Friday, January 08, 2021

Friday's Fave Five # 616



Hi everyone and welcome to Friday's Fave Five.  I am so glad to have you join me in pausing and looking for blessings from God in our lives this week.  I am especially needing to take that pause.  I'm at the point of being over this whole COVID restriction stuff.  We've been on major restrictions since before Christmas looking for that January 11th date we thought they'd lift them.  And they've just extended them to the 21st.  It's pretty tense in Alberta right now as people are getting pretty frustrated with the restrictions some of which make absolutely no sense.  And after so many of us following rules, guidelines and giving up seeing families for Christmas it has come to light this week that all sorts of Alberta's politicians travelled for Christmas vacations and to visit relatives out of Canada.  It is beyond irritating and then days later announcing that restrictions were being extended.  I definitely need to get into a thankful and grateful headspace looking at the things that are good in my life right now.  So let's get to it!

~ beautiful weather ~  the weather this week has been absolutely glorious!  Warm and sunny, above freezing.  Me and the dayhome kids have been getting outside every single day to soak up that sunshine.  Sitting on the steps in the warmth of the sun's rays and reading my book, listening to them burning up some energy does my soul good.  Very thankful for this time outside.

~ blankets scarf ~  my sis got me a blanket scarf for my birthday.  I've never got one thinking they were so large and cumbersome.  I've been using it inside in the evenings while I'm watching tv or reading a book.  The nights still are cold and it is so cozy and just right as sometimes a blanket is just too much.  Thankful for this lovely gift.

~ gift cards ~ I'm one of those people who totally love getting gift cards as a gift.  I don't think they are impersonal gifts at all.  I love being able to go and choose something I know I'm going to use and enjoy.  Our son got us a gift card to a favorite local Mexican restaurant for Christmas.   He wasn't able to be here to celebrate with us  but he really wanted to support local business during this time so he phoned the restaurant and purchased the card and the owner actually delivered it to our mail box.  On the weekend we enjoyed a delicious meal with it and I know it really was a blessing to the restaurant.  They have all been suffering from the closures in these last restrictions.  I also got a gift card to another restaurant in town and one to a local coffee roasters from dayhome parents and one to a book store from Tamara and from hubby I got one to Marshalls and one to Starbucks.  I look forward to using those too in the coming weeks and I appreciate each one and the giver for thinking of me.

~ washer and dryer ~ a post about wringer washers came up in my news feed in facebook this week and it got me noticing how often I use my washer and dryer in a week.  I am so thankful for modern day appliances.  With my dayhome, I use my washer and dryer every day and I can't imagine having to use a wringer washer, even though that was a major work saver at one time.   And though I grew up with the wonderful smell of line dried bedding, I can't even fathom hanging all all my daily wash up, waiting for it to dry and then possibly having to iron it too.  My mom spent hours upon hours at these chores.  And this week I was reminded what a blessing it is to be able to have these appliances.  

~ instant pot ~ last month my handy, dandy crockpot went on the blink and hubby bought me an instant pot with air fryer.  At first I wasn't sure I wanted it, I wanted my crockpot.  But he was so excited because he'd heard such good things, I didn't have the heart to make him take it back and exchange it.  It took a few weeks before I used it, the thing intimidated me.  But I've now used it to cook roast from frozen, the most tender made from scratch butter chicken, and fall off the bone ribs that were awesome because of the browned and carmelized finish with the air fryer.  I still want a crockpot because apparently the slow cook feature is a whole other ball game with the instant pot but I've been enjoying the blessing of learning to use this and have super tender delicious meals so far in way less time.






What have been your blessings from the last week?













9 comments:

Gattina said...

You have exactly the same feelings and anger about senseless rules as we have here concerning the Coronavirus !! Some have really no sense at all ! At least you have sunshine and nice weather while here it is grey and humid and it often rains so you even can't go outside ! We live like robots every day the same. Nobody wants to buy clothes, you can't go out and all the poor restaurants which went bankrupt. Lots of the converted to take aways which is good, so many people order special plates at home. They prices are OK. The only thing which lifts my mood up is Australia and my blogfriends there ! They lead a normal life again and that gives hope !

Barbara Harper said...

I had my instant pot a while, too, before I used it. But I love it now. Mine has a slow cooker feature that works well. My favorite thing is that you can brown, saute, and pressure cook all in the same device without having to get multiple pans dirty.

I love gift cards, too. How neat that you got so many! I had never heard of a blanket scarf. I'm guessing it is bigger and/or heavier than a regular scarf, but smaller than a shawl?

I know what you mean about appliances. Electricity going out or one of them being on the blink is a reminder how much we rely on them. I grew up with line-dried clothes, too, and I am so thankful for both washer and dryer.

Yay for nice weather in January!

Faith said...

well I'm under quarantine!! UGH. I DESPISE Teaching from home but...ya gotta do what ya gotta do. It just is ridiculous that we have so much added documentation per NYS rules from the Ed Dept. It's so frustrating and I feel your pain about the extended closures. at least YOUR fellow countrymen didn't cause anarchy and chaos in your capital this week. I"m actually embarassed to be a USA Citizen right now. Good thing my. REAL citizenship is in heaven, huh??!!

LOVE getting gift cards. And this year I received NONE!!

Yay for soaking up sunshine!! So good for us and the added Vitamin D helps to ward off virus!

I LOVE my crockpot and don't have extra room for the instant pot so haven't bought one. I don't have the desire since my crockpot has all these cool digital settings: high, low, simmer, warm and you can set the timer for whenever and it also has a removeable dish to bring right to table while the main unit is cooling off to be put away.

I LOVE LOVE LOVE Pashminas (blanket scarves). I have just one and I watched you tube videos on how to wear it in many different ways. I don't wear it alot (It's direct from INdia from a former INdian student who went there on vacation to see her grandparents when she was in our class 2 years ago) because it's kinda cumbersome for work but i do enjoy it in the fall for church or going out with dave. It's also nice to throw over my shoulders on a crisp autumn evening when i'm on the deck. Love your idea of reading with it in the evenings

Have a good weekend and let's pray these restrictions can be lifted soon!

Wendy said...

Well I have had a washer AND a tumble dryer since the kids came along and wouldn't be without them, even though there's just two of us at home now, we still seem to generate a lot of washing lol. Yay for good weather. Very cold here and not bright sunshine so I'm all for settling down on the sofa with a warm wrap and losing myself in the TV. We are under very tight restrictions here so although I too like gift cards, I'm glad I didn't get any for Christmas. It might be a challenge getting to use them. Your cooking appliance sounds great. We need to replace our air fryer so might look at what's on the market here. Have a good weekend Susanne.

Willow said...

No instant pot here. I guess if I had one, I would use it. I've heard so much about them. I'm glad you are loving yours.
I learned to use a wringer washer with my grandma which was a good thing because that's what I had in Indonesia. Automatic washer and dryer is truly a wonderful blessing!
I'm with you on the restrictions (and politicians) and where I am it's not so locked down.
Have a good weekend and may you continue to have sunshine and warmth!

nikkipolani said...

My dad is like you on gift cards -- they're some of his favorite gifts :-) Glad you got some good ones to extend the joy.

My mom loves loves loves her air fryer. Sounds like you are already getting good use out of your new tool. Those ribs and potatoes look scrumptious!

How lovely that you're getting some cheery sunshine. We are heading into the 80s (again) and wondering where our winter rain went...

Karen said...

I love receiving gift cards. It's like a double gift, because I the time spent in my favorite stores just browsing.

I've heard so much about instant pots and air fryers, but had no idea you could get a combination of both. The meals sound delicious.

Sunshine has made a big difference here, too. We're expecting snow tomorrow, but fair weather will be back next week.

ellen b. said...

It takes a while to bond with the Insta Pot/ air fryer. Our DIL has totally embraced it and we've enjoyed some great things from it. We've used ours (we don't have the air fryer) a few times and I'll continue bonding with it. We are trying to support our local restaurants. That was a nice thoughtful gift from your son. I'm hoping we can eat inside our Mexican Restaurant again soon!
Blessings!

aspiritofsimplicity said...

I don’t have an insta-pot. We have a small kitchen so I try to limit the amount of gadgets. I have heard they are wonderful though. I love getting gift certificates as well. It’s like free money!