It's Coming

2022 is just around the corner...... and I thought these 'editorial' cartoons might be appropriate today.................. 

'clowns to the right of me jokers to left"

 

Wish Us Luck (updated)

 YAY!! we successfully got our boosters shots.  Got there by 7:55 and received our shots at 9:30.  Protected for - what ? - another 6 months?! BUT I'm good with that !

 

So everyone is telling us to go and get our booster shots.  I tried to book a shot a week ago and the earliest date I could get was March 1st!!  A friend from the country called me when she heard and told me the pharmacy in her town was holding walk-in clinics and to call them.  I called and they told me there was a walk-in clinic on Thursday the 30th.  I called yesterday to confirm and was told to be there before 9:oo a.m.   At 9:00 a.m. they would be handing out tickets - 70 of them.  That was all they had.  IF we got a ticket it would tell us when to come back for our booster.  

 So by the time you are reading this we will be on the road.  Fingers crossed we get 2 tickets.  And that both of us get vaccinated.  The numbers here in Ontario are more than a little scary - never mind the numbers in our lil town.  Highest they have been since the start of this pandemic.

I'll let you know if we get a ticket or not............ wish us luck!!! 

A Sad Christmas Story

 

 

For once the mother posted a handful of pictures of the lil one's Christmas with her.  The first picture was of the lil one in her pj's with a 'funny' look on her face.  She was sitting in the living room with a TV table beside her. On the table was her stocking and a handful of presents. In all the pictures our lil one had this weird look on her face..... I couldn't figure it out........ not one picture of her smiling.

When she was back with us on Christmas eve I loaded up mother's pictures and asked the lil one "what is that look on your face?'  I didn't have to explain my question or reword it - nothing.  She blurted out "No one else opened presents!  I opened mine by myself and they just watched".  I was gob smacked!!   How fun is that??!!  I didn't get it... even if it wasn't our lil one I wouldn't get it.  Who let's the child open their gifts alone?? No sharing?? no laughter?? I don't get it!  It made me very sad inside.   

In contrast - Christmas morning the lil one climbed in bed with us..... we each had our Christmas stocking..... we took turns pulling a gift out of our stocking and opening it.  We laughed and snuggled and took selfies.

When we moved into the living room in our pj's - I put homemade cinnamon buns on the coffee table - milk for the lil one coffee for Sir Steve and I.  We nibbled buns while again we took turn opening presents.  The lil one played Santa passing out gifts one at a time.  We took breaks to try on clothes (the lil one got 2 outfits from me and Sir Steve and I both got sweaters)  We ohhhed and ahhhed over the outfits/sweaters.  We went back to opening more presents.  It was pretty much how Christmas should look in my opinion.   I grew up with Christmases like that - my girls grew up with Christmases like that (AND they have passed down that tradition)

On Monday night at my eldest daughter's - the lil one was sitting beside me at the dinner table waiting for dinner and again she had this strange look on her face.  I asked her "what are you thinking?" She said she wished we could stay another day and not go home.  I said something about it being her mother's time....... and she would be waiting for the lil one.  The lil one nodded but still had this look.  I asked her what she was thinking........... she said "private thoughts S" so I dropped it.... gave her a hug and just let it be.

I don't understand how a family (any family) can be so cold........ especially at Christmas.  It's supposed to be a loving happy memory making holiday.  My heart is broken for the sad lil girl who felt so alone in the middle of a family.

AND - it's over

 

WOW!  what a busy few days!!  Dizzy busy.

The lil one came home after supper on the 24th.......... she got new Christmas pjs... we read "Twas the Night Before Christmas"....... she put out cookies and Eggnog for Santa ... we tucked her into bed.

Christmas morning I was up before the sun so I could get the cinnamon buns out of the fridge and rising in time for breakfast.  Sir Steve was up around 6:30.  The dog got up around 7.  We sat waiting........ and waiting..................... and waiting.  The lil one didn't stick her head out of her room until 8:00 AM!!  8:00 AM!!! 

and then Christmas began ............... 

Opening stockings in bed ............

 

 
I brought the cinnamon rolls out of the oven and we curled up by the tree with coffee/milk and cinnamon buns while we passed out gifts........

 

 paper piled higher... and finally the gifts were all opened.. new clothes tried on.... 

Time to get ready to head to our Nation's Capital for Christmas with eldest daughter.  Of course Mother Nature had to intervene..... and she sent freezing rain for us to drive through............. le sigh. 

We arrived mid afternoon safely.  And spent the rest of the day eating and laughing and opening more gifts.  Sunday we played some board games and watched Anne of Green Gables.  

Then like that it was all over........... and we're home.  The lil one has been handed off to her mother till school starts and Sir Steve and I have a week to ourselves. Time to run some messages - hopefully get our booster shots - and time to reconnect (hopefully!)

Is Santa Real?

 

 

The lil one hasn't directly asked THE question - yet.  But it's coming.  

This year the following came across my Facebook feed and I saved it.  We will use a form of the answer when the really tough question comes..................

 

 

Son: "Dad, I think I'm old enough now. Is there a Santa Claus?."

Dad: "Ok, I agree that your old enough. But before I tell you, I have a question for you. You see, the “truth” is a dangerous gift. Once you know something, you can't unknow it. Once you know the truth about Santa Claus, you will never again understand and relate to him as you do now. So my question is: Are you sure you want to know?"

Brief pause...

Son: "Yes, I want to know"

Dad: "Ok, I'll tell you: Yes there is a Santa Claus"

Son: "Really?"

Dad: Yes, really, but he's not an old man with a beard in a red suit. That's just what we tell kids. You see, kids are too young to understand the true nature of Santa Claus, so we explain it to them in a way that they can understand. The truth about Santa Claus is that he's not a person at all; he's an idea. Think of all those presents Santa gave you over the years. I actually bought those myself. I watched you open them. And did it bother me that you didn't thank me? Of course not! In fact it gave me great pleasure. You see, Santa Claus is THE IDEA OF GIVING FOR THE SAKE OF GIVING, without thought of thanks or acknowledgement.

When I saw that woman collapse on the subway last week and called for help, I knew that she'd never know that it was me that summoned the ambulance. I was being Santa Claus when I did that."

Son: "Oh."

Dad: "So now that you know, you're part of it. You have to be Santa Claus too now. That means you can never tell a young kid the secret, and you have to help us select Santa presents for them, and most important, you have to look for opportunities to help people. Got it?"

 

great answer isn't it??

Leftovers anyone??

Boxing Day is the day of leftovers........ 

Here on the Continued Journey it's no different.  These are some leftover cartoons ........... 

 

 

 

 

 

 

December 25th

 

Thinking of each and every one of you who come to visit here... and hoping you all find some peace and happiness this Christmas Day........... Everyone stay safe and healthy!

 

 ( the best line from the movie "Yes Virginia There is a Santa Claus"
this is an excerpt from an editorial written in 1897 for the New York Sun )

Ready or not.........

 

 

 Anyone else in shock that today is Christmas Eve???  It's a "ready or not" situation.... thankfully I am ready.

The lil one went to her Mom's yesterday but will be home by 7 tonite so we can have Christmas Eve and Christmas day with her.  (actually we have her till the 27th)  Tomorrow after we open our gifts and get organised we're heading up to our Nation's capitol to spend a couple of days with eldest daughter.

Got a couple of posts queued up to cover the days we're away...... so feel free to drop by - I'll leave some hot chocolate and christmas cookies for you all (grinning)

For today - just a smile or two.....

 

On a more serious note.......... 

 

Memories

Christmas is a time of memories .....

Something many of you may not know about me........ when I was a young mother I taught Sunday School.  And told the children's stories in the church.  And planned the Christmas pageant.

I have so many memories of those pageants........ 

There was the year I was VERY pregnant with eldest daughter and "Mary" got stage fright at the pageant and wouldn't/couldn't walk down the aisle.  She only agreed to do it if "Mrs. W" walked with her.......... so there I was 'waddling' down the aisle with Mary  - believe you me there were more than a few giggles 

I always planned a party after the pageant with cookies and chocolate milk for the kiddies...... One year one of my angels (they were 3 & 4 year olds) refused to walk in - his mother was beside herself.  Turns out his older brothers teased him about wearing a dress!!  I bribed him with the promise of a cookie if he walked in..........
My angels filed into the church and took their place around the manger scene.  I was standing about half back in the church watching - holding my breath.......... this lil guy got into place....... turned to find me and yelled  "Mrs. W ......... I did it!!  where's my cookie?!" The congregation burst out laughing.

We always had a HUGE tree in the church - a real one.  Every year the kiddies would fill small mittens with pennies and they would hang them on the tree.  (the money went to charity) One year all the lil kids filed in first and hung their mittens.... and like all kids they hung their mittens at one level.......... the next thing we knew the tree was falling ...... right straight into the congregation!!

Every single pageant made me tear up to see all those kiddies with the shining faces and excitement pouring out of every pore in their bodies - cause ya know....... Christmas was almost here!!  

My favourite song was Away in a Manger.  My lil angels sang it every year...... complete with actions.  There's just something angelic about 30 - 3 and 4 year old angels with halos askew and wings knocking........ singing

(not my kids - but still close enough to make me remember)

 

Fake it till you make it.......

 

Christmas is 3 days away........... 3 days!  I just haven't been feeling it ya know?? Christmas is usually my happy place...... from November till January 2nd or so.  Not so much this year.  And I can't blame it on Covid....... There just hasn't been time this year to feel the magic filling my soul.  It hasn't felt like there's a whole lot of magic this year.

The nice thing about having a lil one in the house is that even though I haven't felt the magic you gotta keep the magic alive for her ya know? We've had our Christmas Adventures... from Holiday lights to Christmas movies to whispered secrets... to video calls with Santa!

This morning I was awake early - there wasn't any need to be up so early - Sir Steve is finally on Christmas holidays for two weeks... the lil one has been on Christmas break since last Friday.......... but I was awake.  I went outside on the front deck ....... it was still dark.... and quiet.  I stood there and felt the first glimmer of Christmas excitement... the work is virtually done... the presents are wrapped.. the food is baked..  and there was this slight flutter of excitement........  

Here's hoping the magic of Christmas grows quickly in the next 3 days.....  

A bit of this 'n that...

 

 

I have been trying to follow all the rules and protocols put forth by our government/science.  I wear my mask.  I wash my hands.  I sanitize my hands when out in the shops.  I stay away from crowds.  I got dose one of the vaccine and dose two.  Now they are telling me I need a booster shot.  So I went to book my booster shot.  Yeah right..... if you thought getting dose 1 or dose 2 was hard - try getting your booster.  The earliest appointment I got was March 1st at noon.  I'm so tired of all this ya know?! 

On another note - we had an excellent celebration with youngest daughter on Saturday (despite having to drive home in a snow storm).  Youngest daughter made me a new gnome to add to my "gnome family" He's the smallest one on the right. 

Last night we signed the lease on our new lil home.  The lil one got to come with us and see her new bigger better bedroom.  She's still not completely on board with this move cause she has to leave her friends.  I have tried to be upbeat and enthusiastic.  I have tried being understanding.  I'm done now.  She is gonna have to 'suck it up' and get over it.  I'm tired.

On a fun note............ 

Spankedhortic made a smart assed comment on yesterday's Canada post.... asking me about bears and maple syrup.  SO - this bit is for my friend Prefectdt......... 

Bears:

 

 

 Maple Syrup:

 

 and of course Beavers - it wouldn't be Canadian if it didn't have BEAVERS:

 And there you have it - another day in the life of me..... a little bit of serious... a little bit of stress... a whole lot of tired... with a pinch of humour to keep me sane.

Welcome to Canada

 

All things Canada......................

 

 

Sunday Smiles

 some oldies but goodies ...........

 

 

 

 

More Good News?!

 

 

And the good news keeps coming........... 

let me give you a little bit of the back story.......
when I was working I remember a whole lot of chatter about pay equity.  To be honest I didn't pay much attention.  I had enough money to live on ... loved my job.... and besides pay equity in my life time seemed like a pipe dream.

Fast forward more than a few years......
I got a letter in the mail yesterday that was full of legal speak... but from what I could understand - that pay equity 'discussion' has been resolved........ and our union won!!  Turns out that I might be getting (I say 'might' cause I'm a little unclear on the legal speak) a lump sum payment on the equity issue retroactive to December 2010.  AND my pension will increase.  No mention of percentages or how much I will actually get..... but it does sound like I will be getting something!!! and something is better than nothing!! I did the happy dance!!  One can always use more money (especially in this day and age) BUT with our move and the new house ............ yeah more money would be VERY nice!! any amount!   

 

On another happy note - we are off to Quebec today to celebrate Christmas with youngest daughter and family.  I am bringing the food....... and presents of course and am thinking we should have a truck!!  There's just so much to bring.  Of course Mother Nature decided to throw us a curve ball (things just can't run completely smoothly
ya know ! ) and we're supposed to be getting a whack of snow today.  Wellllll we were complaining it would be another green Christmas!  Last year we had to celebrate virtually with youngest daughter due to lock downs...... it'll be great to celebrate in person again!!

OH and I discovered Sir Steve has never heard of "Yes Virginia there is a Santa Claus" how - HOW?? - could he not know the story or have seen the movie??!!!  finding the movie to watch this weekend is definitely on the agenda !!!   

Yes Virginia There is a Santa Claus

We heard late last evening that the lil quirky house we saw is .......... 

O U R S!

 

 It was such a relief!   

Now we can truly celebrate the holidays.............. and after Christmas start the hard work of packing up the house........... We'll be moving in February.

 

Yes Virginia there is indeed a Santa Claus! 

Bad News

 

Yesterday afternoon the new owner of our property showed up on the doorstep.  He informed me that we have 60 days to move out.  He plans to move in.

AND we haven't heard a word on the lil house we saw on Monday.  They had 800 applicants!!!  How do you convince someone that your need is greater than everyone else's?? How do you convince them to rent to you??? 

I spent yesterday afternoon - in a state of shock that fluctuated between shock and extreme anxiety/panic.  I also spent the afternoon looking for other rental properties.  Most of them are charging over $1500 a month for rent and then you have to pay for heating and electricity on top of that!!! (which could run as high as another $300+ a month)   AND there are no houses for sale in our price range on the market.

I am feeling drained and a little bit hopeless right now...............

Another Busy Day

 I have another very busy day in front of me and am rushing to get out and run my messages before the bad weather hits......... bad weather being rain or freezing rain - or rain and snow.  Joy oh Joy! 

Thought I would share a smile with you for today.............

Busy Busy

 

 

Every December I try to write a post every day - in memory of the years I entered the "Holidailies" contest.   I've been doing well so far this month..... haven't forgotten/skipped a day.  

Until today!!

I had so much on my mind I almost forget to post. We're still house hunting and saw a cute lil house for rent last night.  

 

 

They have multiple interested parties and we won't know if we get it until tomorrow.  BUT I'm not entirely sure I am ready to move or want to move.  

The house is quite adorable in a nice part of town.  It has a big back yard with a deck. (great for the dog and the lil one to play in - and on the nice days I can sit out on the deck)  It has 2 bedrooms and a den.  It has an eat in kitchen which is quite big and there's a mud room (I've always wanted a mud room).  One bedroom is on the main floor (that would be the lil one's room) The Master bedroom is upstairs and is kinda like a loft - it's big and has 2 cupboards - one for Sir Steve and one for me - mine (at least the one I am claiming) is like a dressing room - with a mirror and loads of space - we think it might have been an ensuite in another life)
There's a big shed out the back with power !
There's a work bench AND a sink downstairs.  Both those features please Sir Steve who can actually have space to work. 

Those are the pluses 

These are the negatives

The rent is substantially higher than we pay here (mind you ALL rents are more than double what we are paying here) but not as high as 3 bedroom apartments .. and this is a house.
The lil one's room has no cupboard
The basement has 2 sump pumps and they acknowledge it is a damp basement (mind you when I called the Property Standards board they said almost all basements here are what they call damp)
The bathroom is small.......... I mean S M A L L !!  You could sit on the toilet and wash your feet in the bathtub while brushing your teeth in the sink. 
IF we decide to move we would give up the idea of buying our own place - and funny enough I'm ok with that.  At this point in my life (at least in my life) I am quite happy letting someone else worry about the major problems - like furnace problems or damp basements - taxes and all the worries / problems that come with owning.

Besides thinking about the house......... I have been finishing up laundry while I wrap all the Christmas presents.  

Talking about wrapping Christmas presents - thought I would share this "how NOT to wrap" .............. 

 

 

 

First Christmas Celebration

 

 

We had our first Christmas celebration on the weekend with Sir Steve's daughter and family.  The family comes with a 2 year old.... a rather spoiled 2 year old....which means there was a lot of screaming (ear piercing screaming) and a lot of "NO's".  

The only saving grace was the lil one.  Her mother let her come to the celebration.  The littlest one loves our little one.... and will do just about anything our lil one asks. They eventually went off and played in our lil one's bedroom (at least the screaming wasn't as loud!!)  We feasted ... and opened gifts... and visited.  It was really quite nice everything considered.  Sir Steve's daughter gave me........................

Are you ready for this??

 

A gnome!!!!  

and of course I loved it!  What's not to love - it's a gnome!! They left late afternoon and Sir Steve took the lil one home to her mother.

BUT then.........
a storm arrived .......... a wind and rain storm.  I don't like wind storms.  I don't really know why......... but I get extremely anxious during wind storms.  AND this was one helluva wind storm!!  Winds gusting up to (apparently) 100kms an hour!! It sounded like the world was coming to a crashing end.  Our dog - who sleeps through thunder and lightening and fireworks and all loud noises - was SO stressed with the wind.  She kept barking and whining.  Our power went out - came back and then went out again. 

GAH!  talk about stress and anxiety!!

We made it through to Sunday though!  in one piece!
Sunday saw Sir Steve out and about running Christmas messages and I sat and wrapped gifts for our next Christmas celebration which is this coming Saturday at youngest daughter's house.

I keep telling myself I LOVE this time of the year  -- the busyness of it .... the baking... the gifts.... the company.  Know what I miss??? spankings and sex....... something has to fall by the wayside right? There's just not enough time for everything................ BUT ......... I do miss the spankings and sex.