This site is an archive of ChiotsRun.com. For the latest information about Susy and her adventrures, visit the Cultivate Simple site.
Thank you for all your support over the years!

Quote of the Day: David Grayson

December 26th, 2010

I sometimes think we expect too much of Christmas Day.
We try to crowd into it the long arrears of kindliness and humanity of the whole year.

As for me, I like to take my Christmas a little at a time, all through the year. And thus I drift along into the holidays – let them overtake me unexpectedly – waking up some find morning and suddenly saying to myself: “Why, this is Christmas Day!”

~David Grayson


Mr Chiots and I were talking about this very idea yesterday. When we woke up yesterday we were laughing that Christmas Day is just like every day for us. Since we both work from home we’re both here all day every day. We actually did take the day off and not do much work at all. We worked on our puzzle, went on a long walk, watched a Discovery show about the Ididerod, and made a delicious meal of homemade pizza. It was a wonderfully relaxing day, a perfect Christmas.

What’s your idea of the perfect Christmas day?

Merry Christmas

December 25th, 2010

Hope you have a beautiful day filled with all the wonderful things the season has to offer. Merry Christmas from all of us here at Chiot’s Run.

Friday Favorites: a Puzzle and Winners

December 24th, 2010

Yesterday afternoon I cleared off the dining room table and spread out a puzzle. I’m a big fan of puzzles, Mr Chiots and I usually work one around Christmas and maybe a couple more during the winter months if we have enough time. We usually spread it out on the table and work on it a little each day until it’s finished, we got the edges finished last night.

I don’t buy new puzzles very often, we have a few that we rotate through. This Monet one is one of my favorites, it’s quite a challenge. I prefer to get Ravensburger as they’re great quality, the pieces fit together very well, and you can work them over and over. Someday I’d LOVE to do this 10000 piece puzzle. Of course I would need to build a special table just to fit the finished puzzle, not to mention all the pieces.

It seems like people either love doing puzzles or they don’t. I’m definitely a puzzle person, I LOVE it.

Do you enjoy doing puzzles or do they frustrate you?

I also picked the winners for Miranda’s soap and the Ethel Gloves. Winners randomly chose by Random.org. Drum roll……..

Kim won the soap from The Relic Jar.

And our winners for the Ethel Gloves are:

#7 – Karen
#37 – Dawn from Gardening in Slippers
#66 – Michelle
#82 – Carla
#110 – Emily from A Pinch of Something Nice

If you didn’t receive my e-mail last night send me a note through the contact form in the sidebar.

Honk for Christmas

December 23rd, 2010

One of the things I love about this time of year is the Christmas lights. Since it gets dark so early, it’s nice to be able to enjoy the brightness they bring. I particularly love seeing the different kinds of decorations, sometimes they’re vintage and classic, sometimes classy and new, often around here they’re over the top, but they’re always fun and cheery!


Mr Chiots and I always take an evening, make some hot chocolate and drive around to look at Christmas lights, it’s a fun and enjoyable way to spend an evening. It’s a tradition my family started when I was young. My college girlfriends and I would always “honk for Christmas” when we saw a display we particularly loved, it made those long drives to Chicago at Christmas time more bearable and now Mr Chiots and I do the same thing.

What kinds of light displays do you like to see? Do you have any crazy over the top houses in your neighborhood?

Quick Last Minute Gifts

December 22nd, 2010

This time of year it seems like you get invited to parties and last minute activities and you end up needing a quick hostess gift or a little something to take along. I like to have a few gifts ready for such occasions so I’m not scrambling or I don’t have to buy something.

Of course there are always my homemade jam, I always can some in nice jars just for giving. In addition to jams & jellies I like to have a few other options, each year I make something different. A few years ago I made pancake mixes in nice little bags and had little jars of maple syrup to go with them. Last year I made maple glazed pecans to hand out. This year I decided to make some little jars of mulling spices, I blogged the recipe over at Not Dabbling today if you’re interested. Next year I may make jars of Herbes de Provence with homegrown herbs.

I also like to bake a lot of fresh bread, because who doesn’t love receiving a loaf of ciabatta from a friend? A loaf a bread is also a great thing to go with that homemade jam.
Next year I may also think about buying a box of olives to cure myself, what a wonderful gift a jar of home cured olives would be! I’m always keeping my eye open for things I can make for quick gifts and I bookmark or try to write them down when I find them.

Do you keep things around for quick last minute gifts? Any great ideas for the rest of us?

About

This is a daily journal of my efforts to cultivate a more simple life, through local eating, gardening and so many other things. We used to live in a small suburban neighborhood Ohio but moved to 153 acres in Liberty, Maine in 2012.

Admin