Monday, November 23, 2015

The Forbidden Fruit

Another one of the things I enjoy about this time of year is the tasty pomegranate.  I just finished one off this afternoon - after it made a few appearances in some delicious baby spinach and mushroom salads with asian dresssing.

This week we are really busy with our company as just contracted two new clients, a nice way to finish off what had been a rather trying business year.  Hubby is flying out to New Brunswick on Wednesday to attend my Stepson's Canadian Armed Forces Graduation ceremony on Friday.  It takes 3 flights and a full day to get there - and it is only partway across Canada!  I shall hold down the fort here, taking care of puppy and catching up on work/decorating the house.

The exterior of the house is completely decorated for Christmas including lights on the house and wreath on the door.  I did manage to put up our small bedroom tree (one of two trees that used to decorate either side of our garage - until Alberta winds reduced one to pulp and damaged this one) and now have enough small vintage balls to cover it.  It is placed on a stand out of Buddy the dog's reach.  The true dog test will be when the big tree goes up.  Fortunately, he generally leaves our stuff alone but I will not be putting any valuable ornaments anywhere near his eyeball range.  I am also interested to see how he will react to presents under the tree - only time will tell.  There will definitely be no chocolate under the tree - just in case.

The big tree will be going up next week some time.  I filled out exactly one Christmas card yesterday- I believe in pacing myself :).  Next time I will make a spiced rum and coke as incentive to fill out more of them.  As long as I get my cards in the mail by December 14th to my American family that I rarely get to see they should get there according to Canada Post.  I have little faith in that deadline so am going to have them all ready to go by the 5th.  These cards were purchased for .99 cents after Christmas last year so the biggest expenditure on 10 Christmas cards is postage.  Worth it in my opinion as many of these older relatives are not on Facebook.

I have very few gifts to buy this year - the biggest job will be baking right before our trip to Alberta as we are giving the kids money and baked treats, both of which I am sure they will be happy to receive.  I am covering the adoption fee for a cat for my Mom since she lost her old cat this summer due to old age.  Yes, it won't be a surprise but it will be something she loves. We just have to find the right mid-age cat as she doesn't want a kitten.  Hubby is always the hardest to buy for as buys whatever he wants but he has given me a couple of ideas.

Our counter tops were installed and now we are in the process of picking out tile and getting a contractor for our large back splash job - 38 feet of it.  We did run into a bit of a snag in our bathrooms as our intended contractor does not wish to frame our mirrors as he is not certain he can do a job that we would be happy with.  We are trying to take standard builders grade plain mirrors that are glued to the wall and build frames around them to give them a bit more pizzazz.  I think we can do it ourselves with a bit of molding and a miter saw but hubby is not confident.  I think that will be a project in the new year and for now we will leave it alone.  In the States there are a couple of companies that you can order molding from for this specific purpose (mirrormate.com is one) but there are none in Canada. I am just so happy this reno is coming to a close.  Hopefully the tile will be installed by Christmas, if not early in the new year.  There always seems to be one more project though - will it ever end?

For all my American blogging friends - Happy Thanksgiving!

16 comments:

  1. wow.You must sleep well at night with all that work.
    Congratulation on your step son Air Force Graduation.
    Coffee is on

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    1. Thanks! Self employment has its ups and downs but things are looking up for the New Year, that is for sure.

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  2. pomegranates are the best. The will stain everything, but so worth it! good luck with your renovations!

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    1. Yes, staining is an issue. They also really dry out your fingertips for some reason - but oh so tasty!

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  3. Know what you mean about finding something for hubby. We probably won't do much for Christmas gift wise because we have been getting things as they are needed (wanted?). We are on what I call a sportscation to Los Angeles right now and will have a US Thanksgiving dinner at a friend's house. We'll spend another week in the States with our Bellingham friend and then it's back home and up the lake. Can't wait!! - Margy

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    1. Happy Thanksgiving Margy! A nice quiet Christmas at the lake sounds wonderful and peaceful.

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  4. What a lovely present for your Mum, a new cat. A house isn't a home without one.
    Love pomegranates. They were 4 for a £1 on the market yesterday! x

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    1. You are definitely right. My Grandma (Mom's Mom) used to have about 12 cats on their farm. Mom has always had cats too. She was pretty sad this summer and didn't want another for a while but is now ready. In the mean time Buddy has been loving her up

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  5. You just reminded me that I have to get my daughter working on our Christmas card for this year. Since we don't exchange gifts with people anymore, it's our one big expense for the season. (printing and postage).

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    1. Only one month to Christmas! I think the cards are worth it for the senior relatives.

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  6. Once you get your house sorted, you can start on mine. LOL. I just see so many things that I want to change. We have been here for 20+ years and we have pretty much rebuilt the house. The only area that we are hung up on is the laundry room, its so odd that we don't know where to go with it. Other than gut the level and start over. Yeah, Den isn't real interested in that.

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    1. Yeah, good luck with that. If I come to your house it will be for Den's cooking and to drink with you lol, not to get it sorted. At least nobody but you guys see the laundry room. Maybe a disco ball in there? Nobody else has that.

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  7. You decorate early, well for me anyway. I love Christmas but it is different down here in Mexico. Great news on the new contracts, a perfect way to end the year.

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    1. I do decorate early, like to have all my vintage christmas decorations out for at least a full month but come January 1 they all get taken down inside and out. I like to start the new year off clean and tidy (*don't dust much in the month of December)

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  8. Will it ever end? It doesn't seem to around here! I have several decorating projects to get done over the winter months - I can hardly wait (grooaan!)
    I'm still afraid to put up a tree this year as Lily and Luna love anything shiny or sparkly. You sound so organized! I haven't done anything yet except get out 4 boxes of Christmassy decorations. That's step one!

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    1. If it wasn't for my husband none of these projects would have happened. I like peace and tranquility in my home and other than fixing something that is broken would have been ok with our crappy carpet and countertops. I do like our laminate flooring though and it will be nice once the kitchen is finished.

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