About Me

December 31, 2022

Here's to 2023!


This past year had more good than bad.
The tough stuff was so hard and things
I hope we never have to tackle again.
But we did get through them. We even
celebrated those moments. And truly
embraced all the good moments too!

Thank you for all my readers and blog
buddies. Thank you for those who are
able to comment and those who follow
along. I read all your blogs and love
the community that exists with those
who love to share our lives with others.

Happy New Year to each of you as you
ring in 2023 with family and friends. Be
well. Stay safe. Keep living. Never stop
dreaming. Let creativity flow. Love to all!

~ Chy

Our Babies ....


Remembering our babies during the holidays. We
miss them so much but especially Christmas when
we should all be together. Love you to the moon and
back: Bretton, Ciara, Birkley, Cabriola, Cambria,
Beau, Cree and Bentley. Candles lit to shine in the
dark and frosty night. Love, mama and papa XO.

~ Chy

Counting Down.


A quiet New Year's at home, with gin
and goodies, Yahtzee and trashy tv!


And these 2 girls who keep us laughing.
Life would be very quiet without them!

~ Chy

Home.


Many travel at Christmas. I miss family
that doesn't live close by. We're in the
middle ~ family in one province to the
west of us and family in the province
to the east of us. We love to visit. But
at Christmas we choose to stay home.

Do you travel during the holidays?

~ Chy

Irish Blessing.


A beautiful Irish Christmas Blessing I found
when I was searching for a New Year's one.
Saving it for next year for our festive dinner.
The Irish in my blood is excited to find this.

~ Chy

Corner Candles.


Candles in the corner. I used to love
this little corner in the kitchen. But
when we bought our SMEG kettle,
my sweet candles got moved so dh
could have the kettle out all the time
in the Winter. One day I'll have them!

~ Chy

Wish us Luck!


The last few years, we had a rink right
off our back deck. The rink is set to go
but in a different spot this year. And I
am not sure it will happen. We came
home from Disney to snow and since
then, it's been too cold to get the final
pieces in place. We'll see what happens
over the next few weeks. Wish us luck!

~ Chy

On a Walk.


Before the frost. Out on a walk, a shot of
the cottage on a sunny but chilly afternoon.

~ Chy

LIttle Footprints.


Deer on the lane. Always nestled down
in the trees but they do venture out and
about along the lane, often coming in
to our garden. This morning, we found
little footprints up to the rose bushes.
Hopefully they didn't munch on them!

~ Chy

Before Sunset.


The back of our cottage, just as the sun
starts to set. So excited that now our days
will begin to get longer and longer again.
And Spring is just 80 days away. Yes!!

~ Chy

London New Year.


Beautiful shot of London, England
as they welcome in the New Year!

~ Chy

He Still Believes ....


I love that at 12, our little gs still believes.
I think he has a bit of wonder about the
whole thing but he's a great kid and as
long as we choose to believe, he will too!

~ Chy

The In Between.


I love the time in between Christmas
and New Years. Most years, we all
have time off. This year, I did have
to do a bit of work on the Wednesday
before Christmas and then again this
week. Not hard at all. I go back on
Monday and am looking forward to
the start of the year. Getting back to
routine will take a bit of work as we
haven't had to be up early and many
afternoons, we find ourselves curled
up on the couch, watching the snow
fall outside while we watch a movie
or work on our fun projects. We eat
when we're hungry, nap when we're
tired and spend time doing things we
don't always have time to do. It's truly
relaxing and what the in between is for!

Do you love all the time in between?

~ Chy

Vintage and Shiny.


My favorite decorations that never end
up on the tree! I found this old vintage
muffin tin at the Antique Mall and put
these pretty balls into it one year and
they've never left their safe place. Now
I bring it out every year with the idea that
I'll actually put them on the tree .... then
they stay in the tin. Vintage and shiny!

Do you have any decorations that don't
make it on to your Christmas Tree?

~ Chy

Yummy Confetti.


My auntie used to make "Confetti" all
the time when we were growing up. I
did for years as well but now our dd's
have taken it on as a tradition. Yum!

~ Chy

Coronation Street.


Another evening of catching up on Corrie.
Another year of being intrigued by all the
"stories" of those who live on the tiny Street.
A great British soap that we've been tuning
in to for decades. Can't imagine not having
our bit of "lost time" each day but we love it!

Do you watch any soaps or British tv?

~ Chy

Filling My Time.


Getting ready to ring in the New Year.
I love to sit with my new Susan Branch
desk calendar each year and fill in all
the special days for the year. Thankful
for a sweet daughter who makes sure I
have my sweet calendar under the tree
every Christmas. She did however this
year order 2 by accident! One for work!

~ Chy

Frosty and Foggy.





We woke up yesterday to the most amazing
hoar frost, which is still present today. A
quick trip in to town to meet a realtor, see
my mom and look at new phones meant
we left home in the sun but quickly it did
disappear and we were suddenly engulfed
in thick fog that made driving challenging.
These photos don't even really show how
dense it was. It felt like we were driving in
a tunnel. We usually talk or listen to music
while we drive but our car was silent all
the way into town. A bit scary though pretty!

~ Chy

New Toys.


We went off to Costco yesterday to
check out new phones for 2023.


Our current phones are 4 years old.
Mine is still in perfect shape. Dh's
is all cracked up but still works ok.


But both are slow now and giving us
some issues, so it was time to consider
new devices. We found a great deal
that included a new iPhone 14 at a
sale price, an increase to our current
plan but at a lower monthly cost, a
free set of ear buds, a free car charger
(for both phones) AND $600 in Costco
gift cards that we will definitely use. It
turned out to be the best deal we found
AND my new phone is a pretty shade
of lavender. Dh's is a cool light blue.

Did you get any new toys for Christmas?

~ Chy

To End the Year.


I thought this was the perfect quote to the year.
2022 for many of us was a good year but also
a year that had it's challenges. I'm happy to reflect
on the good but so happy to have a fresh start
beginning at midnight tonight. Wishing you the
best start to 2023. Enjoy the night. Stay safe!

~ Chy

December 30, 2022

Settling In.



The last post, I promise of little Miss
Blythe. She has settled in just fine and
trying out a few spots to sit and watch
the action happening all around her.

~ Chy

My 1st Unboxing.







I've posted a video of the unboxing of my Blythe doll
but wanted to share her here as well. If you'd like to
follow the adventure, the link to the new IG account
called "Blythe Cottage" is here. She is so sweet and
now that I've got her unboxed, the next task is to name
her. She was given the name "Mary" by her creator
but we'll likely choose a "C" name to follow our little
pattern with names in our family. OR a "B" name ....

~ Chy

Boxing Day.


Boxing Day is a holiday in Canada and
in the U.K. We love this day after the
big day. For our family, it's our annual
"pyjama/LEGO Building/leftovers Day."


We ended up with a few LEGO sets to
build this year. In the first photo, our
daughter put together her Mandalorian
Helmet. Dh started to build his Disney
Haunted Mansion but we discovered a
number of pieces were missing. Like a
whole bag. Now we wait for the blocks
to arrive so his project is on hold. I will
in time start the big one above. It's a cool
3,066 pieces and will take some time. It
was surprise and I'm so excited to start!
The item is called the "Boutique Hotel."


Dh also received a toaster for Christmas
from the girls that makes a Darth Vader
impression on his toast. Silly gift but
it really works. I just shook my head!


At the end of the day, the beautiful moon
shining in our window. A busy couple of
days but it's always nice to have a break
like Boxing Day where instead of doing
what everyone else does (shopping like
crazy, kind of a Black Friday feel), we
stay home and chill. I would never, ever
change this tradition and we love the day!

Do you have Boxing Day in your region?
If so, what do you like to do on this day?

~ Chy

The King's Speech.


We always stop on Christmas Day to
watch the Queen's speech. This year,
we did the same but the difference
was instead of our beloved Queen
sharing her inspiring words, we have
a new King, so it was the King's Speech.


I think Charles has done a fine job so far
in taking over this important job after his
mother's death. It seemed like he never
really wanted this role but he's doing it!


The choir was beautiful, with participants
of all ages sharing the sweet music.


Short and sweet but always has an impact
on our day. Very well done, King Charles!

~ Chy

Christmas Day.


Once again, we were awake well before the kids.
This is tradition in our house. When they were
little, I marvelled at family and friends who all
shared how they would be up super early in the
morning and would have all their gifts open even
before the sun rose. In our cottage, it has always
been the opposite. We literally have to wake all
the kids and now grandkids up so we can get
the day underway. I'm grateful but it's always
been so interesting to us they don't get up early.
A little bottle of Bailey's Irish Cream for my
breakfast. It is my favorite. Creamy and smooth!


I have to grab the photos from the morning
off my phone so just a few quick shots for
now of the day. Dh opening a special gift
I have made for him, all the way from over
the sea ~ Turkey. He had not idea of what
it was and it was fun as he tried to guess.


Hard to see so I'll have to share once it's
been installed on the wall. The artwork
is a big angel with a motorcyle and the
nickname of my lovey guy "Wild Bill."
This will be hung up either in our little
mudroom OR in the garage. It will hold
his helmet, gloves and keys for storage.
No motorcyle yet. Down the road in time.


Dd#1 went one step further and found him
a helmet and dd#2 bought him the leather
gloves he'll need to keep his hands intact
when riding. Now I'll need a helmet too!

It was an amazing morning that took a very
long time to wrap up (my pun for the night!)
with stockings, breakfast, tidy up, then the
opening of gifts (one at a time with Santa
handing each one out), marvelling at the
sweetness of our family to each other and
then showers, turkey and sides all prepped
for dinner. A quiet afternoon to play and
then it was time to sit down to eat the most
amazing dinner once again. Never gets old!

Hope you had a wonderful Christmas Day.
I'm loving reading all the posts from my buddies.

~ Chy