Glimpses from the First Day of Winter

There's not much winter happening outside around here. Our beautiful snow has melted and the temperatures feel positively balmy. Relatively speaking. 

How are you doing? Are you almost ready for the big day(s)? The angels on the armoire look ready to burst into "Joy to the World."

Here's a picture, taken in the dark hours of early morning. We're turning now, slowly, imperceptibly, but irrevocably, towards the light. The focus is on the garland, stars and ornament hanging from the chandelier above the dining room table.

Another view, with the focus on the china hutch. There's nothing like taking photos to make one realize that there are a few pieces missing here, probably in the dishwasher. 

Notice the crowded scene on the bottom? I artistically arrange the nativity set to fill the space. But a six-year-old grand thinks that everyone wants to get close to Baby Jesus and she rearranges my set(s) to reflect that. Would that we all crowd around Jesus, not only at Christmas.

Do you have your breakfast plans sorted? I made these Breakfast Strudels, a tradition in our family since 2004, and tucked them into the freezer to pull out on Christmas morning. They are creamy packets of scrambled egg in a cheesy sauce. Click on the link for the recipe.

Are there enough sweets at your place? Nah, didn't think so. I made a batch of Peanut Butter Squares, reminiscent of those infamous peanut butter cups. They went together fast!

Today is a quieter day. I have some hand sewing to do and plan to put on the last episode of the newest Gilmore Girls while I stitch away. Some last minute wrapping, then a house cleaning. What are your plans? 

Going Home for Christmas

What defines home? There's the dictionary definition - where one lives - but there's a more abstract construct as well. Earlier this month my siblings and I, along with our spouses, gathered at my parents' house for an early Christmas dinner.

I've never lived in this house and have made my own home(s) in several places. But coming back to Mom and Dad's place has a sense of coming home, no matter how old I am, nor how established I am in my own life.

 
"What can I bring to help with the dinner?"

"Oh, nothing. Your father and I have it all under control."

 And so they did. While the snow fell outside, we were warm, enjoying turkey, stuffing, gravy, mashed potatoes, roast vegetables, salad, and trifle for dessert. 

These two. How I love them. How glad I am to go to their house. It's still home. There's a sense of letting go of care and basking in their love. Home is a place of acceptance. Of being known and loved. 

My mother sets a beautiful table. She made the quilted tablerunner as well. Each Wednesday my parents volunteer: my mother makes quilts for the MCC, and my father works in the thrift store warehouse.

 My mother's original set of china is Queen's Messenger, by Royal Albert. I've always loved the delicate colours.

And here we are: my parents, me, and my two siblings. At home. 

In a few days my parents will join Tim and me at our home for Christmas. And when my mother says, "What can I bring?", I say "Absolutely nothing. Just yourselves." 

Christmas Cards and More

Far fewer Christmas cards arrive in the mail nowadays. I think it's a combination of lack of time, rising postage costs, and the ease of digital communication. However digital we may be, there's still a frisson of delight when a hand-addressed envelope is plucked from the mailbox. 

Amy of Love Made My Home has organized a Christmas card exchange for a couple of years. It's a fun way to connect with another blogger, and to receive a real card in the mail. I was partnered with Kathy of Compassion Knit and received this cute and playful card.

For now the cards stand on the hall table, in front of the Advent Calendar, which, as you can see, is rapidly filling up. The paperwhites are just beginning to open and their lovely sweet scent wafts upwards as I climb the stairs.

These days fill up, as December tends to do. Last week we attended Miss S' preschool concert. She's looking a little tired and wired here, and the gym lighting cast rather harsh shadows on her face and that of her Grandpa's as they sat on the floor enjoying their snacks.

Later in the week we celebrated Miss A's birthday. It was pajama day at both her school and her cousin's preschool, hence the flannel party attire. Pretty rainbow cupcakes not only looked good, but tasted yummy, too.

Little brother enjoyed riding on Grandpa's shoulders, just like his father used to do. 

We had guests for breakfast on Saturday - Miss S and her parents. I've wanted to try these French Toast Cubes for awhile, and this was the day. They made a fine accompaniment to eggs baked in ham cups and English muffins, and fruit. The sweetness can be controlled by the amount of cinnamon sugar, and although the recipe, here, suggested dipping them in maple syrup, I decided that would be sugar overload. There's certainly enough sugar around these days!

Thank you for your kind comments on my little story in the previous post. Miss A was over yesterday and got right to playing with the scene. 

Ironically, as most bloggers stop posting as we draw nearer to Christmas, I'll likely put up a few more posts than usual. It was lovely to wake up this morning, knowing I would be home for the day. 

Happy pre-Christmas week!

A Winter's Tale

Once upon a time, in the land of Silvertray, three white houses, each with a red roof, stood in the forest. 



One fat snowflake fell,



then another and another until cold, white snowflakes covered the ground. 

The three white houses looked at each other and admired how beautiful they were with their curved windows, their heart cut outs and their shiny red roofs.

"But," said the first white house, "we were made to be lived in, and there's no one here."
"We need someone to turn on our lights. What can we do?" said the second white house.
"Let's advertise," said the third white house.

So the three houses sent an advertisement to www.silvertrayonline.st, that said:

"Three cozy houses in a forest need someone to live in them. Must like winter." 

 Then they waited. Still the cold snow fell until drifts of white completely buried the forest floor.

And the three white houses were lonely. They wondered if anyone would ever come to live in them.

One day the first little house heard a squeaking noise and saw a tiny black nose peek up from under the snow. The second little house saw another tiny black nose peek up from under the snow. Then the third little house saw another tiny black nose pop up from under the snow.

The three white houses watched as the three tiny black noses twitched and wriggled. Snow flew up into the air as tiny little feet kicked and kicked until three tiny brown mice popped out on top of the snow.   

"What beautiful houses," said the first tiny brown mouse, whose name was Alexander. He wore a red bow tie.
"They look so cozy," said the second tiny brown mouse, whose name was Natalia, who had a blue ribbon around her neck.
"I wonder who lives in them," said the third tiny brown mouse, whose name was Victoria. She wore two minty green ribbons around her ears.

The three white houses with red roofs were so excited that they almost burst their doors.

"NOBODY lives here," they said all together.
"Would you like to live in us?" said the first white house.
"Please open my door," said the second white house.
"You can turn on my lights," said the third white house.

"REALLY?" said Alexander, Natalia, and Victoria. 

"YES, indeed," said the three white houses with red roofs.

Alexander moved into the first white house. He had brought his red wagon with him and he used it to haul logs from the forest.

Natalia moved into the second white house. She brought her polar bear snow globe to shake when she wanted to see snow fall.



Victoria moved into the third white house. She brought her sled with her and all the mice took turns pulling each other around in the snow.

And so the three white houses sighed with contentment. 
"We're so happy to have someone to live in us," they said.

Alexander, Natalia, and Victoria played in the snowy forest every day. When night time came and they got cold, they each went into their own white house with a red roof, turned on the lights, and spent a cozy night.

The End

This Christmas Tale was inspired by three metal houses recently purchased. I thought to create a scene for the coffee table that the grandchildren can play with. It was such fun to come up with the ideas and the props. 

I'm linking to Five on Friday, hosted by Amy of Love Made My Home. For the Five item tie-in here are 5 things I'm thankful for today:

1. School is out for 2 weeks.

2. The Christmas tree is up and twinkles merrily.

3. School is out for 2 weeks.

4. The sun is shining. I don't mind these chillier temperatures when it's so bright outside. (by chillier I mean just below freezing - not so very chilly by some standards, but rare enough here)

5. School is out for 2 weeks. Don't get me wrong. I love teaching, I love the students, but it's been a trying few months in some areas and I'm glad for a break. 

Winter Wonderland

On a misty, grey Saturday morning, Tim and I crossed the Strait of Georgia for an early Christmas dinner with my parents and siblings. As the crow flies, it's a distance of 133 km, or 82 miles. As the weather goes, it's like moving from one climate to another. Mist and rain soon gave way to fat snowflakes splatting against the windshield. 

We arrived at noon and the snow continued through the afternoon, into the evening and through the night. In the mosaic above two photos show the amount of snow on our SUV, one taken in the afternoon, the other this morning. 10-12 inches of beautiful, white, fluffy snow.

After clearing off the snow, we set out for home. All of these photos were taken as we drove, through the windshield, or out the side window. I'm utterly enthralled by the beauty of snow.

Snowplows and sanding trucks worked through the night to clear the highway. Wreaths of cloud clung round the blue and white mountains with beauty that made me ache with the longing for words to describe it. 

In the opposite lane I managed to capture the snow plow barreling along, throwing up great waves of snow mixed with sand from the road. 

A feast of delight for the eyes and the soul.

Crossing the Vedder River.

And then, one last gift before we left the snow for brown and green fields and the grey ocean. A pair of snow geese, necks stretched long in flight, beating their wings as they flew overhead. Edited to add: Thanks to Sara, I checked and these are indeed Trumpeter Swans and not Snow Geese. They are so lovely, aren't they?

Linking to Mosaic Monday, hosted by Maggie of Normandy Life. 

Winter's Chill

December 8. The darkness and chilly temperatures that signal winter has arrived, in spite of two weeks to go until winter is official. 

I've begun a little bit of food preparation for Christmas. Five things, in fact, to tie this post to Five on Friday. Spiced Pecans, seen above, Cranberry Orange Shortbread, Chocolate Marshmallow Roll, and Homemade Marshmallows. The fifth, Rugelach, is half-done - the dough is chilling in the fridge.

The paperwhites are emerging nicely, reaching up to the skylight in the entrance hall. These colder days have been sunny and that brightens up my spirits a lot.

This evening, Tim and I went for a walk. Toques, scarves, gloves and our heaviest jackets helped keep out the wind. How lovely to come home to a cup of hot chocolate, complete with homemade marshmallows floating on top. 

Linking with Five on Friday,  hosted by Amy of Love Made My Home. 

A Little Bit of Christmas

Over the weekend I hung a wreath on the front door, which looks quite rust-coloured in this photo but is more of a warm red. Haven't gotten around to the bow yet, but I clipped a little bird to a branch.

I puttered in the living room, too, hanging a garland of folded paper stars over the mirror, and strewing some simple candles and pinecones along the mantel. To three little artificial trees I clipped more cheery red birds. 

There have been few opportunities for taking photos. It's dark when I leave for work in the morning and mostly dark when I return. The Grade 8s and 9s are getting squirrellier (spell-check does not like this word) by the minute as the Christmas break approaches. Next week I'll be trying to engage their attention with Christmas vocabulary (French for the 8s and Spanish for the 9s). Let's hope it works.
  

Last night, just before heading off to bed, I took a look outside and saw the most beautiful sight - fat snowflakes falling fast. I was so excited that I lay awake for a long while thinking about snow and hoping it would last. I awoke in the night and got up to look out the window. The snow had stopped falling, but I could see the lawn and streets were covered. However, during the wee hours a bit of rain fell and then froze. What crunchiness ensued! 

And no snow day. I was so hopeful. Perhaps we'll have more snow. We have had none for several years, so this is quite thrilling - to me. Others are not so thrilled. But surely we can get excited about snow when we know it won't last more than a week, at best.

How are your preparations coming? Do you like snow?  

Jolly Times

Sidney by the Sea is just 10 minutes up the road from our place. On a clear and chilly Sunday evening we bundled up with scarves, gloves, parkas, and boots for the annual parade. It's Sidney's annual parade, but our first. We tend to be stick in the muds  homebodies, finding plenty to keep us occupied at home. 

When we do exert ourselves and get out of the house, we usually have a great time. This was no exception. Bright lights, happy people, and fun displays entertained us well, and helped us forget that our feet were beginning to freeze to the sidewalk. 

A cup of hot chocolate also helped.

After the parade on Beacon Avenue, we wandered down to the waterfront to watch another parade, this one of lighted boats. How jolly it all was. And cold. 

We came home, sat by the fire, ate pizza and watched an episode of Midsomer Murders. Very cozy. 

Are you a stay-at-home kind of person, or do you attend a lot of community events? Do you get out more at Christmas than at other times of the year?

Linking to Mosaic Monday, hosted by Maggie of Normandy Life. 

Slowing Down in a Season of Speed

My garden is getting ahead of itself. The hellebore is blooming well in advance. Shy flowers, dripping with rain, gaze at the ground and I kneel on the damp ground to photograph them. 

We've had two frosty mornings this week, separated by one day of rain. If the two weather systems collided, perhaps we would get the snow I wish for. 
Meanwhile, I venture outside just as the sun trudges reluctantly up the sky. Frost-edged hydrangeas draw my camera's attention.

In this season, where Nature slumbers, I keep a quiet Advent in my heart. Days are filled with lessons, recalcitrant students, sewing projects, and things I'd like to accomplish. How then, in the midst of busyness, do I hem my days with quietness? 

It's not easy when everything around me says, "do, do, do," and "rush, rush, rush." I make my lists, trying to be realistic about what I can accomplish, and I build in time to read, to sew, to go for walks. Yes, there will be things left undone, but the important work of waiting in hope as the days darken, as I wait for the Light, literally and spiritually, draws me irresistibly to quiet my heart, if not my hands.

The first week of Advent and the first day of December are nearly over. Each day is precious. Like my garden, each day can be quietly beautiful. 

Five glimpses of life here today for a linkup to Amy's Five on Friday.