 |
It has been and eventful, but very pleasant Christmas at our house this year. My mother arrived on Tuesday evening, about two hours behind schedule thanks to a large plane that skidded off the runway at the Toronto airport and prevented other flights from leaving until they moved it. I took Wednesday and Thursday off work so that Mum and I could do a bit of shopping. On Wednesday we all went for a very pleasant evening at our friends the Fosters'; lots of good food and good cheer as well as a Christmas trivia game that my team might have won if we could only have remembered how many pipers were piping (Mum's team won).
On Christmas Eve all the kids took part in the children's service at 4:30 PM. This year, as in all but one of the past eight or nine years, the main part of the service was a nativity play about the grumpy inn-keeper who keeps being woken up by all the visitors coming to see the baby Jesus in his stable. This year David had the title role, Emily was an angel, and James was a shepherd (you can check the Archive to see them in their costumes last year). James also sang two carols as a member of the children's choir and Katy was one of the two leaders of the service.
After the service we hosted a buffet dinner for Dave, Chris and Alison, Jocelyn and Puxley, Mike (Ingrid and Alex were away), Carl and Roxanne, and Claire, Paul, Rachel, Max and Paul's parents. As I have done on Xmas Eve for as long as I can remember, we played Town, River, Mountain (a version of Categories) as well as the grab parcel exchange that is part of Ann's family tradition. We had the house back in reasonable order by about midnight when Ann pointed out to me that although our gifts had been bought some weeks before, none of them were wrapped. We spent the next few hours fixing this oversight before collapsing into bed.
Christmas morning dawned white but too wet for my liking; however, since no-one had serious plans for leaving the house all day, it mattered little. We arose at the civilized hour of 8:30, then Ann and I whipped up our traditional breakfast of Eggs Benedict with champagne and orange juice for those of us that needed a little pick-me-up. James's godmother Jenny joined us. Then to the serious business of opening presents, which kept us occupied until lunchtime. Ann and I had a well-deserved nap while the kids played with their new toys. Dinner was the traditional turkey with roast potatoes, squash brulée and corn followed by apple or bumbleberry pie.
Today has been the usual day of recovery and clean-up. In the afternoon we went to open houses at our friends the Reads', here in Dartmouth, and at the Harveys' in Eastern Passage, before returning to watch new DVDs this evening.
We hope that you have all had an excellent year and a very merry Christmas and we wish everyone all the best in the New Year. Remember that you can check up on all our goings on over the past year in our Archive. To keep in touch with us over the coming year, just bookmark this page and keep coming back.
 |
This was the week of the Christmas concerts at James and Emily's school. There was one on tuesday and another of Thursday, and because both Emily and James had several significant roles to play, Ann and I attended them both. The main portion of the concert was a play called "Once on a Housetop" in which a group of chimney sweeps visit several houses and perform good deeds in keeping with the holiday season. The play was interspersed with songs sung by the various classes. Both Emily and James sang with their classes, but James also had a role as the father of a Jewish family that is too poor to afford the ingredients to make latkes. Potatoes, flour and eggs mysteriously appear down the chimney thanks to the sweeps above. James also sang a couple of numbers with the school choir. In the Tuesday concert Emily played two Christmas carols with the recorder orchestra, and on Thursday, two more carols with the violin orchestra. Of course, lots of their friends also had parts to play. Everyone put in good performances and both evenings were very entertaining.
Katy arrived home for Christmas on Friday and almost immediately went off with Ingrid to see The Nutracker with Symphony Nova Scotia, Halifax Dance and Mermaid Theatre at the Rebecca Cohn; this is now a yearly ritual for them both. Meanwhile Ann went to the church to see a concert by the MacLean sisters.
On Saturday, after lunch, Emily, James and I went on our annual pilgrimage to Hubbards to cut down a Christmas tree. As usual there was a fair amount of discussion over which tree would look best in our living room, but in the end Emily's arguments swung the debate toward Henry (her name for the tree) who is now standing proudly in the corner by the piano.
On Saturday evening Katy and David hosted a party for about 25 of their friends. We ordered in a bunch of pizzas and served punch, potato chips and other goodies. I did my best to stay out of the way and fell asleep before it was all over. There were still a few hangers-on left this morning (by design; no-one wanted to drive them home to Eastern Passage) so I cooked up a batch of pancakes before packing everyone off to church.
This afternoon David's soccer team played an exhibition match against the Under 16 Provincial team. It was an entertaining game with David's team winning 5-4.
 |
Poor Emily! She has been desperate for snow and every day this week the weather reports called for 2 to 5 centimetres; and every evening there would still be none. But on Friday night she finally got her wish: about 15 centimetres of it. Moreover, Saturday dawned beautiful and sunny, so she and James were able to enjoy themselves making forts while the rest of us shovelled. The snow clung to the trees all day making for some very beautiful scenes. I took several very nice pictures of which this is one. The snow storm didn't stop David from going out to a birthday party on Friday evening, though it did preclude the sleigh ride that had been planned as part of the festivities.
Our week started with some logistical problems on Monday evening as Emily had Girl Guides while David had a concert with the All-City Jazz Band and Ann was still in Sarnia celebrating her Dad's birthday. In the end we managed with David getting a ride to the concert, James and I dropping off Emily then rushing out to see the concert, then rushing back before it was finished (but after David's part was over) to be home when Emily was dropped off. We all breathed a sigh of relief when Ann arrived home again on Tuesday.
What an enjoyable/relaxing/memorable weekend I spent in Sarnia celebrating Dad's birthday! I flew to Toronto on Friday morning and took a RobertQ airbus to Sarnia. I had intended to finish both the Book Club book mentioned last week as well as one of our summer choices (The Book of Illusion by Paul Auster). Instead, I had interesting conversations with the strangers next to me on the plane and the bus. Snow squalls between Woodstock and London caused Mom much concern, especially when she learned of the multi-car accident on the 401 just before we were due, but Dad was blissfully unaware because we'd led him to believe that neither Martha or I were coming. Indeed, our bus detoured north to Highway 2 to avoid the stretch of 401 near the accident and I saw places I hadn't seen for many years (if ever). Halima kindly picked me up so that I could surprise Dad about 4pm on Friday. I enjoyed the delicious supper with Mom and Dad that evening all the more because there were just the three of us; how long as it been since that was true at meal time?!?
On Saturday, Dad and I went for coffee and book-shopping (the only shopping I truly enjoy) while Mom bustled with B'day party preparations. Then we watched 16-year old Micheal and his team play an exciting basketball game at Northern; I noticed quite a few changes in that old high school. I had thought Martha would surprise Dad there but she and Hannah had stopped to shop (unlike me, both of them love to shop) so they didn't surprise Dad until about 5pm on Saturday. However, the biggest surprise for Dad was yet to come; Mom had invited all of us and all the Howells to celebrate Dad's birthday on Sunday at lunch. Dad was pleased to see each and every one of the two dozen or so of us there, especially Aunt Carole and Uncle Bud. We also watched old movies of the family long ago: at Erieau, first days of school for each of us, and some marchers in those ancient Merlin Fair parades; what a hoot!!! It was a lovely party and I enjoyed visiting with everyone. I also enjoyed eating lasagna, broccoli salad, coleslaw, tossed salad, fresh fruit, pecan bars, Good-bye Susies, brownies, minced pie and birthday cake — all of it scrumptious!!! On Sunday I also witnessed John's debut on his clarinet; his concert band played at the outdoor bandstand in Canatara Park as part of the Historical Society's annual old-fashioned "Christmas on the Farm". (It was so cold just listening to them that I can't imagine how cold it must have been to be playing.) I also had the pleasure of listening to Hannah play her flute. Both John and Hannah have improved so much since beginning their respective instruments this fall. Encore! Encore!
Dad claims that 80 doesn't feel any different from 79; should we believe him? Monday's highlight was taking Dad and Mom to lunch at the On the Front Restaurant and Lounge. We had a bird's eye view of the St. Clair River, the Bluewater Twin Bridges, Cantara Park and Lake Huron. And the food was innovative and tasty. Then we spent the afternoon shopping for Christmas presents to take to Halifax. John was surprised that we weren't home until almost 6pm. I had to bring another suitcase home to carry all the loot.
Tuesday was spent travelling home again. Again, rather than reading my book, I carried on a four-hour conversation with my seat mate on the RobertQ airbus. Martha, Hannah and Rachel kindly whisked me off to Boston Pizza for an early supper before my flight home; it was a short but sweet visit. — Ann
This morning was the White Gift Service, a tradition in the United Church in which everyone brings a gift wrapped in plain white paper to be distributed to those less fortunate. The service was conducted by the children of the congregation with each of ours having a role to play. Emily and James's friend Nicholas came along for the fun and, even though he has not been to our church before, was also willingly pressed into service. In the afternoon I took the three of them to the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia to make gingerbread houses.
 |
Our family has, once again, grown somewhat larger! On Monday we invited Ginger James and Louie to share our house with us. Ginger James is an orange tabby, male and about 11 weeks old; he will be James's pet. Louie is jet black, female and about 9 weeks old; she will be Emily's pet. For the time being they are sleeping in James's room (Emily's has too much stuff that can be spilled or broken). They have a free run of the basement but are only allowed upstairs under supervision. They will be given more freedom as they learn the house rules. Already their different personalities are quite evident. Louie is by far the more adventurous; she loves to explore. Ginger James is more playful and is also very persistent; he doesn't accept no as an answer. It shouldn't be too long until he has us trained to his liking.
On Monday evening Ann went to Opa!, a Greek restaurant in Halifax, with her book club. The book this month was
The Skin of the Lion by Michael Ondaatje. I think Ann was about three-quarters of the way through it
(about average for her) but any fears of learning the ending prematurely weren't going to keep her from a
chance to have dessert out on the town. (Of course, I am being horribly unfair. She swears that she will have
the next book finished on time.)
 |
On Tuesday evening Ann drove to Acadia to see a performance by the Acadia concert band of which Katy is a member. You may remember me saying how much I enjoyed their performance a few weeks ago. This time they played some of the numbers that I saw, plus a few different ones. Ann enjoyed it as much as I did.
On Friday morning Ann flew to Toronto, then took the Robert Q bus to Sarnia to be there for her Dad's 80th birthday party on the weekend and then the actual birthday on Monday. Happy Birthday Jack!! The rest of us have been doing our best without her. The logistics have sometimes been challenging but so far we have managed. Yesterday David's guitar lesson, Emily and James's swimming lessons, David's soccer skills session and Emily's basketball game kept me on the road for most of the day. David also had a soccer game in Truro, but he got a ride there and back with one of the other parents (they tied 1-1). Today I took them all down to the church, then enjoyed an hour to myself while others looked after them, before picking them up again. David had a practice with the church band in the early part of the afternoon, then we all went to watch him play another soccer game at 5 o'clock, this one in Halifax against Dunbrack. The team played well and won 3-1.
November 2005 Archive
January 2006 Archive
Archive Table of Contents