Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas!

It's so easy to get caught up with the busyness of the holiday season...

It's good to remember this message I found on an old Christmas card.

(The card dates back to the 1970s, but its message still holds true!

Advent Smile

My daughter was given a lovely advent calendar. Some have chocolates inside... Hers had cute riddles, like - What happens to Santa if he gets stuck in a chimney?

Answer: He gets Claus-tro-phobia!

Valentine's Day

I read recently that women no longer like to receive flowers or chocolate for Valentine's Day. I'm not sure why - except for the calories in chocolates.

I must be very traditional: Both roses...














... and chocolates...














... brighten these dreary days of winter!

Be Thankful! Celebrate!

Today is Canadian Thanksgiving Day!

Let's celebrate!

"Life is not meant to be a burden... It is a blessing to be celebrated... Learning to celebrate joy is one of the great practices of the spiritual life. It confirms our trust in God. It affirms the greatness of creation... It recognizes the mercy and love of God... Every year in celebrating our birthdays... we are called to remember the gift of life itself... When we celebrate the good things in life, we trace them to the Creator who gives without merit, openhandedly... Joy gives us strength for the unknown." (The Breath of the Soul, p. 60-62.)

So whether you are celebrating a bountiful harvest, the beauty of the season, another birthday - or simply life itself, ENJOY!

Mother's Day

Mother's Day sometimes brings cards...














And flowers...














(It's nice to be appreciated!)


















But it especially brings back memories...














A time to reflect and be thankful!

A New Year's Prayer

Here's a Christmas card - and a New Year's Prayer - my mother received a few years ago.


















In case you can't see the words, they are:

Dear Lord, please give me...
A few friends who understand me and yet remain my friends
A work to do which has real value, without which the world would feel the poorer
A mind unafraid to travel, even though the trail be not blazed
An understanding heart...
A sense of humor.
Time for quiet, silent meditation
A feeling of the presence of God
And the patience to wait for the coming of these things, with the wisdom to know them when they come.

By W.R Hunt

Published by Guideposts.

(I was unable to find out who W.R. Hunt is, but I did find a few of his or her inspirational writings online.)

Merry Christmas!

My wish for this Christmas: COMFORT and JOY... for all!














May we spend our day counting - not our presents - but our BLESSINGS!

Making Christmas

Not long ago, my daughter called from Toronto to discuss her Christmas plans.

Is the tree up yet? she asked wistfully. This evening, walking down the street, I noticed trees lit up inside houses. It made me want to be home.

The tree will be up when you get home, I promised her.

Her words reminded me that - just as Christmas is a date, it is also a spirit... a spirit of love and well-being. The lights of the tree in a home make me think of comfort and coziness, being loved and surprised by family and friends - and blessed by God.

I aspire to make my home a comfortable, loving place all year long.


















But the lights of the Christmas tree - that I carefully set up before my daughter arrives home - remind me that even peace and love - comfort and light - don't just "happen."


















Sometimes they require a little extra work!

Drummer Boy... In Winnipeg

Little Drummer Boy, one of my favorite Christmas songs, was composed in the 1950s. I recently came across this Canadian rendition - a You Tube video sent out by a drummer from Winnipeg to wish his friends Merry Christmas... and it has "gone viral"! (More than a million views!) Enjoy!

I Give Thanks!

Today is Thanksgiving Day in Canada... (It's Columbus Day in the USA.)

Today - all weekend, in fact - I have been giving thanks...














... for family and friends...














... for joy in creativity...














...for health and strength...














... and growth - not only in my garden...


















But also in our family...














... as we joyfully celebrated an engagement this year!














For all this...














...and much, much more ... I give God thanks!

Canada Day in Ottawa

Canadians from all over the country gather in Ottawa, the nation's capital, on July 1 - Canada Day.














Festivities center on Parliament Hill, where a stage is set up to provide free entertainment all day long. Grandstands are set up for spectators - but most people have to sit on the grass. The show is broadcast live on television all over the country.














To get a seat near the stage - or even a spot on the grass - one has to come early. Those of us who don't get there hours in advance have to watch the stage from across the street... if we can get a glimpse of the large-screen TV...

I usually just wander through the crowd with those who are there to catch the spirit of the day.

There is an airshow...














(I'm not sure if I managed to photograph the planes zooming by - or if I simply caught a bunch of balloons in the air!)

The streets around the Parliament Buildings are blocked off.














Musicians and street entertainers draw spectators in different locations.














One tradition that has grown is dressing in red and white, the colors of the Canadian flag.














Some simply drape themselves in a flag!














Sidewalk cafes do a booming business.

On a warm, sunny Canada Day, hundreds of thousands of people mill around downtown, near the center of government.














Those who want more tranquility can find it a block away, at the Rideau Canal.

Downtown Ottawa is a hive of activity from morning till night - when many local residents come downtown to watch the fireworks that begin at dusk.

This year, an added attraction: Will and Kate, the young British royal couple, are here... It's sure to be an extra-busy place!

Letting Go of Christmas

I usually take the Christmas tree down right after New Year's Day. But this year, I am having a hard time letting it go!


















A gentle reminder of joy in winter, it distracts me from the snowy cold outside and the housework I need to do...

Keep it up till next Christmas, if you want! Terry tells me.

I don't think I'll go that far! But it still brightens my evenings with its soft light and memories of family fun! And, best of all, it makes me feel I'm still on holidays!

Christmas in New Zealand

A Christmas card from a friend in New Zealand reminded me that some places have warm... even HOT Christmases!














Now, wouldn't that be nice?!

Celebrate!

Two of the books I am currently reading have struck a similar note: a call to celebrate.














In her book, Knit Together, subtitled Discover God's Pattern for Your Life, author Debbie Macomber talks about the importance of having a mission statement and goals. She then encourages the celebration of every small success...

(I have been reading her book slowly, as I reflect on what my goal and mission can be at this stage of life..)

In another refreshing book, eat the cookie...buy the shoes, subtitled Giving Yourself Permission to Lighten Up, religious writer Joyce Meyer talks about her tendency to be serious. So, for many years she was reluctant to celebrate her birthday... Like many of us, she let the day slide by. But around the time she began writing this book, she realized that celebrating her birthday was a way of expressing thanks to God for His gift of life and provision over the years. So she celebrated, privately and with family and friends, for a week, giving herself permission to do as much or as little as she wanted... And in the end she felt refreshed by having given herself permission to relax and be happy...


















So, at this season of the year - and at this season of life - as I look at the Christmas tree and its many gifts - I am reminded that the true gifts are the family, friends and faith God has given me.

So I am thankful for Christmas and its tradition of giving gifts - because it reminds that everything I have - family, friends and faith - is a gift from God!

Christmas Mug Rugs

I have had a lot of fun this past week creating Christmas "mug rugs" out of scraps of fabric left over from one of my first quilting projects: this Christmas runner.














This particular design called for more than half a dozen different fabrics. So for many years I've had the leftover scraps sitting in a bin downstairs.














It was fun to see the scraps disappear as I created random designs.














My quilting did take me away from other tasks - like sending Christmas cards. (Why does the month before Christmas seem to fly by?!)

My Favorite Kind of Christmas Shopping

When I was a child, I used to spend hours looking through Sears and Eaton's catalogs - choosing the perfect gifts for myself and others...

I could never afford them, of course - but I loved to dream.

Nowadays I do a different kind of "dreaming" about gifts: Terry never knows what to give me for Christmas, so I solve the problem for him - I shop online ...for myself!














When the gift arrives, I wrap it - unopened.














So we both are surprised on Christmas morning!

Christmas Coasters

I'm not planning to do a lot of Christmas baking this year. (If I make cookies, I eat too many!)

Wanting to create a simple hostess gift, I decided to try a non-edible option: a set of four Christmas coasters.

I have lots of leftover fabric with Christmas motifs.














(When I started to quilt, I made things for Christmas, like this little table runner. So I have lots of scraps.)

I cut four 5.5 inch (12.7 cm) squares of Christmas fabric, four of plain green fabric (for the back), as well as four soft flannel squares for the middle - to make the coasters a little more cushy...














I laid them one on top of the other, and machine stitched several rows of quilting around them to hold the layers together.


















Then I trimmed the edges with pinking shears. I'm not sure how they will weather a washing... Perhaps they will fray.

Wondering if I should have finished the edges, I made a second set of coasters a different way.














Cutting the three fabrics into slightly larger 6-inch (15.4 cm) squares to accommodate a seam, I sewed around three sides, then turned the tiny "pillow cases" inside out, tucking in the fourth side and machine sewing it shut.














Then I quilted the layers with several rows of machine stitching to make them flat.














Now I have two sets of Christmas coasters. I'm not sure which I like best!

Too cute to eat...

A Christmas tradition - when our children were young - was to put several small boxes of cereal in each child's Christmas stocking - the single-serving size - in the hopes that they would be inspired to eat something healthier than candy and chocolate for breakfast on Christmas morning.














My son remembered this on a recent trip to Japan, and brought back these Japanese single serving boxes of breakfast cereal for our Christmas stockings. They're so cute - I haven't eaten mine yet!

Before Christmas, I came across a marzipan pig - a symbol of good luck - at a local deli, so. I bought it for New Year's Day. Then my traveling son surprised me with two more mini marzipan pigs that he had found in Switzerland.














They are all still sitting on the table, together with the glass pig container of truffle-flavored vinegar that I bought after reading about French truffles in Peter Mayle's books: A Year in Provence and Toujours Provence (both of which I highly recommend if you like armchair-travel.) The marzipan pigs also look too cute to eat!

As an aside, in case you're wondering how a pig is connected to truffle vinegar: Pigs are used to find truffles - the expensive mushroom kind. Pigs love to eat truffles, and are good at locating them in forests. A good truffle-pig is as important to a truffle gatherer as a good hunting dog is to a hunter. (All this wonderful information comes - of course - from Peter Mayle!)

My Christmas Gift

Terry and I always have difficulty getting each other gifts for Christmas. We often end up buying something for ourselves - and calling it a "gift" ...

Friends of ours - parents to two teenagers - never buy each other Christmas gifts: We are our gift to each other, they say...

I can understand where they are coming from. I mean - giving yourself to someone in marriage is one of the biggest gifts you can ever give! But when I mentioned this concept to my kids, they were quite indignant.

You and dad have to give each other a Christmas gift, they insisted. So we make an effort to do so - if only to please them.

This year I did come across a gift idea for Terry which was a surprise (a GPS)... And we found an interesting gift for me while shopping in a nearby mall.

At Christmas, there are often stands in the mall - and I came across one that sold silver jewelry. I went over to take a look...

Is that a puzzle ring? I asked the vendor, pointing to a ring that seemed to be made up of several thin silver bands.

No, it isn't, but I do have a puzzle ring, he replied.

Then, to my surprise, he pulled out the exact ring I was looking for...

Let me explain: When I was a university student, I had a puzzle ring - four rings intertwined that fold into a single braided design ... if put together just right. In fact, I still have it, but it no longer fits. So a few years ago, I began to hunt for a replacement in a larger size. I looked on the internet, in jewelry shops in Ottawa and elsewhere - wherever I thought unusual rings might be sold. My original one was made in Turkey... Was it possible that the jeweler who invented them had retired and those ingenious little rings were no longer being made?!

I had almost given up hope of finding it... And now, here it was!

I pulled out my wallet and paid for it.

What did you buy? Terry asked...

Your gift to me for Christmas!














So here it is - together with my old tarnished one on the left.














If you drop them, they come apart like this.














To put them together you put the V-shapes together first.














Then you fit the other 2 bands into a figure 8 - but the top V shaped bands have to be inside the figure 8.

Then you turn the top bands into the figure 8, starting with the bottom one (the one with 2 indents... In this picture it's on the right...)

This YouTube video also shows how to do it...