Today is the third Sunday of Advent: The third candle is pink and symbolizes joy. It is called the “Shepard’s Candle,” and is pink because rose is a liturgical color for joy. The third Sunday of Advent is Gaudete Sunday and is meant to remind us of the joy that the world experienced at the birth of Jesus, as well as the joy that the faithful have reached the midpoint of Advent. www.mercyhome.org/blog/sunday-mass/advent-wreath/
I finished shopping, wrapping and mailing (thank goodness for my BFF) this past week. I did most of my shopping online so that's been done for a little bit. The wrapping was harder this year because my hands and fingers don't want to work as well as previously. I was able to do much of it myself as sat at the dining room table. If I thought my wrapping was pretty bad before, it was worse this time and more tape than even was used...LOL! I boxed up a few things for mailing and my BFF got that part done.
Believe it or not our house renovation is almost done. I think this is the cleanest/neatest work crew I have ever dealt with. I had to laugh as the owner of the company noticed two seams in the ceiling had broken and the tape was loose. Since it was in the room the crew was working on and they had to fix up around the fireplace, he had them fix and paint the other areas. The owner wanted the room to be as perfect as possible. The fireplace and wall turned out beautiful. I posted pictures on my personal FB page of the progress. The floor gets done tomorrow. Then we can have the ducts cleaned out, the blinds installed and the furniture moved back in place. I am hoping things can return to normal by Xmas or the day after...keeping fingers crossed. I did have to laugh as one of the neighbors stopped and asked the owner of the company (he was outside) what was going on in the house since so many people have come/gone and the noise was pretty loud. I just laughed when he told him some renovations and that was it. The owner said to me, I did not invite him in to see.
Over the past couple of weeks I forgot to post two funny stories: 1. Have you even seen a washing machine vacuumed? We have a shelf above our washer with light bulbs and extra items stored. Well, one day as my BFF reached for a new light bulb the box tumbled down. What she did not notice was that a light bulb and the cardboard holder had fallen into the washing machine. We keep our washing machine lid open when not in use. As she did laundry, we heard a funny noise in the machine and thought there was a clip or a button hitting the inside. Nope, when she pulled out her laundry, there was a light bulb (still whole) and a whole lot of shredded cardboard in the machine. After moving her laundry to the dryer, she decided to vacuum the washing machine to get out all the cardboard. I could not stop laughing as I had never seen or heard of that before. We both laughed a bit. No worries she knew sooner or later the story would end up here. 2. A couple of weeks ago I made a huge pork loin for shredded pork. I normally just take two forks and shred away. My BFF remembered seeing on a cooking show them shredding meat with a mixer. I was skeptical, but since my hands were bothering me I let her go for it. I have to say it was SO MUCH EASIER! I had cut the pork loin into two fairly good sizes and I did not cut them down any further, just stuck one in the mixer and used the paddle attachment...it was shredded in seconds. I was so surprised. Believe me when I say I'm a convert now to doing this. Sometimes an old dog can learn new tricks.
A friend stopped by to deliver something I had ordered from her company and we had lunch. It was so nice to have company as we sat and chatted. Of course, it also happened to be the day that I think every delivery company came by as well as our handyman (he knows the crew) at about the same time. It was like Grand Central Station at one point.
This past week I finished reading: "FULL MEASURE" by T. Jefferson Parker - story of returning soldier coping with PTSD and dealing with lots of drama within the family and within the community. This was a hard read for me, but good. Of course, I watched lots of Xmas movies.
The daily and wacky holidays for the week...provides something lighthearted to think about (there are always more things about each day that are not listed here, but it's so interesting to google "whats important about ...) :
December 17
National Maple Syrup Day
December 18
Bake Cookies Day
National Roast Suckling Pig Day
December 19
Look for an Evergreen Day
Oatmeal Muffin Day
December 20
Go Caroling Day
December 21
Crossword Puzzle Day
Forefather’s Day
Humbug Day
Look on the Bright Side Day
National Flashlight Day
National Regifting Day – The third Thursday in December.
Winter Solstice – the shortest day of the year, date varies
December 22
National Date Nut Bread Day – or September 8!?
December 23
Festivus – for the rest of us
Roots Day
I am leaving it here for today. It's time to get the day started and perhaps do a little reading - I feel like I'm way behind as books are piled up in several places. I hope you have a good week. Try not to overdo. Take care. Chat soon. Marie
“May your walls know joy, may every room hold laughter, and every window open to great possibility.” — Mary Anne Radmacher
“You can tell a lot about a person by the way they handle three things: a rainy day, lost luggage and tangled Christmas tree lights.” — Maya Angelou
“Be present in all things and thankful for all things.” — Maya Angelou