December Doings

Time has been flying lately between work and Christmas preparations.  Our tree (artificial)turned out nicely again, looks so similar from year to year but this year my vintage tree topper was added.

I really love the lights - one of my favorite parts of decorating for Christmas so added a strand to our antique store cupboard.

We have been fortunate to make some very good friends on the Island since we moved here and this past weekend we went Christmas tree hunting with them as we have a truck and they no longer do.  We hiked about 1km up the hill into the back of the tree farm to find the 14 foot tree my friend had been looking for.  She has vaulted ceilings and we found just the right tree.  It was a bit epic getting it out to the road, then having the tree farm pick it up to take to where they permitted vehicles.  Good thing there were four of us.  There was some talk of us getting a real tree this year but I think next year we are doing it for sure.  I am no longer worried that hubby will be allergic - he was completely fine during the whole trip after man-handling it all day and helping put it up.  I would be ok with a much smaller tree though.

There may have been some mulled wine and German Christmas cookies involved at the end of the day as well.  We left before she decorated it so I don't have a picture but I am sure it turned out great.  We will get to see it Friday night at her birthday party so I am looking forward to that.

On Monday hubby had to do two day business trip to Victoria so I took the opportunity to bake 10 dozen cookies and make some Christmas crack (carmel popcorn twists) for family members.  I tried the best fruitcake cookie recipe here but altered to recipe to include 2 cups of pecans instead of 4.  They turned out fabulous!  Hubby and Mom both think so but then again, we are a fruitcake loving family.  I added some Amaretto to the recipe for good measure.  The cookies on the right are mint chocolate chip and while very tasty they are too crumbly to fly with so I will bring them to my friend's birthday party on Friday night as have comitted to a dessert tray.  If you try the recipe it calls for 1 pound of mixed candy fruit and peel - for those of us who don't weigh their food that is about 4 cups.  The hardest part of making the recipe was stiring the fruit into the batter.  It made 6 dozen small cookies. 

All the gifts have been wrapped and all the Christmas cards are in the mail, both personal and business.  Things are getting done and Saturday we fly out to see the kids and my Mother-in-law for a very short 2 night trip.  Next year I don't think I want to do it so close to Christmas though, I really don't enjoy traveling at peak times.  Buddy is headed off to the sitter for the weekend, he gets to hang out with his Mom and Dad and a bunch of other animals so a bit like a weekend campout of fun.  He is always happy to see us when we return and he comes home totally exhausted. 

I bought a utility turkey for Christmas for .95 cents a pound, one less thing to have to worry about finding.  They usually are only missing some skin or a wing, and my family doesn't care what the bird looks like.  I have a few groceries to pick up next week when we get back from our trip and we need to wind business down and then we can relax for our week off.  Two kids are flying in on the 23 and out on the 26 so we will have a full house for a few days.

Somehow hubby and I have misplaced the centre piece to the lid (I remember washing it but when he dried the dishes he couldn't find it) on our 20 year old blender.  After a month of thinking it would turn up I am officially giving up and have purchased a blender on our 24 hour facebook bidding site.  I was thinking of buying a brand new one on boxing day but the better blenders can be pricey and you need a good blender for the frozen smoothies I make.  For the winning bid of $31 I am getting a Kitchenaid blender that is hardly used and only a couple of years old that would have originally sold in the $120 range.  I will thoroughly clean and disinfect it when I get it home later today but - buying used saves so much money people!

I even managed to buy a couple of Christmas gifts used this year - two ancient roman coins for the two kids that are traveling with us to Italy.  A very neat pre-souvenir (much different from the cheap tourist tat they will be selling everywhere) and very inexpensive at $7 each on ebay  from a reputable dealer as apparently Roman coins are very plentiful and therefore not expensive.  I hope they like them.  I also bought a brand new bath and body works set for $3 that retails for $30 in its original box that had never been opened  from the thrift store - in the scent my Stepdaughter loves.  I think people missed buying it as it was in the section of the store that housed Christmas cookie tins.  Anyway, it pays to shop used for both yourself and your family and I saved some money off our Christmas list this year doing it.

Later today I am giving myself a Christmas gift of hair streaks....at 48 my 10 gray hairs(according to the hairdresser) are becoming more noticeable so I am getting some professional streaks done so I look presentable.  We will see if it is worth it as I haven't had my hair coloured professionally in any way for about 7 years.  In the summer it tends to bleach out naturally so you can't see the grey but I got my hair cut 3 weeks ago and suddenly all the summer blonde was cut out and the grey showed - not pretty.

We have had fog off and on for the last several days so I am really hoping that doesn't alter our flying plans as several days in a row no flights left from our airport.  That is one of the hazards of living by the ocean, you sometimes get fog.  All fingers and toes are crossed that our flights go smoothly.  Next post will be after our return.  Have a great weekend everyone!