CHRISTMAS PAST!

I don't know about you, but this may have been one of the best Christmas Celebrations ever, at least for me.

For one thing, Joan dodged a bullet and has seemingly survived her breast cancer. One can never be certain, but all indications are excellent. God has answered our prayers, and we have a different outlook on life than we had previously. We are happy with that.

We spent a good part of Christmas Day at our daughters and her family at there home just a few blocks from Dreamview. Garrett, our grandson is developing into quite the little man, and we noted a lot of changes in just a few short months. Not only has he grown taller, he is considerably more mature.

His Mom and Dad have done well this year. We enjoyed a great turkey dinner prepared in part by Brenda who did the turkey, her mother in law who prepared a couple of great pies, apple and pumpkin. Joan did the potatoes and vegetables. I provided the wine, homemade of course. A great meal to be sure.

Pat's brother Barry was also there, and we were heartened to hear that he has pretty well recovered from his knee injury caused when he fell down some stairs on his job. The fall he took after that where he broke his wrist is coming along nicely and he expects to return to work early in the new year. Another thing he is determined to do is quit smoking! We wish him well with this.

Al and Kathy were there as well for dinner, and certainly seemed to enjoy it judging by the way they tucked in!

Presents were abundant for everyone and I was most tickled with one from our kids. It was a photo album of our grandson Garrett. Not just any ordinary album however. This one is produced on very good paper, bound with a hard cover. It is done up by an online company you may find interesting and useful. The company is http://www.mypublisher.com/products/certificates/create?gclid=CKjK3vvsiqYCFRQ8gwodogrieA
The pictures you want are uploaded and they do all the work and ship the finished product back. Excellent quality, including the colouring of the photos. I think it is so cool.

Yes it was a great Christmas for all of us, and I know we all enjoyed the day and all it means.
Happy New Year!

More on Christmas

A CHRISTMAS POEM

We have a list of folks we know;

All written in a book

And every year at Christmas time,

We go and take a look.

And that is when we realize

That these names are parts

Not of the book they're written in,

But of our very hearts.

For each name stands for someone

Whose path touched ours, and then,

Left such a print of friendship

That we want to touch again.

And while it sounds fantastic

For us to make this claim,

We really feel we are composed

Of each remembered name.

So never think our Christmas cards

Are just a mere routine

Of names upon a Christmas list,

Forgotten in between.

For when we send a Christmas card

That is addressed to you

It's because you're on that list of folks

We are indebted to!

And every year when Christmas comes

We realize anew,

The biggest gift life can give

Is meeting folks like you!

And may the Spirit of Christmas

That forever and ever endures

Leave its richest blessings

In the hearts of you and yours!

"Anonymous"

MERRY CHRISTMAS!



January  2010 in Oahu Hawaii!



It's finally here! The weather has been giving us the big snow "hint" for days now. Snow has also fallen for a lot of days in the past few weeks.The party season has also hit with a ton of affairs that we have thoroughly enjoyed with friends and acquaintances.



The homes in our condo are looking very festive helping to clear up the dreary look of all that dirty snow we have around. At least at night it looks very pretty. Our residents have outdone themselves this year.

We are having our dinner on Christmas with our daughter, Joan is doing some of the vegetables, and we will be taking h wine, Brenda will be doing he turkey. Al and Kathy will be joining us, at the feast so we can expect a good old family Christmas dinner.

I hope you enjoy your Christmas festivities in good health. Don't forget to put out the cookies and milk for Santa!

Merry Christmas to all!

CHRISTMAS LIGHTS

Is it just me, or what? I have been putting my outside lights up when the first warm day of November comes along, and today was it. It got close to 70° today, making it a lot easier than trying to do it in blowing snow when the temperature is around the 0 mark! There they sit just waiting for the first of December so that they can be switched on.

Remember when the old lights had some light, and some colour to them? Remember chasing down the replacement lights for all the ones that for some mysterious reason died over the summer sitting quietly in their little box.

I followed the conventional thinking of the day, and got rid of all my old pretty sparkling lights and replaced them with the new and improved LED lights. They don't go bad over the summer, they were bad when you put them away! Have you ever seen such wimpy lights in your life? They are terrible, and about as cheerful as a morgue. A few lights come through with a bit of colour, like the yellow ones, something like white that has gotten yellow with age, but the reds, blues, and greens are just about dark, and when I looked at the new crop in the store, they were the same way! I suppose we should be happy keeping some worker in China busy making these things. We should also be happy for what we are doing to the environment by going green. Look at all the electricity we are saving! I would cheerfully spend a bit more for some lights that were brighter. Oh yes another "good" thing, these lights will never burn out! I get to look at them for the rest of my life.

In spite of all this, Christmas is definitely on the way, judging by all the store catalogues that came with the Herald today. We have already had 3 snowfalls, and Halloween, and the Canadian Thanksgiving. The stores will be happy, since they do the bulk of their business in the last two months of the year. Now if I can only find a place that sells some decent lights to make my December happier......

Sorry about the rant, but it just seemed appropriate some how. Don't forget to buy and wear a poppy for Remembrance Day!
RP.