Christmas 2017

[cheryl9]

Hello everyone

Christmas 2017 is here! If you are reading this then you are definitely alive and that alone is worth celebrating!

When I was diagnosed all they would initially tell me is that there was a large tumor in my bladder. Initial research meant there was a good chance I wouldn’t see Christmas (9-11 month survival rate for invasive). I now have three Christmases under my belt and heading for the fourth one. Bumps and bruises along the way but definitely worth celebrating.

So, this is what this topic is about. Celebrating. Christmas or whatever. I will continue to post through the Christmas season and Ukrainian Christmas. Please join in and tell everyone about your Christmas or anything else you are thankful for.

Take care out there
Cheryl

[cheryl9]

Hello everyone

I will get things started. Decorations are up and they are extensive in our household. Two large trees and several small trees. Didn’t start out that way but morphed into it. When children were small I did a tree decorated with toys. One day oldest son decided the toys were embarrassing. Yes, he had become a teenager. So I did a traditional tree but, in defiance, continued with the toy tree. Told him to give it ten years or so and he would once again appreciate the toy tree. Toy tree is on the balcony overlooking the main floor. Traditional tree is beside the fireplace on the main floor. Small trees include gifted trees. Friends find out I like something then I get inundated with gifts of that item. That is also why my house has a multitude of nutcrackers in it. Toy tree has a bunch of 4 inch ones and have others that are up to four feet tall spread throughout the house. Also have a cat that likes to eat their beards. We call the nutcrackers her minions.

Baking is done and I see I have freezer raiders (two sons are still at home) so I will have to redo some of the baking this week. Two weekends of company behind us and more to come this weekend. Annual Christmas supper with friends was a wonderful get together and a chance for all of us to catch our breath. Fourteen were able to make it this year including a friend recovering from a stroke six weeks ago. First outing since the stroke that wasn’t for an appointment or rehab. He still hasn’t grasped that being alive is what counts and so what if one arm functions a little slower. Small price to pay.

Presents are all bought except goofed on one so have to go back to Saskatoon to get a larger one. Husband took youngest son to Florida in May for a music festival. He got to see four of his favorite bands. Plan to take a number of signed posters and memorabilia and put it into a shadow box for him. Making the extra effort because he is one that doesn’t ask for anything. Makes gift giving really difficult for him so making the extra effort on this gift.

Christmas will have our house humming. Each year I go looking for people that will be alone at Christmas and invite them to join us. So far there may be five extras this year. Amazing how people appreciate the invite. Even ones that have found someone to spend Christmas with light up when they get an invitation they can turn down.

Anyway, even if you are a Christmas humbug, at least you get the chance to be a Christmas humbug. So much better to be on the up side of the grass (or snow) than on the underside.

Christmas is what it is. Grab it, hug it, take a deep breath and don’t let it slip away. You made it to another one and that is priceless.

Take care
Cheryl

[marysue]

Hi Cheryl:

What a great post!

I’m nearly ready for Christmas – just have to wrap the gifts and do a last minute food shop. We are down a few folk this year. Our oldest son and his fiancé will be with her family in Mexico City. They leave tomorrow AM early and I hope they get away before the big snow dump arrives tomorrow.

We will be celebrating Christmas Eve with only our two youngest and the second son and his girlfriend have a “misfits” dinner planned for all the Christmas orphans in their crowd. Even though we will miss them, we support their efforts. Christmas AM will be a brunch and gift opening while the turkey cooks and once that bird is done we will take it over to my in-laws and have dinner there with the extended family and a few close family friends.

We will enjoy what I call a “East meets West” Christmas dinner. In addition to the bird that I bring which is the size of a young ptaradactyl, my sister-in-law also cooks a second bird or a large ham. Every one else brings sides and desserts, some Asian and some western. We have games that we play and someone always puts the Christmas music on. We often dig out photos from past Christmases especially from the times when the kids were little. We are working on the next generation in our family now. I don’t have grand kids yet but we have several great nieces and nephews. Two great nephews will be joining us and it will be fun to have the enjoyment of two little ones.

We will be looking after our oldest son’s pets; a large lop rabbit and three chinchillas. Our grand-pets, we call them. Their cat will be cared for by the upstairs neighbours and we will check on him a few times as well to make sure that he is faring okay alone. We can’t take him in as we have a small rabbit and he has already tried to kill the chins once. So I think even though we have less human bodies we have more furry four legged guests to feed and entertain.

I’m grateful for my hubby, family and friends and the fact that I have the ability to semi-retire and not panic when pre Christmas extra expenses hit like two weeks ago when the hot water tank blew flooding our basement. Thankfully there wasn’t any real damage as it was caught early because we were home when it happened. Life is good, life is messy but it is what it is.

I wish all a very Merry Christmas and the best for 2018. (((((((HUGS))))))

[Saldcorn]

Cheryl and Marysue,
You two are fabulous! Enjoy every second with friends and family. Thank you for your positivity… it’s a great Christmas gift to all of us.

Sue

[cheryl9]

Hello everyone

Wow, Christmas tomorrow. Can’t believe time has gone so fast. House is like a revolving door this weekend. Sons’ friends are frequenting the place this weekend. Some leave and more arrive! Have to take a second look to determine who is actually here.

Lots of laughs and it is awesome to hear. Helps keep one’s mind off the cold weather we are heading into. Looking at a week of -30 or colder at night and this is before the windchill. Anyway, hauled a bunch of wood to the house so the fireplace can be roaring all through Christmas. Love the warmth from the fireplace. It envelopes a person with a big warm hug.

Usually I would say company starts arriving Christmas Eve but they are already here! Freezers (yes, I have two freezers) are stocked with food, the trees (I have two full-sized and three small trees) are glowing and presents are all wrapped and under the tree. Menus are set to go for the next couple days. Guess this means I am ready for Christmas!

Wishing everyone a great Christmas. Reading this means you are alive and that is what counts. We have all had our scares and feel we have stared death straight in the face. Makes life that much more precious. Whatever your Christmas happens to be, you are still alive to experience it and that is what counts.

Merry Christmas and take care
Cheryl

[Jack Moon]

Thanks for sharing Cheryl and Marysue. All shopping is complete and yesterday was spend shoveling snow and wrapping gifts. All we have left is some groceries to pick up this morning. Will be having a quiet Christmas Eve and then all the fun starts early tomorrow morning. Off to our youngest son’s home around 8am for breakfast and enjoy watching our 3 year old grandson open gifts and then off to our daughter’s home in Guelph where all the family meets for Christmas dinner, I think the last count was 18 of us.
Merry Christmas to all and have a safe holiday.
Jack

[cheryl9]

Hello everyone

Made it through Christmas!! Everything went great and everyone really enjoyed themselves. Somewhat of an icon Christmas as this is the last one my oldest son will be home in full for. He goes in residence for university January 2 with three more years to go. He loves Christmas including the whole build up to it and there is lots of that in our household!

Quiet for a few days so I can catch my breath then company starts again this weekend for New Years and then January 6 we do it all over again for Ukrainian Christmas. Food that is. No presents. Of the 12 traditional dishes, I usually do 9 of them. House fills with people and some come from out of town. Most of food is already prepped. Cabbage rolls were done in October. Perogies knocked off early in December. Crepes, buns and dessert would usually be done by now but I ran out of flour so it will be early next week. Then rest of food prepared on Jan 5. That is one of the things I like about Ukrainian food. It can all be prepared ahead of time and that means very little cooking on the actual day. Sure makes the load easier for me. Looks like possible 16 guests so will be lots of laughs and visiting that day.

January 7 I start the deconstruction on the Christmas stuff. Plan to have everything put away by Jan 11. Then turn my attention to cysto (Jan 12) and three weeks of treatments. Then we plan to renovate one of our bathrooms. Then it will be spring and it looks like we will kick it off with a trip to the Carolinas in April. Sure helps to bring spring on faster. Especially as I sit here looking at our forecast with windchills approaching -50 and Friday/Saturday daytime highs of -30 before windchill!

Anyway, this will pass too.

Take care and Happy New Year and Ukrainian Christmas
Cheryl

[marysue]

Hi Cheryl:

Christmas was a little quieter for us with our two oldest missing from the mayhem. Our younger two sure missed the comraderie they usually have with their older brothers. It was too cold to go out and do their traditional Christmas road hockey game as well.

However, we are grateful that we have more than enough food, each other and a small but cozy warm house to live in. We did enjoy a good ham dinner Christmas Eve and watch a movie.

Christmas morning was a brunch with the same younger two boys and we enjoyed another movie while the turkey roasted and then made it over to my sister-in-law’s for Christmas dinner.

We managed a short Skype session with our oldest who was in Mexico City with his fiancé and her family. Their Christmas was fun except that my daughter-in-law got food poisoning and the earthquake alarms went off in the middle of their Christmas dinner. Thankfully the earthquake was minor and off the coast and no damage was done. Our son said that he didn’t feel anything.

We did look after my son’s lop rabbit and 3 chinchillas whom I’ve dubbed “The three musketeers”. Their antics were a source of much amusement over the holidays. Since we don’t have grandkids yet, we collectively refer to them as the “grand-pets.” The rabbit loves to chew cardboard so we gave him an old box to chomp on. He chewed some peep holes in the side and figured out how to nudge the box so that it was over the heat vent in the floor of the empty bedroom that was his headquarters for his visit and made a point of camping out in said box over the heat vent. He was quite toasty warm and smart having figured out how to stay warm with the brutally cold weather that we are experiencing.

New Year’s will be at a restaurant this year courtesy of the same in-laws that we spend Christmas with. They are celebrating their 40th wedding anniversary this New Year’s Eve and wanted to celebrate it in addition to the new year. It also gives everyone a break from cooking.

I take down all my decorations and the tree on New Year’s Day since we are not Ukrainian and don’t celebrate the extra days. We do however, celebrate the Asian New Year which will be coming up in February. It will be the Year of the Dog which is my year in the Chinese Zodiac. I will be entering my 6th decade of life.

2018 looks to be a busy and exciting year but bring on the warmer weather please! Happy New Year to all! ((((((HUGS))))))

[Author]

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