On the Second Day of Christmas...

I had leftover fish curry with homestyle noodles for breakfast!

After not sleeping well and not feeling the best

(like I had a cold but it was just in my chest, leaving me a bit

breathless...), I knew I needed a really good breakfast!

I had the beloved 'witte truffe' tea (white truffel) bought on

our trip to Holland a year ago last fall, this tea being from

a tea and coffee shop in Maastricht! 

It's one of the best smelling teas we have ever had

and is a lovely tea to enjoy with milk!

***

My Husband had the day off and we did some cleaning in the morning,

we had to get the snow and dirt out of the window sills from last week's 

snow storm and I cleaned up a lot of dishes and other things.

***

I was really tired so napped a bit in the afternoon.

We had my favourite 2nd day of Christmas takeout

of short beef ribs, herbed mashed garlic potatoes and burnt Brussel sprouts 

and a mango glazed chicken!

***

We opened gifts we were given on Christmas, 

wow, were we given a lot of nice things!

Teas, chocolates, a lotion to be put on dry skin with warm socks,

soaps, lotions, a made in Italy pasta, homemade caramel, honey,

Little House on the Prairie DVDs, journals, a cute bag, bandana, 

great new writing pens, a new tea towel, a tiny bottle of maple syrup, stroopwafels...

my Husband gave me The Yellow Room: Love Poems by Donald Hall...

(I had gotten this at the Strand sometime back and we saved it for Christmas!)

so many nice things for Christmas! 

***

We listened to Christmas music throughout the day and enjoyed 

various cups of tea... we also read some Christmas cards

and enjoyed a card that came that day with a handwritten letter.

A good letter is real gift and we were so grateful for this one!

***

I still have some unbloggable worries going on,

trying to continue to trust God and take all to Him in prayer.

***

We are so blessed and I am so thankful...

2nd &y 3rd day of Christmas

On the 2nd day of Christmas,

we had one chocolate treat each, opened gifts

and decided that we would have special reading times for

part of the 12 days of Christmas this year,

where we would just take time to companionably read together. 

I began reading the first story from 

Elizabeth Goudge's 

Icon on the Wall and it was wonderful.

She knew a surprising amount about Orthodoxy and

it's a lovely short story (the first one in the book).

The second part of the 3rd day of Christmas was hard 

but had blessings too, in small things.

I thought that Mr Husband sounded much too congested when he coughs,

so over breakfast we were companionably having,

I called the nurse. Then he talked to a doctor and had an appointment made

for that day.  So Mr Husband ended up in NYC for much of the day,

and is now on more meds and will find out more on Friday.

So that was all quite worrying.

The lovely parts of today were getting the silver plated silverware I ordered

a week ago, the picture has additional silver-plate flatware that we had from a rummage sale previously...I ordered the additional silverware before we got the flu, 

for what I hope will be my belated

birthday party.... in just under 2 weeks time... we will see about that...

other lovely parts were loving a new to me tea - Trader Joes chocolate mint 

flavoured tea; it was lovely...

and I had my favourite beef sandwhich from a local bistro delivered,

which I savoured over lunch and dinner...   

I also enjoyed 2 small Trader Joes hot chocolate cookies,

had decaf Christmas Chai and enjoyed using the Christmas Tree Spode China,

now that I have enough energy to hand-wash dishes again.... and tonight 

Mr Husband and I watched part of a Walton's episode! 

And tonight I finished

Elizabeth Goudge's short story 

The Ikon on the wall

such a good story and encouraging to me personally...

and I also was remembering these prayers,

which when I am all a flutter are about all I can focus on,

and these prayers brought this day to a peaceful close:

"“My dear,” he said, “love, your God, is a trinity. There are three necessary prayers and they have three words each. They are these, 

'Lord have mercy. 

Thee I adore. 

Into Thy hands.' 

Not difficult to remember. If in times of distress you hold to these you will do well.""

 ~From Elizabeth Goudge's the Scent of Water 

Second Day of Christmas ~ a lovely Christmas dinner for four!

On the Second Day of Christmas...

Candle sticks from my Ottawa parish for my wedding, 

centre piece from my Aunt M for my family bridal shower in MI.

Christmas Tree Spode, (vintage, made in England, a Christmas gift

last year from Mr. Husband).

Tea Pot from my dear friend and roommate back at the turn of the century,

Goblets from local grocery store in Ottawa, very inexpensive.

Christmas Crackers from England, from Simply Crackers.

Napkins, Napkin rings from shopping over the Thanksgiving holiday

with my Mom to various GR thrift stores.

Silver-plated cutlery from rummage sale,

first year of Mr. Husband and I's marriage.

Salad Dressing Cruets and Water Pitcher are wedding gifts.

Trivet under Tea Pot also a thrift store find.

Table Cloth, new this year, was one that Mr. Husband bought years ago

in Haiti and gave to his Mother.

They are downsizing and she gave us this table cloth back on 

our December Christmas holiday.

Meal:

Roast Chicken, carved by Mr. Husband,

Green Beans from Mr. Husband's Father's Garden, canned by both my

Father-in-Law and Mother-in-Law,

Mashed Potatoes and Cranberry Stuffing.

Hot Fruit Salad that my Mom makes every Christmas.

A Green Salad.

Clementines.

 Turtle bars with Trader Joe's French Vanilla Ice Cream for dessert.

Tea: Chocolaty Chai and Chamomile 

Nativity Set from my Mother years ago when I lived in Ottawa,

and could only have a small apartment sized Nativity.

Candle sticks a find at an antique store in Halifax.

Christmas table runner from a Dutch store in GR MI.

I am going to try to get the wrinkles out of that plastic,

did not have time today!

Christmas phone case ;) and Elizabeth Goudge's 

Book of Comfort, from which I read a lovely

small Christmas prayer.

Christ, the Un-containable God born in a manger on Christmas day!

It was beautiful.

The chicken I had one medium onion, some garlic and fresh

organic sage inside, with butter and slices of garlic under skin 

and butter under and over skin, with salt and pepper added at end.

I cooked it slowly, at 350F so that I could also cook the Hot Fruit Salad

and the mashed potatoes and stuffing, both of which we ordered 

from our grocery delivery service,

as we knew I would be tired after the two days of Christmas services...

Our Christmas Tree this year.

Presents Exchanged after the meal.

*

It was a dream come true,

this meal, as it was with my dear friend and her son,

our munchkin who at times

has sleep overs at our place and who we love dearly.

*

The munchkin got a toy car that winds up and moves,

in his Christmas Cracker,

he loved it.

*

Christ is Born! 

Glorify Him!