~ from my home to yours, living the Working Pantry lifestyle ~
seasoned homemaker * gardener * keeper of my home * food preservation * herbs * sensible preparedness * working with my hands * can do spirit and attitude * home economy * pantry * student of God's Word * sewing * wisdom that comes with age * self-care

Monday, December 18, 2023

Blogmas 2023: 12/18

Today's Blogmas post finds me hunkered down inside while a tropical storm rages outside!  Yikes!  If we were still in hurricane season, it would be given a name and classified as a hurricane!!!

We woke up to it yesterday, it lasted all day, all night and into this morning!  Torrential rain, gusting winds, weather warning after weather warning, flooding, wind whistling around the house ... it's lasted close to 48 hours!  

One of the things I did, besides watching the weather, was to pull out my 'to-do' planner for 2024 and place a Christmas sticker on the 25th of each month.  This is just a sweet little reminder to keep working on gifts, whether making them or purchasing them, or something Christmas related all year long.

Do you see my little 'max' sticker on the 25th?  I had some Grinch stickers left over from a project and decided to use those as my Christmas sticker reminder each month.  This planner came from Hobby Lobby for $14.99 and it's perfect for a 'to-do' planner!

Are you wondering what a 'to-do' planner is?  I unintentionally started using this method last year and I have to tell you it has been my most effective use of a planner that I've ever used.  To my knowledge, I've not seen anyone else using this method. Have I got your curiosity up?  Good!  I'll give a full explanation on what it is and how I use it during the week between Christmas and the new year.

Why I do Blogmas: 
 
It's no secret that I love everything about Christmas!  From the day after Thanksgiving till the last box of Christmas decor is packed away and put back in storage for the next year, I love every bit of it!   My husband and I are senior citizens who generally spend the holiday season alone.  While we do have lots of very good friends and our church family nearby, all of our children live far, far away and have children of their own to make holiday memories with within their own homes.  They are very thoughtful to include us in as much as possible via technology and we are so grateful to them for going beyond the extra mile to include us.   

I started doing Blogmas because I had a choice, either lose myself in sorrow over what I could not change or embrace the love I have for the season and share it with others.   I chose to share my joy in the journey not only with my children and grandchildren long-distance, but with others who love the season as I do and who just might find themselves spending the holidays alone as well. I hope in some small way you get a glimpse of holiday joy through these Blogmas posts and that it spills over into your life this holiday season!

Meet you back here tomorrow!

mrs. patsi @ A Working Pantry

~ sharing my home and my faith ~

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She looketh well to the ways of her household … Proverbs 31:27 

Sharing 43 years' experience of frugal, prudent living and pantry building 

My second blog:  From This Heart of Mine, where I share my love for God and His Word through my personal Bibe study.  Physical preparedness is important, but not near as important as spiritual preparedness.  Ladies, join me over at From This Heart of Mine and study God's Word with me.

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14 comments:

  1. Yes, I am curious! I have used a Franklin planner for maybe twenty years. About ten years ago Hubby said he could print the calendar pages and that saves me a ton of money every year. We ended up on the very edge of the storm but my sister in Florida took a beating. She owns a landscaping business so her phone is going to be ringing off the hook with calls to come clean up yards.

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    1. Lana, there's lots of flooding in our area along with quite a bit of standing water where it doesn't usually stand.

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  2. Deloris
    Rain- hope it fills up your well.

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    1. Deloris, it's too late for our old well, we had to have a new well dug!

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    2. I have childhood friends in the well business so I know that wasn't cheap but hopefully this will last your lifetime. I know you are enjoying having water again and not having to ration.

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    3. Anonymous, it was very expensive, all total, close to $10,000 and that was with the two of us doing everything that we could ourselves such as digging the trenches, laying the pipes, etc.

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  3. I love the idea of the sticker on the 25th of each month as a reminder for a Christmas gift.

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    1. Ellen, it's just a little thing that helps me stay ahead of the Christmas craziness!

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  4. I love your idea of a "to do" planner! That's brilliant. And thank you for the reminder to not let sorrow be a way of life. This has been an "interesting" year and holidays are generally not looked forward to in our household (too much to unpack there). Due to lack of space and two dogs, and lots of clutter, I didn't do anything for Christmas this year. And I realized this weekend that I've missed it. It's been years since I've actually been in the holiday mood. I've allowed life and burdens and the past to cloud my vision and take away my joy.

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    1. Karla, our entire house is 975 sq feet so I understand the space issue. I also understand that life in general and painful burdens can steal our joy, but it really is up to each of us how long we're going to allow it to do so. Nothing is ever going to be perfect, not life, not Christmas', not gifts, nothing, but that doesn't mean we can't create our own joy. It's not too late to create some holiday joy this year, I hope you will use what you have, where you're at and go for it!

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    1. Rhonda, it is, but it's not the longest period of time we've had continuous rain. Hurricane Florence sat on us for 4 days and rained all 4 of them. We got 26 inches of rain from Florence!

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  6. Patsy, you keep giving us the delightful gift of anticipation with your blog posts! We look forward to your ideas for the new year!! Thank you!

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    1. Anonymous, oh good! I want everyone to be excited about what's coming up in 2024 here on A Working Pantry.

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