Tag Archives: Christmas

decorations…

27 Sunday Nov 2016

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what a wonderful afternoon… two dear friends came over to help me put up my Christmas decorations… one focussed on the living room and the other made the pottery on the dining room wall sparkle… we had such fun and great conversation as we worked away… well, mostly they worked, and I sat on the couch… my knee was not happy with the fall yesterday…

one tree went into the bay window inside one of my favourite sleighs… two of the drawers in the table were filled with silver and purple ornaments…

the second tree went across the room next to an angel and a large purple glitter ball…

purple feather trees and a family-made nativity lamp go together beautifully…

the stunning glitter trees with glass reindeer are lovely on the fish tank… of course there is glitter everywhere on the main floor now, lol…

these bubbles have lived in the dining room window at Christmas for the last three years… love how they look with the various ribbons that hold them up…and they reflect so nicely…

and all the pottery looks beautiful, newly organized in the nooks…

things can look so different from another viewpoint…

now all that’s needed are my advent boxes;-)…

progress…

26 Saturday Nov 2016

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knew I had lots to do today so was up early and made bacon and eggs with rösti and spinach… smoothies make up my morning meals on weekdays, so I always enjoy having time to make something special on the weekend…

made a list to be sure I remembered everything that needed to be done…

paid some bills, ordered a few things on the Internet and then headed out to do some errands…

picked up the cutest purple magnetic white board and put it up on the cabinet door by the stove…

then I spent quite some time emptying, and then filling, the hot tub… it is a process… first I had to check if I needed any chemicals, then had to pick up a filter… empty the tub which takes at least a few hours… wipe it down, put in the new filter and fill it up… when I restart the pump sometimes it takes a while for the jets to work… only had to reset it once tonight… it was getting dark as it filled up and I went flying when checking the water level… the deck had become slick as the temperature dropped…

now it is a waiting game as it warms up… always like to have a fresh filter and water for when my daughter comes home… she really enjoys the hot tub…

made supper with one of my ChefsPlate meals and used the new magnetic board… worked perfectly to hold the recipe out of the way, but handy…

exactly what I was hoping for… supper was good too…

made a lot of progress on my Christmas list, which makes me happy…

Christmas…

25 Friday Dec 2015

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woke at five, then climbed back into bed to finally get up around seven…

  
my son-in-law worked the overnight shift and got home about 7:15 so we had tea and waited for the rest of the family to wake up… he’d seen the beautiful full moon on his way home and heard that it won’t fall on Christmas again until 2034 and that it hadn’t happened since 1977…

  
so I had to go out into the middle of their street to see it and get a few photos before it vanished… didn’t have my tripod so was pleased that this one came out…

then I took a few photos of their house in the early morning light…

  
everyone got up, with a bit of coaxing, and we opened gifts… we all did very well…

   
lots of technology this year with tablets and wired headphones for the little people…


and a wireless headset for the oldest, who was visibly pleased… which, for a teenager, is pretty spectacular… well done mom and dad…

  
my stash included some cool technology for meal prep and a few purple items, lol…

we sat down to freshly made waffles and covered them with fresh fruit and a bit of whipping cream…

  
by the time we finished making them no one was left at the table, so this is a picture of what I had, lol… it was delicious…

rests were had, games were played, books were read, naps were taken…

dinner was a lovely roasted chicken, stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, brussel sprouts, raw carrots and French fries made in the new fryer that only used a few tablespoons of oil…

quiet time with a bit of colouring after dinner…

  
home now and planning to head to bed… full day…

hoping that you were able to find some special moments in your day…

 

companions…

23 Wednesday Dec 2015

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it was so beautiful outside this morning…

  
even though it was overcast the snow covering everything made it a wonderland…

love to get shots of the pergola which my beloved built along the neighbour’s garage many years ago… there are often beautiful sculptures there…

  
so pretty…

today both kids left for Ottawa, one flying commercial and the other via a military Christmas flight… we had a wonderful five days together but I am always sad to see them go…

  
heading off to Ottawa…

my BS companions came by tonight for our Christmas celebration… there were snacks, baking and gifts galore… a wonderful evening that certainly helped perk me up after the kids had gone…

  
I find I notice the emptiness after I’ve had company for a while… makes perfect sense, and after a few days it doesn’t feel empty… just normal:-)…

great moments have been made today and will be remembered…

different…

20 Sunday Dec 2015

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tonight we had Christmas dinner and exchanged gifts with our Ottawa kids…

first time that I’ve celebrated Christmas on a different day… felt very odd… a new way of being and hopefully not the norm…

we had supper after 7, which was different as well… for fun we had a bottle of champagne…

  
the boys did not like the taste of champagne, lol, but they enjoyed some sparkling cider…

dinner was great, except for the fussy brussel sprout recipe… everything was ready ahead of time and they got over cooked…

  

everyone liked their gifts, we had more of the Deadly Chocolate Mousse for dessert, a final visit and the kids went home…

we are all heading to bed here… too tired for a hot tub, lol…

toes…

19 Saturday Dec 2015

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we got up early so my daughter could call her husband to be sure he was up… he was spending the day flying to get here… quite a circuitous route… we didn’t want him to miss his ride… 

it was beautiful outside and I got this shot of the snow hanging from the neighbour’s roof…

  
made breakfast and then we popped out to get a few last minute groceries… my Winnipeg daughter picked us up and we went for pedicures…

  
pretty toes for everyone… mine are purple… 

  
nice time… one child went off visiting and the other headed home…

I had a nap and then got some prep done for our Christmas dinner tomorrow night…

  
started with the stuffing… my favourite… then turnip and potatoes… put some of the stuffing into muffin tins… the rest will go into the turkey…

had a lovely time watching some luge, skiing, and show jumping in between the prep work… haven’t had the opportunity to watch much sports so really enjoyed the time this afternoon…

food is ready for cooking now and first thing in the morning I will get the table set…

going to watch a few shows and then head to bed… the visitors are sleeping over with the grandkids so I will see them later tomorrow…

quiet evening:-)…

focus…

15 Tuesday Dec 2015

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last school concert of the season… this one at the little boys’ school…

  
this one looked so cute all dressed up… this is his last concert at this school as he will be moving to middle school next year…

where does the time go…

  
every time the little one saw our cameras, he posed, lol…

  
great performance with the chimes… kids were very focused to come in at the correct time… this guy likes music but is planning to focus on his art at the next school…

  
lovely shot of big brother and youngest focused on the performance…

we’ve never landed such great seats where we could actually see our kids without a zoom lens… the school had a great raffle and the winner got front row seats with assigned parking… too bad I didn’t know about that beforehand… maybe next year…

got a shot of all the gifts under the trees… looks lovely…

  

preparing…

14 Monday Dec 2015

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another great day off…

worked on my list of prep for next weekend, and then Christmas… wrapped the last few parcels… put ribbon on the finished ones and made sure that each person had an ornament on one of their gifts…

then I sorted out which gifts will stay here and be opened on Sunday when we have our Christmas with everyone, and the ones that will go to my daughter’s house for our actual Christmas morning celebration… 

also preparing to stay healthy by getting the shingles vaccine this morning… on my way there saw these two adorable reindeer…

had to stop and take a picture… very cute…

had a triennial medical appointment and picked up a few final items as I prepare for the holidays… think I got the last gift…

  
picked up these little numbers for me…

brought home all the groceries for the week and our Christmas dinner…

  
still on a roll, cleaned out the fridge and put everything away…

then a rest, lol… 

finally tidied everything up… looks lovely and I am feeling much better about what is left to do over the next few days…

was able to enjoy each piece of my day as I worked on my preparations…

back…

08 Tuesday Dec 2015

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sore back today… might have had something to do with carting all the Christmas decoration boxes up and down the stairs…

but, the space looks fabulous:-)…

had imagined that by the end of the day it would be better… unfortunately not the case, which made for a long day…

  
this wonderful sky greeted us on the way home… 

dragged myself to aquasize and was pleased to make it through the session… didn’t do any twisting…

back home and had supper in stages… started with smoked goldeye and tomato, cucumber and avocado salad… once it was cooked enjoyed a yummy sweet potato…

tasty… now to rest my back…

  
part of the stairway decorations are small wooden trees which George made many years ago…

glitter…

06 Sunday Dec 2015

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excellent day…

found the cookies I’d been searching for… got a glittery outfit for an upcoming event… and spent a wonderful afternoon with a friend while we decorated the main floor…

  
so nice to have someone to work with and bringing another eye to the project…

having lived here for over forty years it had become a bit ho hum to put out the decorations… having a designer’s view brought new life to the space…

  
my Advent boxes have taken on a more prominent place, even though they are in the same space, lol…

put George’s stocking in the drawer in the living room table… I think this is a great place to display it and feel his presence…

  
as she was leaving my friend noticed all the glitter on her face and laughed as she described being covered in glitter the whole of the Christmas season when she had her shop…

as the afternoon has turned into evening and it is dark outside it is even more beautiful… I love the glitter of the lights everywhere…

  
these trees drop sequins and glitter everywhere… they go into a special bag so as not to distribute glitter throughout the whole house…

the kids came for supper and brought me cherry surprises – cookies our dear friend and neighbour made every year for our Christmas dinner…

after they headed home I spent time sitting in the living room enjoying the space, and listening to A Jann Arden Christmas while writing my post…

feeling peaceful as we move into the busy days of the season… happy my shopping is complete and the parcels wrapped… just need to add some ribbon to finish them off and see how many I can fit under the trees…

  
anticipating many gentle moments as I remember so many special Christmas seasons with my beloved…