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Five simple things

Yeah!  A new year and a new outlook on goals.  I've been diligently working on my New Year's resolutions with the Mr. and 2016 is going to be great!  We have had a lot of great conversations lately on things that we have goals for.  We have given ourselves a three-year goal to have enough tie to finish out these goals.  Of course, this are what's considered short-term goals, but our long term goals are pretty exciting as well.  The New Year sort of gives us a chance to correct where we failed in the previous year and make ourselves better people each time.  Excitement is in the air here!  In the meantime, here are the things that made this week amazing!

1.  This List of Goals.

Source
1.  Be Present.
2.  Wrap someone in a hug.
3.  Send peace.
4.  Donate food.
5.  Make love.
6.  Be the light.

2.  This Face.

This little face laid with me all day Christmas day.  We just say back, watched package opening and drank hot tea and ate lemon biscuits.  We enjoyed the sights and took advantage of the relaxing time.  It was nice.  Unlike Baz, PITA is a lap dog and a very warm cuddle buddy.  

3.  This Drink.

A bit of Vitamin C intake. Get this drink here.

4.  This Baking Time.

Skylar-Braden and I have been cooking and baking more together in the kitchen lately and we've been experimenting with different recipes.  This week we made scones and sat and drank tea and ate them.  Sour cherry jam tasted amazing with them too!  I will add our basic scone recipe to the blog before too long.


5.  Skylar-Braden's Walking Stick.

We are huge fans of The Walking Dead and recently Morgan's walking stick has been taken an interest in by Skylar-Braden.  We were shopping around for last minute things this Christmas and he happened to spot one.  These are normally walking canes for elderly, but who says you can't use one as a bo staff.  If you're a fan of The Walking Dead, you might be interested in knowing what it was that Eastman taught Morgan.  It's called Aikido.  The teachings he showed him are from this book.

Extras:

• Did You Know This?




• This Tile.

Skylar-Braden laid the tile out to make the cutting board look more "fancy."  It isn't attached to the counter, but I left it because he liked it so much.

• This Postcard.

I received this in the mail along with our Christmas cards this week.  It's a nice note from Erin Boyle from Reading my Tea Leaves. I reserved her book Simple Matters and she sent this card to everyone that did.  It was a nice touch and I can't wait to read her book.  You can snag a copy of her book here, but be sure to check out her great blog.  Her approach to living minimal is a huge inspiration.


Blues night at Downtown Dog

The Mr., Skylar-Braden, and I took a quick walk downtown the Thursday before Christmas to enjoy some blues music from Robbie Laws.  We had gone to eat at the Downtown Dog on Wednesday night and while we were there, the owner (Terry) told us about the blues nights on Thursday.  We decided to walk there, although it was raining, and enjoy the music.  I liked how it was kid-friendly and Skylar-Braden really enjoyed it.  


Check out Robbie Laws music.



Skylar-Braden got a chance to talk to Robbie Laws about music.  Skylar-Braden enjoys 70s music and loves talking to musicians when he gets a chance.  We did after all, take him to his first concert when Foghat was playing live in Albany, Oregon.  

  

It was a great night for blues.  It was raining, and the wind was whistling through the downtown area.  It couldn't have been a better backdrop for Robbie Laws' music.

After leaving the Downton Dog we decided to walk back a different way and walk through Holidays in the Park at the Snow Park (Ralston Park).

It started raining on us before we got to Snow Park, but the lights still looked bright and festive.

Because of the chilly wind blowing my hands were freezing and shaking. The wind and rain really picked up once we got to Snow Park.

The wind was so strong we felt like we were in Chicago for a few gusts.  One big gust came through and blew the Mr.'s umbrella inside out.  We chased my umbrella a block from when this picture was taken.  Needless to say, we were glad to get back to the warm house and fireplace.  

Overall it was a pretty fun evening.  We enjoyed the blues music and even the walk back home.  It was a great before Christmas evening.