Christmas Eve…

24 Tuesday Dec 2013

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had a very lovely Christmas eve… Crystal, Jeff and the boys arrived around 2 and we had fun playing together…

Sandi and I...

Sandi and I…

my sister-in-law Sandi, and her four boys and a girlfriend, arrived around 6 and we ate our way through quite a bit of food…

the spread...

the spread…

we had great conversations all around… can’t even remember the last time we were all in the same room…

space was filled up...

space was filled up…

stories were shared and higher learning discussed… the little boys watched movies and came and went for snacks while the adults had a great time… some of the stories were about the girls babysitting the boys, many years ago… lots of laughter… had to have been at least ten electronic devices in and around the room…

lots of electronics plugged in...

lots of electronics plugged in…

everyone left and Cyndi and Ron tidied up while I wrote this blog… we will be heading to bed shortly and going to Crystal’s in the morning…

a very different Christmas Eve than the usual ones we have had over the years… usually we would all get in our jammies and sit by the fire that George would have going, and there would be people sleeping everywhere as bedtime arrived…

I am missing my beloved today, thinking of all the wonderful Christmas Eves we have celebrated over the years…

but, today is a new day and those big girl pants must be worn…

 

wonderFULL day…

23 Monday Dec 2013

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out for breakfast with Ron at the Assiniboine…

home for some computer discussion and then off for sushi with the girls…

traffic was crazy and we went to Safeway and the Liquor Store on our way home…

think there might have been MSG in the sushi because my head kind of exploded… took until about 7 before it abated:-(…

put together my offering for our BS gathering and got a pic…

had a lovely time with these friends as we visited, shared treats and thoughtful gifts…

what a lovely day… filled with wonderful memories…

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cold…

22 Sunday Dec 2013

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got up at 2:15 as the plane arrival time had changed before I went to bed…

the car was outside as we had barbecued and I was going to pick up the kids…

car was covered in frost so took a while to clear the windows and it was very cold out…

drove slowly and got lost a few times on the base but eventually found the correct hangar…

once inside, was advised that the plane had just left Ottawa and wouldn’t arrive until 4:30 am… drove home and watched tv for an hour and headed back… this time I knew where I was going and actually got the kids…

had a lovely day with them in the house… one of Cyndi’s friends came by to visit this afternoon and she’s out with a bunch of her girlfriends tonight while Ron went off for a computer gaming night… Cyndi wore my warm jacket as it was so cold…

it is cold everywhere in the house… right now it feels like -43.5 so I guess that makes sense…

presents have materialized under the tree…

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advent…

21 Saturday Dec 2013

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today, as I was waiting for my daughter and son-in-law to arrive from Ottawa, I spent some time cleaning up the computer room…

has been on my radar for months, but finally got to it today… my son-in-law looks after my computers when he is here, and sometimes from wherever he is… it has been some months since the desktop smelled like burning rubber and was turned off… hoping that he can perform some magic and bring it back to life…

this, of course, involves having a desk space that he can work on, and floor space to walk around… thus the cleaning binge…

Bethlehem with peace...

Bethlehem with peace…

also rearranged the wooden figures I pulled out last night… now Bethlehem is on the top of the shelf and across the living room the shepherds are watching their sheep…

shepherds and their sheep...

shepherds and their sheep…

Mary and Joseph are travelling in another area of the living room and the wise ones with their camels are located  somewhere else… across the room a number of northern animals are waiting patiently…

the kids and I had steak and lobster for dinner, but without our guests… they were still waiting to get on a plane in Ottawa… the weather has been bad in parts of Ontario today…

now I am heading to bed to be up at 1:30 am to collect them at the Base… this will be the first time I have gone on my own to pick them up…. I will be thinking of George as I head out… we were always so excited when they came home…

tonight I am excited on my own…

wrapped…

20 Friday Dec 2013

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had a meeting with my finance guy this morning… we made a few adjustments to my portfolio (sounds way more impressive than it is) and put some money back into the slush fund…

sleigh full of presents...

sleigh full of presents…

then I finished the wrapping and labelling of the parcels… all done…

spent a bit of time preparing for the guests who will be arriving tomorrow…

kids came over at supper time and we picked up subs for the boys and after they ate the grownups ran over to Costco for a few groceries and maybe a present or two…

lights in the base of the Norfolk pine...

lights in the base of the Norfolk pine…

I got some lights to put at the base of the Norfolk pine and after Jeff put them up it looks great…

put out the wooden nativity that George made and thought of him in the process… Crystal was missing his shoulder massages today…

been a full day and I am looking forward to bedtime…

CancerCare…

19 Thursday Dec 2013

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had another appointment today at CancerCare… I had seen them three months ago for my usual six month appointment and they weren’t able to do the test they needed because of the pain it caused…

apparently I had a yeast infection, so they sent me home to take some drugs and come back in three months instead of the usual six…

I hadn’t had any obvious symptoms of a yeast infection so was rather nervous about the whole thing…

took the drugs, which then caused another medical issue, so had to take more drugs… yikes… was worried that the yeast infection may not have gone, particularly as I had no symptoms…

thankfully, Crystal was able to get time off from her new job so she could go with me…

as I am now being seen by the nurse/practitioner, we didn’t have to wait long at all… she was able to do the test and felt that the yeast infection was gone, which was a big relief…

I asked about my hands and face being particularly dry and whether this is due to a lack of estrogen… it is hard to tell but it may be that my body is missing it a bit… may have to try an ointment to see if that makes any difference…

usually they only call if there is a problem with the test results, but she is going to call when they are in so that I don’t have to worry… lovely young woman…

hoar frost on trellsi...

hoarfrost on trellis as I was leaving the garage…

after the appointment we ran a few errands and picked up a few last minute gifts…

holidays…

18 Wednesday Dec 2013

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was quite a day today… woke up to the moon shining over the neighbour’s house and I just had to take a few pictures while waiting for my ride…

moon with planet out the front this morning...

moon with planet out the front this morning…

spent the morning learning new things… some great financial templates and then a webinar on a system we use…

we had a wonderful pot luck at lunch time filled with great conversation…

I spent a good portion of the day teasing my colleagues about only having a few hours left before going on holiday… they took it pretty well…

for the pot luck I made crab mousse… it was from a Baton Cookbook that we produced when the girls were young… had a fun time the other day when I went through it looking for the recipe and seeing what we all ate back then… I was part of the group that designed, typed and laid out the cookbook, so lots of those memories came back too…

crab mousse for the pot luck...

crab mousse for the pot luck…

I put the mousse into a lovely star shaped dish I purchased last year instead of unmolding it so there wouldn’t be any stress trying to get it out in one piece… looked great with the slivered green onions on top and a few cranberries around it… was also pleased with the crackers which were shaped liked trees, snow people, bells and Santa… very festive, lol…

all in all a pretty great day…

more music…

17 Tuesday Dec 2013

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tonight, attended another great Christmas concert… last week it was for our Grade 9er, tonight the Third Grader…

couldn’t see our guy for all the people in attendance but heard some great music and singing from K to Grade 6… he looked a bit lost as he searched the crowd to find us and when we stood up, at the back of the room, he spotted us and looked more relaxed…

the concerts are short because they run twice a day over three days to get all the kids into them.. but very well presented…

the performers...

the performers…

this year he was happy and so were we as he smiled, sang and played… last year he stood there with a miserable look on his face… this was much more fun…

been thinking a lot of friends who are going through some health issues today… lots of prayers across the airwaves…

 

prep work…

16 Monday Dec 2013

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hurried home tonight because mid way through the afternoon I realized that I will be out tomorrow evening at another Holiday Concert…

had been thinking that I had time tonight and tomorrow night to get ready for Wednesday’s pot luck and my last day at work before my holidays begin… bit of a shock as there was still lots to do…

was able to fit in a short nap, as I am fighting a bit of a cold… then I was up and on to the jobs… started to make the appetizer that is part of the pot luck only to discover that, although I reviewed the recipe about 3 times, I had missed the fact that I needed curry… and guess what there wasn’t in the cupboard, sigh…

put out a message to my BS buddies and two of them arrived with curry when we gathered…

of course, that meant that job had to be put on hold… made some supper and while it cooked, worked on the couple of projects I had scheduled for tomorrow night… did some wrapping and made name tags, and then ate my dinner and put everything away that I had been working on…

cleaned up the kitchen like a fiend and sat down with a cup of tea about five minutes before the first arrival…

had a lovely visit, and we were all in the same room, which made it even better…

once our gathering ended, I went and finished the appetizer… the little bit I saved for tasting is pretty fine…

sunset as I was headed for my nap after getting home...

sunset tonight as I was headed for my nap…

need to pick up another timer for the second light in the living room… with the new furniture I have to climb over couches to turn off the light… really need to deal with that…

wrapping…

15 Sunday Dec 2013

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had a lovely day… shortly after I got up the sun rose in the back and I got a few pictures…

sunrise...

sunrise…

it continued to shine all day, which was very nice…

popping up over the houses...

popping up over the houses…

gathered up all the gifts that needed to be wrapped… put some Christmas music on the computer and spent a lovely couple of hours preparing the parcels…

quite a stack of parcels ready for ribbons and bows...

quite a stack of parcels ready for ribbons and bows…

also searched out some fabric and put some under the Norfolk pine in the front window… set out some decorations and made the space feel more cozy…

the kids came by and we went out and picked up the ingredients for our Christmas dinner and a few other items I needed… then we had pizza and all of the Advent chocolates from the reindeer since they’d last been here… I’ve been saving them as I’ve been having a Ferraro Roche every day, lol…

the tree outside looks lovely with the fresh snow and lights shining…

tree shining bright with fresh snow for decoration...

tree shining bright with fresh snow for decoration…

during the day I was playing a Rita McNeil album and thinking that we lost her this year… remembering our visit to her tea house in Big Pond and getting to meet her while we were there… I have enjoyed her music for many years and will continue to remember her through all the music…

thinking about George as well, and how much he would have liked the presents for each of the kids this year… have a few bits to pick up that would have been his prep, but will now become mine…

traditions continue, but in a slightly new way…