Vero Beach January 2026

We've enjoyed a lengthy visit to Vero Beach this month. Activities included:

 Long beach walks everyday

Three books of Earthsea = read by me. (This will be our new family read aloud after dinner. It's amazing!)

Time spent together just talking

Watercolor painting

Reading quietly with Grandma

More walks

More painting

Watching Clone Wars after dinner with ice cream at intermissions

Shell collecting, organizing, and identifying- 

I found shells I have never found: two nerite shells (shown in the picture above) and I also found a spiny jewel box (the yellow shell in the picture below)

We always take a collection of shells home and create a keepsake jar for every visit to Vero. (We have over ten! They make beautiful decor for our basement living room.) 

But we had so many magnificent shells by the end of this trip and I had so much time here that I purchased these cases, labeled everything, and gifted this collection to Dwayne's sister/ her beach house, so the whole family can enjoy it. 

Avril painted Howl's Moving Castle- Amazing work! 

Card games with Grandmom

The beach changed everyday. It was lovely to spend so much time there! 

 It was lovely to spend so much time with family, especially Grandmom. We also got to meet our nephew and his wife's new baby. What a blessing! 

The Shire

When the girls were little, I'd get them Lego sets for Christmas, and then we'd put them together on Christmas day and keep working into the next day if needed. 

We made the best memories putting Legos together at Christmastime in front of the fire, so Legos became one of my favorite things to do at Christmas. 

But the girls have been getting older, and they have not been asking for Legos or even interested in them much. 

So I was prepared to go without Legos at Christmas this year...

But my awesome family gave me Legos this year! 

I got The Shire in Legos this year! 

So when I am not cleaning or cooking, I am putting this together while listening to audio books or music or just enjoying the slow silence. 

And the youngest, Adele, has asked to help now and then. 

I'm thankful for that. 

What to Do With Too Much Cheese

Following the Christmas holiday, I found that we had an inordinate amount of cheese. 

And we had six or more boxes of half eaten crackers. 

How did this happen? 

In fact, there are a number of reasons this came about including, but not limited to:

We were given a cheese ball. 

I also made a cheese ball before I knew we would be given one. 

Someone sent me home from our last day of homeschool co-op with two boxes of crackers. At the time, it seemed like a good idea to bring them home. 

But then our neighbors gave a generous box of assorted treats including some gourmet crackers (and sparkling cider), 

Someone in business gave Dwayne wine and a Boardarie charcuterie board, assorted brees, and even more crackers. 

We gave away some of the wine, but we still had a bottle. 

We took the cheese board and crackers to a Christmas party to share, but it wasn't really eaten, so we brought it home. 

Hence, all the cheeses and all the crackers and wine and sparkling cider. 

So I decided that's what we would have for dinner last night.

Adele helped me arrange the board and the table. 

We added fruits and nuts and olives and assorted leftovers like grilled chicken slices and goodies like raspberry bars that needed to be eaten. 

We played the card game "Debatable" while we ate. 

It was lively, festive, and memorable. 

And I didn't have to cook! 

Amen. 

My Reading in December

I finished my graduate school work at the beginning of December. 

While I was in school, I was always reading or rereading the books for my classes. 

And the books for my classes were quite challenging, so I devoted almost all my free time to understanding them.  

But now that I'm done with school, I can read whatever I want! 

It's glorious!  

This month alone, I've gotten so much reading done. 

I finally finished The Nine Tailors by Dorothy Sayers. I had been reading and rereading that mystery for months at night before bed, trying to figure who did the murder before I finished the book. I think I read it three times before I allowed myself to read the last few chapters. 

You may be wondering if I guessed the murderer...

Not exactly.

But I did figure out all the people who had not done the murder, so that's something.  

(You'll have to read the book to understand more.)  

Then I listened to Why Literature Still Matters by Jason Baxter and Against the Machine by Paul Kingsnorth. 

Then I read an entire book of Wendell Berry's poetry This Day: Collected and New Sabbath Poems in a little over one day. 

My appetite and enjoyment for poetry increases. George Herbert says, "a verse may find him, who a sermon flies," and I find this to be true of myself in this season of life. 

Honestly, I can read a devotional, and I am left cold. But if I pick up a book of poems, watch out! The Spirit rushes in and there will be tongues of flame flickering off my brow. 

Next, I listened to John Mark Comer's book The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry. 

And now, I've started reading The Country Diary of an Edwardian Woman by Edith Holden. I found this at our library's book sale. It's a facsimile of a woman's nature journal from 1906. She painted birds and herbs and flowers in wonderful detail with watercolor. She copied poetry. She kept a record of the weather and the sights she saw on her walks. It's a real treasure! 

I'm also reading through a little book of George Herbert's poems, but I haven't finished it. The verse I included above is in one of his poems called "The Church Porch." 

Almost all the books I read this month shared a similar theme. 

They all discussed the negative affects technology has had on humanity and the need to spend more time in quiet, rest, and humane activities like reading, making art, and taking a walk in nature. 

Christmas 2025

It was a beautiful Christmas. 

 

We went to the candlelight service on Christmas Eve. 

After church, we did our Advent readings and the girls opened new pajamas. 

On Christmas morning, I baked homemade cinnamon rolls. (We also had bacon, scrambled eggs, and fresh oranges, and coffee, of course.)

We had our final Advent readings and then opened gifts. 

Watching the girls open their gifts is one of my favorite things. 

For Christmas, I got an espresso machine! 

I've had to read the manual a few times to learn how to use it and then read it again to troubleshoot. There has been much trial and error over the past few days, and honestly, there has even been some exasperated exclamations, especially over the steam features. But everyone is loving this addition to our kitchen. 

One of the girls' gifts were headband headphones. Credit goes to my professor who told me about them. The girls love them! 

We've enjoyed some amazing meals over the past few days at home: 

pan fried steak and Brussel sprouts, 

cheese and chocolate fondu,  

salt and pepper crusted prime rib with sweet roasted potatoes, 

then leftover prime rib with soft fried eggs and crispy, buttery toast. 

Yum! 

And we've slowed down: reading, napping, crocheting, building new Lego sets and playing several rounds of various boardgames including chess, Catan, Seven Wonders, and Poetry for Neanderthals. 

I love these days leading up to Christmas, and Christmas itself, and then the days after Christmas. It's been lovely to slow down and be together, spending time just enjoying life in no hurry. 

Sourdough Cont.

Norah's home for Christmas. 

So I made two loaves this time. 

She's been gone to college for the length of sourdough exploits. 

When she bit into a slice, she mumbled through a mouth full of bread, "This is mag-nif-fi-cent." 

Family Read-Alouds

Ever since Norah went to college, the quality of our family read aloud time has suffered. None of us can read aloud as well as she can though we try. Now she’s home again to read to us.