Advent is here

Advent is here and the sense of excitement is building.  The Three Amigos as a child once described the Wise Men, are searching.  Folk seem friendlier.  All the decorations and night lights seem to make the villagers even more cheerful.  Due to my bum leg and crutches I decided to do all my Christmas shopping on line again this year.  I did it online last year too, but because we were down by the Mexican border.        

I bought all the grand-children a renewal of their subscriptions to National Geographic (kids versions). 

I also sent them cards with a cheque for their registered education funds.  They have way too many toys anyhow, and 10 years from now when heading off to University they may appreciate not getting a toy this year.  Then for all my other family, friends and the children I gave to Feed the Hungry. 

When we were visiting in November Nolan and Eden went through the brochure and chose the things they would like to give to a struggling family.  I explained this would be sent in their names from me, instead of finding a toy under their tree from us.  They were OK with that and circled 4-5 things important to them.This group is run by Mennonites and has filed a very low administration budget.  Our church recommended them years ago.  The youngest grand-daughter chose to give seed potatoes as she is into gardening.

Nolan chose school supplies and a hand washing station and a fish farm.Their parents gave away a pair of pigs. 

The other grand-daughters, way over in Ontario, love their own chickens so are donating a pair of chickens each.and their parents are getting a goat.  A teacher friend is getting a chalkboard. My rancher friend who has had operations over the year is donating wheelchairs.  It is kind of amusing choosing these gifts.  Field workers go to the villages and ask what they need, and provide the list to choose from.  So my shopping is done.  I got Old Man an electric razor from the Avon catalogue.  He prefers a straight razor but with his bad eye, he keeps cutting himself.  His beard isn't as tough as it used to be anyhow.  There, I am done and don't have to wrap anything except the razor.

Being immobile for most of the day helped me get all my snail- mail Christmas cards done, to folk who don't have computers or turn up their noses at e-cards.  I had also promised Amnesty International last month that I would write 10 letters for Human Rights day on Dec. the 10th.  But as I was stuck in the house I managed to write 20.  There are some perks to being house-bound.

Time to vote again

I agreed with everybody yesterday.   The bonsai oriental tree is the one I could have in my house.  However the one made out of recycled bicycles looks lovely on my computer desktop. 
Here are three photos of unusual trees for Wednesday.  #1 is a purple fluffy tree

#2 is a hillside tree

and #3 is a citrus slices tree                            

Christmas Trees to delight the imagination

I have been a bit bored with having to be seated most of the day with this damnable swollen leg and to have to use crutches for getting around.  I did a cursory job of mopping the floors today while dropping the mop 2x and a crutch once.  I am beginning to hate those things, except when I need to get to the bathroom or do ablutions.  Then they seem like technological wonders. 

I will post three pictures of Christmas trees during each blog, for your amusement over the next weeks.  Please let me know which is your favorite.  Mine today is...... you guess...

 

                                                                  

Here are a few of my favorite novel trees I have found on the Internet.  Some people have a lot more imagination than I do.  I plan to just put up a little fibre-optic thing on an end table and some mantle decorations.  I have two poinsettias too in different rooms.  

VOTE:    Do you like #1 Bonsai  or #2 bottles  or #3 bicycles?  Of course you could say 'none of the above'.

The 9th

I don't usually forward   youtube  stuff but this one really helped me to get into the Advent Spirit of Expectation and Hopefulness.  I have watched it 5x now.

http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=GBaHPND2QJg&feature=youtu.be

It's beginning to look a lot ........

                    

                    


Our Landlord began decorating a few days ago.  Here are the stairs up to his suite with nutcrackers from all over the world on each side of his stairs. The grandchildren get to open the box and decide who belongs on which step.  It is always fun to open the decorations box and visit old friends every December.  Each nutcracker is unique and collected on trips.  What a delightful memory this will be for his children and grandchildren.  Every family builds its own traditions.

We got a call asking if the Arts Society could use our truck for the Santa parade tonight.  I call my truck Henry.  He looks a little embarrassed to me.  Imagine having to have bows on your feet and a teddy bear on your bum.  It tried to snow this morning but didn't stick.  The parade is after dark with lots of blaring music.  I did not go as I am on crutches.  After the parade is shopping madness until midnight.  I won't be going to that either. 

The Landlord hung wreaths on the entrance door, his office and our living room door.  Things are starting to feel a lot like Christmas.

My Birthday

We had settled in well to our new freshly-redone ground floor suite.  My birthday came along so it was time to splurge a bit. 

                                            

My standard answer when students asked me how old I happened to be on my birthday each November was, "The same age Christ was when they killed him."  Then they would have to do some research.  Or I would say, "Sweet 16 and never been kissed."  Some just wandered away happy.  Others were puzzled, and a few scoffed or groaned.  Actually I turned 68.  I don't know how the hell that happened.  For my birthday this year we went out to dinner to try a new village restaurant.  The food was passable but we won't go there again.  We have other places we like better.  Or it might be a good afternoon coffee spot in warmer weather as it has a lovely courtyard area. 

Then Old Man went to the Legion to play crib and I went with friends to see a Shakespearean spoof called "A Midsummer

Night's Midterm".   It was about a group of students who were struggling to understand the original story.  I learned some things from their studies and explanations to each other while seated in front of the left wing, in a small area made to look like  a corner of one of their living rooms.  The original play was being acted out on the rest of the stage and would freeze as the students discussed their impressions such as, "That woman needs therapy."  or   "Can't she see he is just not into her."  I especially enjoyed the antics of a woman playing Puck.   In real life she takes in foster children. 

This is my friend Andrea who with her partner Nadine organize the Arts for the area under their umbrella organization called Winding Rivers Arts and Performance or WRAP.   I was amazed at the quality of talent in this small area of Canada.  Actors came from several local villages to put this on in the Ashcroft Community Hall. What a delightful birthday present this was.  I laughed and laughed and enjoyed my evening so much.  Thanks everybody. 

PATIENCE PLEASE

Well, I should be able to catch up to all my blogger friends and do some more of my own as I am housebound.  We were at our cottage the last few days of December to clean up after our last renters.  They left dog shit in the back yard and didn't vacuum or wash floors on their way out.  They didn't clean the ceiling fans in each room either, or the windows, or wash the curtains.  It was looking good when we went there in the middle of the month and they had been so responsible that I gave them their damage deposit back.  They were not sleeping there anymore and only had a vacuum and cleaning supplies left.  I am such an naive nerd. 

I hired a painter for 3 days to freshen this room as it hadn't been done for 12-15 years.  It was looking tired.  I had to wash all the walls with TSP and do the prep while he painted behind me.  I also got him to do the inside of the pantry which I had washed and primed (as the paint was 25 years old) so we weren't sure if it was oil-based or latex.  So while cleaning the outside windows on a step stool that wasn't set down evenly, I got bucked off onto my butt and right knee.  Fortunately a friend had come to see the paint colours and heard me fall.  Old Man didn't.  She went back to her house and got me some crutches.  I had a sleepless night using Ibuprophen.  It was very swollen very quickly and would not hold any weight.  The other leg was scraped and bruised too, but useable,  thank God.  My friend finished up a list of things I still had to do the next day after the painter and the not-so-fastidious former renters. The new renter got moved in on time. 

I am now on crutches, with a knee brace that another friend brought me and showed me how to use.  It is an annoying thing to work with, using all those velcro straps that keep trying to copulate, but I am getting it organized now and it surely does relieve the strain.I had been wishing for one of Charlie's elastic stockings.  My friends were on the spot  and have visited and swept floors and washed all my pajamas..... I call them my Cinderella Crones, instead of my Camping Crones right now.

               I will be very frustrated/bored for a few weeks.  It takes forever to do morning ablutions and get on a fresh set of pajamas. 

But I will catch up with all of you and maybe write about a few more pleasant things that happened over the last few weeks.  I am going to do all my Christmas shopping on line and have letters I need to write for Amnesty International before Human Rights Day on December 10. 

After only 3 days it is hardly painful at all,  unless I try to do ballet plies.  I am putting some weight on it but afraid to move without the crutches yet.  The swelling is going down.  The bruises are getting darker and itchy so things are improving.