Christmas Countdown - 2016

[Holiday]

Good Friday morning! I'm working the afternoon/evening shift and can't wait for this work week to be over. I'll be going to the walk-in clinic tomorrow, I've put it off for too long now. David had his MRI yesterday. He has to make an appoitment to see a doctor next week to get the results and see what the course of action will be. We feel so behind for Christmas with all that's happened this week. It's turned quite cold overnight (-13°C/9°F) and the snow we had last night has stuck. They announce a lot of it on Monday too. I'm happy to have a white Christmas but we don't need that much snow. Hope everyone will have a great day ahead!

I hope you & David are both feeling better by now! xx

 

[Holiday]

Umm, everything is white outside this morning. That wasn't supposed to happen.

Yes! I noticed that too. You guys had more snow than we did. It was fun to shop in...even though COLD!!!

 

[Holiday]

Good morning, everyone! We had a pretty cold night here last night for TX...in the low 20's. I sure wish we could have gotten some snow! We're going to be back up to 70° in a couple days.

I'm leaving in an hour to visit my mom for the weekend. It'll be just me and my little guy. He's been very excited to go!

Things are moving WAY too quickly for me. I've been much busier than usual this year.. So many preparations and packages and gift-making. But I've also gone to many tree-lighting, parades, and watched several Christmas movies already. It's like, the more festive I try to make everything, the faster time flies. It's a terrible paradox. In past years, when I haven't had much to do, Christmas time lasted longer but I was sad because I didn't enjoy it with enough festivities. Lol.

Wow - that does sound cold for TX!! Hope you had a great weekend with your Mom!

I guess that's where the saying "Time Fly's When You're Having Fun" comes from. It's so true!! I totally understand!! That's why we have to enjoy every single minute.
Have a great day!

 

[Martine]

Loki just went for his walk in the snow. Here he is in his little sweater.

 

[Holiday]

Morning MMC! It's a full blown Christmas weekend. Going to get some food for the big Christmas Eve dinner today, a little more Christmas shopping and begin wrapping while watching more Christmas shows. No wonder I love this time of year more than any other. Rollins is up and around. I can't believe how he jumps so high. It's crazy. I'm not sure if it's normal. He can jump from the floor on top of the dining room table without a running start. When he stands up against me and lets go he "hangs in the air" standing straight before finally landing back on the floor. It's weird. My brother thinks we should put him in the circus. Have a great Saturday!

Too funny! What a dog!

 

[Holiday]

Merry Two Weeks Until Christmas!

(so hard to believe)

I will be spending my first Christmas ever not in the snowy UP of Michigan, but in the desert heat of Arizona, as I spend it with my daughter and son-in-law. We have a full week planned, so it will be fun, plus it's an unwritten rule that my daughter and I will spend each Christmas together as long as the Good Lord allows

We are already making plans for next year's Christmas to be spent back north, we're Northerners through and through...but we have this Christmas to add to our annual parade of memories.

Have a great Sunday, everyone. I have the hot cocoa and two versions of A Christmas Carol (Alistair Sim ; George C Scott) ready to watch.

Make it a Christmas Sunday!

That's quite a change from the UP to Arizona!! I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas - I'm sure you will!

 

[Holiday]

My dear Christmas friends...the Christmas music is on, the coffee is hot, it is 30 degrees outside....and I hear a baboon behind me. Yes, a baboon. Bambina is acting like a baboon. Don't ask me, I don't know. For the most part, it is pretty festive and Christmassy...except for the zoo animal....who has started transitioning to a wolf.....I don't know...

We went and did a little shopping last night. I think it is fun to be out and see everyone in the middle of the hustle and bustle of Christmas....we still have a little bit more to go...but we will wrap that up this week.

I'm gonna do a little Christmas cooking today and watch a few movies. School has one more week. We give tests and get out at 1:30 all week, so it will be a pretty good week. I hope visit again before tomorrow. Yall have a great day!

Oh Bambina! This cracked me up!

 

[Holiday]

Morning MMC holiday enjoyers!! Had small snow storm early this morning, quiet brisk outside here atm. On a high note...2 loafs of Sourdough bread are in the oven now!!

Mmmm - I'm sure it tastes as good as your house smelled!!

 

[Holiday]

Happy Two-Weeks-to-Christmas Sunday!

The pre-Christmas pressure is starting to ease up a bit here, and I've been able to relax a little and watch some Christmas movies and other Christmas videos. I have some great musical Christmas programs on video: stuff from the old Bell Telephone Hour, the Pavarotti concert in Montreal, the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, etc. I've been having a wonderful time with them!

One more day off tomorrow---the last one until Dec. 23. Then tomorrow night is the "Scrooge" film show in Newton (weather permitting! keep your fingers crossed!), then it's back to work Tuesday. Just as I'm getting some free time and am able to relax! But I'm grateful to have that job. And Christmas is an extra-long weekend this year, because I'm taking the 23rd off, and we get the 26th off because Christmas falls on a Sunday.

And there's most of today left to enjoy! Next on the agenda is some tea and Christmas video!

Enjoy your day off! Fingers crossed you can see The Scrooge tonight & I hope you enjoy!!!

 

[NcGunny]

Happy New Week, everyone!

This is my last day off (except weekends) until the 23rd. Time to get some wrapping done, I think. A bit of overnight snow has changed to rain, but that's fine---snow would cancel the "Scrooge" screening tonight, and I want to see how an audience likes Sir Seymour. Depending on how energetic I feel, maybe I'll make a batch of sugar cookie dough to freeze and bake later. Have a Christmassy day, all!

Merry have you ever tried making the Ginger Bread dough ahead and freezing it?

 

[Edge612]

Too funny! What a dog!

Getting him was the best thing I did this year (even though he really chose us).

 

[Crown 84]

Thanks Crown! Can't believe we can say NEXT WEEK is CHRISTMAS!

Quite remarkable, isn't it?

 

[Edge612]

Quite remarkable, isn't it?

Absolutely. It's an awesome feeling to be as close as we are.

 

[NcGunny]

Mmmm - I'm sure it tastes as good as your house smelled!!

The starter is so tart it puckers your mouth...bread didnt have much sour taste and the bottoms got rather tough. No more loafs for me. Back to the dutch oven and round loafs again.

 

[MerryCarey]

Merry have you ever tried making the Ginger Bread dough ahead and freezing it?

No ... I've only ever made gingerbread from a box mix, I'm afraid!

The sugar cookie recipe is one that a neighbor shared with my mom when I was a baby, and it's the one my mom always used. It's in the MMC cookbook that came out a few years ago. (I still have the very slip of paper that Mrs. Spurrier wrote it out on.) That's the recipe I want to make, and then freeze the dough so I can bake them this coming weekend. It doesn't have many ingredients, so I figure the dough will freeze well. We'll see if enough time is left between wrapping gifts and leaving for the movie tonight.

 

[Festive Spirit]

Loki just went for his walk in the snow. Here he is in his little sweater.
View attachment 34927

oh my goodness how adorable!

 

[snowflake22]

View attachment 34864

It's crazy how quickly Christmas is coming. Tomorrow we are expecting 15 to 20cm of snow in Etobicoke (close to Toronto for my American friends). Today, while Mary was sleeping, my wife and I did the ginger bread house. Next year we will include her. She's only 10 months, so we decided she's just a little too young.

Tomorrow afternoon before the storm arrives, we are going to The Country Club for brunch and Mary will get to meet Santa. Very exciting stuff.

Also, I found a real photo of Santa and his reindeer flying above a city (included above). It's proof of the big man and his wonderful magic.

*Love the photo*
I will always believe!

Hope you guys has fun with Santa!

Merry Christmas, Mike!

Hope everyone had a great Saturday. Carolina has an ear infection as I kind of expected. Mike was spending the weekend with his best friend who was down from Lancaster to visit, so my parents traded off with me so I could go to Philly and enjoy the Christmas things with my brother and cousin. We went to the Comcast Center, Christmas Village at City Hall and Dickens Village and light show at Macys. It was a lot of fun as I have never been to any of it. We took the train over instead of driving.

My parents took Carolina to Historic Smithville. They said she had a blast and was so excited. After they came home and went to Panera Bread. They said she seemed much better so I am hoping the cold air did her good,

Have a great night everyone

Hope Carolina feels better soon, and heals quickly!
It sounds like you guys had a fun & festive weekend!!
Have a merry week, nmc~

Good Sunday morning, Christmas friends!

We have shopped all weekend, and I am BEAT! We spent hours last night at a nearby Tanger Outlet Mall. I can verify that there is very little of interest at this mall for a dude. At least not enough to hold his attention for 4 hours. Ugh. I did find a kitchen tools store, and I stayed there most of the evening, at least when Nancy and her sister weren't making me take bags to the car LOL.

We're going to mama's for lunch after church, then I have to go pickup a piece of furniture she bought and take it back to her house.

I hope y'all have a great day!

Happy Monday, Brad!
It sounds like you're all shopped out
Hope you had a nice, relaxing rest of your weekend, Brad.
Have a great week

Good Sunday everyone!!!!!the days are passing and Christmas day is approaching fast!!!!i am so excited.merry christmas season everyone!!!!!!

Merry Christmas to you & yours, niktsak!!

Merry Two Weeks Until Christmas!

(so hard to believe)

I will be spending my first Christmas ever not in the snowy UP of Michigan, but in the desert heat of Arizona, as I spend it with my daughter and son-in-law. We have a full week planned, so it will be fun, plus it's an unwritten rule that my daughter and I will spend each Christmas together as long as the Good Lord allows

We are already making plans for next year's Christmas to be spent back north, we're Northerners through and through...but we have this Christmas to add to our annual parade of memories.

Have a great Sunday, everyone. I have the hot cocoa and two versions of A Christmas Carol (Alistair Sim ; George C Scott) ready to watch.

Make it a Christmas Sunday!

Merry Christmas, Classic Christmas!!
Have a wonderful holiday in Arizona with your daughter & SIL!!

Good Sunday morning! Feeling somewhat better but still not 100%. I have some errands to run this morning and I hope to get the Christmas tree finished afterwards. Really late on that this year. Tonight our management team is meeting at a restaurant, we've done that the past couple of years, it's like a tradition now. Today is a sunny and COLD day and snow will start sometime tonight and continue tomorrow. Looks like it will be a white Christmas this year. Hope everyone is having a great weekend.

Happy Monday, Martine~
Hope you feel better and back to 100% very soon <3
Stay warm, and have a merry week!

My dear Christmas friends...the Christmas music is on, the coffee is hot, it is 30 degrees outside....and I hear a baboon behind me. Yes, a baboon. Bambina is acting like a baboon. Don't ask me, I don't know. For the most part, it is pretty festive and Christmassy...except for the zoo animal....who has started transitioning to a wolf.....I don't know...

We went and did a little shopping last night. I think it is fun to be out and see everyone in the middle of the hustle and bustle of Christmas....we still have a little bit more to go...but we will wrap that up this week.

I'm gonna do a little Christmas cooking today and watch a few movies. School has one more week. We give tests and get out at 1:30 all week, so it will be a pretty good week. I hope visit again before tomorrow. Yall have a great day!

Too cute!
Merry Christmas to you & your family, coach!

View attachment 34880 No ribbon and less lights this year, because David can't lift his right arm much yet, but the tree is finished! And you can see the changing colours of the tape lights around our patio door.
View attachment 34879

Beautiful, Martine! Love it!

It wasn't, I was smiling at it.

Good evening,

I wasn't able to be here the last two days, my wife and I were wrapping presents Friday, and of course yesterday we made our trip to New York City. It was quite an experience, but I have now scratched off the number one thing off my Christmas bucket list. Seeing the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree in person. I was in awe when I saw it, smiling like a kid seeing Santa. I also bought an ornament of the Rockefeller Tree while there. We walked miles and miles up and down 5th Avenue, saw store windows, visited Macy's on 34th st. I can't believe there are 8 floors there, and every floor has its own restaurant. We went to see Santaland but the line was a 2.5 hour wait. We also went to Times Square, a bunch of shops, overpaid for food. We had a great time, but I would be happy if I never set foot again in NYC, I saw my tree, and it was everything I wanted it to be. We slept on the bus ride home, and then when we got home I slept another 9 hours uninterrupted. It was an exhausting day.
There is a snowstorm going on right now, they are predicting 3-5 inches with freezing rain in the morning, so it may be a treacherous trip into work.
Finishing up "Scrooge" (Albert Finney) right now, and then off to bed.
I hope you all had a great weekend.
Goodnight, everyone.

Gorgeous photos, friend!!
So glad you had such a phenomenal time!!

I love the Albert Finney version of Scrooge, we watch it every year too.

Stay safe out there today, and have a great start to your week

 

[Holiday]

View attachment 34880 No ribbon and less lights this year, because David can't lift his right arm much yet, but the tree is finished! And you can see the changing colours of the tape lights around our patio door.
View attachment 34879

Looks so beautiful!!!!

 

[Holiday]

Well, it is Sunday and this week is the last full week of school. The following week is semester exams Monday-Wednesday.
The weather did not turn out as great as I had hoped this weekend. We had snow showers Friday, which was nice. Then, last night we got about half an inch. Then today, it turned to rain.
We are suppose to have really cold temperatures again mid week. Then a "storm" of some sort next weekend. They keep changing the forecast. Hoping for snow next weekend.

Of course my Browns lost (again). But Army beat Navy for the first time in 14 years!
I hope everyone has had a great weekend!

Hey, my Browns lost yesterday too!

 

[Holiday]

Good evening,

I wasn't able to be here the last two days, my wife and I were wrapping presents Friday, and of course yesterday we made our trip to New York City. It was quite an experience, but I have now scratched off the number one thing off my Christmas bucket list. Seeing the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree in person. I was in awe when I saw it, smiling like a kid seeing Santa. I also bought an ornament of the Rockefeller Tree while there. We walked miles and miles up and down 5th Avenue, saw store windows, visited Macy's on 34th st. I can't believe there are 8 floors there, and every floor has its own restaurant. We went to see Santaland but the line was a 2.5 hour wait. We also went to Times Square, a bunch of shops, overpaid for food. We had a great time, but I would be happy if I never set foot again in NYC, I saw my tree, and it was everything I wanted it to be. We slept on the bus ride home, and then when we got home I slept another 9 hours uninterrupted. It was an exhausting day.
There is a snowstorm going on right now, they are predicting 3-5 inches with freezing rain in the morning, so it may be a treacherous trip into work.
Finishing up "Scrooge" (Albert Finney) right now, and then off to bed.
I hope you all had a great weekend.
Goodnight, everyone.

What an amazing trip!!! Thanks for sharing!