I woke up at 4 am on Christmas Eve {not on purpose} and while I was laying there listening to the HH and Lucy snore, I decided to tip toe out to the hallway and turn up the heat.
We’ve had the thermostat set at 60 degrees since the fall and so far, it’s been going pretty well. Granted mornings are a wee bit chilly, but once the woodstove gets going and the sun comes up, the house tends to warm up again to the upper 60’s {and even sometimes low 70’s} during the day.
Anyway, by the time the HH got up around 6 am on Christmas Eve, the whole house was so nice and toasty that he practically shouted DID YOU TURN UP THE HEAT!?
He was so genuinely happy… and surprised…. it was hilarious.
I told him Merry Christmas Eve. And that it was my gift to him.
Basically, our my goal is to get through this winter with only 1 tank of heating oil {we still have a little over 3/4 of a tank left} and the 2 cords of firewood we purchased over the summer. If that whole scenario works out, we will have spent a little less than $1,000 to heat our home here in Maine for an entire winter {5-6 months, not too shabby if you ask me}.
Back when we placed our order for firewood, I wanted to order 4 cords of wood to get us through the winter, but the HH thought I was being ridiculous and only ordered 2.
Let’s just say, I think we are going to need all that heating oil to warm our house come March. 😉
Fast forward to Christmas morning….
This year I was able to genuinely able to surprise my husband with two gifts on Christmas morning.
#1 Norwegian Wood: Chopping, Stacking, and Drying Wood the Scandinavian Way {a BIG THANK YOU to OHAM reader Debbie for alerting me to an article about Maine and woodpiles which lead to the discovery of the book}.
It’s such a cool book!
#2 Zojirushi Micom Rice Cooker & Warmer {basically, a fancy rice cooker with all sorts of options} and a bunch of different kinds of rice to try out.
He opened the box with the rice bags in it first… and was sort of confused and amused at the same time. And then as I was heading over to the table to pick up the box with the rice cooker in it he was like… We should probably get a new rice cooker… and then voilà … a new rice cooker appeared and we both just sort of laughed.
It was funny.
He liked it. And now, fingers crossed, he’ll be making dinner A LOT more in the months ahead. The best gifts are the gifts that keep on giving, right? 🙂
The HH surprised me with a rock tumbler {more on that later}.
And Santa brought Lucy a new chew toy and treats.
The Girl loaded us up on our favorite snacks…
And Mrs. HB sent 3 of my favorite things: Mint truffles, vanilla bean candles and Fisher scone mix.
But the funniest surprise came from Monkey Boy.
New garden boots! And in navy blue! Which is exactly the style/color that has been on my mind for months now {and that I told no one about!!}.
He does this every year. He somehow picks the one thing that you’ve been secretly wanting/needing/thinking about. It’s so weird. And cool and I think he could turn pro as a personal shopper if he wanted to.
The last few days have been lovely with plenty of snow, food, surprises and lot’s of down time.
But I think I’m ready to head back to work tomorrow.
There’s wool to dye and patterns to draw and stories to tell and orders to ship.
This winter break has been a good one. And I hope yours has too.
Wishing you a restful Sunday {with hopefully a fridge full of leftovers}.
~Mavis
Kim says
Those boots! What a son!
One of my surprise gifts I received from MY HH, is an idea he got from YOU. I’m always reading/showing him things from your fun blog. He gave me two sizes of the oval Le Crueset casserole dishes. I will think of you and smile each time I use them.
We had a lovely few days of celebrating but I need to Velcro myself to the sofa for 24 hours to recover.
Can’t wait to read your goals for next year.
Mavis Butterfield says
Lucky you! I wanted to order the smaller size but they didn’t have my color in stock. They are wonderful dishes. 🙂
Diane says
I’m actually looking forward to this week. A big winter blast is heading for the Pacific Northwest. Christmas Eve day, I went out just for a couple of extra things foodwise and I noticed they were already putting on sale some of the “buy for Christmas” items. So I picked up several of the crafty project kits. All set if we’re homebound for a bit.
Mavis Butterfield says
I saw the weather report. I hope there is a lot of snow! 🙂
Elle says
Merry Christmas! You certainly did get the perfect haul 🙂 I can’t wait to hear about all the rice based meals in your future.
Wishing you a lovely day. We’re headed into a deep freeze in Idaho. Haven’t seen subzero for awhile.
Happy Sunday Mavis.
Pam Favorite says
So far in S. Oregon we have about 4in. of snow. Our thermostat also read 66 inside and 33 outside. Last Tues. we went to town and one thing I bought were the Aunt Nellie’s beets. Also leaving town, looking at the store fronts there I saw in a real estate office…that leg lamp.
Hope everyone’s Christmas was nice. We’re looking forward to a big pot of beans and ham with cornbread with our leftovers.
Virginia says
We’re in the Mid-Atlantic and it reached the low 70’s on Christmas Day. Crazy!
Looks like you got Hunter boots, Mavis? Mine are the mid-calf style and I love them. I find them much easier to take on and off than the tall boots. I wear mine out in the yard all year long, and they’re so easy to rinse off with the hose.
Diana says
I hope you had a Merry Christmas, Mavis!
As for me, I pulled a “Christmas Story” dinner feast. Yep! I ate at our local Chinese restaurant. The food was hot and plentiful (buffet style, of course, lol) and the place was PACKED! I was so surprised – and so were they, lol. Lots of families – not just us singles or pairs. It was fun to people watch.
This may become my new tradition. Cracker Barrel for Thanksgiving and the Chinese restaurant for Christmas. NO COOKING! Wahoo!
Debi says
Lovely gifts! I wanted to tell you that I made your cranberry coffeecake (with blueberries) for our Christmas brunch and it was a big hit! I will definitely make it again… thanks for sharing!
Leanna says
I made the cake as she posted. Pretty good. I was thinking blueberries would be awesome in it.
Heidi P says
Woke up to lots of snow here in suburban Portland Oregon:) I love snow! My favorite is when everyone is snowed in and life seems to take a quiet pause. Doesn’t happen often but when it does its so peaceful and rejuvenating.
Love seeing your families gifts. So thoughtful and useful. This year we opted for a scaled down Christmas and it was awesome. One meaningful gift for everyone plus a stocking. We are all so blessed that we truly don’t need anything!
I cooked x-mas eve, x-mas morning and Christmas day so I’m worn out. Stayed in bed until 11:30 today….unheard of! We were supposed to be traveling today and thankfully I cancelled out trip last month.
Off soon to deliver leftovers to family members who didn’t cook themselves.
Happy Holidays Everyone!
Lynda says
I hope they are HUNTER Wellies!!
Lana says
We love our Zo rice cooker. Set it up with steel cut oats at bedtime and wake up to a hot and ready breakfast! We do rice for our Mexican meals by adding one double tomato bullion cube per scoop of rice.
Becky Williams says
I hope this is o.k. Mavis, since your readers make helpful suggestions to you, I am hopeful someone can make a helpful suggestion to me. I am in need of some garden boots too but I need mine to be Copperhead proof. Does anyone have any ideas for me? Thanks so much. Mavis, I love your site.
Mary Anderson says
You guys will LOVE that fancy rice maker. We have had our very similar one for about 3 years with awesome rice or all sorts and not a single complaint… It is like a restaurant – keeping rice warm – exactly right… so many things can be made with rice. We have white rice, brown rice and mixed brown and wild rice. We love them all!
Also that is the BEST scone mix – as you know well if you’ve been to the Puyallup Fair when you lived nearby…
Kitty Sondern Snyder says
Love those Dilettante chocolates!
Especially Mocha Truffle Creams.
Dot K. LeClerc says
Did your son come home for christmas?
Jennifer says
It was a different kind of Christmas for us as 3 of the 6 have Covid. After avoiding it for 2 years we suddenly were surrounded by it the 2 weeks prior to Christmas. School, sports, etc. Every day getting notices that we were exposed. One child bailed at the 2nd positive and went back to college so we didn’t have her home for Christmas which stunk. I am just sitting here waiting on when I come down with it.
BUT I cashed in CC points to get myself an apple watch. And dh got me a silver necklace with my kids names engraved – something I have always wanted. So while it was very different, we made the most of it and it will definitely be a year to remember and laugh about sometimes in the future.
Doreen Frost says
Hello Mavis ~ your Christmas sounds wonderful. That book sounds great and I love your boots!!! Great son!
We also heat with wood. Our woodstove heats our entire home ~ we have a furnace as a back up but it is set on 50 degrees and has yet to turn on ~ in almost 20 years. We typically use 6-8 cords of wood a season. It does get down to 60/62* at night (we tend it right before bed, around 10:00 pm) however, Mark is an early riser, and starts the fire around 4:30 a.m. before leaving for work, and then I tend it all day long and our home is always nice and cozy (usually 68/70*). It is such a lovely and warm heat ~ so worth the effort.
Merry Christmas ~ Doreen
Melonie K. says
That Zojirushi cooker will be the belle of the ball in your kitchen soon, I bet! I have a lower end model purchased in our base store when we lived in Japan, and it is one of two appliances I will always replace if anything happens to it. (The other being my CrockPot.) We saw them so often at buffets and figured if restaurants were putting several out on tables for people to choose from, something must be worth it. Over a decade later and mine is still going strong and being used several times a week. Quinoa and amaranth are soooo easy to cook in it too.
Our Christmas was super quiet – not a lot of gifts, but my order from your Etsy shop was so beautifully wrapped I set it right under the tree so my guys didn’t have to go shopping for me. They were excited to see what “they”/I’d ordered and I had the fun of opening it up. So thank YOU for the fun too!
Looks like a wonderful Christmas – wishing you and all readers a happy new year full of love, laughter, and abundance.