I often find it hard to find the balance between time "out" with friends and family and gentle quiet times with family at home enjoying each other, playing games and snuggling. When we are home we develop such a nice rhythm as a family. We eat, play and often sleep together. We are a unit and we work together. Once we start to spread that time out we start missing the slow time of home. This year I feel like we perfectly captured the fun time with friends and family yet maintained enough slow time to not feel emotionally pulled and rushed. It has been a wonderful holiday so far!
As a family we often fall asleep listening to Stuart McLean and the Vinyl Café. Sid loves Dave and Morley stories and one night heard he would be preforming in Ottawa for Christmas so she asked if we could please, please, please, please go? So Dad ordered us ticket in the first box on the third level of Southam Hall in the NAC. What incredible seats! Uncle Rick was to come with us but we had a last minute substitute, Cat.
The show was two and a half hours of laughter and amazing music by The Good Lovelies. I would pay to go back next year. Perhaps this is a new Christmas tradition in our home.
The weather was sunny and warm and allowed for our annual Christmas walk at Old Quarry with our dear friends and Best Sister counterpart, Bella!
Feeding the chicka-dees never gets old.
This shot comes as close as I could get to capturing the beauty and feeling of the day. It was perfect.
But beware, there are wolves in these woods!
Christmas Eve day we spent a bit of time with our friends Anna and Noah playing and laughing together then off to a special Christmas Eve with Grand Mama. We ate, laughed and played cards and have decided to have Saturday night card night at Grand Mama's every weekend we can. She is a very good card player, it is going to take some time to beat her!
Christmas morning exploded with Sid LEAPING out of her bed. This girl is a night owl so sleeping in is something she does very well, even on Christmas. She didn't wake up until 8! YA!
Santa brought her a new game that we all thoroughly enjoyed.
Daddy bought her this super cool sweatshirt with a matching one for mom in darker colours. He sure knows his girls!
The puppies were spoiled with new toys which they hastily tired to decimate.
Sometimes it is the simple things. Sid received lots of high end artist supplies and modeling supplies but in the end the very favourite gift was Sea Monkeys!! And I am happy to report, they are hatching as promised and she is so happy and so in love with them. Good thing I have a magnifying lamp!
The next best gift which she tells everyone about it the salad dressing Santa brought her. She loves, this stuff and will eat bowl after bowl of salad but we ran out and could not find it anywhere. She was so disappointed when we discovered Costco doesn't carry it any more. Santa used his magic and found it for her!
I made Sid this gold medal ornament to represent her world championship win in Italy. It immediately got a place of prominence on the tree.
Before anything else, Sid and Dad went to work on her old style jumping horse wooden toy. It is an exercise in engineering and Sid and Dad had an awesome time assembling it and making the horse run!
These are the coolest and most educational toys. Made in Canada by Pathfinder. We want the Da Vinci Copter next!
Cat bought Sid and I amazingly warm wool base layers and they were greatly appreciated on Christmas day in the snow!
Daddy under the icy willow!
Slow time is the mantra this holiday. Kenny has written an amazing song called slow time and if he lets me record it I will post it here!
I had to post this. This is the work I lovingly called Wilson. A commissioned piece that was 42 inches in circumference. Smooth, firm and very, very dense. It weighed 3.7lbs when I was finished!
It earned the name Wilson because the core is a pound and a half of pure white wool and whenever I took it out to work on it, it reminded me of the movie Cast Away with Tom Hanks and Wilson the Volley ball!
This is my lemon, honey, pine cough syrup steeping away. It will be ready in two weeks! Hopefully we don't need it :)
And just in case we do get sick, here is another amazing honey and vinegar based remedy that works really well too and can be made up on the spot in small batches!
Today the tree comes down and we try to purge some things in our house to make room for the new year.
I'll be back before 2014!
