Delightful lunches, holiday craft fairs, and other Advent fun

Some weeks when I sit down to write 7 thoughts from the week, I find myself writing a whole post on a topic I didn’t realize was on my mind. That happened this weekend, as I was reflecting on our trip 12 years ago to China to adopt our first son. Here is that post, Discover joy on your Advent journey.

Now, on to 7 Quick Takes!

~1~

Maybe you didn’t want to see a photo of salmon with delicate little fried onions on top of it. But if that’s the case, you’re probably reading someone else’s blog.

There’s such beauty to the statement, “The chef prepares the salmon medium-well. Does that work for you?” Yes, in fact, it does work for me. Every single time.

~2~

I enjoyed the salmon during a wonderful lunch with my friend Theresa at the recently-reopened Milton Inn this week. I expected it to be special, but I was so excited to see Theresa that I hadn’t really considered in advance how enjoyable the overall experience would be.

Theresa asked for a lovely table by the fireplace, so we were in these large elegant yet comfy chairs. The food was delicious, the service was impeccable, and the time together was absolutely marvelous, as it always is.

Oh, and the cell service was surprisingly spotty, which just added to the experience because my phone didn’t start buzzing until I walked out of the restaurant.

Even before dessert arrived—did I mention the chocolate mousse?—we were envisioning a return trip.

~3~

Every year, well before Thanksgiving, I see Catholic people on social media posting reminders about making sure you are ready for Advent. I have always figured that Advent is the time of preparation. I just can’t bring myself to prepare for a time of preparing.

Then I go to pull out the Advent wreath on the first weekend of Advent, and I realize we only have three candles.

So, maybe there’s a value to thinking about Advent ahead of time. Maybe. But we have four candles now, and Advent is humming right along.

~4~

I keep telling my children that people can’t make a career on YouTube. Then I Google the YouTubers they follow and realize these people are making an astonishing amount of money while they catch whipped cream in their mouths and put mayonnaise down their pants.

God must get such a kick out of watching how creative his children can be.

~5~

This will be a really fun and full week here, as we celebrate St. Nicholas Day (Dec. 6), my older son’s Gotcha Day (Dec. 7), the Feast of the Immaculate Conception (Dec. 8), and then my younger son’s birthday next weekend. I hope we have enough gifts for him for both his birthday and Christmas.

I’m not the most organized Christmas purchaser in a good year, and this year I can hardly remember what we have where. Please don’t open my bedroom closet or that hidden pile of books will probably fall on you.

~6~

Have you decorated for Christmas? We often wait to give my son’s mid-December birthday a little space from Christmas. After all, birthdays are important.

But this year we have just been too busy to pull it off yet. Still, I love seeing the decorations going up on others’ houses.

We will enjoy our tree whenever we have time to put it up, and maybe we’ll even enjoy it more.

~7~

My younger son and I had such a wonderful time at a holiday market at Cross Keys yesterday. He isn’t fully vaccinated yet, but the market was mostly outdoors, and I knew my friend Jaime would have a booth. I’ve been having buyer’s remorse from not buying more from her at another craft fair a few weeks ago.

The market was fantastic. We bumped into one of my friends from work and met her family, and my 6th grader and I shopped together. I love shopping with people and seeing the experience through their eyes. My son—who is about to turn 12—accepted one of Jaime’s stickers promoting her booth and wore it good-naturedly around the market on his forehead.

We stopped at a table where a man was selling candy, and he offered my cool tween a sticker to wear to promote his toffees—then told him since he was an influencer, he would knock $1 off the chocolates we were buying.

Jaime texted me later to say that after we left, she saw other children wearing stickers on their foreheads, too. I’m going to assume my child truly is a trendsetter, preparing the way and spreading the word. What an Advent thing to do.

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