Cellar Scribblings

[CellarDweller]

Chuck, I admire how you are handling all these shifting instructions. You are an inspiration! I also admire your cooking skills. I'm cooking for Friday, when my family will get together.

Good luck with the meal, but I'm sure it will go fantastically!

Cooking skills?   I must admit, I need to follow recipes.  I can't whip up a meal from scratch, just does not happen.  LOL

As for shifting instructions, there have been a lot of changes at work lately.  Not with personnel, but with job functions and applications/programs we use, so there is a lot of new leaning going on.  I sometimes feel like a bird learning to fly, that has been pushed out of the nest.

[Sason]

[CellarDweller]

Hiya BetterMost friends!!!!

I hope everyone is doing well.



We went out on Sunday for Trenton's birthday, and went through the drive-thru holiday light display.  It was fun.

We went in separate cars, but we met up beforehand at a rest stop, spent some time together, and then formed a four car procession to the display.

Work has been getting hectic lately, and I'm hoping that there's a light at the end of the tunnel for 2021.

[serious crayons]

We went out on Sunday for Trenton's birthday, and went through the drive-thru holiday light display.  It was fun.

We went in separate cars, but we met up beforehand at a rest stop, spent some time together, and then formed a four car procession to the display.

That sounds fun! That reminds me that I'd like to do that with my son or sons.

Did you hang out outdoors t the rest stop? Was it cold?

It's still hovering around 40-degree highs here. There are some indications it will be a mild winter. I sure hope so -- don't we have enough problems without cold and snow?

[CellarDweller]

Hiya BetterMost friends!!!!

Ooooh, it is chilly in NJ tonight!


Christmas prep is coming along well.   I've gotten gifts for Sacha's daughters, Trent, Shana, Derek, and mom and dad.   I think I'm pretty much ready for the holiday. 

Mom decided she wanted to bake cookies, so we'll have to schedule some time to do that.

Started working on my Christmas cards, and I've managed to mail out the first 20 cards, this week, all internationally bound.

[brianr]

I posted a card to the UK on Saturday and have 14 for Australia ready to post tomorrow. I have added the 2 I usually send to the States to my email list this year. I do not send any cards now within NZ and am gradually reducing the list to Australia. I like receiving cards and putting them up in the lounge room but times are changing. Each card has a 3 page letter including 10 travel photos, obviously all taken in NZ this year.
I will expand the letter and add more photos before emailing.

[CellarDweller]

Hiya BetterMost friends!!!!

It was a quiet weekend for me.  Didn't do anything on Saturday, and Sunday was lunch with my parents and laundry.

I did decide on what to get my parents.  We are not exchanging anything big, to limit time spent in stores.  Mom and dad have also reached the 'we have everything we need, we don't want anything new" stage.  However, my brother and I noticed that mom and dad have a lot of old stuff in the kitchen.  I ordered this for them.  They both cook, so they will both use them.





Chris (my brother) and I are also going to go to Bed, Bath, Beyond and get a spatula set, other kitchen aids, and perhaps some inexpensive (for daily use) silverware.  Then, on Christmas, after they open all this up, we'll make them throw out the old stuff that is beat up, discolored, worn or otherwise not needed.

This Saturday I'll be at mom and dad's place to do the Christmas baking.  We're only going to make three types of cookies, Tri-chocolate chip (milk, dark, and white chocoalate chips), decorated sugar cookies, and Italian Christmas cookies.

If you're not familiar with Italian Christmas cookies, they look like this.





I mailed out 40 Christmas cards so far, the first 20 went out on Friday, and are internationally bound.  The next 20 went out today, and are all within the US, but farther from me (west coast).  The next batch will be nearby states, and the last batch will be NJ bound.

[CellarDweller]

I posted a card to the UK on Saturday and have 14 for Australia ready to post tomorrow. I have added the 2 I usually send to the States to my email list this year. I do not send any cards now within NZ and am gradually reducing the list to Australia. I like receiving cards and putting them up in the lounge room but times are changing. Each card has a 3 page letter including 10 travel photos, obviously all taken in NZ this year.

I will expand the letter and add more photos before emailing.

I actually had a card mishap today, and I'm glad I caught it before I mailed the card out!

This is how I described it on a FB post.


That awkward moment where you are writing out Christmas cards, and you decide to check the one you just wrote, and realize that instead of writing "Dear Samuel", you actually wrote "Dead Samuel".

Glad I caught that before it went out!

and just for the record, I don't send any cards to any Samuels, so I didn't give out the real name.  LOL

[serious crayons]

That awkward moment where you are writing out Christmas cards, and you decide to check the one you just wrote, and realize that instead of writing "Dear Samuel", you actually wrote "Dead Samuel".

 

You should probably send out the batch of cards addressed to dead people even before the West Coast group. Who knows how far they have to go! 

[CellarDweller]

Hiya BetterMost friends!!!!

TGIF to you all!

Tomorrow is the cookie bake-off day with mom.   We've pared down the amount of cookies we'll be making, as well as the variety. 

This week was productive for me, because it was slow at work.  That allowed me time to get all my holiday cards done and mailed, and to get the gifts I'm giving, wrapped.

Sunday I'll be at mom and dad's again for laundry, and then I'm off work for the week.   I'll most likely still sign on the work computer after hours for a bit to go through emails and deal with some things, but other than that, I'll be able to relax.