Getting Ready to Give

It is the season of giving,

and hubby and I will do just that tomorrow.

We try to donate blood as often as we are allowed,

but we had taken a break during a time when we needed to stay strong

and a time when we tried to keep our ability to fight sickness at its peak.

Giving blood is easy, but it will leave us weak for a day or two.

The week we donate, I specifically tailor our eating toward increasing hemoglobin.

You cannot give if your count is too low.

We have never been turned away, but I don't want to start now.

So the week we donate, we avoid coffee and tea - 

both inhibit the absorption of iron.

This morning, I made my smoothie with both vitamin C oranges and iron-rich pea protein.

The vitamin C helps to absorb the iron.

I also included spinach for folate which increases hemoglobin production.

We enjoyed leftover cranberry meatballs as a grilled sandwich for lunch.

Meat is the best source of iron.

And then for supper,

I boiled up some turkey bones and made this Harvest Turkey Soup.

Instead of frozen spinach, I used Kale

and I threw in about a cup of lentils.

The turkey, lentils, and kale will all boost hemoglobin or iron levels

and the tomatoes have vitamin C for absorption.

It is a powerhouse soup that we will enjoy again for lunch tomorrow before giving blood.

Oh, and to drink for a snack today...

a brown cow ...

A glass of milk with blackstrap molasses in it. 

It is good hot or cold.

Oh - and we were thinking about the donation even on Christmas day.

We had a beautiful beet salad.

The raw beets were a beautiful color for Christmas Day!

Beets are known for increasing blood flow.

That's pretty helpful when you are trying to fill your bags during the donation.

Let's Roam!

 On Saturday, hubby and I used another "experience gift.

I had seen some digital scavenger hunts advertised online

and there were a number available in towns around us.

So we purchased one.

The idea was good,

we enjoyed walking around a different town,

but I feel as if the company that was producing them could have put a little more into them.

We "explored" Franklin, KY.

the town square was decorated beautifully

Franklin is well known for horse racing,

but had a few more historical locations.

The hunt gave small maps that led primarily to "historical" place markers.

Then the hunt asked questions that could be answered from the markers

and asked for silly pictures of team mates doing activities similar to things mentioned on the markers.

Our scavenger hunt was produced by "Let's Roam."

I felt as if they were overpriced at even the reduced online price.

We had upgraded to a "date package" and could see nothing that would distinguish it as romantic or couple-oriented.

It did create a fun way to explore historical markings

and it did provide a lot of "steps."

 

My Favorite Gifts

 Many years ago, hubby and I stopped exchanging large physical gifts.

This is a bit hard for my hubby whose love language is physical gifts,

but I can only wear so much jewelry, right?

In their place, we gift EXPERIENCES!

We make memories together and they are my favorite gifts.

When we lived in Seattle, we attended the Messiah 3 times for Christmas.

In North Carolina, we were not able to see the Charlotte Symphony because they often performed on Wednesday nights, but we did see it once at Bob Jones University.

We made it to one performance of the Messiah by the Portland Symphony before Covid took outings like that away.

Last year, life just got away from us and the tickets were sold out before we got to them.

But this year ...

we got on it early.

We heard the Nashville Symphony this year.

Hubby bought the tickets and bought me a new dress

and we greatly enjoyed a trip into the city (our first to downtown Nashville since moving).

We also shared the night with 2 families from church.

The music of the Messiah is magnificent,

but the text ... pure Scripture praising our Savior whom we celebrate this season.

Hubby has also spent many evenings this year trying to find Christmas lights in town with me.

Downtown B.G. is lit up and tonight we will look around some neighborhoods for some more displays.

So it looks like some folks try to visit as many National Parks as possible,

and maybe I am trying to hear the Messiah at as many different cities as possible.

Maybe next year, we will try the Louisville Symphony :)

We are trying one more experince gift tomorrow.

Stay tuned ... I don't know when I will post about it,

but I will share ... I promise!

Fun Discoveries

 The past 3 months have had a lot more travel for us than usual.

About half of the time, I was traveling by myself,

but hubby made about half of the trips with me.

On one of our last trips,

we were going to need to stop for dinner.

While many people wouldn't think twice about that,

with an allergy or two, it is not as easy as stopping at any Mcdonald's.

With a lot of travel, we have also tried to limit the stops to Chick-fil-A.

So on the last trip,

hubby asked me to look around a certain exit for a gluten-free pizza place.

Well, I looked and ran across something that I knew hubby would like even better.

The restaurant was called CoreLife Eatery.

It specialized in healthy eating and balanced nutrition.

Each dish had veggies and protein and grains.

There were probiotics and prebiotics.

The dressings were hand made.

So we stopped.

It was delicious.

I revamped an Asian-inspired Sesame Ginger Tofu bowl by switching the tofu to chicken.

Hubby had a bowl that had kimchi, cabbage, and Korean Chicken.

...and we splurged for special drinks.

I LOVED the Vanilla Cinnamon Apple Fig drink that tasted like apple pie in a glass.

Hubby tried a beet lemonade that was also very good AND beautiful.

See the beets, broccoli, kale, carrots

look at that beautiful beet lemonade

So ... if you are traveling or happen to live in a town with one of these establishments ...

give it a try.  (Yes, Vestal and Indy both have one!)

I recommend ordering online so that you can see all of the options for changes and substitutions ...

and definitely try the Vanilla Apple Fig drink!

On The Second Day of Hanukkah...

... the homemaker made for supper ,,,

8 yummy latkes!

 Not only does Christmas celebrate a miracle,

but Hanukkah does as well.

The Jews celebrate the miracle of a one-day supply of oil that lasted 8 days.

They often celebrate with many fried foods.

While I would love to celebrate with sufganiyot (jelly donuts),

we decided we would celebrate tonight with latkes and lox.

It is "fast food" night, so some fried potatoes will be excused 😉

And we did break Jewish tradition with a green drink on the side!

It's the Most Wonderful Time ...

 I don't know if this season is the most wonderful time of the year,

but it does have many fun and enjoyable aspects.

We took the day after Thanksgiving to decorate.

I love the glow of candles in the window

and twinkly lights around the living room windows.

I do love the songs of the season that chronicle the birth, death, and resurrection of our Savior.

Sunday, I enjoyed playing an offertory that combined "Claire de lune" with "O Holy Night."

Hubby and I will sing a duet of "Come Thou Long Expected Jesus" this Sunday.

And of course, there are additional practices for an upcoming Christmas program in which I can sing, play organ, and even accompany a choir with a piano duet!

I love giving out little gifts and tracts all season and watching tired workers smile at some pleasant recognition.

Hubby and I have tried to take in some of the local events as well.

Last Saturday, we went to a Christmas parade.

The parade lasted nearly 2 hours.

Numerous bands played and did very well.

Of course, it was fun to watch the children chasing candy.

Tomorrow, we hope to stroll through town at night to see the town lit up.

Next Friday, we hope to be in Nashville for the "Messiah."

Yes, I am thankful for this season with particular emphasis on the miracle of Christ's birth.

I am thankful that God's miracles do not end there - 

they are still available today.