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I had grand plans for my first of twelve days off in a row. (Teachers have demanding jobs with lots of responsibilities, but one of the perks is the holiday breaks.) I was going to sleep in a bit, do some baking, some writing . . . . And then our son called and told us that he had taken the day off and was going to come over to finish the porch roof that has been leaking for eight years. Jeff and Mary had to work, and I couldn't just let him work alone, so I donned my flannel pajama pants under my cape dress, grabbed my gloves, and learned how to do some roofing. I also carried several packages of heavy shingles up the flight of stairs. At least I'm getting some exercise.
My family is in its fourth generation of having traditional hand-stuffed rigatonies for Christmas Eve dinner. These are delicious, but a lot of work. So that's what I did the second or third day. I also cooked a turkey, stuffing, and all the yummy side dishes for the next day. My goal was to have enough leftovers so that I didn't have to cook for a few days. It worked.
The most wonderful part about having several days off of school is just having time to be with family and relax. We enjoyed several meals with family and friends near the beginning of break, and have just been enjoying the time being at home with family. I try to bake fresh muffins at least once a week, so we enjoyed these blueberry ones on fancy thrifted dishes. I also made a point to have a candlelit Christmas Eve dinner, so I made a resolution to light candles for every meal as often as possible.
Our family loves to play games and work on puzzles during our breaks, so we have done that too. Our goal has been to do both every evening, and we've done pretty well thus far.
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And my daughter and I enjoy visiting thrift stores and finding good teacher stuff. This antique desk caught our eyes, and Jeff gave the approval, so we brought it home. It even had gum stuck underneath. Now to find a place for it . . . .
