My three kids

When I returned to work on Monday, Gregg texted me around lunchtime to tell me that the dogs were miserable, especially Poppy. They kept going to the back door and windows to look longingly at the driveway, checking to see if I was back yet. Lots of big sighs and sad eyes. Poppy finally draped herself over the back of a small sofa that has a driveway view, and laid there all afternoon, waiting. I asked if Marco had missed me, too. Gregg said, "I'm not sure, but he's been a little asshole all day, so I imagine he's sick of me if nothing else." Ha. When I finally got home, there was absolute doggy joy. (Jennifer joy, too!)

Yesterday when I got home from work, the dogs got so excited and wound up that they started pulling toys out of the toy basket and play-fighting with each other in front of me. Marco watched from his perch, obviously wanting to join in the fun. Lately he's been getting braver about approaching them, and George and Poppy have been showing remarkable tolerance with it. It's a good thing, too, because when there was a pause in the doggy roughhousing, Marco decided it was time to move right up into both their faces. He's awfully bold, and the dogs are awfully good!

 All the kids in one shot!

My gentle Georgie. When he was a wild and crazy 

youngster, I wouldn't have believed this was possible.

Little sister Poppy.

Back to normal life

 After a nice break of almost three weeks, it was back to work yesterday. The students don't return until today, as we had professional development yesterday. For me, that just meant going up to one of the district office buildings downtown and sitting through two hours of a payroll "refresher" course with the other secretaries/bookkeepers. I didn't get anything of value out of it, but the newer people may have. Afterwards I stopped and got a sandwich for lunch and then headed to my school to spend the rest of the afternoon organizing our supply room and catching up on emails. Pretty dull, but a gentle reentry to work. It's going to be good to see some of my favorite little kids this morning when they return. 

Thanks for all the comments on my last post. Gregg's sharp pain in his ribs completely subsided after one day. I was extra worried about it all because that's the side where he had radiation in his (only) lung last winter, and he said it hurt to take a deep breath. I'm relieved he seems to be okay, but I'll be reminding him to talk to his doctor about it at his next appointment. I worry about him and his health all the time. Just typing this out makes me tearful. I realized yesterday that it was the 14th anniversary of his surgery to remove his left lung. God, that was a scary time. And the chemotherapy afterwards was hell for him, but I'm so thankful that all these years later he's still here and mostly healthy and okay. Yesterday I wondered why I was so tearful and sad all day, but then I remembered the date. Also, New Year's Day was the second anniversary of my dad dying and I think that had something to do with it too. I've been thinking more about him lately and missing him, and of course this was my first holiday of being fully no contact with my mom. I feel like an orphan, as silly as that is for a 50-year-old woman. And to top it all off, today is the anniversary of January 6th. I don't talk about it too much here, but our political situation causes me so much stress and anxiety. Every day is a new horror. 

So, I'll be glad to get back to normal today, and I'm glad the holiday season is behind me. It's definitely NOT "the most wonderful time of the year" to me. 

Men!

Happy New Year, everyone! I hope everyone had a nice NYE (even if that just meant a nice evening at home and early to bed) and is having a pleasant start to the new year.

Things started off pretty good for us last night but then everything went sideways. We had a tasty dinner (store bought lasagna, which sounds bad but tasted fine, plus anything I don't have to cook from scratch is a welcome break for me once in a while) and chocolate pie for dessert. I opened a bottle of champagne and started sipping it while we watched tv. The dogs had been fed and taken for a quick walk before dark, because people around here like to start shooting off fireworks early. They were lounging around, not paying any attention to the booms and cracks outside. George went and got in his bed early.

Then, around 9:30, Gregg said he wanted to lie down for an hour and to wake him up. I waited until around 11:00, and as soon as he got up it was apparent something was wrong. He kept getting a sharp pain in his side whenever he took a deep breath. It may be related to a fall he had on Tuesday night. He had to go service some aquariums, and when he got home Poppy was so excited to see him that she ran straight into his knee and knocked him to the ground. His knee has been swollen and painful since then, and I'm beginning to think he must have pulled some muscles in his chest when he fell. At any rate, it hurt him so much I tried to talk him into going to the emergency room. He refused and went back to bed. I don't know why he insists on being so damn stubborn! It makes me crazy!

This morning, he says it's not as bad, but he's spent the whole day so far lying down, which is really not like him. Besides his painful side and knee, he seems okay otherwise so I'm just keeping an eye on him for now. But I do wish he'd go get checked out.

Men can be so frustrating!

New Year's Eve holiday recap

For the last several days I've meant to sit down and recap Christmas, and now here it is New Year's Eve already! 

It was a pretty quiet holiday, mostly focused on friends, neighbors, and home. I can't remember ever having such a relaxed holiday. I baked and gave away dozens of cookies, but I took it at a slow pace. On Christmas Day I cooked a turkey breast I'd pulled from the freezer several days before along with several sides from the pantry and freezer. I've spent very little time shopping and navigating crowds, and that's a relief. Crowded stores and long lines this time of year make me break out in hives.

 Here's a plate of food I took to our neighbor Heather on Christmas Day. She was home alone (she's single without family) recovering from shingles. Turkey, mashed potatoes, baked dressing, gravy, roasted carrots, collard greens, and cranberry sauce.

I also took her a large cup of ambrosia I'd made with delicious fresh navel oranges and coconut.

Martina came by for a few hours on Christmas Eve afternoon, and we had our customary book exchange. She also gave me this pretty apple shaped basket! It was nice to see her. 

 Later that night Marla's husband, Toyo, dropped by with Carsen to give me an ornament Carsen had made for me. (Marla was at home finishing a cake to take to her in-laws that night). I gave Carsen a gift of a book and sent Toyo home with plenty of cookies for the family. I finally got to spend time with Marla herself yesterday--she picked up a pizza and came over for a few hours. 

Christmas Day was so warm it felt like spring. We took the dogs out to walk several times and the weather was just gorgeous. As I said to one neighbor who stepped out to wish us a Merry Christmas when we walked past, "I'm not normally a fan of warm weather at Christmas, but today is so beautiful I won't complain!" and he agreed with me.

 It was a good and relaxing day. Here's one of the squirrels we feed enjoying a double handful of walnuts we put out for their holiday feast!

As usual, we have no plans for New Year's Eve that extend beyond the couch. I had to go out for groceries and Gregg insisted I should pick up a bottle of champagne for myself. (He doesn't drink). As I'm typing this, I'm having an early small glass to celebrate my last blog post of 2025...

and I raise my glass to each and every one of you with my very best wishes for the New Year! Thank you for being here. Thank you for being a friend. Thank you. 

Happy New Year! 

Love,

Jennifer

Christmas Cookies

In the two days before Christmas, I baked about 10 dozen cookies. The three kinds I chose this year were Cherry Walnut Slices, Molasses Spice, and Peanut Butter Blossoms. They were almost all given out to neighbors and friends. 

Today I mixed up another double batch of the Molasses Spice cookies, since they were my favorite and we had very few left over. We deserve some Christmas cookies too! Haha.

Winter solstice

Happy Winter Solstice to all! And to my one blog friend in the Southern Hemisphere, happy Summer Solstice! It seems crazy to think of having Christmas in summer, but honestly, this is South Carolina and our temperatures are often close to summer-like this time of year. Last week we had a morning so cold the temperature was 18 degrees (-7 Celsius) with a wind chill of 10 (-12C). But our forecast high for Christmas Day? 70 degrees! We have crazy weather here and you never know what you're going to get. *

Check out our Christmas tree alternative. When we bring in our huge Ficus from the porch in the fall, it doesn't leave much room in the house for a traditional Christmas tree. I strung some lights on this baby and called it a day. Hey, at least it's a tree, right?

I finally finished sending out this year's Christmas cards. I swore I was going to cut down on the number I send out but still ended up sending about three dozen. It's one of my only holiday traditions and I love doing it, despite the rising cost of postage. So far, we've gotten four. They're all pretty, but I noticed this morning that the sun was shining in and illuminating one of them from the inside. Isn't it pretty?

And speaking of pretty...look at this beautiful cake one our book club members made for our holiday meeting last week! Not only is it gorgeous to look at, but the woman who sent this wasn't able to come herself. She was having back surgery the next day, and her husband has just been diagnosed with brain cancer. I can't believe she took the time to make something so lovely for us to enjoy in her absence. (We're discussing ways to support her at a time like this).

It was red velvet cake on the inside. 

We're on an extra-long holiday break this year, just shy of three weeks! This past Tuesday was our last day, and we go back on January 5th. I'm taking things so easy this year, and I love it. Tomorrow after an early appointment with my allergist, I'm going to prepare three large batches of cookie dough (I've already shopped for the ingredients). On Tuesday, I'll bake it all up and prepare trays of cookies to give to our friends and neighbors for Christmas. I'm trying to keep things simple and mindful and as non-consumerist as possible this year.

*Except in summer. You always know what you're going to get then!

Decorations

 I finished the wreath for the front door. It now has more greenery, a bow, and lights. I'm happy with it!

Yesterday I started another wreath made with clove-studded dried orange slices, cinnamon sticks, tiny pinecones, and sprigs of fir and rosemary. It's not done yet, but here's a picture of a small bit of it to give you the general idea.

And here are some photos of my neighbors' houses, all lit up for Christmas. The t-rex with antlers is my favorite! 

Cozy weekend

First, an update on the Cherub: after a rough start and two bad days, Friday was much better. His foster mom picked him up from school and when she heard what a good day he'd had, she told him they'd go get ice cream to celebrate. Then this morning his foster dad brought him to school a few minutes late, and when I gave him a breakfast bag, he said, "Thank you!" and gave me a hug. How nice is that? Maybe he's getting some stability in his life and will continue to do better. I hope so.

The weekend was cold and rainy. I went out on Saturday and bought some live materials to make a wreath for our front door, and I spent the early afternoon yesterday working on it. It still needs a bow, and better lights, and I wouldn't mind picking up some extra fir branches to fluff it up a bit more, but this is what I have so far.

I also spent the afternoon cooking vegetable soup in the crock pot and drying apple and orange slices in the dehydrator. The house smelled amazing while I worked on the wreath!

Christmas will be here in no time.