So thankful to have made it through another year!

Thankful to God who gives me comfort knowing He is in control.

Thankful for the word He has given me for 2021

             My word for 2020 was peace and 

I am still holding onto that word too!

                                      So thankful for my family, I love them so much!

Thankful for a closer relationship with my daughter. She got me 2 personalized tees for Christmas and this is one of them. Mema is my grandma name given to me by Eddie.

 

                      Thankful for my hubby and so thankful that he likes to cook!

Today he is making pozole for the family. Pozole is a soup traditionally made with pork but he makes it with a green chili sauce and chicken. The other main ingredient is hominy. I asked him to write down the recipe. He does not make it spicy. I think the main season is cumin. He will be delivering the pozole later today. 

Thankful for my blogging friends! Looking forward to a New Year with you!

1. Tell us about your favorite moment or share one of the bright spots from the year we're leaving behind. There are several moments that stood out this year. Doing a big grocery haul in March right before the shut down. Using a lot of craft material to make mask. Making my own hand sanitizer and spray. Celebrating our grandson's birthday by driving by with posters in April. Doing a virtual cruise with Crafty Destinations. Celebrating my 65th and my grand daughter's birthday eating outside at Lucille's and all my kids were there. No inside eating. The same with hubby in October and we all got together at his favorite place because it had outside seating. Our family stayed strong, even got closer. Christmas with my whole family!

2. What do you wish you'd known at the start of 2020? Elaborate. At the beginning of the year, the Lord gave me the word peace. I didn't know what was in store and I think that is a good thing. When things came up I felt anxious, I just remembered Peace and trust in God.

3. Best book you read this year? If you did not read any books this year, what's the best thing you ate all year? We've all eaten, right? I mostly read my Bible. I started reading in Genesis in February and I am Hosea now. I also read Redeeming Love which is based on the book of Hosea.

4. The Pantone Colors of the year for 2021 are ultimate gray and illuminating yellow (a bright shade)...are you a fan? Would we find either of these colors in your home or wardrobe?
Our master bedroom is gray and white. I have a bedspread I use in the spring that has white, deep yellow and grey in it. I do like to wear yellow in the summer.

5. If you were/are making a list of 21 things to do/accomplish in 2021 what is one thing that would be on it? I need more time to think about this. I will list a few.

~Read the bible daily. I am thinking of using the Illustrated Faith 2018 Chronological Bible plan. Your print out a bookmark that has the reading for the month in Chronological order.

~ I want to continue to do Bible journaling with the grands. We didn't get to do to much this year because of Covid. They keep there things here at my house. 

~ Hubby and I want to take more day outings. I want to paint the two guestrooms and the kitchen cabinets. 

~ I need to declutter/downsize my craft stash, closet and storage boxes in the garage. 

~ I want work on Hawaii scrapbook pages.

~ We didn't go on our trip to Lake Tahoe this past fall, so I hope we can go in the spring and also stop in Yosemite. 

~Our family is suppose to go to Hawaii in the fall of 2021 and I hope Covid will be gone or less severe so we can go.

~I want to go camping with the grandkids. 

~ I want to walk more often.  

6. Insert your own random thought here. I just picked in on the grands. The girls have the dogs with them and all are asleep.  I looked at the date and realized that 11 years ago today my doxie Reina died. It was such a sad day for our family. I said no more dogs because it hurt so much. 8 years later we got Minnie. Having a dog bring a lot of love to the family and she is spoiled. She is like a child and wants to always be with us. She hates when my husband leaves. If we leave she sits on the top of the couch so she can look out the window. She cries big time when we come back. We can't leave her outside because she would cry and scratch at the door. We can't leave her in the house for longer that 6-7 hours because she need to go out. I think we need to get a doggie door and I can add that to the list of things we need to do! She stays with her mama when we go out of town. Her mama lives with 2 of the grands.

                                                     Minnie and her momma Rey.

 

 

 

 

The Times Square ball first dropped on December 31, 1907. It is 12 feet in diameter and covered with Swarovski crystals. 

1.  Despite the weirdness of this past year, was it still a good year for you anyway or not? Every year I ask the Lord to show me a word for the year. He gave me the word Peace. Little did I know how His peace kept me calm. This year showed me that family is so important. I really miss my extended family and thankful that everyone has been okay except that we all miss our get gatherings. It was good because we stayed close in spite of the political differences. I was able to get a lot of Bible reading in. I had fun in my crafty group and went on a virtual cruise and camp. I was able to make new friends and we exchanged craft projects.

2. How will you spend New Years Eve? Here at home watching tv and maybe crafting.

3. What do you do on New Year's Day? Is football part of the agenda? We normally watch the Rose Parade but there will be no live event because of Covid.  But there will be a special on the parade.  "The show will showcase "spectacular floats from years past," as well as a behind-the-scenes look into the making of flower-laden displays that are the trademark of the Pasadena parade. I have had the opportunity to work on two floats that were done by the US Postal Service. The floats are kept in huge warehouses and it is very cold in there to help the flowers stay fresh. They served hot Doctor Pepper with lime and it was actually good!

4. It's a Scottish tradition to kiss at midnight.  Do you keep that tradition? Does everyone get a kiss if you do? Nope, hubby goes to bed early.

I added a new tab on top that has a couple of Christmas poems. I forgot to mention it.

Star or Angel? I have different trees and some have angels and some have stars.

Not sure I shared my rose gold and pink tree that I put together for my crafty group.

White Lights or Colored Lights? 

Colored lights except the white tree and garland and my crafty tree.

                                             Blinking Lights or Still Lights? Still

When do you open your gifts?

 Christmas morning after breakfast and opening the stockings.

Do you buy gifts for your pet? Yes for our dog and grand dog.

 Minnie is wrapped in the blanket  made her.

 

Our grand daughter painted this picture for us.

Be honest: What's the worst gift you've ever gotten? 

Nothing bad. My son likes to joke around at Christmas so this year we each got a wrapped roll of toilet paper. Each one had a line from a Christmas movie we like. Everyone had to read their line. So this was not the worst, just funny. Then he passed out gift cards to everyone.

Have you ever traveled for the holiday? No if you mean vacation or out of state. The furthest would be 45 minutes away to spend a family day for Christmas. Not this year.

Did you see Santa as a child? Yes.

Can you name all the reindeer? 

Dasher, Dancer, Prancer and Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Blitzen? 

Oh and Rudolph the red nose reindeer!

Have you ever gone caroling? 

Yes with my church youth group and high school service group.

Do you drive around and look at the Christmas lights? Yes

                                       Have you ever left Santa cookies? Yes!

 

 We had Mexican bread, Mexican hot chocolate and

 gluten free chocolate chips cookies.

 

Have you ever had a white Christmas? No, I live in So California city that does not get snow.

Have you ever made a gingerbread house from scratch? From a kit? From a kit last year.

Be honest: Do you think the season is too commercial? Isn't that normal this time of year?

Imagine you were going to create the quintessential holiday soundtrack -- which song(s) absolutely must be included? I love the traditional Christmas songs that speak of the birth of Jesus. I also love Mary Did You Know. I like a few others like White Christmas, Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas. Luckily Pandora has a good selection of what I like.

What are your Christmas pet peeves? It goes to fast. This year it was Covid. So  many things we could not do. I wore a mask most of Christmas day. Hopefully we will be okay. More Christmas pictures on the last 3 previous post.

 

Christmas is almost here and I am almost done with wrapping presents. Today I plan to make the dogs some simple blankets. I am also visiting my cousin and aunt for a bit, outside. My aunt is recovering from breast cancer. I hope to make it to Christmas Eve service and then I will fill up the stockings while watching a Christmas move.

There is so much to be thankful for.

I am thankful that my family will be coming over for Christmas. I will be wearing a mask.

I am thankful that my family is all doing well.

I am thankful that there are positive things in the midst of this pandemic.

I am thankful that my niece got her Covid vaccine because she is an RN on the Covid unit of her hospital. She says it is so sad that so many are dying. Please keep her in prayer.

I am thankful that my focus is on the birth of Jesus. I set up several of my Nativities and one set was made in Jerusalem.

I don't have too many Santa's but I found this one in a second hand store.

I am thankful that I was able to make a new sew blanket for my younger grandson and a Star Wars mask for the older one. I am thankful for my sewing machine that has allowed me to make lot of masks and crafts.an

I am thankful that all my needs are met. The Covid pandemic has opened my eyes up to the fact that my time is in God's had and I have to make the most of it.  I realize that my family means so much to me. Relationships are important and they have to be nurtured. I am thankful for cell phones that let me keep in touch with my family and friends. Sometimes I just send a picture that says what I can't always be said.

I am thankful that I can laugh at things that are the temporary norm.

I am thankful for the quiet times. I like looking the Christmas lights. They make think of the many Christmas gatherings of the past. Thankful that family is what makes it special.

In this picture I am the curly hair girl on the front. My sister Terry is next to me. The girl holding the bear is my cousin Joanie who I will see tomorrow. My dads dad is to the back right and he is talking to my mom's dad. My mom's mom is on the upper left. So when I was young, all the grandparents were there. A grandparents plays an important role and I am thankful to be a grandma - Mema. I thank God all the time for my family. Thankful for memories!

 

 

My siblings around 1970

My kids around 1992

                                                                       2017

 

 

 

Tuesday 4  A Merry Little Christmas

1. Do you have a favorite Christmas carol and if so is there a particular version you especially like?  I love Christmas music! Oh Holy Night, Hark The Herald Angels Sing, Joy to the World, Do You Hear What I Hear, Away in the Manger and so many of the traditional songs I sang at my Gethsemane Methodist Church.  There are many newer songs that I love to like Mary Did You Know, Breath of Heaven and so many more.

2.Do you have a special dinner for the holidays? What foods are included?  Christmas dinner was always so special. My mom always set a beautiful table and as the family grew, we added more tables. There was always candlelight and flowers. I have carried on that tradition. Mom would make a prime rib or roast with all the trimmings. Once I got married, we spent Christmas Eve with my in laws and tamales were the feature item along with all the sides. All my kids spend Christmas Eve with their in laws. Then they come Christmas morning and we have breakfast before we open gifts. Later they all come back for dinner. I set a different table decor for each meal and I enjoy it. This year we are making a fresh pot of beans and Albondigas.(Meat ball veggies soup.) Daniel and Melinda are bringing Green chili chicken enchiladas. Andrew and Marina are bringing rice, Mexican bread and Sparking cider. Renee is bringing tamales and desert. I am making quacamole and baking cookies. Hubby is making Mexican hot chocolate for Sunday morning and there will be enough for the evening too.The desert table is ready to go!

3.Holiday movies ... which do you like to watch? A Christmas Carol, 1952 version is my favorite. It's a Wonderful Life, White Christmas. We watched National Lampoon Christmas on Thanksgiving evening and Elf the next night.  Hubby and I have also seen Meet Me in St. Louis and Home Alone 2. The guys like to see The Christmas Story. We hope to see The Nativity Story on Christmas Eve.

4. What traditions do you continue to keep year after year for the holidays? Pass out new ornaments at Thanksgiving. The things we normally do but did not do this year are, baking gingerbread and going out to see the Christmas lights. Craft days with the grands. Get together with my whole family-sibling and all their kids/grandkids.  Lunch with friends. I am praying things will be normal next year. Here is the Peanut Shelf. A tree in one of the guest rooms has more Peanut ornaments.

For the past few years I have been doing Shepherd on the Search. It is like Elf on the Shelf. I have a tree in every room and some rooms have more than one. There is also a Nativity in every room. This is the main tree and it is filled with Disney Ornaments. There are more trees on the previous post.

 

Another thing we normally do is go to Christmas Eve service. I am not going to my church this year. I am going to a closer church that is having a candlelight service outside. Today my husband and I went to the cemetery to leave plants/flowers at our parent's graves. I guess you can say it is another tradition. It is so peaceful there.

 

Click on the girl below to get the Mexican Hot Chocolate recipe.

My Website is Susan's Garden of Friendship. The link is to the right. Lots of inspirational pages too. I have a whole Christmas site over there. My site has over 200 pages.