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!