Recently I was inundated with Christmas card ideas on Pinterest...
Triangles were the basis of a few...
Like these Christmas trees ...
And these reindeer cards...
Old sheet music was recycled for a few.
So many great ideas... if you like making cards!
There's a song that goes: "It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas..."
And I'm beginning to agree!
It's fun to visit parents at work...
Even more fun if there's something interesting to do...
There! That didn't take long! I'm done!
Last weekend we had our first snow...
Over the past few days, it's been melting.
I can now walk down bare pavement again - an important marker event for me!
But I'm puzzled by the large number of trees that still haven't lost their leaves... like the willow up the street...
Shouldn't all the leaves have fallen by now?!
Nature has a timetable of its own!
At this time of year, I miss my bright, spacious classroom, where - in autumn - I'd bring my outdoor potted plants (from home) in for the winter, as I did in my teaching days.
It's a lot harder now.
Our house has lots of windows - but nothing like my classroom! And my plant collection gets bigger every year!
I have a hard time letting plants die... So I feel a pang of sadness when neighbours put healthy Boston ferns out for "yard waste collection" when summer ends. I even regret that Halloween pumpkins aren't all repurposed as food. (Though they are repurposed as compost for next year's gardens.)
I wish I could store my outdoor potted plants in a commercial greenhouse - like my aunt and uncle do.
Their plants come back in spring looking better than ever!
Instead, I look for a bright corner where I can keep them - far from my other indoor plants - to "quarantine" them for a few months, in case they have an infestation.
This year they are sitting in our entry - next to boots and shoes!
The best toys are the ones you make yourself - like this ramp, made of cardboard boxes, rocks, a flower pot...
A few days ago - before the snow fell - our grandson busied himself making all kinds of "jumps" for his sturdy remote control vehicle...
Both indoors...
... and out.
Eventually Grandpa had to show him how to replace batteries in the vehicle - which got a lot of use that day!
But lots of learning happened that day: How far can the vehicle "jump" over open spaces?How many boxes can the car actually push aside?
Can the car push aside the rocks? Can it go over them?
How fast can Grandma move to get away from a racing car?!
(A fun day was had by all!)
Last weekend, the first drama of winter weather played out in our area.
Saturday - November 8, at 5 PM - there was no snow on the ground...
Sunday afternoon... the snow began to fall.
Here's an evening view in the dark - at 7:30 PM, after our son has cleared snow from the driveway.
On Monday morning, I wondered if there had been any school bus cancellations. There seemed to be a lot of snow on the trees and hedges.
Apparently not. I guess this is the beginning of "normal" winter weather!
