Oh! The good old hockey game,

Is the best game you can name;

And the best game you can name,

Is the good old Hockey game!

Watched an exciting game of hockey with Will (age 7) in goal. He was short enough to totally fit IN the net, but did stay out of it for most of the game. We said he won, although the verdict is still out.

Lots of December birthdays - first sister Debbie on December 23rd. A big dinner and cake, but I don't think she'd appreciate recording her age here, then December 28th saw Kate's 2nd Birthday - yes there are THREE candles on the cake - one for each year and one for good luck. Apparently only my family knows how to candle a cake, thus the explanation.

We all had a good time at the party, including Maria, whose unicorn riding skills improved drastically during the evening.

Today was my first "boxing day" sale shopping day. Oh, to have a truck to take back the deals. Had a lovely lunch at a new coffee house, a bit more shopping, then back home again for another great dinner. Diet time when I return home.

December 25th

Wishing you all a Very Merry Christmas!

Christmas Eve

Still cute, but not always happy, little Kate voices her emotions.
Shaun made it to Hamilton airport last Friday. The family was happy to see him.

Tonight Santa will come and we are all awaiting anxiously. It is only 4 in the afternoon and little Will already has this cup and plate waiting by the fireplace ready to fill for Santa.

It has been a busy time - spent 5 days in Kettleby, then south east to Ancaster. Had pizza parties, birthday parties and lots and lots of shopping days. Survived the blizzard and the freezing rain and now the snow is drifting down and the full moon shining. Tomorrow is another full day with family sharing food, gifts and laughs. Looking forward to it.

December in Kettleby

It's winter in Kettleby! We're presently having a huge snowstorm so are staying warm and dry indoors and will shortly be baking our Christmas cookies. The slideshow shows the pictures I have taken in the past day, mostly of my new little niece Kate. Will write again soon.

Last night was book club and we had our annual Christmas ornament Chinese Auction. Everyone left happily with a new tree ornament. Our food looks more professional each meeting, with last night no exception.
The weather is warming. Now -7 C with a wind feels warm. I guess we needed that cold snap to put everything in perspective. Looking forward to the week ahead with dinners, gift exchanges - not looking forward to packing, but it must be done if I want to spend Christmas with family, which I do!

I know I haven't been keeping up with my blog too well lately - perhaps it's just "that time of year". I don't carry my camera around much now that the weather has turned to winter although when walking or driving I sometimes see such beautiful pictures I could kick myself for not having it. And this morning, while drinking my tea and watching my morning show - Breakfast Television - they interviewed a blogger. Somehow, she does this professionally but I didn't quite understand that part. If I could get paid for doing this I may do it more often! But, she did say blogs are updated about three times a week - three times a week!! So, feeling guilty, here I sit talking about a lot of nothing. I do notice when watching Vancouver wake up each morning that their sun rises much earlier than my sun rises, so thought I'd show you what 9:00 AM looks like here (above). Needless to say, it does eventually rise and now that the temperature is dipping down to the low 20's, high 30's on the minus side, the days are brilliantly filled with sunshine. We have been lucky weather-wise here (especially compared to the rest of the country) as this is our first cold snap and it is already December. Forecast is a warming trend with Monday hitting 1 degree celcius - right, we'll see. With Christmas nearing, my schedule is starting to get busy with luncheons, dinners, and get-togethers and by next Friday, I will be winging east to spend the festive season with my family. So now, I'm getting my house ready for its house-sitters, cleaning in places I haven't cleaned all year and spreading a few Xmas decorations around to help them feel at home.
I did attend the Whitehorse Choirs Concert at the Art Centre on Saturday. It was lovely as usual and this year they had a harpist. So celestial.

So I will leave you with a daytime picture (I never tire looking at the beauty) and get ready to meet Joan for lunch.