had a quiet day yesterday… spent time taking photos of ornaments on the tree and the orchids…
a friend dropped off the fixings for turkey dinner which I warmed up at supper time… it was a lovely treat and made for a relaxed and enjoyable meal… ended the day with hot lemonade in my new mug and gifted shortbread…
tonight, as I sit in the living room listening to Christmas music and enjoying the lights, flowers, and tree, I am remembering many Christmas Eve’s that have taken place in this house over the last forty-seven years…
once the girls arrived, our parents came here to celebrate the season…
when the kids were on their own and some had their own children, they came here for years… there were family members sleeping everywhere… had to be careful where you walked to be sure not to tread on anyone…
only in the last few years have we gone to the kids’ place which made it easier for everyone…
on Tuesday my shopper/courier arrived after stopping at the liquor store to pick up some beverages;-)… little bottles of wine, not sure why, lol… and a bottle of my favourite sherry, which I haven’t had for years…
he took away a parcel for Canada Post and a couple of treats for him…
a bit later I received a delivery of groceries from Diversity Foods which included eggs for their house…
last evening my son-in-law stopped by on his way home from work and brought me some sidewalk salt… he took home the eggs…
still waiting on four deliveries from online purchases and thinking we might start a new tradition of after–Christmas presents…
this morning I was reminded of how beautiful hoarfrost can be… the pictures I came across were from eight years ago and showed the elm tree that lived across the street…
it was cut down a few years ago…
I took a photo to compare and was surprised at how much the cedar in our front yard has grown… the photo also shows the huge hole where the tree used to be…
a parcel arrived from the kids in Ottawa… once I received text permission to open it, I discovered 3 boxes, a package that said it needed to go into the fridge, and a small chocolate bar, lol…
I had fun wrapping them and put purple ribbons on them before adding them to the growing pile under the tree… they are the first gifts for me…
it was funny to wrap my own parcels, but was a reminder of the few times I might have purchased my own gift, wrapped and put it under the tree… although usually those items would go to my beloved and he would wrap them up, lol…
fun memories… nice that now I can mostly look back on them without tears…
came across some photos of a visit with Santa at a Rona Christmas party eleven years ago… it was such fun to take our grandkids and we had a great time…
it was before the store opened and was in the back… there were decorations and lots of gifts for all the kids with treats for everyone… iPhone pictures have certainly improved since then…
reminded me of the CN parties we used to go to when the girls were little… our dear friend Margaret took us for a number of years… they were fancy and great fun too, and the girls always enjoyed them…
I also have a dim memory of kids’ Christmas parties with my dad, where I helped him with set up… I can particularly remember the full size popcorn machine and making popcorn for everyone during the party;-)…
I figured I didn’t need thirty plates available at my fingertips for feeding all my company so I moved a number of plates and bowls and added a few Christmas ones where I can reach them;-)…
interesting how long it took me to let go of that stack… also moved some of my favourite dishes off a counter to fit in with the rest..
recently had a phone call with a friend… she was stressing about getting gifts for Christmas… I suggested she do a bit of online shopping although she hasn’t done much of that…
made me think about all the items I have purchased online over the last month in preparation for the big day…
and how I learned from someone else that I could order from IKEA and have items delivered directly to my house…
very happy to replace my broken measuring cup and think this steamer will work well in my Instant Pot…
I have ordered from many places I didn’t even know existed… and have also been able to get some local items delivered across the country…
sitting in the hot tub last night, remembering my beloved on what would have been his 72nd birthday, I was reminded of all the fun things we have done together during our forty plus years…
I’d been wanting a hot tub since our anniversary many years ago when he rented one for a weekend, but we couldn’t afford one until 2009…
once I chose the one I wanted, he built a deck to put it on, and then a deck to go in front of it… easy to get to, it is now perfect for dips… he never loved the hot tub the way I did, but wanted me to be happy…
when we had friends over (you remember that, right?) for a hot tub, if we needed a drink or towel or anything, we’d bang on the wall of the house and he would come out to see what was required, lol… he’d also take photos when I wanted them…
with the new security light/camera on the garage, I have to go to the side door of the garage and turn off the power so that the light doesn’t keep coming on while I’m in the tub… thankfully the deck goes right there so it is easy to get to and from…
some of our best talks happened late at night in this hot tub… I sure do miss him…
with everyone learning how to connect with family and friends over the last six months or so, my daughter reminded me that we have been doing this for years…
just today, a Facebook memory was of a gathering we had eight years ago… my daughter was in BC, my son-in-law was in northern Alberta, and the rest of us were here…
technology has come a long way since then and there are many ways to connect… the main ones I currently use are Skype, Google Duo and FaceTime… I’ve been using Skype Organize a Conference Call without going through my Skype account, but over the last few weeks going through my account is working much better… I think I need to learn a bit about Zoom…
