Weekly Update: 12.9.23
A week into the season of Advent, we're feeling the gentle restoration that moments of cheer bring to the mundane. The holiday spirit has been a good excuse for us to drink an extra cup of peppermint coffee and blare Christmas music while going about our tasks -- be they putting meals into a slow cooker or cutting and installing studs. The shorter days have meant more time in the tent, with twinkling lights, mugs of tea, and of course, the cheerful sight of a Christmas tree. On several evenings, I picked up the guitar and sang Christmas carols, usually with my nieces and nephew, but sometimes with my siblings as well.
With our longer evenings, we have started a Winter 100 Game Challenge, where we will play through our 100 board or card games before daylight savings time begins this spring. A couple times in the past, we had December game challenges. These days, so many family members are avid game lovers that our collection has out grown a single month. We typed up the names of all our games and put them in a jar. We draw one each day. Not everyone plays every game (some of our games only require a couple people), but all of the games will get played this winter. If we draw a game that no one wants to play, we will donate it. To make game-playing (and life in general) more pleasant, our mom purchased some rechargeable lightbulbs that we can hang on our herb rack above the table.
We have also been attempting a little slow cooker holiday baking. For years, we have celebrated each Advent Sunday with a festive dessert. Last week, we commemorated the first Sunday of Advent with a gooey crockpot gingerbread pudding cake, courtesy of The Recipe Rebel. We made a double-batch in our 8-quart slow cooker. As I mixed the ingredients, I admit I was a bit skeptical -- especially when I poured the hot water over the already thin batter. But when I dished up plates of the sticky-sweet molasses-y goodness, I was impressed. Then we tasted it -- and it was absolutely divine. Gingerbread is a Christmas favorite for our family, and I have to say we will be making this version again, even when we have an oven.
Over in the bunkhouse, we were busy this week finishing up several jobs. We finished fully nailing the floors and installing the pocket door frames. We also worked on putting up our rake walls -- a task that is proving to be remarkably tedious and slow going, especially without scaffolding. We took our scaffolding back to Menards, as one of the wheel locks broke already. We ordered another set, but it won't arrive until next week. On Friday, we finally started on our roof, installing several sheets of rigid foam insulation.
Grace also finished painting the cat tower. We chose red and green, which ended up looking quite Christmassy. The cats love it. Gandalf in particular likes to stick his head out of the middle tier and watch the world go by -- or sleep.
Looking ahead, we took advantage of holiday savings to order some tools we will need for the remainder of this project. Our Skil table saw arrived today, and I almost felt like I was getting an early Christmas present. I have wanted a table saw forever, but now we finally have the excuse to purchase one.
We also picked up a smaller, 10-inch Metabo miter saw, as our 12-inch Ryobi had to be taken to Springfield for repairs. We contacted Ryobi last month about some issues the saw has, and per the three-year warranty, they will cover repairs. According to the repair center, though, the process could take 4-6 weeks. We thought we would enjoy having a second, smaller saw anyway.
We ended the week with a trip to Springfield today for some holiday shopping. This last couple of weeks, three of our vehicles decided to act up, so we didn't know if we would be able to go. Thankfully, we got our folks' SUV out of the shop yesterday, so we were able to head to town today. We realized that neither Bonnie-Jean nor Grace had been to Springfield in several months, so they were especially tickled to partake in a little civilization. We dropped off our saw, then we went to several stores -- Costco, Walmart, and Bass Pro, the latter of which is especially festive this time of year. We finished the day with dinner at Chili's, which used to be a favorite restaurant for us back when we lived in Branson.
We came home to a little kitty stuck on top of the tent roof. Gandalf climbed up, but then decided he couldn't get down. After a while, Jeremiah climbed up and helped him down. Hopefully Gandalf learned his lesson.
Tomorrow is the Second Sunday of Advent, and I'm looking forward to a day of worship and celebration. We are planning a day full of simple pleasures -- church, hot soup, festive dessert, an Advent Bible study (N.T. Wright's "The Gospel According the Luke"), and a Christmas movie. It feels almost luxurious, as we had such a fun day today as well. After so many months of disciplined labor, taking time to enjoy life more has been really good for us. We have known for awhile we needed to carve out more space for recreation, but now we are finally doing it. And to be frank, I really didn't know how much I needed it. I love being productive, and I can go a long time without really noticing I need a break. But God created us for both work and rest -- and it is unwise to go against our design. This week has been a pleasant reminder to savor life a bit more.
