Christmas draws closer ...

Christmas preparations 

Spent Sunday afternoon and evening wrapping presents

and decorating the parcels.   Had some trouble getting

started however because Phoebe demanded was in need of 

attention and was not inclined to listen to reason and 

allow me to work unimpeded.

Since wrapping presents one handed, with a cat slung

over your shoulder snoozing is awkward ... to say the

least ... I had to be firm and put her down near by to

nap on a chair ... instead of me.

Wrapping paper around the boxes doesn't take too long

to do.   It's making the bows and decorating in general

that takes time ... and is the fun part.    Unfortunately my

glue gun died awhile ago and I forgot to get myself a new

one so all the bows and decorations had to be "stuck"

on the parcels with tape, white glue or tied on with fancy

string or ribbon.    Frustrating at times and I'm not sure

how durable these things are going to be so when they

are being given out I'll be warning the recipients to be

careful with how they carry or transport their gifts.

At least I did remember to buy a new glue gun the next

time I was out shopping.   Better late then never.

Don't think that I ever showed off the new addition to the

library which my DH made for me in August.   I've had this

design stuck in my head for ages now and somehow, for 

some reason, this summer he and I got to talking about it

and the next thing he knew he was going out to buy the 

materials and putting it together.

Four bookcases set edge to edge with a large sheet of 

plywood on top and with a raised edge of trim to finish 

off each side of the table top.   It gives me a whole lot

of space for my bigger books on the shelves of the four 

bookcases plus the top is perfect for working on my jigsaw 

puzzles,  crafting ... and for wrapping Christmas presents.   

I had to haul all my wrapping paper, trims, adhesives, 

decorations and ... um ... oh yes .... the presents ....

from the top floor of the house to the basement ... and 

then back up there again when I was done but it was 

fabulous to work on that table and not have to bend over.  

And that table top is a HUGE workspace.

On the 7th of December I took the train down

to Toronto to meet my friend Darlene and we

spent the day wandering around the city 

looking at the Christmas decorations.

The above trees are in the atrium of the building

where Darlene works (she was on vacation that

week).   Note the sheets of sparkly lights draped

across the balconies.   Very pretty, nicely done.

We went to Yorkdale mall for the morning and

checked out the stores and their displays there.   The

above arrangement was in Pottery Barn.  We were

disappointed in the lack of decorations at Yorkdale 

in the mall's common spaces.   All the shops there were

decorated but the mall itself only had Christmas 

decorations around the area where Santa was located.

Dull!  Boring!!!  Bah Humbug Yorkdale!!!

We went to Allen Gardens in the afternoon and were

much happier with the effort made there to join in the

spirit of the season.    Poinsettias everywhere, in a 

multitude of colours.    Mannequins dressed for winter

in dresses made of foliage and flowers were scattered

around the main greenhouse. 

Anyone for a sleigh ride?

Another greenhouse had fanciful birds perched in

trees and plants, some sitting on "nests" with 

Christmas decoration "eggs".

I guess it makes sense that a Blue Jay would lay a blue

egg.

It was lovely to spend an hour or more wandering

around enjoying the plants and the Christmas 

decorations.

Once it got dark we walked to City Hall where the skating

rink was in full use, the Christmas tree was lit up and 

everything looked lovely.

The Eaton Centre mall had it's giant reindeer

set out along it's main hall.    They are amazing

to see in person.

The CN tower was lit up with Christmas colours

which looked great.

Didn't buy anything (except for brunch and

dinner) during our day out except when I found

this hardcover edition of the third book in 

Deborah Harkness's All Souls Trilogy which

was on sale for just $10.00.   I did buy this when

it first came out in hardcover a year and a half

ago because I LOVE the series and this author!

But I had to grab this copy because of the sticker

on it which said "Signed Copy"!!!! 

Yup!   There you go!   Signed by the author!!!

Me want!    Me grab!!!    Me very happy!!!

This is baking week.   I've been at it for three days so

far and will keep at it until I run out of time.   Stay 

tuned for further reports.

Cheers!

Lo, it's Christmas time!!!

I mentioned in my last post that we'd gotten our

tree up a few weekends ago.  But before we could put our 

tree up we had to go out and buy a new one this year 

because the lights on our not-quite-four year old tree 

were failing all over it.  I was very annoyed because these 

things ain't cheap to begin with and I loved my not-so-old 

tree.   

So we drove to Canadian Tire and checked out their

tree selection and ended up bringing this one home.

I would have preferred a tree with coloured lights

but pre-lit trees seem to be decorated with white

lights more often then coloured.   I liked this tree

because it looks quite real and we were not interested

in driving all over the province looking at the

many different christmas trees that are for sale in 

other stores so this is the one we bought.

Hope it'll stay hale and hearty and lit for more then

three seasons.

This one is the typical three section tree with each

section inserted into the previous one and the bottom

section inserted into the stand.   Then, because it is

brand new and had been stuffed into a relatively

small box by some kind of sadistic mechanical device 

I had to "fluff" it before we could start decorating it.

Fluffing the tree took a long time.   Opening the new

tree like an umbrella, pressing branches down into place

and separating branches from one another and flatten-

ing branches etc.   Making sure that there are no empty spaces

through which you might be able to spy the tree trunk 

or (horrified gasp!!!) plugs and wires.  And you just cannot 

rush these things because a well fluffed tree is crucial to the

end result of a realistic appearance.   

Do I sound as demented to you as I sound to me?

Ahem.

So a few days after the tree had been put up I was 

sitting with a mug of tea in hand admiring our

handiwork.  DH was sitting across the room 

from me with his mug of tea.   I idly glanced towards

the top of the tree and then did a double take.

"Where did that come from" I asked the only

member of this household tall enough to place a

small plush cat on top of our seven and a half 

foot tall tree without a ladder.   Said member of

the household just grinned at me.

We've been without a star for the top of our tree for quite

a few years now.   Ever since our last star refused to 

light up during a previous decorating session we've been

trying to find another one that we both liked without 

any success.   Usually I just plop one of my hand made

gold bows on top of the tree and leave it at that but 

this year I hadn't gotten around to doing it yet.

So DH decided to take matters into his own hands and

you see the results above.

I like it.

We're cat lovers here, and we have an orange cat so

I guess it's rather fitting to have an orange cat on top of our

tree.

Meanwhile, the christmas cards have begun to 

trickle in and I'm happy about that because I

love christmas cards.   And so does a certain

previously alluded to orange cat.    His name was

in the hand written greeting inside the card so

of course he had to read it for himself.

The very first card to arrive this year was this hand

made beauty from Andrea at The Craft Room.  I love

it so much and have placed it on display on a shelf of the 

bookcase in the living room where it can be seen and

appreciated.   Thank you Andrea.   Your card making 

skills are as amazing as your stitching and finishing 

skills.

A landmark week at work for DH as he 

celebrated 40 years working for the same

company.   Yes, I said 40 years!   Hard to

believe isn't it?    

That kind of anniversary is certainly going to 

be a thing of the past as it seems that most

companies don't want to be bothered with

long term employees and most certainly not

with employees over say 50 years of age.

But DH has made it to 40 years and he's 

happy with that but has also had enough

of it.  He will be retiring at the end of 

March ... and is counting down the days.

My currant read is The Accidental Empress which 

is a historical fiction by Allison Pataki about the

life of Elisabeth of Austria known as Sisi who was

married to Emperor Franz Joseph at the age of 16.

It's funny but I ran into Sisi in two other books that

I'd read earlier this year .... The Fortune Hunter

and The Courtesan.   Both books are featured in

previous blog posts.   Sisi is a major character in The

Fortune Hunter but just appears briefly in The Courtesan

but she made an impression on me so when I came

across this book I had to get it and find out more about

this fascinating, tragic woman.

It's heavy on the romantic aspects of the Empress's life

and some of the criticism that I've read on Goodreads 

from other readers is that it doesn't delve deep enough

into Sisi's real life history, tragedies, trials and troubles.

But I am enjoying the book and I think I'd like to find

other books about her to add to my library which are

perhaps more inclined towards a truthful portrait of the

woman instead of a simplified, romance heroine style.

I'm obsessing over a TV program called Escape to

the Country which I am watching on Youtube.   It

is a sort of home search show that takes place all over

 The British Isles with breathtaking scenery,  a bit of

touristy information about the featured area, and 

a bit of the local history.   I'm telling you, if I ever

win the lottery I'm gonna get myself a house in the

countryside of The British Isles.   Deciding on where

exactly may not be easy but that would be a problem

I would enjoy solving very much.

Then I'm gonna want a house in the country in Belgium,

Austria, the Netherlands, Sweden, Denmark ....

(voice trails off listing every country in Europe)

Cheers!

Where oh where does the time go?

I visited my friend Linda in Port Perry

a month ago and during one of my 

walks along the shores of Lake Scugog

I took some pictures of the last of the

seasonal plants.   I love taking pictures

like these that almost seem to have a

texture to them.

And fluffy seed pods are a great 

favourite.

The days were overcast (until the day I returned

home, of course) but that's okay.   Any time I

can walk near a lake and watch the birds and

breath in the air is fine by me. 

Another day, closer to home.   Glen Williams

is just a 35 minute walk from my front door

and is such a pretty village.   Took this

picture from one of the bridges that spans

the Credit River, which twists it's way 

through the village in two spots on the

main road.

One of my favourite houses in the village.   I think

I take it's picture every time that I do a walk

through of the area with my camera.

On Remembrance Day I joined my neighbour and

three of her kids to walk down to our town's cenotaph

to observe the wreath laying ceremony. 

    

Love the tradition at the end where members of the

crowd can come forward and leave their poppies on

the base of the monument if they wish to.

On the weekend of the 14th I took the Go bus down

to Toronto to spend the day with my friend Darlene.

We walked through the Jane/Bloor village section

of the city and poked around in the shops located

there.   It's a very European section of Toronto with

lots of fabulous bakeries with glorious displays of

fresh baked pastries and breads and cakes.

We even visited a couple of the Christmas 

bazaars being run in a few of the local churches

in the area which was fun.   In one lovely 

church we were admiring the interior of the

main part of the church from a doorway and 

one of the parishioners offered to give us a 

little tour, which we were delighted to accept.

I love when that sort of thing happens.

This is St. Olave's Anglican church.

We also walked through High Park which is Toronto's

version of Central Park in New York.   Most of the

leaves on the trees there were gone but the willow

trees next to Grenadier pond still retained their 

Fall colour.                                   

Since High Park is just a short walk from Lake

Ontario we just had to go there as well and walk

along the boardwalk for a bit.   This is looking

west,  with our backs to downtown Toronto.

It does look cold and gloomy in that picture

doesn't it?   But we had a nice walk and

were quite comfortable, though we were

warmly dressed.

City Hall, downtown Toronto.    The Toronto

sign was put up for the Pan-Am games that

Toronto hosted this past summer.   It was

decided that since the sign was such a hit with

tourists and Torontonians alike it should be

kept up once the games were over.

Note that it is lit with the colours of the

French flag.   This was the Saturday

after the Paris attacks.

 

The highlight of our day was in the evening

when we attended the lighting of the 

Christmas lights at Dundas Square in

Toronto.  

Live music, dancers and acrobats and lights.

Lots of lights!   In fact the name of the event

was Illuminite.  This is the second year in a

row that we've gone to this show and it was

quite amazing.

This year the show stopper was when four of the 

dancers plus the piano and the piano player were

hoisted in the air by a crane where they (the dancers, I 

mean) danced and spun and tumbled in midair.

I'm sorry that my pictures weren't very good but

at least you get an idea of how it all looked.  We

were told that there were about 12,000 people

in attendance, filling the square and spilling onto

Yonge street which was closed to traffic for the

occasion.  

Books read, or in this case being read by

me in the past month or so. 

The Nightingale is a story that takes place

during WWII in France during the occupation.

I've read a number of Kristin Hannah's books

and this one is one of her best so far.

Amendment:   Nov 26th

Sat for two hours this morning reading this book.

Could not leave it alone.   My bed is unmade and

I'm still in my PJs.    I read it to the end and I 

cried and cried.   It's rare that I shed a tear over a

book, no matter how well written or how much I

loved it.    This is a haunting, powerful story which

resonates in this day and age.   

The best by far that I've read by Kristin Hannah it 

takes her to another level as a writer.   I highly

recommend it but warn you to read it with a box

of kleenex close by.

The Courtesan takes place in China in the late

1800's and is based on the life of a woman who 

lived during that time.  It is Alexandra Curry's first

novel.

A young adult novel with an interesting,

thought provoking twist.   I'd been wanting

to read this one for awhile and when it's 

sequel came out a short while ago I got

them both and read them one after the other.

The first book "Every Day" I enjoyed more then

the second book "Another Day" which was the same

story but told by another character's point of view.

David Levithan is a very popular writer of

Young adult novels.

I've been spending my crafting time working on

scrapbook albums that I am making to give as

Christmas gifts.  One is done and the other is

in the beginning stages.    

In spite of the bags of extra time I expected to have

to prepare for Christmas because I'm no longer 

working the days and weeks leading up to December 

25th are flying by just as fast as when I was working!   

This amazes and frustrates me to no end.   

Oh well.    The tree is up and decorated and so is 

most of the house so I need to begin my cards next.

Cheers!

Fall 2015

My favourite season is Fall.    I know, I know ....

Fall means that winter is not too far away.   Even so.

I love Fall!!!    

And in the Fall there are certain rituals that one must 

partake in to be able to say that one has sufficiently 

and fully experienced the season.   Visiting a farm

to pick apples or search for pumpkins is one such

ritual and I was lucky enough to be able to do just

that at the beginning of October.

My neighbour Amy and three of her kids headed

out one afternoon in search of apples and were 

kind enough to invite me along.  It was a gorgeous

though cool Fall day and we wandered around the

Halton Hills area (by car) looking for places to stop.

The first place we chose to stop at was a small farm 

where Amy picked up a huge bag of apples.    You 

have no idea of the selection of apples that are 

available until you go to an apple farm and see all 

of the varieties on offer.   

Our next stop was a larger place called Andrews

Scenic Acres and here there was a wider range of

produce and products for sale.   Plus the added 

fun of a Halloween maze,  pumpkin patch,   animals

to see and pet and photograph,  dahlias galore to

pick and the added bonus of glorious, fresh air

and sunshine and the scent of Autumn in the air

and bright blue sky overhead.   In other words

BLISS!!

In the store were all kinds of yummy

things from indian corn, to maple syrup, 

to fresh baked goods (salted chocolate

chip cookies anyone?) to jams and 

jellies and on and on and on.

One of the farm's residents.  Love

those gorgeous feathers!

And oodles and oodles of dahlias!

In every shape .... 

and colour that you could imagine.

All available to pick and take home with

you,   which we did.

There were trails to follow all around the property

and the sunflower patch was huge and at it's peak. 

We walked all over and took lots of pictures.

It was such a fabulous day.   Did I mention how much

I love Fall?

Brought these beauties home to remind me of

the day (plus a bag of those afore mentioned

salted chocolate chip cookies).

The Phee approved.