Buy Nothing

 I joined a facebook group where people give away stuff.  It's stuff that people don't need, and it's all local.  I've been gifted fabric and toys.  I've gifted various homegoods and a bike.  I love the community and thrift of the group.  Opened package of diapers or dog biscuits?  OK!   These are things that you couldn't sell, and might not even donate, but you post it and someone who wants it, says they are interested and it leaves your house!  

There are some people gifting more generally useful things like their surplus coupon stash.  And some people are gifting food, knowing that someone needs food, for real.

A friend of mine wrote about the quality of thrift like a sacred reverence for what you have.   Thrift is an extension of gratitude.  Thrift is the opposite of miserly.  There is no gratitude in miserly.  Thrift met Hoarding and decided to use it up, wear it out, or give it away.  I love Thrift! 

Snapshot and comments

 

G eats sausage sandwiches pretty regularly since he wakes up and gets himself ready and on his class before the rest of us are awake.   I'm really impressed at how he's developed this habit.  The other children wanted sausage sandwiches too, and that's expensive and more meat than I want them eating.  So the tradition of Sausage Sandwich Saturday entered our lives.  But then we ran out of sausages.  Ham, egg and cheese sandwiches were still delicious.

This is the table in our front room.  We've got Scripture stories that we use in the morning to sign, and voice interpret.  We've got many Book of Mormons which we've been reading at night this year with Come Follow me.  We've also got many hymn books because we're singing 2 hymns a day.  We've got a ukulele to find the starting pitches.  Puzzles and story books are always around too.

I made these doughnuts yesterday, painstakingly following a recipe!  Crispy Creamy doughnuts they were.  I hope to make a half batch next time.  The kids said they were amazing.  Having had so many treats they couldn't eat all 44!  I saved 30 and filled some with chocolate pudding and raspberry filling.  This morning they were a little critical of the results.  I let them know that their criticisms were not welcome and that they need to be careful to offer feedback that will do good.  It does not good to complain about the doughnuts their mother made.  They won't get their money back.  I'm not going to make them another batch.  Yikes.  They need to be careful to be kind when someone makes them something because criticizing a gift is going to get them a whole lot of nothing nice.

Growing up, my mom invited us to critique her art work and other things.  I know my mom was trying to get a fresh perspective and at best, help us feel like we had worthwhile things to say. I grew up thinking it was ok to give an ignorant opinion.  I see now that it is a horrible habit.  It is important to recognize your own ignorance and not say anything critical of things you know nothing about.  And if you do know something about a subject, hold your criticism for a situation where it would do any good.  Once the food has been made, we are not going to throw it away.  If you want to make it better yourself, keep that comment to yourself and just do it better yourself.

This is a picture of how we watch church at home with the speaker on the big screen and the interpreter on the big ipad.  I'm so grateful that we can watch church and that T S is such a wonderful interpreter.  We are so blessed in this.

2020 Christmas

 We drove out to Gtowne on Christmas eve to visit grandparents through the sliding glass doors.

The kids enjoyed doughnut holes and Christmas cookies out in the back yard.  B and L got remote control cars that have squishy tires and can flip over.   S and C also gave us a globe!  Now the kids can learn that greenland isn't bigger than the United States!  I had been shopping for a globe for a while but couldn't decide what would be best.  So the gift of the globe was 2 fold.  The globe is great and S and C are great at researching items, so that burden of deciding was a great gift to me.

Over at Grandma L's house we picked grapefruit and opened presents on her back porch.  L held to his pencil box as a prized posession.

We planned to do a sign language caroling to our deaf neighbors.  M had a piano lesson to teach and by the end of that, it was raining.  So we did a facetime caroling instead.  Then we recorded this to send out on Facebook and emails so that lots of people could enjoy a caroling from us.  Win win!  The joy of sharing a happy song and brightening people's day without too much cold, travel, etc...

Pizza, garlic rolls, apples and a giant chocolate cake!  This is our traditional Christmas menu.

G turned 16 and we made this gigantic swiss roll Rocket. 

We measured G and he is within 1 inch of E!  The doctors told us that he would probably be 5'6" which was tall enough that they would not prescribe growth hormones when G was still so small and we were worried.  At 5'7" and coming from a family of late bloomers, I'm confident he will be closer to 6'.  We'll see.

Primary Program

 

Our Primary President invited each family to put on a program at home.  They provided a script and songs.  It was precisely the level of difficulty for our family.  I chose youtube videos that had the songs put to pictures with the words as captions.  The 3 peas did the main speaking parts with M and G providing prayers, technical support and L support.

We had an ice cream and pizza party after our Saturday practice, as always!  The C family sent the pizza as their Christmas gift to us!

On Sunday we did a facebook video call with grandma, grandma and grandpa.  It was 30 minutes beautiful.  Phew, we're done!  2020 made it different, but we could still carry on traditions.

Grandpa

 I'm so glad my kids did get to know my dad for a few good years.  He still lives, but because of paranoid delusions, is not available to be my dad or their grandfather anymore.  My mother passed away this summer and so the absence of both parents is sad.

I'm grateful for my many wonderful siblings.  We are so blessed to have spent a lot of time visiting, discussing and corresponding in the last 4 years.  Now during the pandemic 4-5 of us have a zoom call regularly.  I really look forward to these calls and am so grateful for my siblings.

Ministering

 Why is it so hard to do what we are told to do?  Ministering is an assigned person to befriend.  I know many super kind, service oriented people who don't Minister in a formal way, but are super kind and willing to help.

I learned a while ago that guilt should lead to change.  If there is too much guilt, or not enough guilt, people don't change.  People feel guilty for not ministering to their assigned person, too much guilt.

more Special Deliveries and letters

 We've done some nice baking special deliveries this month.  We've done bread, cookies and cakes.  I hope we'll do some more cookies and rolls.  At 40 I'm realizing that it's OK to do Christmas different than other people do Christmas.  I like to make batches of 1 thing and then give it to a few people rather than make batches of 5 things, and give an assortment to many people.  

 I called a friend and asked for inspiration.  She pointed me in the direction of a chocolate cake with these sugar glazed cranberries on top.  I totally did not follow the recipe but I did make some sweet brownie cakes with whipped cream frosting and sugar glazed cranberries, cooked in mini pie pans.  They looked so magical, like they had snow on them!  So pretty.

We're getting our special delivery into routes, giving to 6 families that live in the same part of town so we make the whole trip in 1 hour.  

I got started on writing letters because of something that G's elementary school principal posted on the facebook.  So I'm writing to the stranger assigned in the "Love Letters" program, but also to mentors and people the program made me think of.  I feel so blessed by letters.  When I'm writing a letter, the words sort of lay out like different paths, and I am able to process which path I want to take as I am writing, sometimes pausing to see that if I take that path (word choice) it will limit my next word...

 P has been doing the science kits with the children on Thursdays.  He is having us do scouts as a family with pack meetings 3 times a week, science on the 4th day, and on Friday he works.  I'm so glad he works.  We are so blessed and our lives are so free of stress.

 Something I have learned in the last year, and the pandemic has made easy, is to resist people taking my time.  I don't owe anybody anything except my family.  So I don't have to give my time and that is great to realize.  I want to be a person with clear boundaries and become narcissist proof, because I love myself and don't fall for flattery.

We learned of someone who moved to a new home with their parents during the pandemic.  It means having a larger home and their grandparents involved in their childrens lives daily instead of locked away from each other.  I'm so happy that is working for their family.  I'm so glad my sister L was able to have my mom come to her home (2 blocks down the road) for her last 2 months of life.   I told the children that a good question for their future spouses would be if they would be willing to have their parents come live with them.  Hopefully nobody has psycho controlling or emotionally needy parents.  But I like to think I'm a fan of multi-generational living and supporting one another.  I really hope to be a help to my children/grandchildren, but also not be all in their business.  We need to develop boundaries.

Hope=Plan

 

James 1:2 My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into ^adivers ^btemptations;  3 Knowing this, that the ^atrying of your faith worketh ^bpatience.  4 But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be ^aperfect and entire, wanting nothing.

 I'm pondering hope and how it can be replaced with the word plan.  I was told once that hope used to have a stronger meaning of expectation.  Now it is used as wish, for something we would like, but have no expectation of.  I wanted to make a comment about this during Sunday School but didn't have it firmed up.  So I'm assigning myself to this as a subject and will present my findings in January.  

2 Nephi 31:20 Wherefore, ye must press forward with a ^asteadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness of ^bhope, and a ^clove of God and of all men. Wherefore, if ye shall press forward, feasting upon the word of Christ, and ^dendure to the end, behold, thus saith the Father: Ye shall have ^eeternal life.

To me it makes sense that if we have Faith in the plan of Salvation, that is Hope.  The Plan is there.  If we know that, we follow it.

Bean Soup

 I got this recipe from my sister MS who says it maybe came from my sister L or me but I think it must be from L because it's too funny to be mine. 

Irish Bean Soup

239 beans exactly.  Not one more because then it would be too farty.

Mulan Movie

 I watched the new Mulan movie today and loved it.  I watched it without sound so I wouldn't bother G who was attending class across the desk from me.  I look forward to watching it with sound with the kids tonight.

There is so much fantastical martial arts in the movie and I was reminded of Shaolin Soccer.  I went up to the library and picked that up so they can enjoy the cultural background of some of the moves in Mulan.

I look forward to my children getting to see a movie with all Chinese faces.  The writers of the movie were not Chinese so there are some things that may deviate from Chinese culture.  A lot of articles criticize the movie for being different from the animated classic.  Seriously?  Did they say those complaints about Maleficent or Ever After?  I think the representation in the movie far outweighs complaints that it isn't true to the animated classic, which is not true to the Chinese story of Mulan.  Sheesh. 

It's awesome.

I loved the movie so much I wanted to geek with other people who loved it too.  I didn't find any articles that were positive.  One article's complaint of the movie was that the animated classic showed a story of an ordinary girl who was able to do extraordinary things.  And guess what, it does take an extraordinary girl to accomplish physical tasks on par with any man.  As a woman of unusual size and strength, I know this.  The new movie shows an extraordinary girl who is forced to hide her talents and even when finally embracing them is rejected.  I loved that the witch in the new movie is told "It is never too late to take the honorable path." That was awesome!

Ballad of Mulan

Mural of Hua Mulan enlisting in the Dalongdong Baoan Temple of Taipei, Taiwan.

Mulan sighs at her loom.^[13][14] The Khagan is mobilizing the military, and her father is named in each of the conscription notices from the emperor. Her father is old and her younger brother is just a child, so she decides to take her father's place. She buys a fine horse from the eastern market, saddle and stirrup from the western market, bridle and reins from the southern market and a long whip from the northern market.

She bids farewell to her parents in the morning and leaves for the Black Mountain, encamping by the Yellow River in the evening, where she cannot hear the calls of her parents due to the rushing waters; only the sounds of the barbarians' cavalry in the Yan Mountains. She advances ten thousand li to battle as if flying past the mountains. The sound of the sentry gong cuts through the cold night air, and the moonlight reflects off her metal armor. A hundred battles take place, and generals die.

After the ten-year campaign, the stout veterans return to meet the Son of Heaven, enthroned in the splendid palace, who confers promotions in rank and prizes of hundreds of thousands. He asks Mulan what she would like. Mulan turns down the high-ranking position of shangshulang in the central government, and asks only for a speedy steed to take her home.

Her parents, upon hearing her return, welcome her outside their hometown. Her elder sister puts on her fine dress. Her younger brother sharpens the knife for the swine and sheep. Mulan returns to her room, changes from her tabard into her old clothes. She combs her hair by the window and, before the mirror, fastens golden yellow flowers. Her comrades are shocked to see her. For 12 years of their enlistment together, they did not realize that she was a woman.

In response, Mulan offers a metaphor: "The male hare has heavy front paws. The female hare tends to squint. But when they are running side-by-side close to the ground, who can tell me which is male or female?"^[15][16]

1/3 Recipie

 I'm obsessed with making small batches of dessert.  I regularly divide a cake recipe by the eggs.  Most box cakes call for 3 eggs so I divide the batter into 3 (about 1 1/4 cups) and we make 3 small cakes.  Sometimes I cook them in a bread pan in the toaster oven.  I'm a little obsessed with the economy of it.  I also love for the children to eat the cake and then it is gone after everyone has had a reasonable serving.

I bought 6 inch circular pans so that we can make little round cakes to decorate.  For birthdays we make a whole box of cake mix (!) and make a 3 tier cake.  Wow, so extravagant.  

I recently bought some little pie pans from the yard sale at church.  With my dear in-laws, I will never, ever be responsible for making the holiday pies.  So I donated my 2 regular size pans and have already made 2 pumpkin a pecan and chocolate pie.  I just pinch off 1/3 of the pie dough ball Grandma C gave us (5) and use 1/3 of the recipe I find online.  

 

Moderation is a fantastic thing and I really want the children to learn that a small piece of pie is enough.  A small slice of cake is a treat.  2 cookies is awesome!  

Today I am making a cheese cake in one of the 6 inch circular pans.  I lined it with parchment paper and put it in a water bath.  1/3 recipe looks like this:

10 oz. cream cheese
1/3 c. sugar
1t corn starch
1 egg
2TBS sour cream
1t lemon juice
1/4t vanilla
dash of salt

I used left over chocolate bear crumb crust from the chocolate pie of yesterday.

I stopped eating desserts about 4 years ago.  I'm currently 60 days in to a goal of 200 sugar free days to get a royal blue velvet jacket.  Making small batches of desserts helps me avoid being tempted by left-overs.  Small batch.  Small batch.  Small batch!