Dear Sunday Letter friends,
Happy first Sunday Letter of 2020! So far this year, I’ve been super busy. If you read yesterday’s Grace Grits Newsletter, you probably know why. If you aren’t a subscriber, you can sign up HERE.
Forgive me for such a short letter. I was super excited about typing the first one with 20 in the date. The truth is, when you spend all your days hunkered over your MacBook, there isn’t much to report. You may get to the end and think she should have skipped this one altogether…
Eleventh Day of Christmas
Today is the Eleventh Day of Christmas—the Eleven Pipers Piping Day. At our house, we are still in full-blown Christmas mode with our decorations all around and our tree front and center. I don’t know when I’ve enjoyed a Christmas tree so much.
There was a time not that long ago when I took my tree down between Christmas and New Year’s (or New Year’s Day at the latest). This was part of my preparation to go back to work after a week of vacation. I needed a fresh house to get back into the mindset of work and the hustle required to keep up with our family/kid routines.
But things are different now that I don’t work a full-time job in the corporate world in a major city. So many changes have come my way because of my writing. Tapping into my creative, stop-and-smell-the-roses side, opens up a different attitude. Even the ability to leave my tree up until Epiphany is directly related to this change.
And I am grateful.
It may sound silly, but I physically could not have left my tree up this long even ten years ago. It would have driven me mad.
Pipers piping? The song refers to bagpipers, right?
I imagine eleven bagpipers playing together would be very loud. Perhaps drive me mad, even today.
Salisbury Steak
One of my goals this year is to cook a few new dishes each month. It’s so easy to get into a rut and eat the same ole same ole week after week.
My first attempt was Salisbury steak!
I followed this recipe from Allrecipes, substituting jalapeño ketchup for regular because that’s all we had. Otherwise, I followed the recipe exactly.
Yum.
If you have a favorite recipe I should try, please share. I’m already out of ideas. Ha!
Magnifying Glass
For Christmas, I finally received the magnifying glass I’ve been wanting. The past few years when anyone asks me what I want, I say, “A magnifying glass.” They laugh and look at me like I’m crazy. Or they worry that my eyes have gotten so bad that I need a super sonic magnifying glass to read.
It’s a gardening thing. I’m that big of a gardening nerd that I want to look at plants and insects up close.
Well, now I have one. (Thanks Laura and Tate!) So far I’ve inspected all of the plants inside my house.
Right off I discovered one of my non-blooming orchids has 5 teeny buds! I would not have noticed these buds for some time without my magnifying glass.
Sometimes it really is the little things.
Sleeping Bonnets
Evidently my sister and I were forced into a Little House on the Prairie phase. I seriously doubt we chose or liked these nightgowns with matching bonnets.
Mercy. Did we sleep in these things?
It appears my baby doll has already escaped her high chair, while I’ve moved on to Cootie (or some other game I can’t quite make out). The stockings are hung and the tree sparkles with tinsel.
The astute may recognize the similarities to Gracie Lee’s house:)
Things Momma Says:
(while clothes shopping)
I’m going through a pink phase.
(better than a Little House phase…)
***
Thanks for being a faithful Sunday Letter reader!
Grace Grits and Gardening
Farm. Food. Garden. Life.
Love the magnifying glass. I have never, ever had a pink phase. Maybe 2020 will be it.
Haha me neither!
Oh my gosh, I can’t believe it! I made my two daughters night gowns with matching bonnets just like yours back when they were about that age. What were we thinking, Barbara? LOL
My magnifying glass is always close by although not for the same reason that you wanted one. I can just see you out in your garden this summer looking for those caterpillars and eggs. Hopefully not those nasty bugs that get on your roses.
I think Barbara looks lovely in pink!
1. You were thinking about Little House I guess!
2. I’m sure those bugs will be back…
3. I agree!
Cathy Voight: Go for it. Let’s do the pink phase together.
Colene Chebuhar: Thanks Colene. Maybe this is the year we will meet. Let’s wear pink.
Great idea! I hope this is the year we meet!
Walnut Grove, Cottonwood Corner-I get it! lol Didn’t know there was hardwood under the carpet in the Bat Cave living room.
The Bat Cave has beautiful hardwoods throughout the whole front, preserved for decades beneath shag carpet et al.
II love leaving my tree up through the new year. The lights are so uplifting at night.
I’m in a food rut & just fine with it. I don’t want to think that hard about what to eat.
Did you hear about the boy in Texas who got a magnifying glass for Christmas & set the front yard on fire?
I agree about the uplifting lights! And I like your attitude about being in a food rut. You’re right. What does it matter??? NO, I did not hear about the boy in Texas but I will be extra careful now.
What a great ending and beginning outlook “letter” recipe sounds delish! I too have a magnifying glass …comes in handy for many things 😉 oh I love your mother ? pink phase so cute!! Happy New Year ~ your tree looks so festive…even for this new year!!!
Thanks, Lisa! Our tree is now gone and the corner looks so empty…
My precious grandmother always loved pink, but I had to protest when she entered that phase when she loved what she called that pretty shade of mauve. Your tree was beautiful, but I have never seen a Christmas tree that I did not love. Oh, we have two magnifying glasses. One is mine, the other is my husband’s. Sadly, I use mine to see how to pull out things like splinters. We use our wood stove a lot and get many opportunities for those.
I bet I will find lots of uses for my magnifying glass! As I think Gracie Lee would say, mauve is a non-color…
Your tree was beautiful. I love icicles. We kept ours up through Epiphany, too, mostly because I wanted to wait until we got back from Maria’s and the beach. The first thing I did when I got up was turn the lights and the last thing before going to bed was turn them off. The magnifying glass was a great gift. I’m glad they paid attention to your wish list. The picture of y’all in your matching gowns and caps is adorable. And I’m sure Barbara looks lovely in pink. As you’ve probably noticed I favor pink. Happy New Year!
Thanks Dorothy! I hope you had a great Christmas with Maria and family!