various committee chairs and club members. And it rained. It didn’t downpour but it was soggy and drizzly and not at all what I had hoped the day would be like. Still, the craft fair was great and the food vendors were happy. The heated tent was rocking with our very own local boy band and lots of lots of people came to see the dancing schools and school band perform. The best part, though? When it was over.
  • Yesterday I shared the new JOY! sign I bought at Target. It’s on my mantel and I love that it’s red and that it represents my One Little Word for 2014 as well as my feeling about this time of year. I’m starting to think about my One Little Word for 2015, though, and I’ve had lots of words rolling around in my head. I’d like to go with shine but I feel like it’s over used and not at all original. I have also debated light, peace, give, play and create. Right now create is the front runner but I’m not sure if it has chosen me or if I have chosen it. And I definitely want my word to choose me. So I’m waiting.
  • A few weeks ago I read an interesting and disturbing article about food waste. As someone who manages a food pantry, I am acutely aware of the widespread problem of food insecurity and the juxtaposition of food waste and food insecurity is not lost on me. I tell myself we don’t throw out a lot of food at our house but I think, in reality, that we do. So as we move into 2015 I’m going to try very hard to be aware of the food that we have, to not overpurchase, and to use what we have before it spoils.
  • I, along with 1.5 million other people, have been completely taken by the Serial podcast. It’s fascinating and intriguing and I absolutely love the theme music, too. This past week I discovered the Slate Serial Spoiler Specials podcast – a podcast about a podcast, if you will. I love listening to this because it’s like having a conversation with a bunch of people about what I just heard on Serial. So, do you think Sarah Koenig is going to drawn any definitive conclusions about this case? Or do you think it’s going to end on a we-will-never-know note?
  • My friend Bob has been in remission from his stage IV pancreatic cancer since early last September. Today he is going in for a PET scan to see how things are. I’m nervous and scared and really really hoping that things are still good. I’d appreciate any good thoughts, prayers and healing energy you could send his way. Thanks.

 

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This Post Has 16 Comments

  1. You are so right about food waste. When I made the decision to really work on that I learned a couple of useful things. For expensive ingredients (hello, fresh herbs) I make sure I have a plan to use them up or save them till I can. Which brings me to the next one, you can freeze almost anything. Sometimes you have to be creative in how you use the froze bits but it makes a big difference in waste and your grocery bills.

  2. Yummy looking cupcakes!
    I throw away a lot of food….I need to learn to do a better job of planning for 2 people.
    Thoughts and prayers for your friend, Bob.

  4. It IS a hectic time!!! So glad your Big Event was a great success (and now . . . OVER!), those cupcakes look divine, food waste (I read that article, too) is something I’m paying much more attention to now, and I will be sending all positive juju Bob’s way today. (Those PET scans are so nerve-wracking …) As for your word . . . it will come! (And – my word was “shine” three words ago. I LOVED having hat word so much. . . Just sayin.)

  5. Sending positive thoughts to your friend Bob! This week is my overly hectic week, but after that I can relax. Shine is a perfect word for you, but so are all the others you listed.

  6. You’re thinking about some interesting and varied things! I’ve been caught up in Serial also, but I think we will never know. It’s also bothering me more and more that Hae and her family’s pain are not often mentioned. I know Adnan is the focus, but I think about Hae and her loved ones when I listen. I’m sending many positive thoughts and prayers for Bob.

  7. I hear you on the food waste. We are awful with that and it really needs to change. I have been thinking of the one word too and Peace keeps coming up. We shall see where that leads. I am praying for Bob and holding positive thoughts for great results.

  8. Keeping positive thoughts for Bob. Even after five clear years for my husband, I still stress out big time when he has to have a Pet scan! Not fun. And hoping the stress diminishes for you as much as possible. I love this season for many reasons, but I hate the stress of it and I find each year I do less and less. Easier, but less festive. I think my word for 2015 might be acceptance–mostly of getting older!

  9. I’m considering OLW for 2015. I’d considered it a couple of years ago but didn’t go through with it. I’ve got a little area in Dan’s room where I could possibly spread my wings. Prayers for Bob today, I remember seeing my Mom’s PET results. Powerful images. And Serial…on the phone just not in the ears yet…can’t wait to get on the bus!

  10. Thanks to you, I’m thinking of a word too – but instead of settling on one, my list keeps getting longer! We started really focusing on food waste when our garden started producing food – we didn’t want to waste one precious hard-fought morsel (we’re organic and the bugs fought back!) It helped to put all my little bits of leftovers in glass containers so I could see what was in the fridge, and to think outside the box – now my breakfast is occasionally made from leftovers, or I toss everything into a soup. Between that and our aggressive recycling and composting and switching to a better cat litter, we’re down to one garbage bag a week. And thanks for the reminder – I need to send a Food Bank donation this week.

  12. Maybe that is a bit of the reason I dread the Christmas season…it is hectic. I don’t like hectic. We are keeping it simple this year

  14. three thoughts on these things: 1. Keeping Bob and Tina in my prayers; appreciate all the updates…and hoping for answered prayers! 2. smiling about your OLW and thoughts for 2015; so happy with the joy you’ve found in 2014. and 3. Serial. oh my. one episode to go and I can’t imagine it’s going to get wrapped up into any neat kind of package.

  15. Lot’s of good thoughts in all of your comments
    Food waste is out of control
    Many prayers for your friend Bob
    Those cupcakes are amazing!
    My word for 2015 has been embraced. 😉

    I hope you had a peaceful weekend!

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