2014 in Review

2014 was a different kind of year. My father's death at the end of 2013 meant a lot of firsts for us this year. We managed, but 2014 was a sadder, more reflective, and slower paced year. I didn't have the energy to tackle any major projects. I just puttered along. 

It was a miserable winter with snowstorm after snowstorm. I have endless photos (and memories too) of piles of snow, shoveling snow, sun on snow etc. The snowstorms always seemed to hit on weekends which thankfully meant we didn't have to drive to work in the snow, but did mean we were housebound. We just kind of hibernated and licked our wounds (and shoveled snow).

In the midst of all those snowstorms our dear dog Juno passed away.

At the end of February, we embraced the crazy snow and cold temperatures and went to Niagara Falls to see some of the best ice mounds I have ever seen.

We went to the cottage lots this year - beginning in the March Break; then for Easter; often in the summer; with a friend in September to paint clouds and water; with friends and family for Thanksgiving in October; and with my mom in November. Here's a years worth of cottage photos to scroll through.

    

I never really gave up blogging, but I posted far less often for the first half of 2014 than ever before. By September I had regained my energy and hit my stride and rediscovered the joy of blogging which I wrote a blog post about (here) (By the way, the husband thinks it is one of my best blog posts).

I did get a few things accomplished during the year - even some things that were on my 2014 New Year's resolutions list.  

I painted our dining room chairs navy and still love the colour.

I baked bread.

In the summer, I went on a fantastic trip with the husband and my mother to Newfoundland. We had perfect weather and saw such amazing beautiful sites. We all want to go back.

I painted a large painting (well large for me).

And finally, although I don't have a photo of it, I kept the stairs clear of clutter. all. year. long. (which is a complete first for me).  I decided it would be part of my fitness plan to actually take the items up or down the stairs rather than putting them on a step to wait for me to take them later. I love having the stairs clear and now can't stand having anything on them. Oh and speaking of my fitness plan, I did a little self-improvement and made some changes to my diet and fitness regime and have lost 10 pounds (more about that later).

I also got my crafting on this year - well a little bit anyway.

Kate was off at the University of Bath in England for the spring semester and did lots and lots of traveling (lucky girl). Since she was away for her birthday I made her a set of pop-up cards showing three of the places she had visited by that point.

I made little Hallowe'en treats to send to our son and daughter who were away at university.

I made personalized advent calendars for the same son and daughter (here)

 We made twig Santas at my annual Christmas craft party (here).

I decorated our mantel in a Scandinavian style (here).

We decorated our woodland Christmas tree with owls made from toilet paper rolls (here).

And I sketched and painted some scenes from my daughter's travels as a Christmas present for her (I also did one of the Notre Dame Basilica in Montreal for my son and daughter-in-law for Christmas, but forgot to get a photo of it before they went home).

The husband had a significant birthday at the beginning of December which meant a significant present was in order.

And so we end the year with a new family member - the significant present and presence of Ruggles. 

I'm still pondering what resolutions to make for 2015. I can assure you that they won't be anything too wild, but I'll post about them later (when I know what they are, haha!)

I'm wishing you all a happy and healthy New Year, my friends!


Linked to Best Projects of 2014 party at Southern Hospitality

Christmas 2014

I'm just emerging from the family and food frenzy that is Christmas.  It is always a fun and intense blast of activities and feasts and treats and traditions. Here's how it went down this year.

Christmas Eve

The fun starts on Christmas Eve day with our annual family outing. This year we decided to go to the Royal Ontario Museum as we hadn't been in awhile. There was a special exhibit of the Wildlife Photographer of the Year which was wonderful (and in case you don't live near a museum hosting this exhibit you can see the photos here). 

An addition was put on the ROM several years ago which serves as the main entrance. I still have a soft spot in my heart for the old entrance, though, with the grand doors and beautiful windows and inside the gold mosaic ceiling in the rotunda. I don't love the new addition - commonly referred to as the crystal - but it sure makes interesting photos with reflections in it of the city - old and new.

  

We always have tourtière for Christmas Eve dinner and this year it was made by my dear friend Kim (we did a trade-off - I made Christmas cookies for her and she made a tourtière for me).  It was delicious and just the right amount for all of our hungry selves after the museum. We had the tourtière with salads and pickles and relishes so it is a pretty simple meal, but oh so delicious.

  
Christmas Day
Santa visited and left some beer for all (well except Ruggles and me as we don't like beer - well, truthfully Ruggles has never tried it). Ruggles had some special dog food in her stocking instead.

Does your house end up looking like this every Christmas morning.  I thought it would be a little tamer as everyone got older, but there are still eight of us congregating for gift opening so that makes lots of mess. Everyone got stacks of books this year along with loads of chocolate (and beer!)

For Christmas lunch we used the tablecloth I bought in Bangladesh. It is hot pink with an orange and black design that certainly deviates from the Scandinavian look I was going for this year, but I love it so we use it anyway. 

Christmas lunch consists of fancy breads and cheeses and meats and we make the best sandwiches of the year. Of course, we start off the meal by popping Christmas crackers and then wearing silly hats and telling bad jokes in English and French.

We have Christmas dinner at my aunt and uncle's house in Toronto with all my relatives, but I didn't take my camera so there are no photos. I always take a cookie tray for dessert and my mom brings the Christmas pudding with its requisite hard sauce and hot brandy sauce. Dinner is followed by a magic show (my uncle is a magician ... and a lawyer) and a gift exchange.

  
Boxing Day
December 26th is a pretty quiet day around our house. We don't partake in the shopping frenzy, but instead just relax for the day. We did go for a walk at a nearby park and then came home and made sushi for dinner. 

  

How was your Christmas? I hope you had a wonderful time with family and friends. We are getting ready to go to the cottage in a few days time for New Years. We've had a warm Christmas this year so even up north they don't have much snow left and the lakes are not fully frozen.  It is supposed to get colder just before we go up and snow is predicted so we shall see.

The Huron Carol

The Huron Carol” (or “Twas in the Moon of Wintertime”) is Canada's oldest Christmas carol and a personal favourite of mine.  

It was written in 1643 by Saint Jean de Brebeuf, a Jesuit missionary to the Huron natives. Jean de Brebeuf lived amongst the Huron natives for twenty-two years, became fluent in their language, and made detailed observations about their culture and way of life. He wrote the lyrics to the Huron Carol in the native language of the Huron/Wendat people to bring them the story of Christmas. Even after Jean de Brebeuf was martyred when the Iroquois natives attacked the Huron settlement, the carol was kept alive in the Huron language for over one hundred years before it was translated into French.

I remember visiting Sainte-Marie among the Huron on the south shore of Georgian Bay many years ago. I always love visiting historic places, but this one was especially interesting because it was the first European settlement in Ontario and is where Jean de Brebeuf lived. 

I like this version of the Huron Carol sung by Five Fifths which you can listen to while reading the lyrics below.

THE HURON CAROL

Words by Jean de Brébeuf (1643)

English Lyrics by Jesse Edgar Middleton (1926)

Set to an Adaptation of the 16th Century French Noel: “Une Jeune Pucelle” (“A Young Maid”)

‘Twas in the moon of wintertime

When all the birds had fled,

That mighty Gitchi Manitou

Sent angel choirs instead.

Before their light the stars grew dim,

And wand’ring hunters heard the hymn:

“Jesus, your king, is born.

Jesus is born.  In excelsis gloria!”

Within a lodge of broken bark

The tender babe was found.

A ragged robe of rabbit skin

Enwrapped his beauty ’round.

And as the hunter braves drew nigh,

The angel song rang loud and high:

“Jesus, your king, is born.

Jesus is born.  In excelsis gloria!”

The earliest moon of wintertime

Is not so round and fair

as was the ring of glory on

That helpless infant there.

While chiefs from far before him knelt

With gifts of fox and beaver pelt,

“Jesus, your king, is born.

Jesus is born.  In excelsis gloria!”

O children of the forest free,

O sons of Manitou,

The holy child of earth and heaven

Is born today for you.

Come, kneel before the radiant boy

Who brings you beauty, peace and joy.

“Jesus, your king, is born.

Jesus is born.  In excelsis gloria!”

MERRY CHRISTMAS, my friends, to you and your family. I'm signing off to spend time with my family, but will be back again after the holidays.

Our Christmas Tree 2014

It has finally happened and none too soon. With just a few days to spare we got our Christmas tree up and decorated. We had to wait until the kiddos came home from university which meant that we got our tree for half price (good thing too because it originally cost $40). We had our annual evening of munching on nibblies while decorating the tree. - some of us doing more munching than decorating and some of us doing both. 

Kate and I decided to go for a woodland-themed tree this year which some people in the family had a hard time understanding. They were convinced that trains went through the woodland and airplanes went over the woodland so train and airplane ornaments could go on the tree. And that somewhere in the world elephants lived in a woods so they could go on the tree etc. We had to do some editing when the rebels weren't in the room. 

We made owls out of toilet paper rolls. They were so simple to make and definitely added to the woodland theme.

My friend and her daughter, who happens to be my daughter's friend, came over to make cookie Christmas trees. We used the speculaas recipe (which you can find here) and it worked perfectly because the cookies are nice and hard. One batch of the recipe made exactly enough for one set of cookie cutters.  We iced the cookies using about 2 cups of icing sugar mixed with 3 tablespoons of icing sugar. The icing hardened well and piped fairly easily. It was a fun activity and will make a nice decoration for a few days and then dessert on Christmas Eve.

 

I have one more post lined up for tomorrow morning and then it is the big day.  Are you ready?  No matter how much I try to be organized there always seems to be that last-minute scramble and multiple trips to the grocery store and exhaustion. It is better this year, but you can still see that I'm posting about our tree two days before Christmas.