Christmas Music

I posted a few weeks on Facebook about the new Jeremy Camp Christmas album. Somehow I missed that he had released on this year and when I found it on iTunes I was so excited. It has definitely been my number one played album this Christmas. I usually try to do that, just limit myself to one new album per year so I can really enjoy it but some of them become instant classics. My "must listen to every year" favourites include: Kenny Chesney's "All I Want for Christmas is a Real Good Tan", Brad Paisley's "Christmas" and a Various Artists Canadian Christmas Compilation that I can listen to over and over.

This new album by Jeremy Camp is now part of that group. Someone asked me to describe Jeremy's style of music on Facebook and I didn't respond. Normally I would say he's "Christian Rock" but it's Christmas music. It's not HARD rock by any means but for me, it's still rocky. I love it though. I adore his music and having his touch on Christmas classic is just fabulous. One of my favourite lines on the whole album is during "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" when he changes "Through the years, we all will be together, if the Fates allow" to "if the Lord allows".  For someone who chose to not be with her family for Christmas it give me hope and comfort for future Christmases.

In general this year I was pretty good with Christmas music. There were some songs I just couldn't listen to like "I'll Be Home For Christmas" and "Blue Christmas" but the rest of them were okay. It's funny. I think I underestimated the effect of music and the nostalgia included in Christmas music specifically so it was a separate set of emotions I had to deal with. I think I did pretty well though. And now Christmas is all over and the new year is looming! Wishing all the best to all of you and hoping that in time, we can all be together again, if the Lord allows :) <3 p="p">

Christmas 2012

This was my first Christmas that I was away from my family. I knew in August when I was in both Alberta and BC for Seth's wedding that I wouldn't be going. I had a few moments where I felt a bit sad but logging onto an airline website and seeing the cost of flying over the holidays cured me of that very fast. A few weeks ago my coworker and I drove another coworker to the airport and I was SO glad it wasn't me getting on that plane. I mean it would have been nice to see my family but I was glad to not do a cross country flight at this time of year. 

I opened on Christmas Eve and then packed up and headed up to my friends home in Mount Forest. It was a wonderful low key Christmas Eve and morning. Brenda and Regan (above) and I played a very close game of Upwords, I convinced everyone (Brenda, Regan, Grace and Esther) to play a Canadian Trivia game that I bought at Value Village (which meant it was 15ish years old, but still fun) and we watched the original Grinch. Along with lots of hanging out and an amazing meal cooked by Esther.

Christmas morning we slept in...well, I was up around 8am which is good considering how much I've been opening (that means 4am wake up calls) and then we opened stockings. I hand't really thought about it so when there was not only a stocking with my name on it, but a VERY generous stocking, I was surprised, touched and very thankful. It was all thoughtful gifts like gum, candy, bath products and an iTunes gift card. Consumables that I don't need to worry about packing. Perfect!

After breakfast (show above) we headed over to Oma's for Christmas dinner. The best part about joining this particular family for Christmas is not only are these four dear friends but the whole extended family is as well. Every one of them is a good friend of mine and it was a pleasure to spend Christmas with them.

The family is Evelyn (Oma) and her four children: Brenda, her husband Regan and three children Grace (left), Esther and Stefan. I have known Stefan's wife Susannah since she was born and her family for many years before that. Margaret was there with her son Adam. Ruth and her boyfriend Jody brought their two adorable children Hope (left) and Jonathan (below). Kids always make Christmas more fun! The youngest is James who is married to my BC friend Sharlaine. They were married just two months before I moved to Ontario and Sharlaine and I have become great friends since we moved here.

So many awesome people made for a great Christmas. It was fun watching everyone open their presents. They draw names so each person got a decent larger gift and then a small gag gift from someone else. Some of them were hilarious, if you know the inside joke. It was a lot of fun. Of course we had a scrumptious Christmas dinner including turkey and all the fixings and then a huge dessert table as well. We finished the evening with various games but I left a bit early because I was fighting sniffles/allergies and I had to open on Boxing Day. 

The whole time I was keeping in touch with all my extended family via text message as well. I have decided that my sister in law Robbie is my favourite because she texts back the fastest ;) All in all it was a good Christmas. My family would have been better but considering this is the choice I made, it turned out just fine. 

Secret Santas

My family is kind of past the gift giving stage. At least for us. I definitely don't have money and my brothers make more than they know what to do with so they can buy whatever they want. Instead I participated in a few Secret Santa gift exchanges and that gives me my fill of trying to buy for people. I had three this year. One with the girls from church. It was a generic exchange (no specific names) so I bought one of the awesome gift packs from Starbucks and contributed that. In exchange I got a mini cupcake maker. One of those appliances. I think if I wasn't moving and trying to get rid of stuff I would be more excited because it IS a cool gift. Unfortunately I'm just thinking of what to do with it while I'm gone. Oh well.

The second exchange was with the French Club Executive Members. I got my friend Jenelle who is a history major with a French minor (like me). I had a heck of a time finding something. After visiting Chapters three times I finally went to the little local independent bookseller in town and the owner hooked me up with a great book in about five seconds. It is a book of "Britishisms" and she LOVED it. Turns out she's on a huge British kick right now so it was perfect. In exchange I got a book called "Mugged by a Moose: True Tales to make you Laugh, Chortle, Snicker and Feel Inspired". It will sit prominently on my bookshelf in Georgia :D

The last exchange was with my Starbucks coworkers. I drew Matt who is a newish barista so I had to do some work to figure out what to get him. He and his wife are expecting a daughter in February so I went with that theme and made them this picture for the nursery. It's in the colours he described and he was very happy with it. I also threw in some home made cookies, because who doesn't love cookies?

Josh had my name which made it the easiest gift to buy ever (his words but it's true). He is a music major and he's been teaching me about classical music over the past year or so. He bought me a boxed set of the complete works of Sibelius. He gave it to me at 5am Monday morning when we were just starting our shift and I was SO excited. I've been enjoying it immensely ever since and I keep trying to tell people about it but no one understands how awesome it is...except him. But that's okay.

So there we go, it's a week before Christmas and my giving and receiving is done. I kind of like it this way. Less stress and I still had fun.

Christmas in Toronto

One of the reasons I moved to Ontario was so that I could explore the city of Toronto more. It is Canada's largest city and it has lots to discover but I have been awful at visiting. I'm not really sure why. I used to go into Vancouver all the time and Toronto's not that much further away. I guess I just need a reason. Anyway, Sunday evening Grace, Esther and I packed up our ice skates and headed into the city with the intention of skating at Nathan Phillips Square and then checking out Eaton Centre. We left Grace's car at a shopping mall just off the 401 and then I drove us down towards the city centre.

In typical Heidi fashion I kind of aimed the direction I needed to go and started driving. Initially I knew I was going the wrong way so I just waited until it was convenient to turn left and then drove that way for awhile. The road curved, and split and I turned once and then I was on a major road which I took until I could turn left again. I was reading street signs but I hadn't actually looked at what road I needed to be on. Sure enough, within about five minutes, our EXACT DESTINATION showed up on the left!!! Amazing! I totally just stumbled on it. Yeah me! LOL

So this was our destination. City Hall (above) which I've never been to before but it's pretty distinctive, and the ice rink at Nathan Phillips Square which is right in front of City Hall. Can you see the CN Tower peeking through the buildings?

I haven't been ice skating since I left BC. I bought skates in January when I had time before Ashley's funeral (Collingwood has a Canadian Tire. How convenient.) But last winter was too mild and I never got a chance to use them. It took a bit to get going but I was impressed with how fast I managed to move. The rink is a good size so it didn't feel like you were going in tiny circles and it wasn't very busy which was nice.

The crazy part was the weather. It was WARM. Seven degrees Celsius. You can see from this picture how wet the ice was. It makes for a pretty picture! As long as you didn't fall, the wet ice was actually kind of okay because otherwise it was really chewed up. The wet ice was smoother if that makes sense. I managed to stay upright the whole time as well which is good because otherwise I would have been soaked.

We skated for close to an hour and then changed back into boots and stashed the skates in the car. Then we walked around the outside of Eaton Centre and back through the inside. I posed with a mannequin...

Esther posed with a tree...

And we found the massive Christmas tree and 20 foot tall reindeer inside. The stores in the mall were closing by the time we go there which was fine because we weren't there to spend money anyway. Mostly it was just nice to walk around and enjoy the hustle and bustle of the city during the holidays and spend time with each other. I'm going to miss these girls an awful lot while I'm gone!

Attitude of Gratitude V4#19 - Christmas Music

 I titled this Christmas Music but really I'm grateful for Christmas music, live music, and great friends who are flexible and open to adventure.

First the music, I have four friends who have joined a celtic fiddle club and they participated in a Christmas concert on Friday night. Granted only one of them plays the violin. The others play flute, clarinet and mandolin. The music was a lot of fun. Lots of good toe tapping fiddle tunes with just enough Christmas standards thrown in to make it feel festive.

My friends Kinsey (left) and Heather (left) joined me. Kinsey had invited us over for a Christmas dinner that she was hosting on Thursday night but I had to work so I suggested dinner on Friday and then invited them both to this concert. It was held in a church in Acton which, with traffic, is well over an hour away (although it was a lot less getting home) so we had dinner and then just visited in the car. They both said that they really enjoyed the show, but for different reasons. Kinsey posted on Facebook: "Had a great time tonight at a Celtic Christmas Concert with Heidi and Heather! All those jigs and reels really made me miss PEI!" Heather said she enjoyed it because she used to be in band and was familiar with some of the music. In any case it was a fun relatively inexpensive night out and we all said we'd be game to do something like that again!

Attitude of Gratitude V4#17 - Cookies

Because what is Christmas without a cookie exchange? I certainly don't NEED a bunch of cookies but they sure taste good! I made Cinnamon Sugar Crispies which have pecans on top. They were kind of small but tasty. I hope everyone liked them! These are the ladies I exchanged with. Sandy, Bev (in front), Ruth and Brenda. In the first picture Ruth was looking at Bev for some reason. In the second we were all tickling each other hence the huge grins LOL I love these ladies, and not only because they make great cookies!!!

Attitude of Gratitude V4#15 - SS Sisters

For the past few years I have participated in an ornament exchange on ScrapShare. I received this year's ornaments on Thursday after a very long day. I left that morning at 9am and didn't get back until almost 11:30pm. It was wonderful to be greeted by a lovely package like this.

When we sign up we fill out a brief questionnaire about how you celebrate Christmas, any colours you like, anything you collect, and any ornament that is special for any reason. I said that they're all special but that I like the ones that represent where my SS sister lives.

This year my name was assigned to Amy in VA, aka "greeneyes". She sent two ornaments and a beautiful card. The ball with the H was hand painted by a friend of hers and interestingly very closely resembles an ornament I was eyeing in the bookshop at school earlier that day!

The second one is the town hall in in her town, Vienna, VA as it looked in the 1950's. I immediately Googled it and was tickled to see that the town hall still looks exactly the same (except the trees are a bit bigger). Take a look! Here's the address: 152 Center Street South, Vienna, VA, United States

The ONLY thing wrong with this ornament? Now I want to take a road trip to Vienna, Virginia!!! Thanks Amy! Don't be surprised if I end up in your town some day ;)

Attitude of Gratitude V4#13 - Christmas Tree

So apparently my new tradition is to wait until the second year that I'm at a place before I get a tree. That's what happened in my last apartment and that's what has happened here. I can't even really remember why I didn't get a tree last year. No time I think, or ornaments (because I think bulk ones are boring). This year I knew I wanted a small tree so I started shopping in early November. I ended up finding one (for twelve dollars!!!) at Zellars. It's pre-lit with white lights and I added a string of another 200 coloured lights. I still don't have many ornaments because most of them are still packed away in BC but I have collected a few. I have the ones I picked up this summer while travelling and the Starbucks ones from this year and last year. At the top is the one I received in last year's ScrapShare Ornament Swap.
The tree is three feet tall which is just perfect. It sits on a shelf in front of my mirror which makes the lights even brighter. I love having a tree up, especially when it's dark and cold out and I am stuck inside writing papers (or blogging...) and studying.

Christmas 2009

I got home from Leavenworth on Tuesday and worked Wednesday and a half day Thursday. Robert was in town so we had dinner at Mom and Dad's on Wednesday and then visited and played Scrabble. Thursday after work I went shopping. I had bought Seth's present a few weeks ago and ended I up getting most of Mom's in Leavenworth. That still meant that I had to pick up Aaron's, Robert's and Dad's. I knew what I was getting each of them so it was just a matter of going to the right store and fighting the crowds. I had fun.

Christmas Eve is also Dad's birthday. I arrived at their house around 5pm and dinner was basically ready then. Mom prepared a lamb roast as a special treat for Dad. It was fantasic. We had warm blueberry gingerbread cake for dessert. Afterwards we played RISK. Mom won...which was kind of funny because she hadn't actually wanted to play in the first place.
This picture of me was taken just before going to bed. We didn't stay up super late because everyone was pretty tired.

Christmas morning we were all up before 9...really quite early for my family.

We like to take our time with gift opening and this year was no exception. Seth wasn't able to join us but he mailed his gifts and they arrived on Christmas Eve.

He sent me the "Unofficial Guide to Twilight", a mini book on Robert Pattinson and two bars of Body Shop soap. The guide is perfect. I just finished Eclipse (for the second time) and didn't want to take Breaking Dawn on the plane with me because it is still only available in hard cover. The guide is a nice compromise.

Robert also got me a guide...to Ontario. It's a really nice Michelin one and I can't wait to start visiting all the places listed in there. Mom, Aaron and Robert went together and gave me cash so I can finally invest in the Storybook Creator by Creative Memories. I am VERY excited about that! Aaron also gave me a Starbucks card. Mom and dad got me a Starbucks coffee sampler for use in my French press and Dad picked out a fleece scarf and fuzzy mittens for New York. Which is awesome, because I only have leather gloves which are NOT warm. So nothing huge or totally unexpected but all very thoughtful wonderful gifts and that's all I ever ask for at Christmas.

Christmas dinner was all our traditional favourites. Turkey, dressing (not pictured) mashed potatoes, carrots, turnips, cranberry jelly, creamed corn, bean salad, yams and gravy.

After dinner I made my family watch "Home Alone 2: Lost in New York" with me. We haven't seen it in years and we laughed like crazy. I can't wait to see the places featured in the movie in real life!!!

We also played a few more games and ate lots of snacks and Christmas baking (including Mom's yummy rum balls). It was a relaxed Christmas, just the way I like it.

Merry Christmas to all my readers, where ever you are :)

Suck up

I was talking to Seth the other night and I asked about whether or not he’d be able to make it down for Christmas. I kind of knew the answer but his response still made me laugh. Because he missed three weeks of work due to H1N1 earlier in the year, because the weather’s such a crapshoot (and flying is so expensive) and because I won’t actually be around all that much, he’s going to stay home. He said “I’d rather come in the spring when you’re around so we can spend some quality time together before you leave for Ontario. I want to see you ‘at least once’ before then and coming now just so I can be ‘home for Christmas’ doesn’t make sense.”

On one hand I’m kind of sad that he won’t be here (although he hasn’t been in three years so it’s not a change in that regard) but on the other I’m kind of glad that I don’t have to worry about not spending time with him…and I have to admit, it was kind of nice to hear him say, in a round about way, that he’s going to miss me. He pretends to be all hard and unfeeling but inside he’s just a big suck :)

Company Christmas Party

Tonight was my company Christmas party. We had it out at a small golf course that closes early in the winter. It was nice because we had the whole place to ourselves. They served a really yummy turkey dinner buffet. In the past we've done games and things, this year it was just conversation and then some of the managers and the board chair gave some verbal thanks and handed out some (mostly food) gifts.

Our office is split into three main "pods". It's divided because of the services we offer and physically due to the configuration of the offices. My "pod" is administrative which is basically me and my boss. Because I don't belong to either of the other "teams", I was recognized by both! It was really nice. I know they appreciate me but it's special to have it acknowledged that way.

Now it's snowing like crazy. Everyone left the dinner praying for a snow day, and me most of all. I don't have anything horribly pressing to get to tomorrow and I'd love to have a day to just putter around the house. Here's hoping!

December 12 of 12

Saturday morning...and most other mornings at this time of year, this is what I start with. Coffee with egg nog and yes it's instant coffee. My dirty little secret :P
Saturday morning also means the Country Top 40 countdown is on from 10-2. I listened to it off and on and what I missed, I`m catching up on now on Sunday night when it is replayed. I listen to it most weekends though.
I made my Christmas cards again this year. Making them is the easy part. Writing in them is what I struggle with. I spent the better part of the morning writing ones for the people at church.
But ran out so I had to make more.
While I was making more cards I watched "It's a Wonderful Life". My Christmas movie staple...probably my ONLY Christmas movie staple come to think of it.
At 12:30 I left home and met up with a friend to see New Moon for the second time. We enjoyed it even more, if you don't count the loud "Team Jacob" contingent in the theatre. They got annoying really fast. Still, I can't wait for Eclipse!
When I got home I put on some Christmas carols (this is becoming a list of what I listen to during the day! That's kind of appropriate though. The radio/cd player is the first thing I turn on when I walk in the door or get up in the morning and the last thing I turn off.) This is my Christmas collection.
With the tunes going, I was inspired to FINALLY hang some pictures. I picked these up at a garage sale a few months ago and they've been leaning against the wall since then. I love ferns and fiddleheads so these are perfect for me.
I tried to bake but it didn't turn out at ALL. It's supposed to be squares but I burnt the top and the bottom didn't cook. I have an idea of what I did wrong in the mixing process but the bottom line is, it flopped. And that happens sometimes. C'est la vie.
I went to a Christmas party anyways. I was hoping to take the squares but as you can see, there was LOTS of food (this is only one table. The other one is across the room!

I couldn't resist this picture of Evan. Must be nice to be so little that you can use your chair to sit on AND hold your plate :D

And lastly, my new Tupperware!!! I'm very excited to use it :D

Oops. Apparently I forgot a picture of myself yesterday. Here I'll cheat and borrow one that someone took of me at church today. It's been COLD all week and this morning during service it finally started snowing big fat fluffy flakes.

Attitude of Graitude V2#30 - December

Phew! I did it. I completed thirty Attitude of Gratitude posts. On one hand I was starting to feel like I'd never finish. On the other, I'm sad I'm done. Not to say that I can't continue, but now I can go back to "normal" blogging. The thing is I still have SO much more to be thankful for. This exercise definitely serves it's purpose. It makes me think of all the things, people and more that I am blessed with. The song "count your blessings, count them one by one" really is appropriate and it is something that should never be forgotten.

Today I have one more thing to be thankful for. I'm thankful that it's December. This would have been better if I had stayed on track and actually posted this on December 1st but this will do. I noticed it the moment the calendar flipped to the last month of the year. A big simultaneous sigh of relief, and a big suck if of air as people braced themselves for what is arguably the busiest month of the year. In November all the Americans are just trying to get through Thanskgiving. Canadians are dealing with the darkest, wetest month of the year. EVERYONE is debating about wether it's "too early for Christmas" (decorations, trees, etc.) On December first, it's like the dam is broken. No one can use the "it's not even December yet!" excuse. Everyone turns on the house lights out side. The Christmas carols start playing on the radio (an no grinch can complain), in short, it's the "Most wonderful time of the year" and on December 1st, most people stop fighting it and start embracing it.

I personally love December. It's a freakishly insanely busy time for me but I love every second of the baking, shopping, wrapping, partying, card writing, craziness that ensues. Y'all know that I'm not one to fight Christmas (hello, tree's up by Nov 11th here!) but I'm relieved when everyone else joins me. Bring it on! Yeah for December!

Attitude of Graitude V2#26 - Egg Nog

My favourite part of the holiday season is egg nog. It starts showing up around Canadian Thanksgiving (mid October) and I usually have a carton in my fridge from then on. When I was shopping with Mom and Aunty Candace there were two young guys in the dairy isle. One of them grabbed a carton and said "EGG NOG! I haven't had this stuff since...LAST year!" LOL


I use egg nog in my coffee in this morning and drink it cold in the evening. It's especially good with a bit of 7up or Ginger Ale in it.


I am thankful for egg nog and holiday cheer.

Attitude of Gratitude V2#21 - Christmas Shopping

I like Christmas shopping. Yes it's stressful and commercialized but I like having to think of others and determine what they would really like. I went Saturday with my brother Robert and his girl friend Robbie. (yes they have the same name, yes Robbie is her full name, yes my Uncle calls Robert "Robby" all the time, yes it's funny LOL) We just stayed in town and between us we only purchased three gifts but I think I have a pretty good idea of what I'm getting Robert now.

The mall was busy but it wasn't crazy. Granted it is only November so it shouldn't be yet but the hype is building. And I enjoy it. It's more fun to participate than be a grouch and get stressed out about it.

I saw a sign that says "Tis the season to be jolly...so what's you're problem". It sums it up perfectly!

Attitude of Gratitude V2#14 - Kids

I have to admit, it's a bit odd going from a 19 and over concert setting full of alcohol and pot smoke, to a four year old's birthday party in less than 12 hours. It was fun though, and strangely, I do well in both settings (although I got more of a headache from the screaming kids than I did from the thumping bass at the concert.

The first Christmas album I pull out each year is Kenny Chesney's "All I Want for Christmas (is a real good tan)". On that album he covers the song "Thank God for Kids" and I love that song. It's so true. Kids are wonderful. I'd take kids over cats or dogs any day. Someday I'd love to have my own. For now, it's fun to just hang out with friends who do have kids, and enjoy theirs, without the responsibility.

I am thankful for kids.

Attitude of Gratitude V2#5 – Friends

Make new friends but keep the old, one is silver, the other gold.

I am so blessed to have so many wonderful friends, both old and new. Thursday night I went over to a new friend’s house and got started on my Christmas cards. Carla and I had a wonderful time “playing” and getting to know each other better. She, her husband Ben and their son Levi moved to town in September to be closer to Ben’s sister Naomi who moved here herself a few years back, with her husband Nick. All of these people are from Ontario so they think it’s kind of funny that I’m planning on moving that way when they just moved this way.

Friday night I had tickets to the “Rotary Christmas House Tour”. Our local Rotary club hosts a tour of local homes that have been decorated for the Christmas season (yes it’s early but it’s supposed to be before anyone else has really begun decorating so you can get ideas). I had planned to go with Meredith but she’s down with H1N1. Mom too. I called Kelly (my ex-coworker) but she already had plans to go shopping with her sister.

Suzanne not feeling well, needing a quiet night

Toni, working

Jennifer, home alone with two kids (including a brand new baby)

Katherine, writing a paper for school

Leah, it’s her son’s birthday, she won’t go out

Melissa, too far away

Rebecca! Available. Perfect!

I admit I had resorted to scrolling through the numbers in my phone to find someone who might be free. They’re alphabetical by first name and Rebecca was the first one I found. I’ve known Rebecca since, well, as long as I’ve known Mere, probably a bit longer (and I met Mere when I was four). Rebecca`s 17 months older than me which put us in different grades in school and she was married and had children quiet young so we`ve gone through seasons in our friendship. Lately we`ve been spending a bit more time together and this was a perfect example. We had a blast together. She really enjoys decorating (I just like looking at stuff) and we viewed all the homes at the same pace. Quick but not speedy fast. There were brand new homes on ``snob hill``, heritage homes, a gorgeous bed and breakfast (HUGE, huge, home) and even a townhouse. It was neat to see all the different decorating ideas and to see so many nice homes. I had to go through a lot of names to get to Rebecca but she ended up being the perfect choice. Proof that while new friends are wonderful, but old friends are great too.

I am thankful for all my friends, new and old, even if a bunch of them weren`t free at the last minute ;)

Attitude of Gratitude #25

I am thankful for mail.

Real true paper mail that its delivered by a postman. I love email too. I get easily 50 messages a day but nothing beats real mail. I'm writing my Christmas cards right now. I made a ton and now I have to write in them, address them and mail them. It takes forever but I know how great it is to receive mail so I don't mind.

In fact I've already received two cards! There are some speedy people out there :) I can't wait to see how many other ones I get this year. Opening the mail box at the end of the day is so much better when there is something personally addressed in there. I love mail.

I am thankful for mail.

Attitude of Gratitude #22

Doc Walker has a song called "Remember December". They haven't released it formally yet but it's featured on the CMT Christmas special that they recoreded and they performed it at the Basics for Babies Breakfast last year. You can hear it here (righthand side, under videos, scroll down to the Christmas 2006 at XM Radio - Part 1)

Anyways, the lyrics in it, especially the first verse really remind me of my hometown. I don't have pictures of the lamp post decorations that the city puts up (yet, I'll get some) but they are in the shape of candles and stars just like ths song says.

Every year the Downtown Business Association also hosts a Tree Lighting ceremony. They block off a couple of streets, Santa arrives in a vintage fire truck, escorted by the police and the local Air Cadet Band, there is carols and performances on the main stage and then, at the appointed time, the mayor flicks the switch to light the tree.

Mom and I went down on Friday night to join in on the festivities. We bundled up and then walked from my place since "downtown" is only about three blocks away. This year was special because our long (long, long, long) time mayor (second from the left) is (finally) retiring and a new guy (third from the left) is taking over. They made a big show of "teaching" the new guy how to flip the switch :)

So, for this (delayed) Attitude of Gratitude post, I am thankful for my hometown. Yes it has it's foibles and shortcomings, yes I don't agree with everything that they do but it's home and when I remember December (or November in this case) this is what I think of. The lights, the singing and the spirit of community that binds us all together.

Remember December

Hanging those lights on the main street of town
The stars and candles with bulbs burnt out
I swear they use the same ones every year
And in the school parking lot, the snow is piled high
Kids are making forts and having snowball fights
Some of my favourite memories are made right here
In this little town

I remember hearing “Silent Night”
Underneath a blanket of Northern Lights
The sweet smell of gingerbread and pine
With homemade stockings and popcorn strings
You swear you hear those sleigh bells ring
It seems so warm right in the dead of winter
That’s how I remember December

There’s always a smile on everybody’s face
Gathered around the fireplace
Passing out gifts from beneath the tree
Meant so much to me

I remember hearing “Silent Night”
Underneath a blanket of Northern Lights
The sweet smell of gingerbread and pine
With homemade stockings and popcorn strings
You swear you hear those sleigh bells ring
It seems so warm right in the dead of winter
That’s how I remember December

We’re all a little sad when New Year’s rolls around
That’s when they start to take the stars and candles down

I remember hearing “Silent Night”
Underneath a blanket of Northern Lights
The sweet smell of gingerbread and pine
With homemade stockings and popcorn strings
You swear you hear those sleigh bells ring
It seems so warm right in the dead of winter
That’s how I remember December
That’s how I remember December

Attitude of Gratitude #12

I am thankful for fake Christmas trees.

Well, sort of. I prefer real ones. I grew up with real Christmas trees and having a fake one is hard for me, BUT there are many benefits to having a fake Christmas tree. I think the biggest benefit is that I can put it up on Remembrance Day and leave it up until the new year. You can't do that with a real one!

Yesterday afternoon Meredith came over to make cards (while I scrapbooked). She helped me rearrange the furniture in my living room and then we put up my Christmas tree. That's two years in a row that I've put it up on Remembrance Day. I like that :) We also put lights around the window in my bedroom and put a little tree on the dresser with my little train set.

So, while I don't really like fake Christmas trees, I am thankful that I can put it up early, and that they're allowed in my apartment (we're not supposed to have real ones).