From My Home to Yours: 12/12/25

 From My Home to Yours

12/12/25

~ the joy is in the journey ~

This year, as every year, we do our best to make our own holiday joy.

We like to drive around at night and look at the beautifully decorated homes ...

visit local attractions that get all decked out for the season ...

make and bake holiday goodies to share ...

watch Christmas shows on TV ...

shop at the times when the stores are least crowded ...

give and get gifts ...

send Christmas cards (yes, we still send a few Christmas cards via mail) ...

hand deliver Christmas cards to local friends and Church family ...

we tease and play Christmas pranks on each other ...

listen to Christmas music whenever we're in the vehicle ...

and look for ways to brighten others days ...

All these things and more fill the days leading up to Christmas with excitement and joy.

If distance separates you from your loved ones/family during the holiday season, the joy in the journey is up to you.  You determine how you'll spend the time; we choose year after year to do the things, some small and some not so small, that bring us joy in the days leading up to Christmas.

So what did this week look like?  Come on, let's take a peek ...

Earlier in the fall hubby had boiled a huge pot of peanuts and after he had shared with others, he put the remaining in the freezer.  This week he decided he wanted some so off to the freezer he went to grab a bag.  He put the frozen peanuts in a pot of boiling water to thaw and warm after which he drained them and then promptly sat down to enjoy boiled peanuts ... out of season ... all thanks to his efforts earlier.

Keeping a well-stocked pantry is not just for basics, it's for those foods that really are treats too!

Hubby found a package of marked down ground chuck at the grocery store, purchased it and brought it home.  Since it was marked down for quick sale, I browned it in a skillet along with some chopped onions.  While this was going on, I made some pickled onions.  I have been wanting to make some for quite some time, but there just hasn't seemed to have been a big enough chunk of time available.  While the ground beef and onion were cooking, I decided that now was the time.  I had to be in the kitchen to keep the ground beef and onion mixture stirred and cooking anyway, so I made up 2 jars of pickled onions.  Here's the recipe I used and sad to say, I didn't make a note of where it came from, so I can't give credit to the proper person.

Delicious Pickled Onions!

1 red onion

Fresh dill (optional) (I did not add dill.)

3/4 cup raw apple cider vinegar

1/4 cup water

2-3 tbsp honey (adjust to taste)

Slice onion thinly.

Place all ingredients in a jar.

Warm vinegar, honey, and water until boiling.  (I did not add the honey until the vinegar and water had come to a boil.  I removed the pot from the stove and let it sit for about 5 minutes and then stirred in the honey.  My reason was to preserve as many of the nutritional properties of the honey as possible.)

Pour mixture over onions.

Refrigerate for 3-4 hours before enjoying.  Keeps for up to 3-4 weeks in the refrigerator.

 Serve on a sandwich or in a wrap

In the garden ... yes, in the garden, can you believe it?  In the garden, our collards are ready to harvest!  I'll do that next week and preserve them by canning.

Next year's garlic is up and growing!  We're supposed to have frigid temps next week; that will probably kill it back until spring when it will start growing again.

Remember the hanging towels that my sister and I did together via technology earlier in the year?   This week I packaged them along with a wooden spoon and started giving them as gifts for those times when someone drops by with a gift for me/us.  Living prepared is not just about food!  You can read about how I packaged these gifts HERE.

I also finished up the alphabet letters I've been sewing on for one of our grands.  You can get a look at all of them HERE along with 2 of 7 drawstring bags I'm working to finish.

How is the holiday season going for you?  Are you enjoying the journey?  I hope so!  One thing that we didn't do this year was put up a tree.  Yes, you read that right!  This is the first year I can ever remember where we didn't put up a Christmas tree.  I have put our Christmas quilts and a few Christmasy things, but we opted to keep the decorating low key this year and I can honestly say, it feels good.  I do miss not having a lighted tree to enjoy in the evenings, but this has been a challenging year, so instead, we are opting to enjoy the decorations of others.  Next year, we'll assess how we feel and make the appropriate decision for us.  Our ultimate goal for the holiday season is to enjoy it, we are well past the season of life where we try to keep up with the 'Jones' and all the stress that it brings.  ~ Smile ~ ... it's a beautiful peaceful place to be!

That's it for this week, I hope you've found something in my ramblings that will help and or encourage you in the upcoming week.

Until the next time ...

mrs. patsi @ A Working Pantry

~ quietly holding the home front ~

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

Other Places You Can Find Me ...

Grandma's Got a Sewing Machine 

From This Heart of Mine  

Mrs. Patsi on Instagram

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