Happy Homemaker 2020-07-27

Good morning,

2nd week of vacation is starting today

Last week we went to see my parents and family for 3 days.  My son, ddil and grandson also came.
I also visited with one of my cousins, a work friend and my husband's cousin.  Got back home on Thursday night.
Friday we ran some errands and picked up grandson for the night.
Saturday and Sunday we had the kids over for the weekend and sleep.

Today will be resting and picking up... maybe some crafting?

Let's join Sandra at Diary of a Stay at Home Mom .

The weather (in celsius)

Mon.

27°

21°

Tue.

28°

18°

Wed.

27°

17°

Thu.

24°

17°

Fri.

24°

17°

Sat.

27°

18°

Sun.

27°

17°

Been way too hot... and seems it'll be the same all week... I'm a Fall girl, not a summer girl.

How I am feeling this morning
Body was creaking everywhere when I got up but now that I am moving, it is much better.  My throat has been getting better too, finally.

On my mind
Need to go run more errands for things I don't like... deshumidifier, doorbell, sensor light... yuck.  

On the breakfast plate
1 egg, 1 toast and a piece of cheese

On my reading pile
Last Breath de Robert Bryzna

On my tv
Good witch (season 6)
Le résident (season 1)
Mme Lebrun
Non-coupable (season 1)
Boston Legal (season 3)

On the menu this week
Lundi - 
Mardi-  
Mercredi - 
Jeudi -  
Friday - 
We will deal with it as we go as we are on vacation

From the camera

With Grandma

With Grandpa

With great-grandma

Looking around the house
Lots to do with having the house full all weekend

On my to-do list  (have made a long to-do for vacations and after vacations, so picking from that list daily)

During the weekend

• My daughter was here so she declutterd a big box of school papers
• Reorganized tupperware and basement cabinet

Today

• Post here - DONE
• Make bed, take shower, breakfast, brush teeth - DONE
• Reorganize both freezers
• 
  

To relax this week, I will  

Nap, crochet, knit and read

Quote of the week 

Christmas in July 2020 day 25 / Noël en juillet 2020 jour 25

CIJ day 25 / jour 25

Y – YULE LOG

Bûche de Noël.  When I was younger there always was a Yule Log.  It’s been quite some years now that there are other desserts instead.  When mom stopped making them we used to go to my sister’s mother in law’s house and she always had a freshly made yule log. 

Here’s a recipe for a Yule log:

https://www.delish.com/cooking/recipe-ideas/a24276998/buche-de-noel-yule-log-cake-recipe/

Yields: 8 servings

Prep Time: 0 hours 40 mins

Total Time: 3 hours 0 mins

Ingredients

For the cake

Cooking spray

6 large eggs, separated

1/2 c. all-purpose flour

1/4 c. unsweetened cocoa powder

3/4 c. granulated sugar, divided

1/4 tsp. kosher salt

Powdered sugar, for sprinkling

For the filling

1 c. heavy cream

1/2 c. powdered sugar

1 tsp. pure vanilla extract

Pinch kosher salt

For the frosting and decorating

1/2 c. (1 stick) butter, softened

2 c. powdered sugar, plus more for garnish

1/4 c. cocoa powder

1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract

2 tbsp. heavy cream

Pinch kosher salt

Chocolate curls, for garnish

Cranberries, for garnish

Small rosemary sprigs, for garnish

Directions

Preheat oven to 350°. Line a jelly roll pan with parchment paper and grease with cooking spray. In a medium bowl mix together flour, cocoa powder, and salt. 

In a large bowl beat egg yolks until thick. Slowly add ½ cup sugar and beat until pale then beat in flour mixture. 

In another large bowl beat egg whites until soft peaks form. Add remaining ¼ cup sugar a little at a time and continue to beat until stiff peaks form. Gently fold egg whites into batter in two batches.

Pour batter into prepared pan and spread into an even layer. Bake until top springs back when lightly pressed, 12 minutes. 

Dust a clean kitchen towel with powdered sugar and invert warm cake onto towel. Peel off parchment paper. 

Starting at the short end, use the towel to tightly roll cake into a log. Let cool completely. 

Make filling: In a large bowl beat together heavy cream, powdered sugar, pure vanilla extract, and a pinch of salt, until stiff peaks form. Refrigerate until ready to use. 

When cake is cool, unroll and spread filling evenly over cake. Roll cake back into a log, this time without towel. Place seam side down on a baking sheet and refrigerate until well chilled, 1 hour. 

Make frosting: In a large bowl beat butter until smooth. Add powdered sugar and cocoa powder and beat until no lumps remain then beat in vanilla, heavy cream, and salt. 

When ready to serve, trim ends and frost cake with chocolate buttercream. Dust lightly with powdered sugar and top with chocolate curls. Place cranberries and rosemary on log to create mistletoe.

Z – zzzz

To finish this off… or rather to finish off the Christmas holidays… we need our zzzzzzz   (sleep!)  After the Holidays I know I need a few days of relaxing and putting the house back together.

Hope you’ve enjoyed my posts for CIJ 2020 😊

Christmas in July 2020 day 24 / Noël en juillet 2020 jour 24

CIJ day 24 / jour 24

X – XCITEMENT

What is better than seeing a child’s face at Christmas!  

They are all soooo excited – I just loved it when the kids were little, it was so much fun making memories for them.

There is always the excitement to see family, friends, special foods, gifts, elves…

Christmas in July 2020 day 23 / Noël en juillet 2020 jour 23

CIJ day 23 / jour 23

W – WINTER

Christmas = winter here.  I love a White Christmas and snuggling up in front of the fireplace with the Christmas tree lighted and a cup of hot coco. 

Lots of things associated with Christmas are also associated with winter: skating, sledding, hot coco, fireplace, ….

Christmas in July 2020 day 22 / Noël en juillet 2020 jour 22

CIJ day 22 / jour 22

V – VACATION

I have always had 2 weeks vacation at Christmas time (not so for my daughter who is a nurse!).  

I NEED that vacation time with all the running around we do.  

However, as I do NY’s Eve I usually don’t get much time to relax afterwards before work starts up again – someday I’d love to do Christmas instead of NY’s!

Christmas in July 2020 day 21 / Noël en juillet 2020 jour 21

CIJ day 21 / jour 21

U – UGLY CHRISTMAS SWEATER

I’ve always wanted to join in that fun… Well 2019 we did it!  After Christmas 2018 I bought a few sweaters and we had fun with it 😊 

Here's a secret... I have a few more for 2020 in my gift stash.  I also bought some stuff to decorate some sweaters if we are so inclined.

Happy Homemaker 2020-07-20

Good morning,

Vacations!  I am officially on vacation since last Friday.  I did not work on Friday because I was using up a sick day.  Was to be my throat biopsy and echography.  They did echography but the doc did not do biopsy as things are finally looking better.  will have follow-up with endocrinologist when she gets back from her vacation.

It's been hot and humid since last Friday, yuck!
Saturday we picked up around the house and we had supper at my husband's cousin's house (outside), 3 couples.  
Since we won't be going far (because of covid-19) decided that I'll do whatever chores I have in the mornings and afternoons will be off.  I'm hoping I can take naps (I never sleep during the day) to help recover more quickly, I am feeling quite exhausted from the last few months.  Reading, crafting, that will be my afternoons.
I have started walking every morning (not very far), hoping I'll continue during my vacation (I get up later and sometimes it's allready too hot).
The a/c did have a problem... dh cleaned out the filters and now it's working fine.

Let's join Sandra at Diary of a Stay at Home Mom .

The weather (in celsius)

Mon.

28°

16°

Tue.

25°

14°

Wed.

26°

17°

Thu.

24°

16°

Fri.

27°

16°

Sat.

27°

18°

Sun.

24°

19°

How I am feeling this morning
A bit sleepy... don't know why... you get up later and you feel less refreshed than getting up early.  Did my walk, had breakfast outside (my husband made pancakes on a heating plate in the gazebo) and had a shower.  Ready to get on with my day

On my mind
Deciding if we are going to see my parents this week.  Kids want to come, problem is the dog.  

On the breakfast plate
2 pancakes with maple syrup and almond milk 

On my reading pile
The silent widow de Sidney Sheldon

On my tv
Good witch (season 6)
Le résident (season 1)
Mme Lebrun
Non-coupable (season 1)
Boston Legal (season 3)

On the menu this week
Lundi - 
Mardi-  
Mercredi - 
Jeudi -  
Friday - 
We will deal with it as we go as we are on vacation

From the camera

Looking around the house
Not too bad but with being in the house all the time more things are left everywhere.

On my to-do list  (have made a long to-do for vacations and after vacations, so picking from that list daily)

During the weekend

• Vaccum basement
• Wash basement bathroom
• Get the cat litter box and litter on Marketplace to sell (my son's cat never came back)
• Tie up the cables behind the table in my son's old room
• Declutter a bit in basement
• Wash fridge

Today

• Post here - DONE
• Make bed, take shower, breakfast, brush teeth - DONE
• Take at least one walk - DONE
• Reorganize my clothes armoire (and get a few things in the donation bag)
• File paperwork in my night stand
• 
  

To relax this week, I will  

Nap, crochet, knit and read

Quote of the week 

Christmas in July 2020 day 20 / Noël en juillet 2020 jour 20

CIJ day 20 / jour 20

T – TRADITIONS

Christmas is all about traditions.

Some of the traditions we have:

• ·        Elves
• ·        Advent calendar
• ·        Going to my parent’s house on Christmas Eve
• ·        Brunch at my sisters on Christmas day
• ·        NY’s Eve at our house
• ·        Thumbprint cookies, fudge, and tons of other goodies (but some have to stay the same year after year!)
• ·        Sausages rolled in bacon – we only have those during the holidays!
• ·        We used to have horse-drawn sled ride on NY’s Eve (unfortunately the person who drove the horses sold them a few years back)
• ·        …

What Christmas traditions do you have?

Christmas in July 2020 day 19 / Noël en juillet 2020 jour 19

CIJ day 19 / jour 19

S – SANTA CLAUS

I have noticed I have quite a few Santas at home.  Some pictures of my Santas:

    

Last year my Santa was in pj’s with hot coco cup (I need to take a new picture of him alone)

Christmas in July 2020 day 18 / Noël en juillet 2020 jour 18

CIJ day 18 / jour 18

R – RUDOLPH

Rudolph day!

As most of you know there are a group of friends on the Web who dedicate the 25^th of each month to Rudolph day.  A day for preparing for Christmas – it may be tangible, or it may be just having some Christmas fun.

There are some ideas on Organized Christmas https://christmas.organizedhome.com/rudolph-club - where assignments are given for each month.

Here are a few more:

Work on your Christmas notebook, gift idea list, plan your meals for the Holidays, work on homemade gifts, stocking stuffers (make a list or start buying), Make a ‘BER’ months calendar where you fill in all know festivities you will attend and add your food prep and chores that need to be made every month until the holidays. 

It can also be as simple as taking some time to watch a Holiday movie with a cup of hot coco.

Just enjoy the good feelings associated with Christmas on that day!

Christmas in July 2020 day 17 / Noël en juillet 2020 jour 17

CIJ day 17 / jour 17

Q – QUIET

When all is quiet, and you sit near the Christmas tree and watch the lights – a perfect time for reflection and just being in the moment.

Found this picture on the web, which illustrates perfectly what I mean.

Christmas in July 2020 day 16 / Noël en juillet 2020 jour 16

CIJ day 16 / jour 16

P – PARADE

The start of the Christmas season to me is the Macy’s Thanksgiving parade.  I am not from the USA, but I love the Macy’s Thanksgiving parade.  Unfortunately, I always work on that day so I dvr it.  One day I want to stay home and just watch it from one end to the other and just enjoy it.

Christmas in July 2020 day 15 / Noël en juillet 2020 jour 15

CIJ day 15 / jour 15

O – ORNAMENTS

As you know I make ornaments for friends every year.  I’ve been doing it for awhile now.  Here are pictures of some I have made.

Christmas in July 2020 day 14 / Noël en juillet 2020 jour 14

CIJ day 14 / jour 14

N – NORTHPOLE

This is the real Northpole: https://lapland.nordicvisitor.com/travel-guide/attractions/santa-claus-village/

It is in Finland – The Santa Claus village.

Here are a few pictures:

There is also the Children’s book ‘Once upon a North pole Christmas’ by Noel Manning, Sledd Kesler.

I have never read it but will add it to the books I intend to buy to my grandchild.