Me On Monday - December 21st

Office Next To Physio Clinic - The Dairy Bull Records Office

  

WOW the last weekend before Christmas.  Hello to Sian and the other Monday Me folks - connecting through:  http://fromhighinthesky.blogspot.ca/

View From Front Window - Green, No Snow

 There was some very light snow flurries on Friday evening & again Saturday afternoon, but nothing stayed. Forecasting is still for a green Christmas.

Friday morning I arrived at Costco as they opened to pick up the Christmas turkey breast. Good parking karma & a quick in & out without a cash register line up.  They really do have excellent local sourced meats.  



Friday evening we drove through Riverside Park's Sparkle In The Park display.  It was very well lit up with many many displays.  We had dinner out; we were sat between two company staff dinners - very loud very jolly. 
 

Sparkles In The Park-Riverside Park

Saturday saw us up early to get to a not so local shopping mall.  Again some good parking karma; mall fairly empty & we were able to walk the entire mall loop without bumping into anyone.  Mr Man had not been having much luck finding me a pink sweater that was on my wish list, so I switched the colour requirement to either royal blue or emerald green - he had much better luck.  By the time we were ready to go home, the mall was filling up.  Grabbing a cup of tea for the drive home, we quickly vacated our parking spot to a car stalker, which seemed to be the only way someone would get a parking spot now.  

Home to fur girls, the fireplace on, a Christmas movie & a dinner for Mr Man of homemade cabbage rolls & sausage.  I made him a pan full of cabbage rolls the way his Ukrainian  Grandma made.  Because they are made with bacon, I cannot eat, but he was a very happy man.  I think I fell asleep while watching the movie because I don't remember much but the start & the end.  

 

My Fur Girls, chatting up Santa

 
Sunday was the day we had tickets for the Royal Ballet's Nutcracker streamed from London's Royal Opera House.  I do like the traditional, I like the costumes, the music, the dance - it's all so beautiful.  It tickles the joy in my little girl self. Sunday evening we enjoyed the start of a brief series with Julian Fellows - The Grand Homes of England.  I'm still holding out hope that he does not disappoint me with the final Christmas episode of Downton, that Lady Edith gets a happy ever after ending. Season 6 starts for us January 3rd.  A rumour has reached these shores, that Julian is writing a Downton movie script.

Snowflakes From Nutcracker Ballet

The previous week just sped by & I'm sure the next three days before the 25th will also go very quickly.  I have only 1 day at the clinic this week but I start 2 weeks of cat sitting on the 23rd.  

Wishing everyone calm in these last few days before Christmas & of course all the blessings of the day. 

Fur Girls Checking Out Presents

 

Winter Photo Scavenger Hunt - First Entries

You can link in with Eileen at http://in-my-playroom.blogspot.co.uk/ for viewing & participating in the Winter Photo Scavenger Hunt, hence known as WPSH.  


In no particular order, least of all numeric order.

This is personally my favourite so far.  These gates are to a farm just opposite the farm I ride at.  The owners change up the gate's bling seasonally.  The drive is so long & with a bit of a curve in it so you cannot see the house from the road.  Even if we ride in the field next door, we cannot see the house because of the trees - I can only imagine based on these gates & seasonal bling what a house it must be.
 

#8 A Wreath

Closer Look At The Wreath

I may follow this tree next year, taking a photo on the same date each month for a year.  The trunk & bark intrigue me.  It has an almost twin just a few feet away.


 

 

#9 A Tree That Has Lost All Its Leaves

This rather large puddle vexes me to no end.  It is right outside the main door to the physio clinic I work at.  The owner of the building has promised for 3 years to level out the parking so drainage isn't a problem.  As the weather turns colder this puddle will freeze & be no end of problems & troubles for those of us walking from our cars to the offices in the building.  There are also rental apartments above the offices so I cannot image that the tenants are happy about The Puddle.

#6 A Puddle

 This is tinsel I bought for use at the clinic.  We don't use tinsel on the tree at home, the cats chew & eat & it is not good for their digestive tract, although if eaten,  it does make for some colourful offerings in the litter box!!!

#2 Tinsel

So these are my enteries so far into another wonderfully organized photo scavenger hunt.

Best Possible News Of The Day

 

Possibly the best news I read this morning was on my F/B feed page from Downton Abbey!  To refuse a mince pie/tart is bad luck & that if you have a mince pie/tart every day of the Twelve Days of Christmas you will have good luck in the new year - you just have to remember to make your wish known on the first bite of each pie/tart.  I can do this, I need to do this!  

So today will be the mince pie/tart baking adventure.  Only 2 questions; (1) brandy or not, (2) full top or star top? 

source: internet

Pairs In Red Or White

My Pairs this week are two Poinsettia trees, one in white, one in red. A real Canadian Christmas display.  Although I think the whites were blushed with pink, but maybe it was the lighting.  At the base of the white tree were purple "Moses In The Basket" plants.  Intentional?  Both these trees are part of the Royal Botanical Gardens (Burlington) Christmas festivities, which included Santa, Mrs Claus & live reindeer.  There was another red Poinsettia tree in another greenhouse that had been set up beside a park bench, (fake) dusting of snow and a model train running around the back of it.  This little scene was more popular than Santa & his live reindeer. Everyone was using that bench scene for photos.  But I did get the chance for a quiet moment to snap a few photos & enjoy the quiet.

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!