In My World

No matter what you celebrate or don't celebrate during December, I hope it has been a wonderful time for you. I have had some really horrible Christmases in my life and I've had some that were very special. I think this year has been incredibly special. I joined my older son, daughter-in-law and handsome grandsons to decorate their Christmas tree and take some photos. We took the grandsons shopping to buy presents for their parents.  They wrapped them at our place and then Grandpa read them Twas the Night before Christmas before we took them back home. Our first Christmas party was at a Chinese restaurant with some of Hal's family.  They haven't sent me any photos YET. Christmas Eve was pot luck supper at my mom's.  There was so much food.  I think I managed to hug everyone there.  I did my best anyway . . . LOL.  So wonderful to spend time with my extended family. After Mom's pot luck we popped in at my brother Dan's for a ...

My Personality Type: The Good-natured Realist Good-natured Realists are warm-hearted, helpful personalities. They do their work conscientiously and have a pronounced organising talent. They often feel they are committed to traditional values. The family in particular is extremely important to Good-natured Realists. Their greatest pleasure is making themselves useful and taking care of other people. But they do not like pushing themselves to the fore; they prefer to fulfil their tasks out of the limelight. Good-natured Realists are real workaholics; they are very reliable and nothing is too much for them when it is a question of completing a project. Thoroughness, conscientiousness and sense of duty are their strongest points. They prefer established and familiar situations to new and unknown situations. In dealing with others, Good-natured Realists are considerate and obliging; they are always happy to put aside their own requirements in the interest of their family and friends...

I LOVE SANTA CLAUS . . . I ran into him at Brix N Stix at the Elgin Mall late last night . . . we were both shopping . . .

Number one of the Top 250 movies according to IMDB is The Shawshank Redemption .  Starring Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman, it is the story of a young banker, convicted for the murder of his wife and her lover, and his life in prison. Both Robbins and Freeman give award worthy performances in this great story of hope.  My favourite scene is right after the arrival of donations for the prison library.  That is all I am going to say except that it is an uplifting moment.  The ending of the story is spectacular and I cheered out loud. It is good to never lose hope . . . and to be a very clever banker. If you've seen this movie before, why not watch it again?  If you have never watched this movie, I really think you should.  But Parental Guidance is definitely necessary. Enjoy!!

Hal & I - Christmas 2012 I love Christmas for no particular reason and every reason . . . fun, friends, family, food . . . the excitement just makes me happy.  I've learned not to go overboard . . . you don't have to accept every invitation, you can use paper plates and you don't have to spend a zillion dollars on every person on your list.  And I think that is why I enjoy the season so much. At hubby's company Christmas party . . . my halo kept falling off . . .  I was starting to worry a bit this year that we might not be ready for Christmas because my dear hubby has not had much time off.  Today we got most of our shopping done and we are getting organized around the house.  Right now he is making Christmas presents . . . shhhhhh don't tell . . . Wishing you all a safe and happy 'whatever you celebrate' at this time of year . . .

The final stop on our Fathers' Day tour was to the St. Mary's Quarry in St. Mary's ON. As you can see from the photos the quarry is stunning and the water is so clear that despite its depth you can still see right down to the bottom. Once a limestone quarry, it has been rehabilitated for swimming. The Quarry is now Canada’s largest outdoor freshwater swimming pool. This exciting attraction includes high and low dives, cliff jumping, and a slide. There is a large grassed area for picnics or sunbathing, sand volleyball and there is a tiki hut for snacks. Spend an hour or a full day! The price was very reasonable, especially since it is quite possible to spend the entire day there thanks to the excellent facilities. This is as close as I get to jumping in . . . LOL . . . I can't swim enough to save myself. But I did enjoy relaxing in a muskoka chair under a shady tree while the kids and grandkids had a great time.

Some days I just feel like I don't want to do a darn thing.   Usually this happens at a time when it is impossible to take a day off . . . like two weeks before Christmas.  I have gifts to make, a house to decorate, shopping to do, Christmas cards to make (although it may already be too late for that).  Plus everything non-Christmassy that I need to accomplish like a hair cut, clean my house, plan classes, take classes, read, work My Dreaded To Do List . . . and on and on and on . . .  And we have places to go and people to visit. Having a busy schedule generally makes me happy. I don't like not having something to do (do you love the double negative?).  In fact, I drive my dear hubby crazy because if we are watching a show I either have a project in my hands like knitting or I jump up at every commercial to do something. I have overbooked myself.  I think that is the problem.  But as I look at my list I can't see anything I want to cut out...

We had a truly fabulous time at Rheo Thompson Candies .  It took a long time to narrow down what we were going to buy because everything looked and smelled so good.  Look, Hal even found a chocolate tie! The decor was elegant.  The staff were very helpful.  I can't think of a single negative thing to say about this business.  I thought that the prices were quite good as well. I ended up purchasing a special treat for myself -- toasted coconut marshmallows -- not the gooey store-bought kind, but really soft, pillowy, sweet marshmallows.  Oh I want to go back there now . . . 

We really enjoyed our stop at Jenn and Larry's just across the road from our boat cruise. We bought peanut brittle to snack on and it was delicious. The store decor was so old fashioned and marvellous. Larry was wearing whites just like a soda jerk from years gone by. Definitely worth a visit. We did not try the milk shakes but we have a definite reason to go back just to try them. According to their Facebook page , Jenny's Peanut Brittle was founded in 1999, and has quickly become the best brittle in Stratford! Her peanut brittle sells out at culinary festivals, craft sales, events and Christmas time. Jenny has outgrowing her kitchen, and needed a new location to create her ever so popular peanut brittle! Jenn's father, Larry, and her mother, Gail, owned and operated Larry and Gail's Drive In on the highway to Sebringville from 1967-1974. Larry was famous for making delicious homemade milkshakes and dreamed about breaking out his 1953 Hamilton Beach milkshake mak...

The second last stop on our Father's Day 2013 road trip was to check out McCully's Hill Farm Market.  We had a great time checking out the wide variety of fresh, frozen and canned products.  I came home with rhubarb strawberry jam and chili sauce, both delicious.  We did not partake of anything else we saw listed on their website  because the day was passing quickly and we wanted to make it to our final stop, which you will be hearing about very soon.  I would like to go back when we have more time to see what else is available to see and do at the Farm.

One of our stops on Fathers' Day was to Avon Boat Rentals .  Avon Boat Rentals has the cruise boat and you can also rent paddle boats and canoes.  There was actually a series of votes necessary to decide which form of river transportation we were going to use.  We finally agreed to take the cruise. W It had been raining and our 'captain' was busy drying everything off in preparation for our cruise.  hile we were waiting we purchased swan food and began feeding every web footed creature we found . . . geese, swans, ducks . . .  I really enjoyed our leisurely float down the river.  I thought the price was very reasonable.  I recommend this boat cruise.

I LOVE TO READ!  LOVE, LOVE, LOVE.  My dear hubby has suggested that if I couldn't find a book to read, I would read the corn flakes box . . . LOL . . . and he is very right. I found this great website The Greatest Books of All Time and I'm challenging myself to read or re-read each one over the next year, starting now. So be prepared for lots of book reviews in December and throughout 2014.  I'll keep you up-to-date on what book I am reading and I would love to hear your opinions of it.  I'm hoping for this to be a very interactive project.   Any locals want to get together to form a book club to read the Greatest Books of All Time?  I'd be happy to host. So the first book on the list is  Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes.  I found a free copy at DailyLit . How can you not enjoy a book with this description:   The greatest book about why you shouldn’t read books, weirdly written at a time when there weren’t that many books to re...

Wow . . . I really didn't get much knitting done this month . . . and yet I felt like I was busy every minute . . .  At least I have two finishes to share: This washcloth is from the  Monthly Dishcloth blog .   This strip is for the mystery knit-along blanket at Holiday Mystery Gifts group .

These are photos of a friend's daughter.  I was "kid-sitting" her and found out she had never been to a fire muster parade . . . so we went.  I want a really cutesy title for this layout but I just haven't come up with the perfect one yet.  Any ideas? The rub ons I selected to decorate the next few pages turned out not to work and, and since I had nothing else in mind, I decided to leave them plain.  Today I was out running errands and spotted some great science-y clear stickers which may find their way on to these pages.  We'll see. This was my entry for a LSS monthly contest.  Somehow I missed the memo that said you couldn't put the photos on . . . sigh . . . Oh well, I really love this layout and the quirky wonderful people in the photos. This layout was the basis for my very first All About Me 2014 class.  Obviously each student got to pick their own papers and embellishments.  But you know how I love fall colo...