Quarantine and chill and kindness chatty clubhouse: Jump in and join the conversation! All is welcome!

Good morning all. Another mild day on tap here, we got to 68 yesterday, but it was very windy. The winds are gone thankfully, so we don't have to worry about losing power. We had a very quiet day, hubby watched the Packers game, and I made dinner. The ham was really good, as were the loaded mashed potatoes, steamed asparagus, and pineapple chunks. I had made a cherry cream cheese pie for dessert, but we were both pretty full, and only had small pieces. I was in bed by 9:30 and slept till 5.

I hope everyone has a nice Sunday, and those of you still celebrating today have a great time!
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Good morning everyone.
I've missed so much, sorry for that. I went back a just a few pages...to much to catch up on, but I'll try!

Easyas, sure hope you and your DH are continuing to feel better!

thanks - we are!

DD is back home since late last night. She's doing okay, so the girls went home.
that's good to hear

What a great gift that was!

nice!

Much extra peace, joy, and love to all of you dear friends.

you as well-

Western MD and we got to 65 degrees today!

Same here - we ended up turning off the heat, opening the windows to accommodate the fireplace haha. It's not the holiday if there isn't a fire roaring! We actually ended up sitting outside after taking a walk down to the creek and pond with the dogs, it was so mild my husband was in shorts.

DD took her for a test and will get results late tonight, but, the statement was, she's already showing symptoms. She will be 5 in January so no vaccine yet. So prayers that this doesn't affect her too much and that we all don't come down with it. DD is quarantining with them and won't be coming here as planned tomorrow.

fingers crossed. For what it is worth our niece got it right before her 5th b'day. She breezed thru it, had cold like symptoms for about 24 hours. Luckily it seems to affect the little kids a bit less in general. Hope all goes well for them -

I had planned to go to Blackwater Refuge and Ocean City
I often have gone in winter as a getaway and you are right, not much dining open.

Admittedly OC not my cup of tea BUT I'm there periodically given some work we are doing for the Town at the Public Works facility. I understand the big Phillips restaurant has closed it's doors for good, which is a shame. They are trying to get the t's crossed & i's dotted for a Maragritaville hotel complex down there as well. Last I heard there was a hang up, I guess time will tell.
I see you made it to Blackwater - have you ever gone to the Harriet Tubman museum? If not I highly recommend it, it is amazing.
Stepdaughter was here last night with all 4 of our grandkids, and her husband. That is the first time we have seen all of them together in one place since Christmas 2018--they have all grown and changed so much! Had a great time and it really lifted Mr L's spirits..after they left he said ' I didn't realize I had been feeling so down in the dumps, but that took care of it'!
::yes:: that is wonderful, how nice they were able to visit with you guys all together.



Carol - congrats on your impending new grandchild. Your son & daughter in law must be very excited about this turn of events.


The sun is shining brightly outside, although I have no idea what the temps are. As per Lynn's earlier post, it was very mild in Maryland yesterday and I think that the mild temps are lingering today. Christmas Eve & Day were quiet affairs for us this year, which took a bit of a attitude adjustment for both of us to deal with, but all in all it was a pleasant holiday. It is what you make it - right? Normally I am a "It's December 26, lets get the Christmas decor down!" kinda of humbug, but since it looks like we may do our Christmas dinner next weekend w/ the kids I'm going to suppress my inner humbug and keep it all up! The house though...the house is a wreck. We let things go a bit while we were sick so I think today I'm going to just take my time and do a bit here & there.

No great plans this week. We close down the office for the week between the holidays, so we are off work. Will probably go in for a while anyway to catch up on any loose ends from being home and quarantining these past 2 weeks. Might pop up to the mall complex area in northern DE later this week. We both need some shoes, and I need a new coat. And we are both desperate to get out of the house haha!

Have a good morning everyone. Good thoughts going out to each of you in need this holiday season.
 
Good morning everyone.
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Have a good morning everyone. Good thoughts going out to each of you in need this holiday season.

No, didn't make it yet. I snapped the pics on the webcam. Sunrise has great colors between 6:40am and 7ish when it is not too cloudy or raining. The webcam lets you take pictures.

I was not a Phillips restaurant fan. I did eat there once maybe 25 years ago, but I'm not huge on buffet style although I will go. So other than as a 'landmark' I won't much miss it. But for those who enjoyed it, sorry it's gone. When I'm alone, I'm kind of a nibbler, maybe a bowl of soup, salad, appetizer menu. A dinner out can last me a couple of days if I have a fridge. So, I tend to just grab smaller items when possible. Part of it is I really have a problem wasting or throwing away food, not so much the price to begin with. Portions are always too huge.
 
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The webcam lets you take pictures.

That's cool!

Quiet morning here. I have a load of laundry in, and DH is about to attack the coffee pods - open them up and remove the grounds/nets (for the compost bin) from the plastic cups (for recycling). We toss them into a pretty bowl on the counter as they come out of the Keurig, and then do a bunch at once.
 


Carol Congrats on the new grandchild.

@Pea-n-Me I hope your DD is feeling better. I always like to read your stories from patients who have had NDEs. Your latest one is truly hopeful and what I need to see at this point in my life. It makes me feel that Chris is with his departed family and our pets we lost. Plus that he can be with me too. This morning I got up to take a shower. The bathroom I use has a very high window that looks out on the neighbor's roof. On the roof this morning was a hawk. I have not seen that before. Yesterday I asked for sign from Chris that he is with me and helping me. My belief is that the hawk was there to tell me just that. I googled the meaning of seeing a hawk and it was one of comfort and that you need to move forward and your loved ones are with you.

My older DS's kids had a good Christmas. Older DS said they got the kids way more gifts than usual. I told him he was channeling Dad as that is exactly what DH did every holiday. I am sad that I did not get to see younger DS and family. I missed seeing the grandkids. We did a zoom meeting but that didn't work out too well. I could not drop off the gifts yesterday as it was freezing rain and when it did turn to rain it was freezing on the sidewalks and streets. I am going to drop them off today. Younger DS is still staying away from the family. He does go downstairs just to get food and coffee with 2 masks on and stays away from everyone. He is testing on Tuesday to see if he is negative. The rest of the family is too. The interesting thing is DS said at the wedding he wore a mask in the crowded places and they did not dance or go into large groups. They mainly stayed at their table socially distancing. But he still got covid.

I really missed Chris yesterday. I missed picking out gifts for him and waiting to see how he liked them. I missed when we would go to Target to look at books. He would write down the titles of books I wanted. Then on Christmas I would open the gifts and see what ones he got plus some that he would pick out himself. I always liked to see what clothes he would get me because sometimes they were very interesting. I loved opening stockings with him. I did buy myself some candy that he would have gotten me to have some treats. But that is it. Yesterday when I was by myself I watched some Hallmark movies, heated up a Stouffer's lasagna, and had a glass of wine. For dessert I had a frozen yogurt bar. I cried but I also did alot of thinking about how to approach life. I really didn't have any epiphanies. Younger DS called to see how I was doing. We talked for almost an hour. He is calming and he is very sensitive to my feelings and he is grieving too. We can talk about Chris together and how we are both feeling. Older DS seems to be using keeping busy with work and family as a way to deal with his grief. Not sure that is healthy but everyone grieves in their own way.

I am off to deliver gifts and food. I will also go to the house to move around the van. The dumpster is full and we need to have it picked up this week. Then we will have the large items picked up and see where we are. I hope to tour one of the condo places I have been looking at next month. It is just a preliminary visit to see if I could even imagine living there. I took a couple of days off to use up PTO so it is a good time to go.

Have a good Sunday.
 
Good afternoon.

Just a quiet day. Watching the Ravens game. Starting one of my new puzzles and reading a book. Church was virtual today and I haven't watched yet. Nice to just laze around.

It was mild here yesterday. When DD came for dinner, they brought the kids' new bikes and rode in our driveway that is bigger that theirs.

have you ever gone to the Harriet Tubman museum? If not I highly recommend it, it is amazing.
We keep talking about getting down there. We will.

I've only been to the big Phillips once. Maybe to the one in Harbor Place once. It is a tradition gone, but doesn't affect me. I also am not a huge OC fan.
 
At almost 11:45 in the morning here it is negative 1 wind chill. DH took 16 year old into her archery practice. Don't worry it is indoors and the building is heated so the only time they will be out is walking from whichever vehicle they took into the building, the store as I need them to pick up a few items which I am going to text to DH here shortly (I promised 16 year old that we would make the cheesy chicken mac soup for Monday) If it looks like a distance to get inside DH will either give 16 year old the option of waiting in the vehicle with it running or being dropped off at the door while he goes and parks with after they are done shopping him picking her up at the door, and then they will have to be out to get back in the house.
Christmas was nice and quiet and calm. I honestly don't know how I am going to handle next year with DH's family because things are on one volume loud. At least we will have the excuse that 16 year old will have to work even if she doesn't so we can make our exit before it gets to the point that 14 year old is on the verge of a melt down.
The stairs going upstairs to above the garage where the family room is and where we have our celebrations were hard for me especially carrying a plate of food for both breakfast and dinner. I had to get creative and put the plate on the steps a few times and then bend down and pick it up.
Opening gifts was interesting as 16 year old spent a lot of time throwing a hissy fit because my brother's wife mispelled her name complete with it was on my typed out and emailed to them gift list, and they have people's phone numbers to call and ask how it is spelled. Then add in my dad constantly asking if the basement where 16 year old has moved down to was finally clean along with all you need is your own fridge, a microwave, a toaster oven, and a bathroom put down there and no one would ever see you. Of course once again I had to explain that because we had assistance on the interest with our loan when we first had it that we can not do anything that adds value to the home until either the loan is paid off or we are able to refinance. What it is is we are subject to a recapture of the amount of money paid for the interest assistance based on the value of our home at the time of pay off, refinance, sale, or neither DH or I are able to live in the home. This is figured based on the value at that time minus the value when it was built in our case and then they have a formula that they use to determine base on the percentage that the value increased how much of that recaputure up to the full amount we pay back. If we refinance as I want to get done the amount can be added into our loan which we would have to put the full amount in at the time of application and then once we know the amount it can be adjusted.
 
Merry belated Christmas everyone...lol I'm enjoyed reading about everyone's celebrations and the pictures. I'm sorry to hear so many are dealing with Covid. My grandma called yesterday to wish us Merry Christmas and let me know two family members(two different cousins husbands)are also Covid positive so both families were quarantining and hoping no one else tested positive.

We had a great couple days with my sister, niece and dad all here Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. The weather was cold, windy and rainy so perfect for the fire DH always wants to have on Christmas even if it's too warm for it. 🤣 Christmas Eve we ordered some taquitos for a local shop so we had Mexican themed dinner...lol Taquitos, tamales, beans, fideo, plus chips, salsa, and guacamole. It was really good. Oh and I also made some ham in the air fryer for DH who doesn’t care for taquitos. LOL My niece helped me make some cookies and treats and then she helped DD wrapped some gifts for DH. The rest of the evening, we all just lounged around watching movies until my niece fell asleep on my lap and my sister, niece and Dad headed back to his house (same street...just two houses away...lol) I was Santa's helper since gifts were dropped here so niece had my dad and sister up early to come down and see her gifts. We all opened gifts and then my sister made a delicious biscuits and gravy casserole for breakfast. The rest of the day we just lounged and ate snacks. Us girls ended up playing a few rounds of Uno with hot cocoa and cookies, we went out for about an hour to look at lights and then came home to watch Encanto before they headed back to my dad's. It was very nice and we all could definitely feel my mom here with us. No family pics or I would've shared to. :blush:

I got a tablet from DH and tried to get on the boards yesterday and got the security message so just backed out and thought I'll try again later but never did.

The best gift of the day was from DD to DH....
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So funny...he loved it. She couldn't wait to give it to him so he opened it first even before my niece started...lol The pictures she used suits their personalities perfectly. :laughing:
 
Catching up on a quote I missed.
Breezy_Carol, so the Herr’s plant has Christmas decorations?
Yes, they have a pretty large, free drive through light display.

perfect for the fire DH always wants to have on Christmas
Don‘t you know you never have a fire on Christmas Eve? How will Santa come down the chimney?
 
Merry belated Christmas everyone...lol I'm enjoyed reading about everyone's celebrations and the pictures. I'm sorry to hear so many are dealing with Covid. My grandma called yesterday to wish us Merry Christmas and let me know two family members(two different cousins husbands)are also Covid positive so both families were quarantining and hoping no one else tested positive.

We had a great couple days with my sister, niece and dad all here Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. The weather was cold, windy and rainy so perfect for the fire DH always wants to have on Christmas even if it's too warm for it. 🤣 Christmas Eve we ordered some taquitos for a local shop so we had Mexican themed dinner...lol Taquitos, tamales, beans, fideo, plus chips, salsa, and guacamole. It was really good. Oh and I also made some ham in the air fryer for DH who doesn’t care for taquitos. LOL My niece helped me make some cookies and treats and then she helped DD wrapped some gifts for DH. The rest of the evening, we all just lounged around watching movies until my niece fell asleep on my lap and my sister, niece and Dad headed back to his house (same street...just two houses away...lol) I was Santa's helper since gifts were dropped here so niece had my dad and sister up early to come down and see her gifts. We all opened gifts and then my sister made a delicious biscuits and gravy casserole for breakfast. The rest of the day we just lounged and ate snacks. Us girls ended up playing a few rounds of Uno with hot cocoa and cookies, we went out for about an hour to look at lights and then came home to watch Encanto before they headed back to my dad's. It was very nice and we all could definitely feel my mom here with us. No family pics or I would've shared to. :blush:

I got a tablet from DH and tried to get on the boards yesterday and got the security message so just backed out and thought I'll try again later but never did.

The best gift of the day was from DD to DH....
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So funny...he loved it. She couldn't wait to give it to him so he opened it first even before my niece started...lol The pictures she used suits their personalities perfectly. :laughing:

Do you make your own tamales? I used to buy them where I lived in South Texas many years ago. They were little ones and always delicious! I can never get the same kind around here. Also like taquitos and everything on your menu.
 
Don‘t you know you never have a fire on Christmas Eve? How will Santa come down the chimney?
:laughing: Usually we're not home Christmas and it's been so many years since Santa has made a stop here DH must've forgot. :laughing: Luckily the fire was out before we went to bed so Santa was safely able to leave the gifts. My niece was worried about our dogs barking at Santa when he came...I told her the next morning they were so tired from playing with her before she left, they stayed asleep the whole night and missed him. :p

Do you make your own tamales?
I don't but I wish I knew how. We had some from friends and I bought a bag from Costco, which are actually pretty good. DD has a coworker that makes them but I guess we missed when she was taking orders. Luckily we live somewhere(Southern California) we can find them pretty easily.
 
Waving hi to wish all of you a good afternoon with love.

:hug: Carol, a quiet day at home is a lovely way to relax. Hope you are enjoying :)

🌻Sweetpeama, always wishing you extra peace.

Bingo definitely helped with that present, AuntieMe3! :dog2:

Waving hi, Judique and hope you are having a good day, too.

I'm thankful to share that our happy indoor Christmas tree will have a permanent home come January with a good friend. She has yard space to plant it and I know along with her daughter will tend to it. One day when this Covid plague is over, dad and I will be able to go visit her and see our tree, too! 🌲

:grouphug: to all
 
:hug: Snowysmom.

Today was Christmas Day for us. DS and fiance came over about 9:00 am. We had scrambled eggs, bacon and toast for breakfast. After sitting around the table and talking for awhile, we decided it was time to open presents.

The kids gave me an Amazon Kindle. I can't wait to begin using it! DH got a couple of nice shirts and a jacket. The kids and grandkids were all pleased with what they got. DS's fiance loved the Hogwarts wall hanging DS made for her.

My sister and husband came over for dinner about 1:00. We had brisket, potato salad, mac & cheese, green bean casserole and deviled eggs. Apple pie and assorted sweet received from friends were for dessert.

The football games were on tv. Many rounds Candyland and Kerplunk were played with the GK's. We sat around talking, looking at pictures that had belonged to my mom of days long gone. Then we moved outside to watch the GK's play with their new toys.

All in all it was a lovely day.
 
Good morning QUACKers! Few snow flurries flying here, but they have freezing rain to the west of us. And of course Sister in Law has to drive to Morgantown today, and she hates driving in bad weather as it is.

It was a very quiet day here yesterday, Mr L watched football almost all day, I was so tired of it, I finally said enough , and put on a Hallmark Christmas movie, I still have quite a few to get through. But there isn't much on tv this week anyhow, so will weed through the pile of them.

Decided on stromboli for dinner tonite, with a spinach salad. I bought baby spinach at Walmart the other day, checked the recall list to make sure it wasn't on there (whew, its not), and just made hard boiled eggs to put with it. Hubby adds red onion and mushrooms to his, I just put spinach and egg in mine, and use Catalina dressing
Have a nice day everyone

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