New Year 2022.

Like everyone around the World, this

past year has been hard on so many

levels. But there have also been some

great things that I'd like to record. The

best was our ds and ddil's wedding,

a day that was planned for 2020, but

they had to wait another year due to

Covid. In the end, the small wedding

over looking the ocean was amazing.

The original large wedding had to be

scrapped and we all agreed, this was

so much better, much more intimate

and so much fun! I truly believe all

weddings should be like this one was.

More great moments: being promoted

to Director, the move to our all new

hospice; traveling to the coast for the

wedding, then to our little island for

a very well deserved break; more time

working from home; more time in

the office; new connections; I was

able to do a lot more writing and art

this year; my brother came to visit

and stayed with us; and my mom is

still with us, though declining. All in,

it was still a good year. Here's to 2022!

~ Chy

All is Calm ....

Getting ready for our 2nd Christmas.

For now, it's calm and quiet. Lovely!

~ Chy

Lego Day.

Lego Building Day is always the 27th

of December. We all got Lego again

today and we love to have a day in our

pj's, with treats and Lego to build. Fun!

~ Chy

Cherished Gift.

Truthfully, every gift I receive is so precious

to me. But the ones from dh are always the

best. He found this very sweet necklace with

Angel wings and beautiful colors. I love it!

~ Chy

"I'll Be Home ....

.... for Christmas." An old vintage

decoration we found at the Old

Antique Mall. Wish it was true

every year though. Our sons did

not make it home as we planned.

But we know many families were

in the same boat, and somehow,

that was comforting. Travel is too

unpredictable. We do know it was

the right decision but it was still

hard to not have all our babies with

us again this year. One day, when C

is all gone, we'll be under the tree

together, healthy and whole. One day!

~ Chy

Tree #4.

Tree #4 is tiny and set up in our master

bedroom. We love to have it on at night

before we drift off to sleep. Full of small

vintage decorations and twinkling lights.

~ Chy

The Arthur.

One of my "in progress" dollhouses.

This one is called "The Arthur" and

I bought it off a lady on the military

base for $10. I've taken out the door,

the windows and the wallpaper inside.

Just trying to figure out if I'll leave it

this shade of yellow or choose a color

that is more bold. It's growing on me

a bit so it may stay. Finishing up the

dollhouse I'm working on for gdd.

Getting there. I hope to get it to her

soon. It's been quite a big, messy job!

~ Chy

Snow Hills.

Early morning when it was -42 C.

At least the sun was brightly shining!

I love how the pergola is filled with

snow and it looks like tiny little hills.

How cold is it where you live?

~ Chy

Favorite Treat.

This is now officially my new favorite

treat. If we hadn't been snowed in, I

probably would have driven in to town

to the store to buy more packs. Next year!

~ Chy

Daily Planner.

I love buying a new diary/daily planner

every December. And the best part is

sitting and mapping out my year. This

year, I chose a "Daphne's Diary" item

and it's more than perfect for 2022. It

is more like an art journal and I love it!

Do you use a daily planner?

Or write in a diary as well?

~ Chy

Christmas Cards.

We ended up with just a few Christmas

cards this year. I sent out our usual cards

this year and received many apologies

that it wasn't the year for cards. I don't

send them out to receive back but it was

lovely to hear from everyone via text,

phone and FB. I'm sure once Covid is

over, Christmas cards will return again.

Did you send out cards this year?

And did you get as many back?

~ Chy

New Chair.

The little desk in our guest room was

missing something ~ a lovely chair. I

remembered we had put one of the tall

chairs out in the garage for storage. It

ended up being the perfect fit and I do

love the extra green color mixed in now.

~ Chy

My View.

While I provided a counselling session

today, I sat in our tiny living room and

loved the view of the Christmas tree in

the turret. Many pretty views that I love.

~ Chy

Cottage Tour #1.

A new addition to "our little cottage in

the big woods" ~ I'm going to provide

a few "tours" of different spaces in the

cottage. Today, the front hall. I do love

the height of the ceiling. I believe it is

18 feet high. Keeps it bright and airy, 

even on the darkest of Winter days. I

also love the transoms on either side

of the big door, the good sized closet,

the arches, and the sweet antiques we

found to fill the space with. I so hope

you like this first tour of our cottage.

~ Chy

1st Christmas.

We calculated on Christmas Eve that

this year was our 40th Christmas Eve

that we celebrated together. I'd love to

say that we were just babies, but truth

be told, we were a bit older than that!

Old enough to be in love and excited

to dream about our future. Did we get

where we wanted to be? I would say yes

and even more. Our very 1st Christmas

was magical and the other 39 have been

just as amazing! We look forward to

this special time every year with love.

~ Chy

Turret Snowmen.

Our turret through the year houses our

daughter's kitchen nook in the lower

level, our office and sitting area in our

master bedroom, and our music room

on our main level. However, during the

holidays, it becomes "the Christmas

room" and I love to decorate it. This

year, I filled it with my little collection

of snowmen. On the vintage Victrola,

two of my favorites are chilling in the

sun. The carrot nose on the larger one

makes me smile every time I walk by!

~ Chy

Sweet Gift.

Our neighbors down the lane visited

with us on Christmas Day. It was such

a beautiful afternoon and we all had so

much fun exchanging gifts. Handmade

gifts are always my favorite and this

soft and colorful blanket was created

by M, who spent hours making it just

for me! I love cozying up at night now!

~ Chy

Icy Roads.

We were fortunate to not have to go

anywhere for the last week, staying

home in our cozy cottage, the warmth

and light of family. But yesterday, it

was time to leave the house to pick up

an item from Ikea we had ordered. I

was nervous for the drive but despite

the icy roads, dh was amazing and we

were there and back in no time. Lots

of warm sun and blue skies also helped.

~ Chy

Elite Bathing.

Stepping up my bathing game with these

new gifts from dh. He heard me talking

about how this tub seems to be smaller

than our previous tub as I can't touch the

other side without almost laying flat in

the tub. Yes, I am that short! So he found

the bath pillow and I can now lay back

and be super comfortable when I take a

bath now. Love our new bath sheets. So

soft and large. And the bamboo shelf is

replacing our old metal one that is now

rusty and squeaks! It has a spot for my

wine glass, a tray to hold my phone and

a spot for soap and a wash cloth. Genius!

~ Chy

Our Tiny Mice.

Our new decorations from last Christmas.

Meet Master Milo and Miss Francesca.

~ Chy

Eric Sunning.

A quick snap of Eric the leafy tree in

our kitchen nook sunning in the warm

light today. It's still crazy cold (- 30's)

but today did get up to -24 and we did

drive in to the Big City to retrieve an

item that had been ordered for dd. I

was super warm the whole time due

to our car being in the garage during

this time. Heated seats helped too! It

was a good thing we chose today to

go out after a solid week at home as

the prediction for tomorrow is -36

degrees Celcius in the afternoon. We

don't go back to work until next week

but between the huge spike in Covid

and the weather, it will be interesting

to see what happens. For now, we'll

enjoy our cozy cottage and stay warm!

~ Chy

Being Silly.

I forgot to share that on Christmas Eve,

after everything was set and done, we

broke out the fun slushy adult drinks and

with our little guy away, Cards Against

Humanity was our entertainment. Such

a fun night! The "Jack Frost" drink too!

~ Chy

Double Purpose.

Sitting down to finally open gifts and

we discovered our staircase has a 2nd

or double purpose .... holding Christmas

morning Mimosa's! Perfect fit for these.

~ Chy

Queen's Speech.

Before we open gifts, it's time to watch

the Queen's Speech each year. I love

her carefully chosen words and her

attention to detail. Always an inspiration!

~ Chy

Christmas Brekky.

After the stockings, then it's time for

the most scrumptious brekky all year!

~ Chy

My Stocking.

Our Christmas stockings are the first thing we

open. No gifts until after we've had breakfast.

I always love opening my stocking and have just

as much fun filling everyone else's! Sweets, an

orange, white chocolate, tiny gifts and this year,

a gift card in a snowflake tin. So much fun!

~ Chy

Tree #3.

I love this tiny tree #3. It sits on our

antique piano in the dining room. The

tree was a gift, as was the piano, from

my gramma. She loved Christmas as

much as all the kids. And loved when

she could come and visit us. Miss her!

~ Chy