'Tis that Time of the Year

My dear daughter complained that I had not updated lately, and just what was she supposed to read during her Criminal Justice class any way? Apparently, all the hip young college students now read food blogs on their computers during classes. To add insult to injury, her other favorite blogger, Rosie Hawthorne, took a road trip and was not blogging. So, in order to restore peace and harmony to my home, I will update you all on what I have been up to since Thanksgiving.

We enjoyed a nice day with my husband's family and as a bonus, the drive to and from were quite pleasant. As usual, I didn't do much the next day (no crazed holiday shopping on Black Friday for me, thank you very much!). I did drag my husband out with me on Saturday, and we picked out a new bed, mattress set and nightstand for us. Our 15 year old mattress is getting the better of us, and I am ready for bedroom furniture that I actually like. Now, I just have to wait for it to arrive.

Uh oh. I am not ready for this. Fortunately, this all melted the next morning.

Didn't I say I wasn't ready for this? More snow. And this time it stuck around for a couple of days.


Oh well, I guess this is a good time to get working on my annual tradition of making citrus potpourri for the holidays. I get busy slicing 9 pounds of oranges and 3 pounds of lemons.

I decided to use the bath-towels-turned-rags for this first step. As you might imagine, lemons and oranges hold a lot of moisture, so it takes a lot to dry them out. The fruit tends to turn dark brown in the oven, so I prefer to air dry the citrus instead.

Twelve pounds of citrus later, and the fruit slices are ready to start drying. Since it was a cool, windy day, I set them out on my back deck to help speed the drying process. That evening I brought them back inside, minus lethargic flies, and laid them out on window screens that were propped up off the floor.

And now we wait (do you sense a theme here?). Making the potpourri is a bit of work, but the recipients always are so appreciative that it is worth it.

I am pleased to tell you that I finished my Christmas shopping yesterday with the help of my daughter and her friend. Whew. I am so glad to get that job out of the way. Now, I just need to get that tree and the other decorations up...