Christmas Calendar

Yesterday I went to watch my dance sisters perform at the Annual Tree Lighting at the old town square -it was a warm 8 degrees C but still cold when your costume isn't designed for outside. My feet were cold just standing on the street. The only good thing is that once you get going and you're moving around you might not notice the cold so much but still a tough place to perform.

I'm proud of them, they did really good. There was a small group of Children who sat on the street in front of the stage and watched very intently, some even wiggled their little bums in time to the music. It must be hard to compete when a visit with Santa is right next door to the stage!

My performance is less than a week away. I find myself practice parts, if not all, of my routines anywhere I can. And being fairly new to performing I'd like to be at the beginning of the show, but unfortunately one of the ladies in our group is returning from vacation - her plane lands at 4:15 and she thinks she'll make it in time for the show which is between 6 and 8 pm. I wonder if we'll be the last group performing? Or will we have to perform without her? Stay tuned until next week!

Lots of little things happening, November always seems busier than December these days. It seems like people assume that December schedules are busy and so things start to get scheduled for November - do you find that as well? I'm sure it must be even crazier in the US since Thanksgiving is this week as well. How's your holiday scheduling this year?

What I am thankful for

I'm cooking our Thanksgiving dinner today because we have a bunch of other things happening tomorrow. But true to my body, I woke up sick. It's not a surprise to me at all since there were many Christmases and Easters where I was in bed sick. Or I would get sick as soon as exams were over - that's how I missed my high school graduation party: I got all dressed up, went to the dinner and by the end of dinner I was sick. A teacher came into the bathroom and looked at me in disgust and said something to the effect of  "that's what you get for drinking so much". I guess she could say that since I was technically no longer a student and I'm sure it was the reason why many other kids were puking that night. But I hadn't had a drink. I had the flu. I spent the next 24 hours answering the phone from my friends calling to tell me about each fabulous party they were at, and wondering if I was better and if I could join them. I was home, sick in bed for at least 3 days.

It's not like being sick was on my mind - please don't tell me that through the law of attraction I brought this on. I haven't been sick in at least two years. Not even a cold. I'm not going to complain about being sick because I've dodged the sick bullets for a while.  I am just not surprised that in the middle of our Thanksgiving weekend that I am sick.

Still I have already walked the dog, made and baked the pumpkin pies. I just don't feeling like doing much else. I am thankful that we do not have a house full of people and I am thankful that I do not have to go to someone else's house. I am thankful we have a ham instead of a turkey and I am thankful that because it's only the three of us, I don't have to spend hours and hours in the kitchen (maybe two for dinner). I am thankful that I have tomorrow off and fully expect to feel better tomorrow. I am thankful it's s sunny day and I am thankful I am indoors and can rest in my comfy bed, which is where I'm going to go for the next couple of hours, with some yarn and knitting needles in my hands (of course).

How about you, what are your Sunday plans? 

End of Summer, or Beginning of Fall?

The beginning of September for many is like January 1st. For many it means new things - new pencils, books, clothes. For some, it's a new way of living as they start university living away from home in a dorm.

I imagine that last night there were many tears as parents tried to kid their young ones off to bed early for the first day of school after a summer of late nights. Which is why, I presume, the first day of school is also usually only a couple of hours - probably EVERYONE is exhausted.

But I too, like the beginning of September. Sometimes I take a new course. Or start a new hobby or journal. I take advantage of the cute notebooks and school supplies out there and pick up one or two items for myself. And each day I start my dog walk in the dark, waiting longer and longer for it to be light enough so I can put away my flashing light and to turn off Eco's collar light  - once I assume that people can see her (being dark brown has it's disadvantages in the dark).

I assume this time of year is meaningful to others when you hear songs like "September Morn" or "Try to Remember the First of September"  which longingly recall the glorious days at the end of summer. For us, we had a wonderful, textbook summer which was a little dry for our area, so even though it hasn't gotten cold yet (still no less than 12 degrees celsius) in the mornings there are some leaves falling due to our heat and the dryness. It's starting to feel like fall, and I'm starting to think of Thanksgiving and Halloween, and of course the fact that Christmas is only 3.5 months away -but I try not to get too far ahead of myself. And you? Does this time of year instill any great thoughts or memories?

It's Sunday Night Already?

Yesterday was a nice sunny day, so I spent most of the day in the garden putting away plants and ornaments and getting things ready for winter.

Then we were off to Jp's sister's house because we were  lucky enough to have a second Thanksgiving dinner, it's good to get the family together and enjoy yummy food. And one of the best parts was that his sister gave us the turkey carcass and leftover meat so we could make some turkey noodle soup! Yummy, guess what I'll be doing tomorrow.

I also worked on two little projects this weekend. The first is a little cuff to go around my thermal coffee container which sometimes dribbles if I don't dry the threads or the lid well enough, so I whipped up this little cozy using some leftover yarn and a crochet hook: 

I know I am solving the wrong problem - maybe I just wanted an excuse to crochet. 

And, I also did some embroidery as hand stitching is one of my favourite things.  I really liked these cute little Halloween bunnies plus I wanted to use my glow-in-the-dark thread: 

If you'd like to stitch one up too, the pattern can be found here. Be sure to tell me where I can see your photos in my comments as it's so much fun seeing how other people stitch things up! (In case you're wondering what's wrong with the Dracula bunny, my disappearning ink from my transfer pen didn't disappear fast enough and/or I didn't want to wait any longer for it to disappear! )

Now to watch TV - Boardwalk Empire and Dexter tonight.

Turkey Aftermath

Well the turkey came out great and we had a really good Thanksgiving dinner last night. The only thing that wasn't so great was the gravy - only because the recipe called for wine. I knew Jp doesn't like foods cooked in wine but I really thought it would cook out of the gravy and I wanted to follow the recipe - unfortunately he could taste it and didn't like it. Dang, I knew I should have left it out! All was not lost however because after dinner we put in back on the stove added some more broth and continued to cook it until the detectable wine flavour was gone, and now the gravy is even better. So much better that we had it for our "Thanksgiving brunch" which was fried mashed potatoes with bits of the turkey meat in the gravy. With cranberry sauce. Yum.

I learned something else while cooking yesterday - there are two things that I need a lot of on hand when I cook a turkey  - paper towels and dish soap. Since there was some handling of raw poultry surfaces had to be cleaned frequently, and the turkey needed to be dried off and such, I had to use several paper towels. Then after the meal there were a few items that needed hand washing and extra soap to remove the turkey fat residue. Wow, I sure went through a lot of both item - and I'm one who likes to conserve and avoid waste as much as I can. I guess it's all part of the cooking process.

Today is a rainy day, and I've been keeping my eye on the sky to see if the rain slows down so Eco and I can go out for our daily walk. Otherwise I plan to take it easy and do some sewing and reading and enjoy the day off. The fridge is pretty full and Jp knows how to cook so we'll share the cooking task today.

Did you have your Thanksgiving yesterday or will you have it today? Did you have turkey or ham or something else? 

Thanksgiving Already?

I can't believe it's already Thanksgiving weekend! It's interesting hearing all the different things people are doing this weekend. One person I know  in the Toronto area is going to their trailer for Saturday and Sunday - because it's expected to be 30 degrees! (that's a crazy warm temperature for October ) Another is cooking two turkeys for 17 people! Wow. I am not doing anything like that. I will be cleaning up my yard and working on my messy workroom/office. And Jp and I will have a quiet dinner  on Sunday.

I didn't think the turkey we bought was too small, until the cashier called it "cute". Oh well, we will eat well and we are thankful for the opportunity for good food and a warm house and a chance to rest and relax. I also better get some time for some embroidery or knitting too - it's been so long since I've picked anything up, especially since I was away all last week. I'd really like to make some Halloween crafts - it's time to start decorating for that.

What will you be doing this weekend?