Me On Monday - December 14th

Big wave to Sian & others, who you can connect with by clicking here:  http://fromhighinthesky.blogspot.ca/

Royal Botanical Gardens - a quiet corner

My week & weekend had some heavy focus on Christmas, including lots of baking. Mr Man said that for him Christmas is shortbread so I made shortbread.  The new to me recipe I used required the cookies be frozen before baking -  it was to keep all that butter hard until baking in a slow oven;  look at me talking all  Championship Bake Off like. I also made thumbprints with chocolate kisses rather than jam.  
 

Homemade Shortbread Cookies For Mr Man

 Thursday night was our village's Farmers Parade of Lights, there were 21 farm machinery displays.  The weather was perfect, no rain, no wind & no snow. The streets were packed, the church halls filled with diners chowing down on bowls of chili, the bakery stayed open late to sell hot chocolate & donuts, the main street had port a potties - ah it was festive.
 

Farm Tractor With Fertilizer Spreader

  This was the group's 23rd year of parading.  Each farmer not only decorates the equipment but they ensure both sides have a large sign describing what the equipment is & does.

John Deer Pulls Santa

My favourite this year was the hay flat that had 8 tiny (ride on) John Deer tractors with antlers & leading the 8 was the 9th with a flashing red nose. There was also a manure spreader cleaned out & filled with the local pack of Boy Scouts & Cubs, I'll say no more about this float, but you knew what it was for.   The grand finale was the front part of the big wheat combine with Santa & Mrs Claus. (I used last year's photo as this year's was blurry).

Santa On The Combine From 2014

 On Sunday we made an attempt to visit the Festival of Trees display, which is a fund raiser for the local hospital.  It was not to be, we couldn't even get a parking spot - it was decided that this Sunday because of the rain everyone in the world (well it seemed so) would attend.  We next tried the Sparkle in The Park display, but the rain fog was so bad from the river, we couldn't see most of the displays.  So a dash into the store to get the release of Minions (Mr Man is a huge fan of animation) & I picked up, on clearance, a Christmas movie that I always watch on TV, Love Actually.  I also   got the CD everyone is raving about in the blog world - Lady Antebellum's On This Winter's Night, I have yet to listen to, but I am trusting ...

Some of my special tree ornaments.

Finally A Brown Haired Angel

Best Pink Dress - Glinda

Clara - Nutcracker

Love Angels

Train

The Marilyn Slipper On The 2015 Tree

So that's my Monday look back.  My Monday look forward is to finding some more of the Winter Scavenger Hunt items, some more Christmas baking, finding joy & amazement in each day. 

One Photo, Twenty Words For December

 

I had seen in a catalogue & I wanted them; knew I couldn't afford their prices; so I made them.

Pairs Of Pails

Linking in with Helena at: http://helenascreativemaven.blogspot.ca/

This week my Pairs are a couple of Christmas gift pails of chocolates.  I buy through Costco, 3-4 at the start of the season as I think these make cute & easy hostess gifts.  Mr Man usually gives one to the lady in the office that is the call coordinator to thank you her for keeping his work logs straight.  Both pails come in versions of reversed colour; blue pail, white trim or white pail with blue trim; red pail, white trim, white pail, red trim.  I believe the chocolates are a dark truffle chocolate - I have never had one, because once started, they would never leave the house!

Me On Monday - December 7th

Linking in with Sian & All The Other wavers.  You can connect through Sian's site:  http://fromhighinthesky.blogspot.ca/

This past weekend, which already seems so long ago, saw me having breakfast with a friend on Friday to celebrate her up coming birthday, a perfect way to start the weekend

Afterwards I had my visit with Santa, he was very jolly & seemed quite agreeable to my request for a horse of my own, a pink tutu & a tiara & I promised him I would not wear the tutu & tiara while riding my horse.

It looks like Christmas has thrown up at my house - it's all decorated, even some of the kitchen cupboards get decorated.

 Mr Man questions why the bathrooms have to be decorated - get over it honey, I love Christmas. Our weather forecast has no promise of a white Christmas.  Which apparently is contributing to people feeling blue. Hard to believe I'm in Canada & we have no snow.  I personally don't need snow for Christmas to visit upon me.  Mr Man on the other hand, says he does need snow to feel Christmasy. 

My boss gave me a small budget to decorate the clinic - he had no idea what would be unleashed - it's festive, but not screaming Christmas, I realize the need for seasonal sensitivity to patients.

I did some more baking; mincemeat tarts & I ventured into making  pastry from scratch, it's not a developed skill of mine. Latest food obsession; gingerbread.  I know how My Month In Numbers will end this month, too many calories.  

Someone, I'm not pointing fingers or naming names, ate about 15 days worth of chocolate in the Advent pockets "oh, sorry". I didn't know ...

Sleeping cats are the sweetest of sights, especially after 20 minutes of me trying to decorate the big tree with their help & assistance, oh there were a few raised tones of "stop that" "no" "I said NO".













I pulled out one of my favourite Christmas things for the horse theme in the family room, it's a Christmas stocking holder (& yes that's me riding in the photo).

On Saturday after I had a visit to a scrapping store, Two Scrapping Friends in Waterloo, Mr Man, who is very interested in model trains, decided that we should see if the close by model train club was open, so off we went to St Jacobs.  The club was open & in full force, with about 5 operators running the very large model railway - it's all O gauge.  Timing is everything, while we were wandering around they have an hourly "night time" session & during this session there was a Santa train - no photography is allowed during the "night time" but once it was over I could snap away.  Visiting a model train show seems to have become an annual Christmas tradition for us.

On Sunday was a candlelight service in memory of 14 woman killed at Ecole Polytechnique in Montreal, Quebec, December 6th, 1989. The shooter didn't like feminists. Quebec has tougher gun laws as a result.   It has become a day to mark the hoped for end of volience towards women world wide.  We took a moment to also remember those 14 people in California, who recently lost their lives in a senseless gun rampage.  Gun laws have to change in the US of A. 

I hope everyone has a wonderful week ahead of them. I hope that love, joy & baked goods can be found in abundance for all.  I know I will be having a second helping of gingerbread muffins.

Winter Photo Scavenger Hunt

The Lovely Eileen & her friend Joy have created a list for a Winter Time Photo Scavenger Hunt. Thanks ladies.   You can link in at Eileen's blog:  http://in-my-playroom.blogspot.co.uk/  

I am starting off with a Snowman, which our westerly neighbours son, Duke, made at the end of our shared lawn. It's "funny" how he built this because our little Christmas gift to him & his family is a snowman building kit along with some snow moulds. 

Here's the list from Eileen's blog : 

1.   A robin redbreast

2.   Tinsel

3.   Outside lighting

4.   A star

5.   A snowman

6.   A puddle

7.   Berries and/or nuts

8.   A wreath

9.   A tree that has lost all its leaves

10.  A windy day

11.  Your favourite pudding

12.  A fancy button

13.  Street art

14.  Afternoon tea

15.  Candle light

16.  A chimney

17.  A ladder

18.  An arrow

19.  A fountain

20.  Cutlery

21.  Your own handwriting (this one is compulsory and cannot be substituted)

If you find any of the above hard to get you may substitute one or both of the subjects below, except No. 21 which is compulsory.

Alt A  A supermarket trolley or basket, filled with shopping

Alt B  An animal statue

Alt C  Metal railings

Neighbour's Little Boy, Duke, Made

Pairs - Look Who Rode Into Town

Lining in with Helena's Pairs at :http://helenascreativemaven.blogspot.ca/

My Pairs this week are a zoom out & a zoom in.  These elves were in great abundance at a greenhouse / gift store.  They were to be found in a variety of colours; some all purple; all white, all green, some in black & white, many in seasonal dress of green & red.  Most of their faces were a little creepy to me.  All were too expensive for me to buy.

Zoom Out - The Trees With Elves

Zoom In - A Green & Red Elf

My Month In Numbers - November 2015

Connecting months with Julie at : Notes On Paper

During November 2015 I heard about or was directly involved with what seemed like a lot of losses & I have to say overall, it has been one of the first times I was anxious for the month to end.  I will be thankful that December has now begun & with it comes with a lot about celebrations.

So, to my numbers for November:
 

My Feet In Boots

 
Walked = 300,185 steps
Drove = 289 K
Dinners made at home = 27
Happy Visits with friends in person = 3 
Birthdays celebrated  = 7
Funerals & Celebrations of Life = 3
Weddings Celebrated  = 1
Blog Posts By Me = 16
Dentist Visits  = 2
Long Distance Catch Up Calls With Friends =1
Mr Man Away = 9 days
 Worked In The Clinic  = 6 days
Worked For The Clinic Out of Office =10 days
Christmas Trees put up = 2 (only 1 is decorated so far)
Outside Christmas Lights Hung = 6 strings
Outside Angel =1
Shrubs Removed = 3

Christmas Cakes Baked = 2
Christmas Cookies = 2 kinds X 2 batches 

Cookie Dough With Pecans

Bags to Recycle Centre = 2 - probably the last for the year
Mr Man's Eye Appointments = 3
Professional Photo Fund Raiser Shoot = 1
Snow Tires put on = 4 (they are SO ugly)
Baking Tins sorted = 12+

 

Pretty Christmas Baking Tins - Fill & Give

Chiropractor Snapped & Cracked  = 3 visits
Massages of Pleasure  = 2 (there goes my paycheque)
Books Read = 2 (very slow month)

Brooded over hurt feelings - too much time wasted