House Guests and Blizzards

Our friend H is going away for a few weeks and we get to hang out with his little dog Daisy, who is unbelievably adorable. She is less than half the size of Scooby; well, she used to be but in the past few months poor Daisy has packed on an extra pound or two.  Sadly, this translates to more than 10% of her body weight. So this visit is more than a holiday excursion for H.  For Daisy, it's a trip to the fat farm. 

She's doing well, so far, having walked up the road all the way to the cemetery and back, and all around our front yard.  On day two, it snowed and although Scooby loved it, bounding crazily all over the place, Daisy dislikes standing in the white stuff longer than required.  Her legs are so short that she has to tippytoe up just to pee on the snow.  Now when the door opens and we call the dogs, Scooby flashes past in a nano-second, but Daisy looks skeptically at me and waddles to the bottom step, does her business then climbs back up to the door and waits patiently to go back inside where it's warm and cozy.  Can't blame her, really.  

I scoop her up and carry her half way across the yard then let her down in the snow; she sighs and looks pleadingly at me, then trudges back to the porch.

The good news is that she's looking a bit more svelte and energetic.  She is learning how to sneak away with some of Scooby's kibble when we're not looking; she hides in her crate and it's the crunching noise that gives her away.  

Only 10 more days at the fat farm, Daisy! 

Little Drummer Line Boy

The school concert had the Drum Line performing as everyone entered the auditorium. It was chaotic and noisy, and it was really difficult to get a clear shot of J.  He's in a black Tshirt behind the red shirt. This is the Gr 8 Drum Line's first ever public performance.  Awesome! 

Merry Christmas to me! ... er... us!

Merry Christmas, one and all! What a fun time to bake and wrap and clean the house, and sit and admire the new porcelain tile in the foyer.  This is the best present ever, one that I will remember and appreciate every day for many, many years.  Scooby loves it, too!  Just look at that grin.

 

And on Christmas morning, we all stumbled down the stairs in our pjs and opened stockings and ate cookies and opened presents and ate cinnamon goofy buns (that Grandma made) and sipped hot chocolate and opened more presents.  A wonderful morning!  

It looks like J didn't get a shirt for Christmas.

Sixty-eight Plus Two

Happy Birthday, Bop!

December 22, was a milestone birthday for Bop: he turned 70!  I know, worth celebrating, right?  So we baked a cake, with buttercream icing, no less.  That Bop is 2000 kilometres away in the warm climes of Florida didn't slow us for a moment.  We thought, it's the thought that counts! And if he's too far away to enjoy the yummy goodness, well, I happen to know two teenage boys with large appetites, particularly for cake with buttercream icing.  We dialed up Skype and sang our hearts out and Bop blew out the candles long-distance.  I hope this was the happiest of days, Bop/Dad!  

Foyer Finish Line

The tile is well on its way to being finished in time for Christmas, to which I say a hearty "Yee haw!"  P started at the back door and worked his way past the newly tiled powder room and basement stairs.  This, of course, cut off access to the basement, which was going to limit our putting wood into the furnace. Then our brilliant son said to unlock the storm door, which opens onto a set of external stairs to the backyard.  So smart! P put on a parka and some snow boots and made it so.  Thus, we were able to remain toasty warm.  I'm sure P and I would have thought of it sooner or later. 

The challenge is keeping Scooby out of the mess and off the fresh tiles. We barricaded the kitchen off and closed the French doors in the living room, so that he could stay there, out if the way.

The next morning, once the first phase was dry, P started on the section towards the front door, still using the tile saw in the back porch.

The end is in sight!  We have to keep the front hall blocked off which means no using the front door, and no climbing on the tiles to get upstairs.  Yikes!  Our only functioning toilet is upstairs and I just had a GIANT glass of water.  Gotta go.

Woo Hoo!

SNOW DAY!!!!!!!!!!!!

Completely Floored

The sub floor is down and looking great, and I am beginning to hope for a tiled foyer before Santa comes.  I can't wait!  It's going to look like a brand new house!  

Construction in the House!

P was full of energy and grabbed a crowbar, ripping out the door frame to the basement to make room for the new subfloor.

 

He recruited a helper who offered muscle to move the wood and thoughtful advice, then he had to go finish his homework.

Along came helper #2, who needed a brownie to get cracking. You know what's wrong with these brownies?  They stick to your teeth.

An expert in electric screwdriver technology, helper #2 put in hundreds of wood screws to keep that subfloor in place.  

This is step one in the laying of the tile!  To be continued ...

Festive Prep

The annual shortbread baking extravaganza coincided with some other festive baking and managed to kick-start a Christmas spark in our house.

 J helped with the rolling and cutting, and careful placement of green sprinkles.

 Meanwhile, the tree was brought in and admired by all (don't mind the bare patches).

And then, a few busy days later, we trimmed that tree!  With the skirt underneath and a gift or two piquing our anticipation, it's beginning to look like Christmas.

Finding a Tree

 The hunt begins.  There are pines, spruce, maples and hawthorn trees on our front property. I'm thankful that they chose a spruce.

It looked really good from 30 feet down, full and lush.  P oiled up the trusty chainsaw and got busy.  But, it had a mind of its own and fell a few feet east of the intended target, in the branches of a pine tree.

 Stuck!

 To loosen it up and get it free of the pine, P cut a chunk of the trunk, then fastened a chain around the base.  J fired up the ATV and hauled it out of there.

The bottom branches had to be trimmed of, of course, as did a few feet of the bottom trunk. Now, how are we going to fit this in our living room?!?! 

Little Drummer Boy

Sammy on the skins, man, lookin' real cool, keepin' time and soundin' real sweet.

Tappin' the snares, thumpin' the bass, brushin' the cymbals, limbs workin' on their own, and grinnin' like he's havin' fun.

He's practising for next week's school concert, where he'll be performing in the jazz band, the wind ensemble and the drum line.  

 Excellent finish!  Applause!  Applause!

First We Take the Chicken

J wanted to roast a chicken and we used our awesome lemon chicken recipe. We rubbed it with garlic and sea salt, and then filled it with lemons. And by we I mean J.  He did it all, shirtless.

 Fantastic!  Delicious!  Gone! 

December Decor

 These planters were filled with bits of nature that I found around our property: cedar, honeysuckle and dogwood, all growing wild in the ravine!  I snipped and pruned and made an awesome winter planter display.  How much would you pay for something like this?  Of course, the fine dusting of snow was the most difficult part, carefully placing it on one flake at a time.  Tedious work.

This yew in the front flower bed is growing really nicely and the snow made me think of chopping our own tree down soon.  Not this one!  We have lots of fir and pine and cedars in the front woods, and I have my eye on one.  Now to find the chain saw ...