Friday, December 31, 2010

Happy New Year

Wishing everyone a very Happy New Year, health and happiness in 2011! I will be spending the evening with my dear sweet client and should be home just in time to bring the new year in with Tom! Cheers!

Thursday, December 30, 2010

At Home

Today is the last day of my holiday. I am enjoying puttering around the house, putting away some Christmas items, a little clean up, munching on leftovers. Yesterday I walked about downtown Stratford and made my one and only Christmas sale purchase.




I could not resist this pretty little garland of snow people which I purchased at Mercantile on Ontario St.  The Scandanavian company En Gry and Sif employ women in Nepal to make these garlands, providing a better life for them and their families. Made from pure New Zealand wool this looks so beautiful strung on our white mantel. Having drizzly weather forcast for the next few days I am hoping that we can attract some fresh snow!

Wednesday, December 29, 2010

Christmas Day

My mom in her new hat and scarf, so nice to see her smile, she has many challenges with MS, this is such a happy moment!


My Dad, a very amazing man at 82, still looks after my mom, a large house, beautiful gardens, the best dad in the world!


the eldest of our grandaughters in conversation with her dad, sporting her new pearls!



grandaughters #2 and 3, waiting patiently for Christmas dinner to be served



Our one and only grandson opening a gift



The youngest getting her nails done by a biggy sis


 



Wednesday, December 22, 2010


gurgle fish

 The Family Stone, I love that movie and watch it every Chrismas usually with Aaron who will not make it home this year as he is in Tofino BC, working, surfing and trying to save some money.

So after the movie  while feeling sad I headed out in the cold night to walk and perhaps take a few pics. The first of which is Gurgle Fish, taken of the window of Watsons Bazaar. These fish are jugs that gurgle as you pour. Pretty cool. Now I would love one of those but I have an aversion to bringing new things into my home unless absolutely necessary. I have 2 water jugs and do not need another. These are pretty tempting though! 




The Red Tricycle


My parents often talk of the the 6 month General Motors strike that they endured when I was a small child. With the 20.00 strike pay that they received at Christmas that year the spent the entire 20.00 on a red tricycle for me! I like to imagine that that is my red tricylcle in the window of this shop.


Sputnik



This is one of the many fine coffee place here in Stratford. I love this one because it is small and intimate, the coffee and treats are delicious.


Scout

Now for a little retro looking glamour. Lots of interesting things in this shop. I did purchase something quite lovely here for my daughter but won't reveal what it is just in case she reads my blog. I don't think that she does though, she is far too busy living in the city with a husband, 4 kids a dog and a cat.

What I like most is window shopping at night when the windows are at their best. I avoid malls like the plague at Christmas, I get overwhelmed with all excess this time of year and try my best to avoid it.

Saturday, December 18, 2010

Christmas Greetings


Tom does not like the cold! On New Years Day 2010 Aaron and I dragged him out for walk by the river, as you can see by his expression he was not too thrilled. He was walking away from me when I called him then I snapped this pic. Perfect for our Christmas card this year! I  had the cards done as postcards just for fun! Merry Christmas , Happy Holidays to all!


Wednesday, December 15, 2010

Charlie Brown Tree

This year I needed a Charlie Brown tree. After having an artificial tree for about 12 years  a change was in order. Allergies resulted in the artificial tree, but maybe I have outgrown that. So far so good. When Tom and I headed out to look for a real tree we were quite shocked at the prices 40.00 and up! We also needed a stand since our original one has disappeared. I had noticed a sign on the main street of Stratford,  x-mas tree's 5.00 and up. We picked up a retro looking stand at Canadian Tire for 5.00 then set out for the house with the trees. I fell in love with the fisrt tree I saw, a black spruce all spindly and beautiful, after a nice chat with the fellow and handing over a mere 10.00 we had our tree!




just a few snippets from the tree

Monday, December 13, 2010

On a Cold Winters Day


Winter arrived in Stratford just over a week ago with snow but as of today it has turned very cold! Still whenever there is fresh snow I feel the need to get out there if only for a short time. Today I stopped in Upper Queen's Park near The Festival Theatre to capture the essence of the day!

Friday, December 10, 2010

Happy December

Well I have not been blogging lately although I have posted some pics on Flickr as well as a few posts on Facebook. so it is time to record a little about December in Stratford. It is a pretty, snowy month here but not as snowy as London which received more than 90 cm  and Lucan where one of my nieces lives... 177 cm of snow fell in 3 days this week!




Cranberry Pecan Shortbread


                                                          Mayan Chocolate Sparkles


Busy baking, shopping, sending parcels to the east and west coasts and here I am stuck in southwestern Ontario! Our son Aaron is in Tofino BC and will not be home for Christmas, we will miss him for sure!


                                                                   P'lovers Stratford

The Green Room Stratford

and for a little glitz
Elizabeth Noel

not that there is any glitz in my life!