First snow day of the season, candy cane caprese, paper-towel penguins, school concerts, and more (7 Quick Takes)

~1~

The first snow day of the school year was a huge hit with the children on Monday. Somehow our sons scraped together enough of the meager snowfall to make a large snowman and sled over and over again through the mud…er, snow.

I was partly grateful for the snow day because I had heard that there were lots of germs floating around the schools. I’m not sure that extra day helped with that, but it was fun to see how excited our boys were about the unexpected day off.

~2~

Our Christmas tree is up and decorated, so we are one step closer to being prepared for the season. I realized that our cards are not going to reach people on time since I have made no headway on addressing them at all. But they will still get there during the Christmas season, so let’s just view that as a positive.

I really love our Christmas tree. It provides such a gentle light, and whenever I look at it, I spot an ornament that has a story associated with it.

~3~

Most of my shopping seems to be finished, and the rest I should be able to wrap up this weekend or early next week. Today I went shopping with my mother, my sister Treasa, and my youngest niece (who turns 6 months old next week!). It was so much fun to be with them—and I made some good progress.

When I got home, as I was walking in, I saw my family and the house all decorated and warm and inviting. There weren’t even toys on the floor! A Christmas miracle! I stopped to take a picture. It reminded me of that Lonestar song, “My Front Porch Looking in.”

Coming home is the best part of every day.

~4~

A few weeks ago, I saw this candy cane caprese and sent it to my husband. Then I forgot about it. As I was wondering aloud what I should offer to bring to his family’s Christmas Eve gathering, he reminded me that I had wanted to make caprese. And it all came back to me.

This week I did a trial candy cane caprese run for a gathering at work, and it went over well. I bought the pre-sliced mozzarella and paired it with plum tomatoes. The recipe calls for some kind of a balsamic glaze, which doesn’t sound complicated, but it was even less complicated just to serve the caprese with a bottle of balsamic vinegar on the side, so that’s what I did.

~5~

This seemed like a good year to keep teacher gifts simple, so I bought a stack of gift cards and started writing notes.

Then at the last minute, our fourth grader asked me whether we were making paper towel snowmen this year. I could have said no, but last year no one wanted me to make paper towel snowmen. And, there’s something to be said for looking at the thousand things on your to-do list and picking one and doing it well.

So, we ran around to buy what we needed to make paper towel penguins—which I think are not as great as the snowmen but were still fun.

Me after the penguins were delivered: “Did the teachers like them?”

Child: “Yeah.”

Me: “What did they say?”

Child: “Thanks.”

See? Totally worth it.

~6~

Our middle school separates the sixth graders into two concerts so they can fit everyone in the gym. Somehow our son ended up being in both of the concerts, which were held on the same night. So, we spent 3 ½ hours in the gym watching the children perform.

It was a little long, but it was also magnificent. I don’t know whether other people get emotional watching their children perform, but I am always in awe at what our children learn from people who aren’t us. And I always think of how far they’ve come.

Then the jazz band starts playing and I’m too busy shouting out, “Tequila!” to think about much else.

~7~

School’s out until Jan. 2, and my husband and I are also off. I even have two extra days off myself before I go back Jan. 6. What will I do with all that free time? Dust? Vacuum? Write? Take a day trip? Use my Instant Pot? So many possibilities. I hope you’ll have some time to relax, too.

Read more quick takes at Kelly’s blog, This Ain’t the Lyceum, and have a wonderful weekend!

 Print