Old and new traditions

“It smells like Christmas.”

Either Paul Hollywood or Mary Berry says this at least once a bake as I re-watch Christmas episodes of The Great British Baking Show Master Class. This is a new holiday tradition for me, as I came late to the GBBS game. But I’m all caught up now!

As I watch, I think of all the holiday bakes from my childhood and plan out some old and new things I’d like to bake this year. I am not doing any baking until this weekend. I have my annual physical on Thursday and I don’t want to be all sugared up before my blood test!

Seasonal tea has long been a part of my suite of holiday traditions. there are some old standbys, but I love discovering new ones. This year I have discovered two that are new to me. The first is Celestial Seasonings’ Cranberry Vanilla Wonderland. The second in Stash Tea’s Christmas in Paris.

The first blends cranberry, rooibos, hibiscus, cinnamon, and vanilla. The second swirls a chocolaty flavor with mint and lavender. Both are herbal blends, so I like to sip a cup in the evening as I knit that days portion of my Advent knitting project. And each of these teas make me echo Paul and Mary’s words, “It smells like Christmas” .

This week’s book talks 12/3-7

The week started of strangely as we began processing last Friday’s lockdown. Returning to the routine of the school day was remarkably helpful.

Tuesday

The Biggest Poutine in the World by André Poulin

 

Wednesday

Whatshisface by Gordon Korman

Thursday

You Don’t know Everything, Jilly P! by Alex Gino

Friday

A Possibility of Whales by Karen Rivers

 

Guest Blogging at The Hub today

I’m guest blogging at The Hub today, where I talk about books inspired by Lucy Maud Montgomery and Anne of Green Gables. Click here to go on over to see what I got up to.

O Come E-Man-Ewe-Wool

Friday was hard. A credible threat saw our school in lockdown and I huddled in the dark with my class for three hours. Fortunately, no one was hurt. The weekend was all about recovery for all of us. I used yarn.

For the last few years, indie yarn dyers have been creating Advent calendars with small skeins of yarn. This was the first year I purchased one.

It arrived a few weeks ago. I opened the box to find my 24 minis, a full skein, and a list of colorways.

Saturday morning, I opened my first one.

I had decided to use the minis to knit a cowl called “Land Of Sweets”, which was designed for Advent calendar knitting. I cast it on and knit the eight rows of Day one. I knit another eight rows on Sunday, day two.

Monday morning was hard. I felt anxious before school, and when I arrived. We had a special schedule that started with the class with which  we’d had to lockdown. We’d been given a script for a community circle and it worked beautifully. As the day wore on, things started to feel more normal. I had a late meeting after school, so didn’t get to knit my eight rows with day three’s yarn.

Tonight, I have a ticket to go see Tara Westover speak, so I will have to wait until tomorrow to knit day three and day four, which I opened this morning to discover had an extra treat.

I feel better about going to school today. A few kids stayed out yesterday and I hope they found a way to deal with their worry and anxiety so they can come back and start their healing process.