Month: December 2015

There are fine snow pellets falling lightly as I round up all the trash and recyclables for pickup today.

I didn’t realize just how much trash we accumulated over Christmas, however most of it is recyclable.

It couldn’t come at a better time either. The garage was getting quite full.

Now I’ll have some room to start on my next woodworking project.

Yesterday, I neatly packed all the outside lights, extensions and timers into one bin so that next year I’ll be able to easily install them again.

I want that so I can easily move it out to the centre of the garage when I need it.

Now that the garage is fully insulated, it takes no time at all to get it heated up out there, so I’m looking forward to getting back at the woodworking.

Yesterday, with the weather network calling for snow later in the day, I decided to take down the outside Christmas lights. Although it was a bit chilly (-5C), it turned out to be very easy to do and within 1/2 an hour I had everything down and stowed in bins.

It’s finally turned cold overnight….cold enough that Minnie won’t even go outside. But still no snow. It’s great for my snowplow man. He gets paid the same whether it snows or not. But I don’t begrudge him that. Last year he more than made up for it.

We’re beginning to wind down from Christmas. Gifts have been looked at more closely and those that needed stating up or activation have been adjusted.

Once again, MY Jane outdid herself. The Christmas dinner was a huge success; turkey and all the trimmings and Family to share it with.

Beginning the day with checking the many stocking stuffers, then reading the Christmas cards we exchanged with one another and finally, opening all the gifts, was wonderful. 

The spirit of Christmas was palpable at our home. Fantastic gifts all around. Everyone was just over the top!

Having Steven , Chris and Ted here with MY Jane and I was the best present of all, though. We always have so much fun. Only having Tonya here with us would have made it totally complete, but she was at her immediate family’s Christmas Day celebration.

I am truly blessed to have such a beautiful family!

It’s Christmas Eve morning and the temperature is mild. It is supposed to go up to 13C today and there’s not a snowflake to be seen. It’s great for those who have to travel on the highways.

Steven  will be arriving tonight; Chris and Ted are already here. The only one missing for Christmas Day is Tonya, who will be spending time with her Family for their big dinner. She and Chris were here last week so she could open her gifts. 

There’s an air of excitement building. There are some surprises for people which makes it all the more fun. While there is nothing better than having family together, when you know there are nice surprises under the tree, it just adds to it.

Tonight we’ll have a dinner of leg of ham, cauliflower & broccoli with cheese on top and Waldorf salad followed by a special frozen dessert topped with strawberries. 

Jane decided to try to do things ahead of time this year, however, when she tried to turn the oven on earlier, nothing happened. It appears that the igniter is not working so I have called a appliance repairman to come have a look. 

That is a look of excitement right there….lol

Then Jane,Tonya  surprised Steven, Chris and me yesterday with tickets to last nights Colts game at the Molson Centre in Barrie.

We started off by having dinner at the Horsepower Grill which is right in the arena next to the rink.

It was a fast moving game made all the more exciting because Jane had managed to get seats right in Row 1. None of us had ever watched a hockey game from Row 1 before. Unfortunately the Colts lost 5-2 against North Bay.

After the game, everyone wanted to have a look at the well known Christmas light display on a home on Violet St in Barrie. It even has its own radio station that plays Christmas music and the lights flash and blink in sync with the songs.

Steven, Chris and Tonya arrived yesterday evening in time for a wonderful dinner prepared by MY Jane.

The night before, Jane and I were out in the neighbourhood enjoying the Christmas light displays and, at one place, noticed they had put red coloured bulbs in the lamp post so we decided to try it too.

We got a dusting of snow last night, enough to cover the ground and brighten things up. Hopefully it will stick around for Christmas.

This morning we will be exchanging gifts with Tonya as she won’t be here next week. She will be doing Christmas with her Family in Toronto.

Yesterday, after supper, Jane suggested that we drive around the city and look at Christmas lights on houses. She had pulled up locations in Barrie on Google and there were several.  On the way, we passed the lights at the waterfront near Mulcaster that the City of Barrie put up. They have expanded their display this year and it is quite impressive.

The first house we saw was on Hickling St. It turned out be one of the best displays.

Actually, it was three houses together that went all out with Christmas lights.

The second was at Heather and Kozlov, not far from Ted’s apartment.

Earlier in the day, I had taken Ted out shopping and had passed by this one during daylight. In fact, we commented on how many lawn ornaments there were not knowing that they were the kind that light up.

The best one of the night, we thought, was on Browning Ave.

That one had the most colour and the most lights.

None of them, though, top the one on Violet Street. This is one that we make a point of seeing every year. They even have their own Christmas radio station over which they play music and to which the lights flash and blink in synchronization with Christmas Carols.

We’ll be going to see that one again this year.

Yesterday, while Jane was busy baking and wrapping presents, I went with my cousin, George, for coffee and, on my return, I arranged things under our downstairs tree.

After supper, we decided to watch a Christmas movie. We had a CD of that classic, It’s a Wonderful Life, starring Jimmy Stewart. You remember that one, don’t you?

It had been many years since we had seen this one and there were some scenes we didn’t even remember. But as it unfolded, we recalled Clarence, the guardian Angel and mean old Mr. Potter.

Besides being a very entertaining movie, there is a very important message in the plot.

Never minimize the importance of your own life and how you impact on others. A big part of this movie has Clarence showing George Bailey how things would be very different without him. Take a minute and think about how different the world would be if you were never born. How many people have you helped over the years?

That’s when you will realize that YOU, too, have a wonderful life! Enjoy every day!

This morning there is a dusting of snow on the ground. It’s enough to turn the ground white but not enough to cover the driveway or roads. It’s really the best of both worlds. Drivers will not be exposed to slippery conditions and the spirit of Christmas is enhanced for those who enjoy the white scenery.

I hope it will be the same on Christmas Day.

Minñie, on the other hand, is not a happy camper. She is an outside feline, but does not like the cold. On days like today and throughout the winter, she prefers to stretch out in front of the fireplace or on a nice soft chair in the kitchen.

We have been preparing for two Christmas celebrations; the first will be this weekend when Tonya, Chris’ fiancé will be with us. Then next weekend, we’ll have another Christmas celebration. At times it gets a little confusing as to who will be here when, especially when it comes to menu planning.

The nice thing about this year, though, is that everyone is on board with healthy food. So Jane has been busy searching out recipes that will satisfy that goal.

Fortunately, the Internet is full of recipes like this, so we will be ok. Looking forward to happy Christmas times with family.

Yesterday I finished staining the little wall mounted bookshelf that I made for Mrs. Romano, Rita’s Mom.

Jane and I were down there a while back so Mrs. Romano could show her how she bakes a cake that we liked. In fact, she then gave us the whole cake afterward.

I noticed all her cookbooks piled on top of one another and Mrs Romano showed me where she used to have them. They were a bit too heavy for the shelf and the bracket pulled away.

I volunteered to make sturdier bookshelf for her. 

While I was out in the garage doing that, Jane was focussed on wrapping more Christmas gifts.

We also made a whole bunch of Christmas truffles using a healthy recipe from Splenda.

Yesterday evening, we had a great visit with Allan and Jenny, our across the street neighbours. We began the evening with some great conversation and a few libations and then Jane put the final touches on making Nasi goreng, an Indonesian fried rice dish. Jane made her own peanut oil sauce and topped the rice with chicken.

She decided on this dish because she knew that they liked this kind of food. Allan’s job as a helicopter engineer had taken them to many parts of the world to live, including countries where this dish is a staple, sometimes even having it for breakfast. It is one of their favourites. Both Allan and Jenny we’re delighted with the meal. Then we had some of the Easy Eclair that I had baked earlier in the day. That was a hit too.

Another great visit.

Today, I am going to do some baking. We are having our across the street neighbours for dinner this evening, so I volunteered to make dessert.

This is called an easy eclair. It’s a Kraft recipe that I have done a few times already. 

Looking forward to a nice evening.

We are in excellent shape for having an enjoyable Christmas. Christmas gift shopping and wrapping is almost complete, Christmas cards and annual Christmas newsletter have been mailed. Jane has figured out Christmas menus and is doing some food preparation ahead of time to make it easier when everyone is here over the holiday.

Everyday now, we have Christmas music playing in the house. The batch of wine we ordered is now ready for bottling and we will do that later this week.

We have everybody’s arrival times confirmed. There will be people coming and going beginning on December 18. It’s going to be busy.

The only thing missing is snow.

Here it is, December 7, 2015, and, with no snow at all, roofers are continuing their work.

The neighbouring house behind us is having the roof done. In fact, most of the houses in this neighbourhood have had new shingles put on, including ours.

These houses are about 17 years old and, although shingles are supposed to last 20-25 years, clearly these did not.

We are glad we got ours done this past summer. It’s simply a matter of protecting your investment. A leaking roof could cause a lot of damage to the interior.

It’s a cold one out there this morning. No snow yet, but a lot of frost on the roofs of the houses and on the back yard lawn.

The mourning doves, three of them, are busy at the platform feeder pecking away at the seeds that are frost free.

According to the Barrie weather network, it’s -2.

I’m hoping we can get some snow before Christmas Day. I remember being in Puerta Vallarta Mexico for Christmas one year and, without snow, it just did not feel like Christmas at all.

Yesterday, Jane and I went over to Ted’s place to help her set up Christmas decorations and the Nativity scene that she likes.

We spent a couple of hours there, then returned to our place where both of us did some Christmas gift tasks. 

It sure is nice to be retired and have the time to do this stuff at a leisurely pace.

About 10 or 12 years ago, while up at my boat in Midland, I began to experience some pain in my right side. I thought, at first, that I had strained a muscle from helping a friend install a seat in his boat, but after three or four days of  the pain getting worse, I decided to seek out a medical opinion. I went up to a walk-in medical clinic in Mountainview Mall (it’s not there now) and very quickly the Doctor sent me over to the Midland hospital.

In essence, it is eating the right food in the right amounts. I got my weight to an acceptable level.

Over time, though, I fell off the good eating habits and began to put the weight back on. 

So, in early November, I pulled out that 12 year old chart and dusted it off. Jane decided she wanted to begin following the plan too, which makes it easier for me and good for both of us.

We now have every Friday as our “weigh day” and today, when I weighed myself this morning, I was pleased to find that, in just about one month, I have lost 11 pounds. I believe that Jane has lost 5 or 6 in the same time frame.

I tell you, it’s a lot better than getting on a set of talking scales that’s says, “Come back when you’re alone!”

Yesterday, as planned, Jane and I picked up two Christmas trees from Lowes, brought them home and set them up. One upstairs and one downstairs.

We had just got the downstairs one put in place when, after just a few minutes, Jane noticed that there was water in the round plastic tray underneath it. We had got the trays a couple of years ago after water had leaked onto the upstairs hardwood floor and caused a little bit of damage. 

I never thought the one downstairs would do much good but yesterday proved me wrong. If that tray had not been there, the water would have seeped out of the plastic tree stand into the carpet unnoticed. Yikes.

I had to go out and get a new heavy duty metal stand to replace it and set the tree up again.

We were then able to continue with the tree decorationg which was a lot of fun for both of us. Sometimes we would pick up a particular ornament that had a special memory attached to it. We would laugh and talk about it. There were some that the guys made when they were little and Jane would tell me the story that went with it. 

The one on the left was made by Steven when he was nine and the one on the right was made by Chris when he was five. It’s little things like this that make Christmas special.

Jane got me the one on the left and I got Jane the one on the right.

Of course we had Christmas music playing all the while which made it even more fun.

Yup, it beginning to look a lot like Christams.

All that’s needed is some snow!