Shopping Tools.

Christmas shopping is something we start early in the year so that we can enjoy the process instead of rushing around. Once the cold weather arrives, we usually only have bits to do but what makes it a truly "Christmacy" experience is the tools we need on hand to set the scene.

 

We need snow, which we have no shortage of in our climate.

 

We need warm coats, mitts and boots. Traipsing from store to store requires warm clothing.

 

We need our list of what still needs to be purchased, a budget, our cloth shopping bags and alternate ideas in case the items we are searching for are not available.

Finally, we need this:

 

White hot chocolate with fresh whipped cream.

 

Then we need this:

Sugary goodies to keep our strength up!

 

I hope our family appreciates the work we go to for

making sure their Christmas is amazing every year!!

Eat, Pray, Love.

Can't sleep, so I'm cozied up on our family room couch, watching "Eat, Pray, Love",  Julie Roberts is one of my favorite actresses. Loved her in "Erin Brockavitch" and "Step Mom". Dh is asleep upstairs, recovering and everyone else has gone to bed.

 

Just me, the full moon and Julia!

Treasure Hunting.

A couple of days after Christmas, while the rest of my house was sleeping, I slipped out of bed, showered and ventured outside to my car, driving a few blocks away to our local charity shop. I needed to get out of the house, having been inside for the last week with the bitter cold and our Christmas celebrations. I had a couple of dollars tucked away in my pocket and immensely enjoyed being the first one in the shop that morning, exchanging good wishes with the staff for a Happy New Year. It's fun living in a smaller community and I love shopping where the "hello, it's good to see you" greetings are genuine.

 

Here's my stash for the day:

 

 

A Land's End warm sweater, light sage in color ....

for the princely sum of .50 cents!

 

 

As we restore one large house, the appeal of this small house was to good to pass up. A smaller project while we wait for supplies for the large house to arrive. Price? $2.50.

 

Hallmark Christmas Decoration for .50 cents.

 

Bunnies By The Bay book for $3.00

The bonus is that there are quilt patterns inside

and one that I've already chosen for my next project.

 

Trio of lace doilies for .25 cents.

 

Roll of wired lilac ribbon for .25 cents.

 

 

Not a bad trip out. The weather was starting to get warmer

and I enjoyed the "alone" time.

 

When I came home, just 40 minutes later,
everyone was still asleep.
 

I wasn't even missed!



Aaaahhh!!

Woke up to a sick husband today. Feel so bad for him. And so disappointed that in our house, where illness rarely visits, we seem to be on a path of constant trips to the clinic the last few weeks.

 

I'm overdosing myself with Vitamin C and D. Staying away from the sickees and keeping my fingers crossed that everyone will be well tomorrow when our oldest son comes to celebrate Christmas with us. He lives about 3 hours away and could not come on the 25th, so we're having another celebration.

 

Fingers crossed that all is well tomorrow!

Christmas 2012 at Our House!

No words needed ....

 

 

 

Sick baby ,,,,

My last day of work for 2012 was on Thursday, December 20th. I've enjoyed this entire week off and still have another week and a half to go. Bill had to work yesterday for not quite a full day and the same today, then he is off again until January 2nd. Today, I heard him leave but he was trying so hard to creep around so I could sleep a bit. Catching up and regaining some energy for the coming year is the plan this holiday season.

 

However, my plans to ice cookies and write all day got a bit sidetracked when I was woken up by Chelsea, who crept into my room with a very sick boy in her arms. We all snuggled in bed until she was able to get an appointment for him at the clinic at 11:30 a.m. While they were gone, I had a warm bath, then made our bed and set up our family room to be the "hub" for the day. They got home around 1 (the verdict was tonsillitis) and we settled in for the afternoon, taking turns rocking our sick boy and getting his fever down to a more manageable temperature. He slept, sipped, fussed, cried, moaned and then finally asked for some pasta, which after it was cooked and brought to him, he promptly took one bite and declared he was "all done"!

Despite the snag in my original plan for the day, I did make the icing and made a scrumptious Turkey Pot Pie for dinner tonight. Bill came home at 3 and whisked me away for a quick trip to Costco so I could pick up some ingredients for our meal. Came across a scrapbooking pad of paper and embellishments from one of my favorite artists, Susan Branch. Sells on her website for $29.95 but on sale at Costco for a very reasonable $10.95. Looking forward to having some time over the holidays to do some scrapbooking.

Beckett is having a miserable time tonight. Bedtime is next on the agenda. Can't wait to have our sweet little guy back again. Miss his grin and his fun, goofy personality!

 

Warm again!

It's been a bitterly cold Christmas so far,

with temperatures sitting around the -30 mark.

 

Today, it's going up to a balmy -5.

 

Loving the warmth of the sun peeking

thru the blinds in our master bedroom.

 

Laying on the bed, reading blogs, I look up to see this:

 

 

And feel a peaceful calm in my world today.

 

Christmas love has melted into New Year's love.

 

And all is well ....

Catching Up!

I have been a terrible blogger over the last few months. The last time I wrote was in the summer! So many things have happened, I could take all day writing a post just to catch up. Instead, I'll just jot down a few of the key things that are memorable and worth sharing.

We had a lovely summer, full of rebuilding our deck and redoing our garden. And then, when all the work was done, we sat back and thoroughly enjoyed the time we were able to spend outside in our new space. Space that is now open, beautiful to look at, comfortable to be surrounded by and oh so sweet to smell. Cedar was definitely the way to go, especially with the price we were able to negotiate, then negotiate again with Home Depot, creating a bill in the end that was lower than using a much cheaper wood. Score one for us!

Pictures to follow.

My job has changed a bit and I'm still trying to work it all out. It's a good move but one that has added more responsibility to my plate. I'm feeling a bit resentful that my co-workers are not bogged down with the caseload I currently carry but I truly believe in time that we'll be better off in showing the need for creating a new position so I can have staff, instead of just volunteers.

The increase in my job created some stress and I ended up with bronchial pneumonia in the fall. Not a bad case but one that knocked me down for a bit. Still trying to get my energy back, which means half the week I'm running like crazy, on the days I feel good, and the rest of the week I'm trying to regain my energy. Vicious cycle! Still seeing my naturopath - love her! She is helping me reclaim my body and live a full life, instead of the one my doctor insisted I live.

 

Our oldest dd is living with us now full time, with our little Beckett a big focus in our daily life. We now have a routine and it feels like this is how it's always been. I can't quite remember our life a year ago, without him here. Keeps us on our toes and makes life fun every day!

 

Change is good and on that note, I've decided to change the name of my blog to better reflect our life. I hope you like the change and will continue to read along.

A few pictures to end this post. Apologies in advance for the poor lighting. Candles are my favorite but not great for photos! My love and I out for our Anniversary Dinner. We celebrated 31 years together this summer, with our 28th Wedding Anniversary in August. A favorite spot but one that is tres expensive, therefore, visits are reserved for very special occasions!

 

All for now but more as the days progress!