Currently Me On A Monday - December 28th

I know that Sian isn't linking us all together this Monday, but habit & routine ... SO I'll do a little something different this Monday.

CURRENTLY

Listening: Still playing Christmas CD's - I'm liking Jan Arden's first Christmas album.  Am I the only one just a little disappointed in Adele's 25?

MY Christmas Trifle

Eating: Way too many sweets & starches.  I "had" to make a Christmas triffle so I could photograph my favourite pudding for the Winter Photo Scavenger Hunt & the recipe is impossible to halve.

Christmas Morning Cheers

Drinking: Not enough water but pots of tea with milk. Had some champies & orange juice at Christmas breakfast, paying for that with terrible heartburn.  Alcohol hates me & yet I speak so highly of it.

Watching: Not too much on TV to watch, lots of Boxing Day binge marathons but none interest me. Gearing up for Downton Abbey to start on the 3rd.  I do watch my cats play, they make me so happy & they are still in the kitten play mode, so always busy.

Reading:  If it doesn't rain it pours, most of December, I had nothing on my night table, now I have 2 on the go, one in waiting. When I am stuck for something to read, I just wander the aisles of the library asking to be guided to a book I need to read.  This time I found: The Christmas Angel by Marcia Willett. The 2nd one, the lady who I am cat sitting for left me this one to read, so I read it while I sit with the cats at the morning feed, Circling The Sun by Paula McLain; and I have one recommended by Sian, Bird By Bird Some Instruction on Writing & Life by Anne Lamott, sitting waiting for me at the library to pick up Monday.

 

Wouldn't This Be Lovely To Have In Your House?

 
Wearing: As I write this (Sunday night) I'm in my red snowmen Christmas pajamas. So very comfortable but I need to get some socks on, my feet are cold.  This week it's mostly jeans & a t-shirt when I go to feed my cat charge, although on a visit with friends I did dress up in one of my gifts from Mr Man - emerald green jacket with green/grey/black top & a pair of black slacks already hanging in my closet.

Weather: Chilly, dull & rain today with a forecast for a large storm Monday afternoon/evening,  moving in from Texas bringing with it freezing rain & possibly some snow.

Feeling: Worried about Mr Man's left eye woes, still not better.  I feel quite chubby. Tired, I'm not sleeping well. Although I am getting my 10,000 steps a day in (most days). I think the dreary weather IS wearing me down a tad.

Enjoying: Lots of open time, Mr Man & I are both off work this week, so no schedules, other than to go feed my friend's cats, there will be no shoulding this week.  We are both doing lots of reading, I alternate between reading & scrapping.

 
Needing: To make plans to restart my Weight Watchers Food Plan & toss out any left over sweets & treats.  I would take to work but I have been forbidden to bring any more goodies in.  Last year I didn't do any baking because I had just started with WW, I felt deprived so this year I tossed all my good intentions aside & baked & baked & baked - I'm paying for it now, I cannot resist my own baking.

Wanting: A Word for 2016 to settle upon me.  I won't be participating in Ali Edwards Online One Little Word workshop but I still would like to have a word for 2016 to go along with my birthday question. I'm not doing resolutions but plans for all good things.

Thinking: That Mr Man & I had a wonderful Christmas & that we are truly blessed in spite of not having family to celebrate Christmas with, we certainly make our own family joys & our own Christmas traditions.  I am looking forward to 2016.

Merry Christmas

Wishing You & Yours A Truly Happy Christmas.

May You Experience All The Joys & Calm

Of The Season.

Pairs - Come To The Manger

This week my Pairs reflect some of what Christmas is about to me, although I know some do not share in this part of the reason for the season.  

My Pairs this week are two very different types of nativities.  One is flat in one dimension, very modern & the other is quite dimensional & more traditional in appearance & set up.   And as you can see everything is currently green - very unusual for this region at this time of year.

This Pair are both part of a very large event, called"Sparkle In The Park".  Each individual display is created, set up & paid for by different business, clubs, churches & organizations. There's snowpersons, (oh heck forget the politically correct, Snowmen!) elves, reindeer, Santas;  every conceivable idea of winter & Christmas is represented. 

Modern Nativity - Lights Up At Night (on a hill)

Traditional Nativity

 To see what the other Pair contributors have done this week visit Helena's blog to connect: http://helenascreativemaven.blogspot.ca/

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.