My Favourite Things . . .

 

These are a few of my favourite things, maybe some of them are yours also.  Lets share! 

 

Christmas Cracker Jokes.  Yes, they are corny.  But they are also funny, and a part of the fun of Christmas.  What would Christmas Lunch be without a few corny jokes! 

  

Christmas Post.  Hardly get a letter or any post other than a few bills during the year, but come Christmas time, we get an abundance.  I love sending and receiving Christmas Cards!  The annual catch up of love and news from afar. I think it is great that people still make the effort to stay in touch in this special way!  Our cards get strung up and enjoyed very much.  Todd loves to do the stringing up. I love the family photo cards that Americans are so fond of.  It is nice to see how families have grown since the year before.  I also love the holiday catch-up newsletters that many also include. Every year I say I am going to do one, and every year I run out of time.  Next year I will hopefully be more organised! 

   

Angel figurines.  I love them.  I have some that my mother gave me, and I also have some Willow Tree Angels.  I love them all. 

 

There really are some unsual ones out there.  I think this one is adorable.  I could not find a source however. Sigh ...

 

Egg Nog.  Yes, I adore eggnog!  I have never had eggnogg laced with alcohol though.  My mom used to make it for us as a treat when I was a child.  Raw eggs and milk and sugar and nutmeg. We loved it and none of us ever got sick.  It is not something you find over here in the UK.  I make my own from scratch, and we enjoy it over the holidays.  I temper my eggs so nobody gets salmonella.  Just in case.  Todd really likes it as well. 

  

Red & White Toadstool Ornaments.  I have a few on my tree and they are totally adored by myself.  I think this goes back to my childhood when my mother had some on our tree.  They were always my favourites and they still are.  They fascinate me for some reason. 

 

I've said it before and I will say it again. I love the Queen.  I think she is amazing.  It cannot have been easy spending your whole life in a fish bowl.  But she has and she has done it admirably. 

  

A Charlie Brown Christmas. It gets watched every year.  We watch it on Christmas Eve.  I have done this since I was a child. It  would not be Christmas without it. 

 

My constant companion.  She is with me all through the day and night.  Always there.  Watching. Waiting.  Cuddling. Talking to me. She blessed my life in countless ways! 

  

Proper Table Settings.  I learnt how to set a table in Brownies.  It has stood me well my whole life.  I also learnt more about table setting when I worked at the manor.  I had to set their table multiple times a day and when there was a luncheon or dinner party it was even more complicated.  It was fun though.  There were so many dining sets, glasses/goblets, and cutlery sets to choose from than you can shake a stick at.  Also table clothes, napkins, etc.  It was amazing!  I think a well set table can make even a peanut butter sandwich taste better! 

 

Afternoon tea, and it doesn't have to be fancy.  I have never actually been to a real "Tea" room to have a proper English Tea, but maybe one day I will get the chance.   How very elegant, with the waitresses and their proper black uniforms and white pinafores, white pleated caps.  The tea trolley . . .  all of the fixings.  We did go as a group to a hotel when Sister Johansen was still here and have tea, but with Hot Chocolates.  It was kind of rushed though because there were so many of us.  I would still like to go and have a proper one, not rushed with maybe only two or three people.  Dainty and elegant.  I do it here at home sometimes and Todd enjoys it when I do!  Pinkies up! 

  

Lindt Truffles.  They melt in your mouth.  Seriously tasty.  I like the plain milk chocolate ones the best, but the others are also nice.  

 

Austria. It was one of my favourite places that we have visited.  I would love to visit it in Winter.  How very picturesque!  Its beautiful anyways, but I can only imagine how much more lovely and picturesque it is in the Winter.  

 

Board Games.  I love board games.  I don't think I have ever met one I didn't like or enjoy! One year when I was a child we got a pack that included a ton of board games.  I can't remember how many but there was Checkers, Chinese Checkers, Snakes and Ladders, and a whole lot more.  We got tons of hours of fun from that.  We also used to love playing word games together as a family.  Scrabble, Probe.  Good times! 

  

Traditions. Old. New.  In-between.  I love traditions.  Sometimes (along with a hefty dose of love) I think it is traditions that you build together as families that act as the glue which helps to keep a family close!  It is fun to build your own.  It is fun to carry on old ones.  It is fun to remember with fondness the traditions of the past. 

 

Words and their meanings.  As a child I used to read the Dictionary.  Yes, I was undoubtedly weird, but no matter.  It is good to be different than the crowd. I still love words and the simplicity of some and intricacies of others.  When I was growing up if we ever asked my parents what something was my father always told us to go look it up in the Dictionary.  I believe that my love of words has helped me to be a fabulous speller.  Of course these days I forget more words than I have learnt!  But hey ho, that's a part of getting old! 

 

Superstitions and Old Wives Tales. I find them totally fascinating.  Totally.  A lot of them have historical value, and a lot of them are total hocum.  Whatever, you got to love them!  Things like throwing salt over your left shoulder when you spill salt, rapping on wood, crossing your fingers, etc. 

And those are my favourite things for this week!

A thought to carry with you  . . . 

° * 。 • ˚ ˚ ˛ ˚ ˛ •
•。★★ 。* 。
° 。 ° ˛˚˛ * _Π_____*。*˚
˚ ˛ •˛•˚ */______/~＼。˚ ˚ ˛
˚ ˛ •˛• ˚ ｜ 田田 ｜門 ★
 *.˛.°A beautiful face will age, 

and a beautiful body will change, 

but a beautiful soul will always

be a beautiful soul.

~unknown   •。★★ 。* 。 

Spiritual Enlightenment

 

BOOK OF MORMON CORNER - Today's Reading -  2 Nephi 25:1-13 

Question - What have you learnt from the reading today? How would you explain our gospel in plainness to help a child or investigator understand our beliefs?  

 

My thoughts - I love the direct contrasts of heart conditions between verses 12 and 13. The Jews had hard hearts, stiff necks and would reject and crucify their own Saviour. Nephi's soul delights in His Saviour and his heart magnifies Him. When such comparisons are there I always ask myself, who am I like here? Is my heart open, soft, making Jesus Christ large and central in my life? Or is my heart hard, shrivelled, focusing on my way, trying to do it by myself? Rejecting the Saviours Atonement, Grace, Mercy, Healing, Light and Truth. 

 

 Nephi delights in plainness so that his people may learn and not err. I love Nephi's plainness!! Sometimes I am not as amazed as I should be at his prophecies, because it has already happened. But today I just thought how wonderful it was that he had a clear vision of Jesus Christ's days. And because of that clarity in his life he was able to teach in plainness and with the spirit. Jesus Christ's gospel to me is quite simple. 1. You are a child of God 2. He loves you unconditionally 3. He has sent you here to learn  4. He wants you to return  5.We all are imperfect 6. God is perfect, and lives in a state of purity, we need to be pure to live with Him 7. He sent His perfect Son, Jesus Christ, to redeem us and through repentance we can be made pure 8.We can return and dwell in a fullness of happiness, love and peace FOREVER....never ending!! 🙋🏻 yes please I'd like that!!

 

Tomorrow's reading (Day 63) - 2 Nephi 25:14-26
Question - What have you learnt from the reading today? How do you talk, rejoice, preach and prophecy of Christ? 

 

 

 

In The English Kitchen today  . . . Festive  Mince Pies.  I tried a new pastry recipe yesterday and it was simple and really good.  I  will be using it when I make my final batch of Mince Pies for sure!  

 

Have a really lovely Thursday!  Don't forget along the way of your day!

 

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And I do too!