And so this was Christmas . . .

 

 

(source)

Helloooooo . . . from the flip side of Christmas. I just had the most magical and wonderful Christmas ever! At first I thought my son wasn't going to be able to make it over with his family because the weather was so lousy, rainy and windy on Friday, but then miracle of all miracles, they arrived here on Christmas Eve!  They stayed an extra day to make up for it and only left yesterday.  We had several wonderful days of family time and frivolity. Ate plenty of great food, got in loads and loads of hugs and kisses and just plain had a great time together! 

  

The stockings were a huge hit. I had filled the with lots of fun things. YoYo's, little games, etc. This is Gabe wearing the funny glasses I had put in and Luke reading about his "make you a man" mask, while Mama looks on! 

This was Luke wearing his glasses and beardie.  haha  It was so funny. We all thought he looked like Uncle David. 

 

I think it was pretty safe to say that the stockings were a success, and I am so glad that I was inspired to do them.  Normally I just give them a card with money in it, but this time I added the stockings. They do enjoy the money, but I think they enjoyed the stockings more!

 

I had put all kinds of neat things into them. Toiletries of course, yoyo's, Rubik's cubes, funny glasses, packs of short bread, candy, etc.  It was so fun watching them discover everything.  My first time ever having a Christmas with Grandchildren in attendance!

 

Even Anne tried on the beardie, lol. I told her it was a peek into menopause. lol

 

Anthony as always was a great elf! 

 

Cinnamon enjoyed the bags, whilst Nutmeg was just being Nutmeg and hiding underneath the bed like the big chicken he is.

 

I did get a nice family photo of them all in their matching pajamas.  Every year they get matching pajamas. I think it is a lovely tradition!

 

Anthony cooked his Fredericton Toffee, a Christmas tradition. It ended up being more like fudge, but it was still really good. 

Luke, Cinnamon and I played a Barrel of Monkeys. It had been many years since I have played that.  Earlier on Christmas Eve while we were waiting for everyone to arrive, Dan, Cindy and I played Charades and that was a lot of fun. That Dan is really good at it! 

 

And we had snow for Christmas!  Yay. It was a white Christmas after all!  It snowed soft fluffy flakes all day long! 

 

We went to Cindy's in the afternoon on Christmas Day as we were having Christmas dinner there. She had cooked a beautiful turkey with all the trimmings. I brought the roast potatoes.  It was a really lovely meal and we just enjoyed being all together.

 

They all had a rip-roaring game of Risk in the evening. Cindy and I just watched. I wasn't really into it.  But they really enjoyed themselves. They didn't quite finish the game. (That's a really long game!)  They vowed to start earlier next time so that they could finish it. Dan was so happy though. He's been after someone to play Risk with him for a long time! 

On Boxing Day we all enjoyed Dinner here with a Roast Beef Tenderloin. We had been going to have it on Christmas Eve, but because they weren't able to get here in time we had my sister's tortiere instead and it was fabulous as always!

They left to go home yesterday morning and arrived back there safe and sound. Altogether I think we all enjoyed the weekend very much.  It was a real family Christmas through and through.

 

My son brought me over his old x-box, which he hooked up for me!  I was amazed.

 

And he got me this game.  He's been telling me about it for ages. We got it all downloaded and I started playing it last evening. I am not so good at the controller yet, but I will get there!  It's going to be a lot of fun. He also got me a game. Star Dew Valley, which he says is quite popular. My grandson Luke has it also so we can play together.

 

Cindy made me the most beautiful scissors case.  I just love it. Of course, it is covered in my favorite things, red and white toadstools!  She does a beautiful job on these wallets, purses, etc. that she makes.  I love LOVE my scissors case.  She is so talented.

 

My dear friend Elaine (I hope she is not embarassed by me naming her) made one of my dreams come true and gave me a Blythe doll.  I was so surprised. I cried. Thank you, Elaine!!! I am going to have so much fun making clothes for her, posing her, etc.  A childhood dream come true.

Cinnamon really likes her as well.  

I have not thought of a name for her yet.  I am putting great thought into it. I am thinking something like Noelle because she came to me for Christmas, but I have not decided for sure yet.

Cinnamon was very present throughout all of Christmas. Nutmeg was being his scaredy cat self and I wasn't able to catch him on camera at all. In fact, there were a few times I thought he had done a runner, but he was just under the bed. He is such a funny little soul. Love them both to bits.

Yesterday I went over to Cindy's for leftovers for supper and it was nice. I think I always enjoy the leftovers more than I do the main meal. For some reason they just taste better.  Funny how that works!

In any case, this was one of the best Christmas's ever.  I am still enjoying all the happy feels from it all. It will be very difficult to top this one!  I hope everyone else had a very blessed Holiday, whether it be Hannukah or Christmas or whatever. I hope you were blessed and content.

We are off to the bank this morning. I have money in one bank and need to transfer it to my account in another bank. For some reason I am unable to pay bills from the bank my money goes into, so I end up having to transfer the money for my bills to the other bank every month. There used to be a branch in town, but they closed it and now I have to travel to the next town over each month to do so. Annoying but it is what it is!

I will leave you with a thought for the day . . . 

° * 。 • ˚ ˚ ˛ ˚ ˛ •
•。★★ 。* 。
° 。 ° ˛˚˛ * _Π_____*。*˚
˚ ˛ •˛•˚ */______/~＼。˚ ˚ ˛
˚ ˛ •˛• ˚ ｜ 田田 ｜門 ★

 *Our destiny is not so much

determined by the

number of times that we fall,

but rather by the number of times

that we pick ourselves back up again.

•。★★ 。* 。•。★★ 。* 。•。★★ 。* 。

In The English Kitchen today  . . .  Biscuits Supreme. From the Cookbook by Nathalie Dupre called Southern Biscuit.  These are an excellent plain and simple biscuit.

I hope that your holidays were as happy as mine were and that you have a beautiful day today!  Whatever you get up to, don't forget!

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And I do too!  

All Things Nice . . .

 

(source)

There'll always be Christmas -- as long as a light

Glows in th window to guide folks at night,

As long as a star in the heavens above

Keeps shining down . . . there'll be Christmas

and love.

There'll always be Christmas . . . as long as a tree

Grows on a hilltop . .  . as long as the sea

Breaks into foam on a white pebbled beach,

As long as there's laughter and beautiful speech.

There'll always be Christmas . . . as long as a street

Gives back the echo of homeward bound feet,

And children with mittens and warm winter clothes

Have bright eyes that sparkle and cheeks like a rose.

There'll always be Christmas . . . with holly and snow

And church bells that ring in the valley below,

Shop windows lighted and doorways ajar,

And over the housetops the glint of a star.

The cavernous length of a stocking to fill

A wreath on the window . . . a light on a hill,

The song of the angels . . . and over again

The beautiful message . . . Goodwill among men.

~Edna Jaques, There'll Always Be Christmas

Hills of Home, 1946

 

(source)

Well, we made it. Christmas Eve 2022.  Most of North America is plunged into a deep freeze making travel difficult, but we're here. We're alive and hopefully we're all tucked nice and cozy into warm homes.  I am hoping that my son and his family will be able to travel here today, but the world will not end if they cannot make it. It will be disappointing if they can't, but I, above all else, want them safe for Christmas!  That is my Christmas wish for them.  There will be other Christmas's!

Is anyone else sitting here munching on Bits and Bites for breakfast?  Only me?  Hmmm . . .  c'est la vie!  You can't teach an old dog new tricks! I'm a breakfast grazer when I am on my own. 

Last night I thought my bedroom window was going to blow in. The wind was so strong, but it didn't and our electricity didn't go off either. That was a great blessing. Its 1*C at the moment ( 33.8*F for you Americans.) It's not raining or snowing; the skies are clear.  At one point during the night, I had to kick off my blankets as it was 13*C/55*4 F, which was sweltering to me. I like my bedroom to be very cool when I am asleep. I was hot, hot, hot.

 

(source)

Today I am doing a Christmas movie binge. I'm just going to lay around all day and watch Christmas movies.  Unless I find out my son is coming of course, then I'll be doing a bit of cooking in preparation for this evening.  I'll still be able to get in a few Christmas movies however, even if they are playing in the background.

Last night I watched Mary Berry's Christmas on PBS.  My gosh but she makes everything look so easy.  I wish I had watched it sooner as there were a few things I would have liked to try, but there is always next year.

What an elegant lady she is. So even tempered and so nice. I don't think the GBBO was ever the same after she left. Pru Leith is okay, but she's no Mary Berry.  Who is!  She left some awfully big shoes to fill.

 

(source)

If anyone was to eavesdrop on my house of an evening, they would think I have some form of British Turrets syndrome.  I watch a lot of Brit Box and Acorn television and periodically I will break out into a British accent and speak to the cats.  "Absolutely Spiffin!"  I'll blurt out.  Or something else.

They pay me absolutely no notice, but I'm having a great time. 

There is quite a bit I miss about the UK.  Mostly people. The lovely meat and fresh produce, and the cheese  . . . oh the cheese.  It was my home for over 20 years, and I got used to things being a certain way, especially around the holidays. My heart longs for little pigs in blankets surrounding my Christmas roast turkey and sausage stuffing.  Christmas pudding and cake. Mince pies coming out my ears.

But things change and they say you can never go back. I'll wager that is true. Everything changes and once you are out of it, it changes without you. Things are never the same. We get left behind.

One thing I didn't have over there was family and I am so blessed to be back here in Canada and surrounded with my family, which is absolutely "spiffin!"

 

(source)

I was just talking to my father on the phone. The normal place he and his friends go to for Saturday morning breakfast is closed today so they are going to the place that they normally go on Sunday mornings. (Because that place will be closed tomorrow morning.) They do love to go out for breakfast at the weekend. My dad actually goes out for breakfast every day. Normally just toast and coffee, but at the weekend he will splurge on bacon and eggs. I think a lot of older people do that. I see the man across the way go out every morning at a certain time, always in the same direction.  I expect he is doing the same.  

It's quite good for them to get out and about like that. It provides them with a change of scenery and someone to talk to. My father is quite sociable actually. He did not like the Covid quarantine period at all.  I know a lot of seniors struggled with that. He had his cat Princess of course, and my sister did drive things back and forth for him, but it was hard for him to be stuck in his house like he was. God willing, we never have to go back to that.

 

(source)

I am lucky in that I am a person who has never minded their own company or being on their own.  I can be quite sociable when I want to be, but for the most part (other than family) I am happiest when I am on my own. I keep myself pretty busy either way. I don't really get bored. I can always find something to do.

When the Covid Quarantine was on I did miss going to church, however. We did have it on zoom though and that was great fun because despite my being here in Canada, I was still able to attend my service in the UK as well as the one here in Nova Scotia. I just had to get up extra early to watch it. It was like having a foot in both camps.  It actually made the transition a lot easier than it might have been.

Those two weeks I spent in the motel after I got back to Canada were actually quite good for me as well.  It gave me time to decompress and settle my mind and heart somewhat, without having to be around other people.

I will always be grateful that I had a home and a family to come back to. Not everyone is so lucky or blessed. I will never take that blessing for granted.

 

(source)

I did have a moment yesterday where I felt a bit blue.  Just about things in general. I suppose it is normal. I had been somewhere on Thursday, and they had shown me a lovely Christmas card they had gotten from my son with a beautiful photo of my grandson, and I did not get one. I did get one last year and the year before, but this year of course, I have not been able to drop off his gift and then knowing that I didn't get a card where others had done, it kind of got to me a bit. And I was sat looking at his gift and I think it finally really hit home that they really don't want me to be a part of their lives, or his life . . . full stop.  I am only human, and I confess that does hurt, but like my sister says, I need to change the narrative surrounding all of that. I haven't done anything wrong, and I need to stop acting like I have or allowing myself to feel guilty over stuff that I have no more reason to feel guilty about than anyone else does. This is on them, as hurtful as it might be for me. If my oldest son gets here, he will take the gift over for me. As Cindy says, one day my youngest son and daughter will have to explain to their children why their cousins had a grandmother and a good relationship with her that they didn't know about. Or maybe not. But I am sure at some time questions will be raised, and I hope that those grandchildren will know that I have always loved them and always will.  I pray for them and their safety and happiness every single day, and my children also.

My sister did stop by on her way home from work and that cheered me up a bit and then I went out to get some fresh milk. I saw that snack crackers were on three boxes for $7, so I bought a box of bacon dippers, vegetable thins, and wheat thins, and I picked up a frozen pizza for my supper. (I can never go in and just get what I planned on getting, in this case milk.)  I also got two lemons because you never know when you are going to need a lemon!

I had some of the frozen pizza for supper and thought to myself, this would have been so much better had I just made it myself! I should not have been so lazy.

(source)

 So here it is Christmas Eve and I am sitting here with Nutmeg keeping me company as I type this. All is well in my little corner of the world. I am safe. I am warm. I am loved. I am blessed. I have all that I am in need of.   God is good.

So, I will close this morning with wishes for a very Merry Christmas, Happy Hannukah, Happy Holidays, etc. I will not be posting over the next few days.  Be happy. Be blessed and love each other.  Be kind. Know always that 

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⊰✿░G░O░D⊰✿⊰L░O░V░E░S⊰✿⊰░Y░O░U░⊰✿
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And I do too!  

 

Friday this and that . . .

 

December days … 

as Christmas time draws near; 

brings family warmth, and friendship’s joyful cheer, 

from memory’s store so many days 

to bless and cherish so in quiet thankfulness. 

 ~John McLeod.

I was late getting up this morning. I've been doing that a lot lately. This sleeping in longer lark. Normally I am awake at 5 or 5:30, today it was 6:58!  That's way late for me. I remember looking at my clock at 3:30 and thinking I had another two hours before I needed to be up, and bang, next time I opened my eyes, it was almost 7 a.m.

I have talked to my son already this morning. They are still not sure if they are going to be able to come or not. He is hoping that they will.  I told him that I would rather they be safe than anything else.  Knowing that they were safe was the best Christmas Gift they could give to me.  Yes, I will be disappointed, and I know they will be too, but you cannot put a price on your family's safety.  Better safe than sorry is always the way to go. There will be other Christmas's and years and opportunities.

I will still get everything ready on the off-chance that they can make it, but at the end of the day, it's okay if they don't because I will know that they are safe and that they would have been here if they could have been here, and their safety is what matters most to me!!

One Christmas was so much like another, in those years around the sea-town corner now and out of all sound except the distant speaking of the voices I sometimes hear a moment before sleep, that I can never remember whether it snowed for six days and six nights when I was twelve or whether it snowed for twelve days and twelve nights when I was six.” 

 From: A Child’s Christmas in Wales (1955); a prose work by the Welsh writer Dylan Thomas. The story is an anecdotal retelling of a Christmas from the view of a young child, portraying a nostalgic and simpler time. Illustrated by Trina Schart Hyman.

There is a light dusting of snow on the ground this morning and it is freezing out but there is rain expected this morning, heavy rain and it will probably be freezing rain during the transition. The temperature is supposed to rise up into the double digits by tonight, and it will be raining on into tomorrow.  Then snow on Sunday. So long as we don't lose our power.  I will be upset if we should lose our power.  I know, selfish me.

I do not remember every having a green Christmas when I was a child, but it seems nowadays a green Christmas, here in Nova Scotia at least, has become the norm.  Of course, when I lived in the UK, Christmas was always green, and I never expected it not to be.  Betting shops would take bets on Green or White Christmas's, and if you had bet on a White Christmas, you ship would surely have come in, because it just did not happen!

Right now, and into tomorrow the roads over there will be chocker-block with traffic, as will the airports be, etc.  Everyone trying to get home for Christmas, or to get started on their Christmas holiday away.

Me, I am for a quiet Christmas.  

“May you always have walls for the winds, 

a roof for the rain, tea beside the fire, laughter to cheer you, 

those you love near you, and all your heart might desire.” 

 ~Irish Blessing.

No Christmas pudding. I didn't have time to make one this year. I had ordered one from a British Shop, and a really good one (M&S Best), but it hasn't arrived, unless it arrives today.  It was never really something which I typically enjoyed, but I had thought it would be nice for my son and his family to experience some British Christmas traditions as they would have done had they come over to the UK to be with me for Christmas there.  I have the Christmas cake and a Stollen, a bunch of Mr. Kipling cakes, Mince Pies, etc.  We are well situated for sweets!

Cindy is cooking the turkey for Christmas day. I am doing the roast potatoes. We were going to have Beef Tenderloin on Christmas Eve with Potatoes Dauphinoise, but that may not happen now. We will have to wait and see if my son gets here or not.

Today I am cleaning out my fridge to make room. I need to go out and get fresh milk and eggs. I may pop some bread into the bread machine. I was going to make pizza for supper. Just a general tidy up for the holidays will go on. My house doesn't really get messy or dirty, so there is not a lot to do. I will take a Christmas card to my next-door neighbor.  A quiet day really.

Oh, I had a lovely time yesterday. My friends have a lovely, beautiful home, done in the craftsman style. I love craftsman style architecture when it comes to homes. For lunch we had a beautiful homemade beef & barley soup and the most delicious finger sandwiches, and some "dainties" for dessert. It was all really, really good. Best of all was to be able to spend that time together and have such a nice visit with each other.  We go back about 46 years so that is a long history to share together, and we had lots to talk and laugh about. It was just plain nice. Nice. Nice. Nice.

Well, I know it was not my regular Friday Finds day here today, but that's okay.  Sometimes it's good to break out of the mold and surprise yourself and others.  I need to be getting on with my day so I will leave you with a thought for the day . . . 

° * 。 • ˚ ˚ ˛ ˚ ˛ •
•。★★ 。* 。
° 。 ° ˛˚˛ * _Π_____*。*˚
˚ ˛ •˛•˚ */______/~＼。˚ ˚ ˛
˚ ˛ •˛• ˚ ｜ 田田 ｜門 ★

 *At Christmas play 

and make good cheer

for Christmas comes

but once a year.•。★★ 。* 

There is nothing new in the Kitchen today but I am sharing a fabulous dessert that is simple and delicious and very easy to make.  You can also make it well ahead of time.  Salted Caramel Pavlova.  

I hope that you have a beautiful day!  Stay safe.  Be blessed and don't forget! 

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And I do too!  

My Favorite Things . . .

 

 

A few of the things in my life which make my heart go pitter pat. Maybe they make your heart go pitter pat also!   

 

(source)

Blue and white with bits of gold snuck in here and there  . . . 

 

(source)

Lace edged pillow slips, but that flannel blanket underneath . . . sigh . . . 

 

(source)

Anything Beatrix Potter  . . . 

(source)

Anything Pooh . . . 

My beautiful Tea Cozy  . . . 

 

(source)

Eyelet and pastels  . . . 

 

(source)

Pretty books  . . . 

 

(source)

Bluebirds  . . . 

 

(source)

Embroidered lace . . . 

The many names of Jesus  . . . 

 

(source)

The curiosity of cats  . . .  they are so interesting . . .

 

(source)

A watch ring  . . . probably very old . . .

Eva's art  . . .  special and meaningful . . . 

 

(source)

The smell of rising bread  . . . 

 

(source)

Embroidered roses  . . . 

 

(source)

Pretty brooches  . . . 

 

(source)

Pretty plaids . . . I love tea towels of any kind  . . . 

 

(source)

Bumble Bees  . . . . 

Susan Branch calendars  . . .  love them, love, love them . . . 

 

(source)

Bunny noses  . . . . 

 

Jakes refrigerator art  . . . 

 

(source)

Pretty packages  . . . . 

 

(source)

Toast and jam  . . . . 

All of YOU!  

Yes, you are some of my favorite people!

A thought to carry with you . . .

° * 。 • ˚ ˚ ˛ ˚ ˛ •
•。★★ 。* 。
° 。 ° ˛˚˛ * _Π_____*。*˚
˚ ˛ •˛•˚ */______/~＼。˚ ˚ ˛
˚ ˛ •˛• ˚ ｜ 田田 ｜門 ★

 *How cool is it that the same God

who created oceans and mountains

and galaxies looked at your and

thought that the world

needed one of you too!•。★★ 。* 。

In the English Kitchen today . . .  Instant Pot Turkey Thighs. Quick, easy and delicious!

I hope you have a lovely day today. As I look out my window, I can see that it snowed sometime during the night, just a light dusting, but rain is coming so it will wash away. I am off to the thriving metropolis of Kentville today for a lunch date.  Should be fun!  Whatever you get up to, stay safe and don't forget!

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And I do too!