It’s hygge season!!!!! It’s also the kickoff of the winter holiday season. Since Thanksgiving is late this year, I began decking the halls this past week when it was sunny and in the 50s.
Decorating for Christmas makes my hygge home even more cozy. Last weekend, my sister Jennifer came to visit with her boyfriend.
When she settled in last Friday night around 9:45 pm, she hugged me and told me my home was so hygge-ish.
On Sunday night, I had our friends over for a casual Sunday night supper and Tabetha told me my house was so hygge like.
Our back room with light up snow flakes in the windows. It’s so cozy.
Yay! I’m proud that writing about hygge last year has opened peoples eyes to the beauty and warmth in your surroundings.
I am on a couple hygge groups on Facebook and saw that my maid of honor Deborah commented on a post. I didn’t know she was into hygge too! Yay!
Our view across the street. It looks so pretty the photo doesn’t do it justice.
I am slowly decorating our homes. I enjoy doing it and it brings me great joy. I don’t rush to get it done anymore.
Come to think of it, I don’t rush to do anything anymore. I am more mindful of everything I do these days.
Tonight when we took the girls out I put on their sweaters and they didn’t shiver, they zoomed around yard looking at each other in their sweaters and sniffing them. 😂
Roxy’s sweater is huge on her, she still needs to put on some weight which we are working on with a healthy diet. No junk food for them either.
We will be getting our tree hopefully Friday or Sunday. We are elevating it to avoid disaster and to curb the girls from dragging my tree skirt through the house.
Happy Friday guys! Thanksgiving is only a few days away, I guess I better get my tail in gear and go to the grocery stores tomorrow.
Life with Roxy has changed all of our lives for the better. She was meant to be our pup since I longed for Nelly to have a companion. I asked for one and I got one.
Who did I ask? Well, God, aka the universe. I asked for the piece of my heart to heal after Klaus passed away.
The Saturday before we picked up Roxy I was so upset about Nelly just laying around and not having a playmate.
I was heading out for a few hours and always felt so guilty knowing she would be lonely and waiting nervously for us to get home.
Frenchie’s were bred for human companionship. We are on many Frenchie groups online and 80% of Frenchie owners have more than one.
Now, Nelly and Roxy and inseparable. Roxy had a vet appointment on Monday and Nelly started shaking terribly when she saw Roxy when we got back.
They touched noses and Nelly smelled her up and down. They curled up on the couch together and played for the rest of the afternoon.
The vet’s office couldn’t believe that Roxy was a stray since she has been well trained, is very smart and is in good shape.
They also couldn’t believe that no one wanted her. Above is a photo of her from the animal shelter at an adoption fair.
No one wanted her because she was already ours. Miraculous things can happen to time, space and events when something is meant to happen.
The vet said she still needs to gain a pound or two. She weights 19.6 lbs, when she was kicked up and brought to the animal shelter in Texas she was less than 15 lbs, how heartbreaking. 💔
It’s like Roxy has been here all along. She is housebroken and uses the doggie door. She loves sleeping with her pack and cuddling with us.
She is learning the ins and outs of our home life from Nelly who learned from Klausie. It’s like he is still here in a way whenever I see this happening.
Marty and I both feel as though our life is complete again and our hearts are full. Roxy is the sweetest girl and I can tell how happy and feel how appreciative she is with us.
We keep pinching ourselves that we got so lucky, but why wouldn’t we, Roxy was a gift sent to us from the Big Guy himself. I asked and we received. Thank you. Amen.
Marty and I have gone back and forth since Klaus died whether or not we should get another dog.
Getting another Frenchie was out of the question since a puppy is way too expensive and I wasn’t sure if I wanted to start all over again with a puppy. Puppies are a lot of work.
We decided we would stay a one-dog family.
Besides the fact that we all miss Klaus tremendously, I feel sad for Nelly that she lost her playmate., her partner in crime.
She lays around the house all day until one of us plays with her. Marty has been her playmate since Klaus died.
I am the boss and the nurturer, my hard and soft sides coming together to love another being with all my heart.
Earlier this week, our friend Gretchen tagged us on a Facebook page called Potter’s Angels, an adoption site for dogs.
While I was reading the post about a little black frenchie, Marty was already filling out the online adoption form and adding some people to use as references.
We were approved after answering a bunch of questions and sending off a few short videos and photos of our home and yard.
The agency had a lot of inquiries regarding the black frenchie so we knew we had to move fast.
Today, Nelly and I drove up to Williamstown which is near Barre, VT to meet Roxy and brought her home.
The ride home was quiet while both of the girls slept listening to a sweet jazz playlist I use when I travel with Nelly.
We don’t know much about Roxy and her brother besides they were found running on the streets of Missouri City, TX looking very thin.
The shelter named them French Dip and French Fry. Lol.
They entered the shelter on 9/20/24 and came to Vermont 2 weeks ago.
Besides Roxy’s medical records telling us she’s been fixed, chipped, up to date on all her vaccinations, and on the same monthly flea, tick, and heart-worm tablet as Nelly, the rest is for us to figure out.
Roxy is still thin for her size but soon enough she will fill in a bit no doubt. We are feeding her in her crate as suggested by the foster woman Mandy.
So far we have figured out she is house broken, responds to her name and knows what the word no means and stops immediately.
She knows the commands come, stay, sit and off. Her and her brother were absolutely someone’s dogs. I can’t help but wonder what happened.
She loves playing fetch like Nelly, the big basket of stuffies and chew toys we have in our living room. Once she settled down, she likes to cuddle.
Even though she had a bath this week, she let me do a mini spa treatment on her after Nelly’s.
I wiped her fur and lady parts with wipes then cleaned her ears which she enjoyed. I’ll repeat this everyday like I do to Nelly.
They said she’s crate trained, obviously since she’s been in a cage since 9/20, but when I put her in her crate at bedtime she started to cry.
Needless to say, the four of us piled into our bed, turned the lights off, and we didn’t hear a peep out of either of them. Wow!
Nelly moves around during the night so it was hard to tell which one was snuggled up against me. Marty couldn’t tell either. 😂
This morning was an early wake up call since Marty had to go to the farmers market. Roxy amused herself with toys and Nelly cuddled with me like usual.
I can already tell that Roxy is fitting in seamlessly. Now I have two little shadows following me around the house again which I love.
When I saw them playing the way Nelly and Klaus did I almost started to cry, ok, I teared up a lot.
When we are working in the production kitchen or out, Roxy will be put in her crate until we can trust her, however, I don’t think it will take very long.
No dogs will ever replace Otto and Klausie-boy or the love we have for them. Klaus would be pleased that Nelly has another partner in crime.
This is just the next chapter in our story. It feels like our yin and yang are back in balance. Things feel right again. ☯️
We have two of each holiday collar, so the girls are wearing their Thanksgiving ones both with Bella on so I can hear where they are.
My friend and mentor John Katz of http://bedlamfarmjournal says you get the right dog when you need it and he is 100% correct.
I wrote about my first Samhain celebration but I wanted to share a few photos from Halloween that I think you may enjoy.
David and Arthur went all out again. Their place is the highlight of Halloween in our small town of Arlington, VT, in a historic home built in the 1700s.
These guys are great friends and my partners in crime on the big day. Lol.
My son Sam was here on Halloween and saw that the costume I bought for Nelly didn’t fit so he got out my sewing machine, took the outfit apart, cut it, and sewed it back together! What the actual fuck??
I asked him when he started sewing, and he told me he sews all the time using Marty’s mother’s old singer. This was news to me, and it makes me laugh when I think about it.
Nelly laid on a heated blanket in between greeting trick-or-treaters.
I hate using my machine; he told me it didn’t work because I had it threaded wrong. That’s me, not a mechanical person at all folks.
I’m heading north to Rutvegas , Vermont, today to make a delivery and visit the craft stores in search of things for this year’s Christmas design.
One thought before I go: Instead of being depressed that it’s getting dark early, think of how cozy it is this time of year and embrace the idea of hygge.
If you are new to my page, here is the definition of hygge and pronunciation.
Hygge changed my dread, despair, and depression from early November through March last year.
Make each season something to be grateful for, and appreciate that you are alive and get to experience it.
You may still say, “bullshit or fuck her,” as I would have, but if you can’t appreciate the seasons, then moving somewhere they don’t exist is my only advice.
The colder months are for candlelight in the evenings, comfort food, a comfy warm blanket, starting a new book, hobby, or project, and not feeling guilty about slowing down and resting.
My dinner last night was incredibly delicious and easy to make—hygge on a plate!
This is clean eating , and we use a cut of steak called teres major, which is a lean cut of beef from the shoulder. It’s as lean and tender as filet mignon but with a beefier taste.
Teres major is known as the butcher’s cut, and after eating it, you’ll know why.
Here are the links to the recipes I used for last night’s dinner.
I’ve always enjoyed this time of year not only because of Halloween but also because it is a time to remember those who came before us or All Souls Day.
When I was little whenever we visited my grand-pop’s grave, I looked at all the old mausoleums while walking to the water spicket to fill up the flower holder that slipped down into the earth.
I wonder if the people inside the fancy, schmancy, tiny marble houses had people visit them. We went to the cemetery with Nana once a week.
There were never any flowers around the mausoleums, and we never saw any visitors. I would say hello to the people inside and tell them I’m sorry no one was visiting them.
I would wonder who all the people in the graveyard were since some of the graves were very old.
I also wondered who my people were since I was adopted. It bothered me a lot.
Now that I have my family history on both sides, I have an idea who my people were now and where they came from.
Before that, when I learned about the Mexican holiday celebrated on November 1, Dia De Los Muertos, it resonated deeply with me, but I didn’t know why.
I read and researched about the holiday celebrating those who came before us and wondered once again who came before me.
My attraction to sugar skulls and the Day of the Dead strengthened each year, and I longed to know more about my ancestors.
Finally, I had my family history but it didn’t seem to fit into the Mexican cultural holiday for me. Maybe because I felt silly since I’m not Mexican.
Then, this year, it happened when I discovered I was not only a witch in this lifetime, but I knew I was in other lifetimes.
This spring, summer, and fall were different for me. I felt connected to the earth, to the plants, trees, rocks, birds, and other small animals I started noticing outside.
I felt deep inside that this was me, not just in this lifetime, but I had experienced all of this before, too many times to even imagine.
I have many friends who are witches, and they always post pagan holidays and celebrations on their Facebook pages.
I’ve heard of Samhain, celebrated on November 1, but I never knew what it was except that witches celebrated.
This year I learned that Samhain pronounced sow-wn marks the end of the year or cycle when things die and things are out to rest until spring
The holiday is celebrated with harvest feasts that date back centuries in Ireland. Yes, I am 78% Irish.
The day is also about remembering and celebrating those who came before us, just like in Dia De Los Muertos!
In both celebrations, a place is set at the table for our ancestors, and their favorite foods or foods from the harvest are served.
After discovering so much about myself, it was important to me to celebrate Samhain this year.
I planned a Samhain dinner immediately following trick or treating. I researched Samhain recipes and traditions and realized I already had everything on hand to make my feast or dinner.
I invited our friends David and Arthur from next door to join us for a late supper. They go all out on Halloween like I do so I knew they would appreciate coming over to eat.
I set a place for all of our ancestors. We ate outside on our deck since the weather was unseasonably warm.
I made a butternut squash lasagna with layers of cheese, roasted butternut squash, and other roasted veggies made into the sauce, as well as a sautéed mushroom, shallot, and spinach layer. It was topped with a lovely béchamel sauce.
I forgot to take a photo of the finished but luckily i had one corner piece left to show how it came out.
Wow! It was so damn flavorful and delicious. It meant a lot when Marty told me how much he loved it since I wasn’t sure he would even like it.
I made a simple salad of greens tossed with sliced onions, diced apple, and candied pecans and dressed with a maple balsamic vinaigrette.
For dessert, I made individual ramekins filled with pumpkin custard. Both were home runs along with the lasagna.
I worked hard on my Samhain dinner, and for once in my life, this celebration felt right. I was so into this meal that I forgot to take photos.
My Samhain celebration was right for the little girl in the cemetery and for the confused young woman who shot back tequila shots wishing she celebrated how the Mexicans did.
Not only did I think about my blood ancestors but also of my adopted family members who have passed.
I thought of my own past lives and celebrated who I was in those.
This year of monumental transformation felt like it was the end of the year or another turn of the wheel for me.
I finally feel like I belong to a group and can celebrate those who came before me like people have done probably since civilization began.
Nelly covered in the hydrogen peroxide solution. 😞
Last night around 9 pm, while Marty and I were packing up and getting him ready for the last outdoor farmers market the next morning, poor Nelly got skunked.
I felt something was wrong and I called her to come. I saw her in the soft light with her head down. She began walking towards me.
A moment after I called her we got a strong smell of a skunk. Nelly loves every creature and knows no meanness but only love.
I walked closer to her and saw she was foaming at the mouth. I didn’t panic.
When she stepped into the light of our back porch lights, her face was covered in a yellow spray and her eyes were closed.
I called out to Marty, and he immediately started taking off his clothes and got her into the outdoor shower, which he still uses daily. (Not me!)
This is our first time dealing with a skunk so my first thought was to grab tomato juice or in my case bottles of purée which I gave to Marty.
Crouching down in the shower, warm water cascading on her with the handheld sprayer, he rubbed the tomato purée into her fur, rinsed her, and repeated.
Next, I grabbed her doggie soap and he lathered her up and continued to rinse her. She was such a good girl and trusted him completely.
I grabbed big fluffy towels for each of them. Nelly shook out most of the water and we wrapped her in the towel and brought her inside.
She took the spray of the skunk directly to her face. Her eyes were stinging and she was in pain. This was heartbreaking to say the least.
Most of her fur smelled like her doggie shampoo, except her face, which had a sharp smell unlike anything we’d smelled before.
I texted Martin and he said to use hydrogen peroxide. I quickly looked up what to do and made a mixture of hydrogen peroxide, baking soda, and dish soap.
I carefully applied the mixture to her face and wiped it off several times while Marty held her wrapped in a fresh towel.
The smell was getting better but still had a long way to go. I applied the solution one more time, and we decided that was enough for the night.
Marty slept downstairs with Nelly holding her tight. She was exhausted, confused and scared. I slept upstairs since and missed sleeping with the two of them very much.
This morning, Marty decided to go to the Troy market despite the skunky smell we both thought we had.
When he went out to his vehicle this morning to continue packing up, the smell of skunk was inside since the lift gate and doors were open when the skunk sprayed. Ugh.
After he set up at the market, he asked someone if he smelled like skunk, and they said no.
Poor Nelly’s little smushy face still smells but not as bad as last night. I plan to reapply the solution this afternoon.
I’ve been sitting with Nelly after I fed her breakfast. She seemed like her normal self, but I could tell her eyes were still irritated.
Every once in a while I get a strong whiff of skunk which hopefully goes away in the next few days.
What a traumatic event for a pup that doesn’t know pain, but we remained calm and, most importantly, made her feel safe with us.
I’m sure there were things we could have done differently, but we acted with our nurturing instincts and the love we have for her.
Damn…it’s always something.
*** Update: the inside of my truck smelled like skunk too. The scent lingered on me which Kathleen smelled when she first arrived.
I left the doors open to hopefully get that smell out.
We celebrated our 35th anniversary on Monday with Noah, Sam, and Aja. Marty works as the school nurse on Mondays at our local middle and high school.
Mondays are my day to clean, do projects, do laundry, and cook if I am in the mood. Sometimes, I make deliveries and shop.
On Monday I was in the mood to cook. I made a big pot of sauce on Sunday and fresh pasta on Monday morning.
For our anniversary dinner I made a tiramisu which is a favorite for all of us. It may have been my best one yet. It was all the love I put into it.
Tiramisu ingredients include mascarpone cheese, eggs, sugar, coffee, marsala wine, ladyfingers, and cocoa powder.
I know people are thinking, “Wow, I thought she was on a diet and she’s eating tiramisu with spaghetti & meatballs?” You bet your ass I am. Also, I am not on a diet.
European countries take their food more seriously than here in the US. These ladyfingers which are made in Italy have only 5 ingredients in them. Guar gum is a natural product made from extracting the seeds from the guar plant to be used as a stabilizer in gluten free baking.
Clean eating for us isn’t about staying away from fattening or carby foods, nothing is taboo that is made with real ingredients.
Clean eating is about choosing the right combination of real foods all the time.
It’s about choosing the right fats and avoiding saturated fats. It’s also about getting enough protein, fresh fruits and veggies, and foods that contain pre and probiotics.
Having a healthy gut is very important to me and my body now. I never had one before. Everyday we eat two forkfuls of jarred sauerkraut right from the jar.
Sauerkraut is something we both love and it’s so good for you! I know I lot of people don’t like sauerkraut let alone on its own, but some of us do.
Kimchi is another fermented food that is also great for you. I’m on the lookout for one right now.
How about yogurt and granola? We eat a bowl almost every day or cottage cheese.
What’s the deal with fermented foods? They are full of live and active cultures just like what’s written on yogurt containers.
Fermented foods help strengthen your immune system, helps with digestion, is an inflammatory, helps to control blood sugar and is great for your gums just to name a few things.
So what does fermented foods have to do with tiramisu? It’s all about eating a well balanced diet in moderation and avoiding processed foods full of chemicals-it’s not a diet.
Hey, look, I’m no hypocrite; I know processed foods full of chemicals taste good; hell, I grew up with them.
I still long for pizza bites or a Twinkie if I wasn’t gluten free but processed foods with chemicals are wreaking havoc on our bodies and health.
When faced with my lung disease diagnosis I had to make a choice to live a life with limitations or not.
I chose not and have never felt so good or treated my body so well before.
Tiramisu and sauerkraut are both best left eaten on their own for maximum enjoyment. I’m not that whacked out. 😜
When the month of October rolls around, some people think about flannel shirts, hoodies, pumpkin spice, and bonfires.
Other people like me, immediately think of Halloween, witches, goblins, ghouls, superheroes, princesses, and other costumes.
In 2018, we were vendors at the indoor Schenectady Farmers Market, which is held inside Proctor’s Theatre.
One of the vendors’ names was Carmen. Something about him seemed almost mystical to me.
He was a handsome young man with fair skin, long, wavy brown hair, and a beard.
His hair, skin, and voice were all soft, but there was something about him I couldn’t put my finger on.
Carmen was a jewelry designer who sold gorgeous earrings, bracelets, and necklaces.
I would go over each week and say hello to Carmen, chat for a minute or two, and look at his jewelry. Everything was beautiful I told him numerous times.
That Christmas, Marty gave me a necklace that Carmen designed. It was a crescent moon with a purple stone hanging from the moon.
The necklace came with a very dainty, thin silver chain, which I broke within a month.
I am many things, but dainty isn’t one of them. I am very hard on jewelry and other things, not on purpose.
I put the necklace in my jewelry box and forgot about it. I found it last week when I went through my jewelry to charge under the super full moon.
When I looked at the necklace, I was taken aback. A million things started running through my head.
Since I “stepped into my magic” in August, I’ve joined some Facebook witch groups for all kinds of witches.
Yes, there are all sorts of witches, although most people think about Wiccan witches who belong to different covens. Hollywood capitalizes on that kind of witch.
There are green witches, kitchen witches, sea witches, cottage and kitchen witches, Celtic and faery witches, eclectic witches, and many more.
I’m self-classified as an eclectic witch who works alone and doesn’t belong to any coven or religion.
Eclectic witches use different modalities, techniques, and beliefs, such as working with angels, reiki, shamanism, and healing.
This was me before I knew I was a witch. Did Carmen know I was a witch?
Marty told Carmen when he was picking out a piece of his jewelry for me to choose whatever he thought I’d like.
When I opened the gift, Marty told me he let Carmen choose the necklace, and frankly, I was a little bewildered.
Why did he pick this for me I wondered. It wasn’t like any of the other pieces I said I loved when I was looking at the necklaces myself.
Last week, when I took the necklace out of my jewelry, I gasped and said out loud, “It’s a witch’s moon crescent!” Holy shit!!
Did Carmen really know?
I replaced the broken chain and used a piece of leather cord so I could wear the pendant after I polished it up and charged it in the moonlight.
The next day, I found a silver necklace chain that appeared out of nowhere. I’m not lying, guys. It was in a small bowl where I keep my rings. Again, holy shit!
I love the moon with my black cat necklace I found in September made by another jewelry designer and maker.
I was sad when I found out that Carmen and his best friend Ashley’s business AMC, Ashley met Carmen, closed in 2022.
Yesterday, I looked up Carmen on Instagram. I found him and his new business, Phases with a store in nearby Lake George, NY, along with others in Wildwood, NJ, and Florida.
His focus is now on his love of amethyst, mindful pieces of jewelry and decor, yoga, meditation, and finding peace.
My birthstone is amethyst!
Wow. I’m going to answer my own question. Carmen knew.
