I’m sharing some of the highlights of my weekend in today’s post.
I hope you all had a restful weekend. I can’t believe that there’s only one more weekend until Christmas is here. It feels like December is still flying by even though the holidays are/will be so different from past years.
New restrictions were announced last week for my province. Some went into place on Tuesday, and others went into effect on Sunday. They’re going to last for a minimum of 4 weeks. I’m really hoping that they work – cases are really high here and surgeries that can be postponed have been put on hold for the time being. Dining in at restaurants isn’t allowed, but take out and delivery is. Retail is limited to 15% capacity. Online shopping and curbside pick up is encouraged. Gyms and fitness centers are closed. No social gathers (inside or outside) are allowed. While it’s disappointing that the restrictions will be in place over the holidays, I’m willing to sacrifice this year if it means that more people will be able to spend next Christmas with their loved ones.
I put a bunch of books on hold at the library last week after I heard about the new restrictions. I wanted to make sure I had books to read to keep myself entertained. I’m very grateful that the Calgary library offers curbside pickup for holds. I was able to pick up a bunch of them on Saturday morning. It was super easy and I was so impressed with the whole thing. I parked at the library, called the phone number listed on the sign out front of the library, and a librarian checked out my holds for me and brought them out front to a table that they had set up outside. Libraries are now closed for the next four weeks, but you can still do curbside pickup for holds. Just an FYI if you live in Calgary.
I spent Saturday afternoon getting some baking done. I made a batch of shortbread cookies. Shortbread is my favorite treat to make during the holidays. I pretty much only ever have shortbread at Christmas time, so I really look forward to them each year. I use this recipe from Martha Stewart. It’s my favorite shortbread cookie recipe that I’ve ever made. It’s a super easy recipe with only a few ingredients that you probably already have in your pantry.
My dad requested gingerbread cookies for Christmas. They’re his favorite. They smelled so good whenever I would take another batch out of the oven. With all of the spices in them (nutmeg, ginger, and cloves) they smell like Christmas. I won’t be decorating them with icing and candy this year. I forgot to order ingredients for the icing when I put together the last online grocery order. Oh well – we’ll have gingerbread cookies this year, even if they’re not as pretty as they are most years. This is the recipe I use for my gingerbread cookies.
I spent quite a bit of time this weekend reading. I ended up staying up way too late on Saturday night with What Happened (affiliate link) by Hillary Clinton. I kept telling myself I would only read one more chapter and then turn off the light. Needless to say, 3 or 4 chapters later I just couldn’t keep my eyes open anymore. On Sunday I started reading The Last Time I Lied (affiliate link) by Riley Sager. I really enjoyed Final Girls (affiliate link), Riley’s first book, so I was looking forward to reading The Last Time I Lied.
Have you done any holiday baking yet? What are you currently reading?
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