…our almost one year old granddaughter gave us a huge smile when she saw this drawing over the phone
Monster Monday – January 11, 2021
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Category Archives: Family
Gearing Up…Day 9 of SquareUP
…thanks to Becky B for hosting January Squares https://beckybofwinchester.com/2021/01/09/square-up-9/
My granddaughters are already gearing up for their future occupations. Our five year old has a keen interest in science as you can see in the second photo where she is experimenting with things she found on her walk that day. I love the safety glasses…..safety first.
The youngest granddaughter got right into the middle of her father’s workout and is clearly gearing up to be a fitness instructor. Thanks to both my children who are the parents of these darling girls for providing today’s photos for SquareUp.
Looking Up – Getting Up and Moving Forward
…thanks to Becky B for hosting January Squares https://beckybofwinchester.com/2021/01/07/square-up-7/
On Day 7 we need to find joy in the world and not look down or backwards. Children teach us to look up and out as they explore their world. Our granddaughter brings us UPmost joy. I know it should be utmost but due to the challenge I’m taking some literary license.
The first photo was taken by her father when they went on a hike through the woods. He swears she did not pose for this shot. This stance came out of the blue. The second photo was taken by me. She was looking up at me as I stood on the porch (six feet apart).
Looking Up – January 4, 2021
…thanks to Becky B for hosting January Squares https://beckybofwinchester.com/2021/01/04/square-up-4/
Taken last summer as we were walking down from the dunes on Big Sand Bay.
What Christmas Taught Us This Year
….Christmas was certainly different this year for most people who chose to stay safe
Some things didn’t change. We cut down a tree with the family, albeit socially distant and masked, and I decorated it. The difference this year is that I totally decorated it on my own and it was up a full two weeks before Christmas. Normally I wait until my daughter can come over and help me and it often doesn’t get done until a few days before Christmas.
As much as we love being with family on Christmas we found new ways to celebrate the holiday. We exchanged gifts but this year the gifts were exchanged in front of the house. I still filled everyone’s stockings but this year everyone took them home. Gaelan brought special donuts from Hamilton and we exercised the dogs for a few minutes in the park down the street.
Our son and his family live in London, England so this year we opened our gifts early. We always open presents on Christmas Eve but 3:00 in the afternoon was early even for us. When everyone got back home we had a Zoom Christmas so that everyone could watch their gifts being opened. It was a bit hectic but in the end watching Sevin celebrate her first Christmas was very special. Technology this year has kept us in touch and brought us closer to all our family members.
My husband and I decided to still make a special Christmas dinner for just the two of us. The only thing that was different is that we didn’t cook a turkey. Instead, we bought a nice big capon to roast and at the last minute I decide to make cranberry sauce. My husband is an amazing cook and I’m no novice when it comes to cooking but even after all these years of experience we can still mess up. The difference this year is that we could laugh about it. There were no guests to worry about or timelines that needed to be met. So when the capon was undercooked and we had to put it back in the oven, after slicing off the cooked parts, we just relaxed with more wine and started off with the wonderful salad that Kevin made.
My cranberry sauce…..well lets just say that you should never walk away from a pot of boiling cranberry sauce. In the end I was able to salvage it with a little more sweetener. Kevin likes to tell people that we had twice baked capon and smoked cranberry relish.
We’ve learned that it’s the little things that bring us joy. Even though we knew we wouldn’t be together as a family for Christmas I still decorated the house. I pared back on the decorations but I’ve learned that you don’t need to put everything out. Simple things like lighting candles and playing Christmas music brought us joy and peace. In a way this Christmas prepared us for the day when we might have to spend more Christmases alone. There will come a day, perhaps, as the grandchildren get older they won’t want to come to Oma and Papa’s house on Christmas Eve or maybe some of our children will move further away. As for now, though, we hope we can have a few more Christmas Eve celebrations together as a family.
It was certainly a less stressful Christmas this year. Hopefully 2021 will bring back some normality. We will probably all have to adjust to a new normal and hopefully 2020 taught us some valuable lessons about life and what is important. My husband and I learned that even though we love each other, more importantly, we actually like each and enjoyed our self imposed isolation in 2020.
Cheers and a happy New Year!
Carol
Drive-by Gift Exchange, Donuts and a Walk in the Park
….on Christmas Eve
We decided as a family this year to celebrate Christmas in our homes and connect via Zoom. On Christmas Eve, early in the afternoon our kids drove to our house to drop off and pick up gifts. Gaelan ordered special donuts to share with everyone. It was not a particularly nice day but our meeting took place between rain showers so we also managed to get in a walk to to the park at the bottom of our street.
Everyone wore their masks, some more festive than others and some of us wore our special hats and antlers.
I even got Frances to get into the festive spirit for all of 10 seconds. My husband said she’s slowing down in her old age.
Our get together was short because we all had to get back home and do a Zoom Christmas with Brendan and his family in London, England. It was Sevin’s first Christmas and it was fun watching her open her gifts from the family.
The Week Leading Up to Christmas
…the furnace broke down, two more COVID tests, my nephew’s quarantine ended, a drive by gift exchange, preparing plates of goodies for the neighbours
I was pretty much absent for the the last couple of weeks. In the week before Christmas there were a lot preparations for our non traditional Christmas celebration and during Christmas there were Zoom calls, phone calls, dinner preparations for two of us and just taking it easy.
The Friday before Christmas our furnace decided to break down and all of a sudden we had no heat on the main floor and in the basement where my nephew was staying. The repair man came that same night when we discovered our problem but it just so happened that the part that was broken was not in stock and they weren’t able to get the part until Monday. So for three days we were bundled in extra sweater and blankets. We did have one working space heater and that did help somewhat.
A good friend of ours has not been feeling well for awhile and because she is on her own our daughter who lives close by went over a couple of times to make sure she was alright. Unfortunately, her doctor suggested that she might have COVID so our daughter went and had the test to make sure that she wasn’t infected. Thank goodness it came back negative. Then our nephew who was quarantining in our basement didn’t feel well and he went for a COVID test. Again the test came back negative and he left to visit his mother on the farm near Chatham.
On Monday the furnace was repaired and I ran around getting last minute items for stockings and the gift platters that I prepared for the neighbours. The next two days are a blur. I filled the stockings, made soup and our granddaughter made art. Even though no one was coming inside the house I spent a lot of time tidying the place up.
When Christmas Eve finally arrived we were ready. It was the first time in my life that I wasn’t wrapping gifts right up to the last minute. It actually felt great.
….to be continued.
More Seasonal Drawings for W&S
….“can’t let down my fans”
After seeing yesterday’s Monster Monday drawings our 5 year old granddaughter requested a painting of Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer and our daughter-in-law in London requested a painting for her daughter’s room.
Kevin wasted no time and on top of the snowman that he painted earlier he whipped up a Rudolph painting. He’s a little angry looking but I think he’s had enough of COVID as well. This morning the commissioned monster painting was done, sized to fit in an 8 x 10 frame. Not sure if that one is ready for publication but as soon as I get the green light I will post it.
Monster Monday – Best Pals
…this one was a big hit with the granddaughters today, Dec. 21, 2020
This painting was particularly popular and it was requested that this one be framed.
The Greenest Christmas Tree Hunt Ever
….with very little snow on the ground
On Thursday the family who reside in Ontario all travelled to a Spruce Meadows Christmas Trees near Hamilton. It was very mild, sunny and there was little snow left on the ground. When Kevin and I arrived in our car we were the first of the family there and in fact we were the only people there for a short while. Apparently the weekend before the place was so busy that the entire field was filled with cars.
It didn’t take long before the rest of the family arrived, all wearing masks and ready to trek to the tree field. My daughter, Gaelan and her husband, Brendan were looking for a tall tree to fit into their Victorian style dining room while the rest of us were more content with much smaller trees.
After Brendan cut down the tree for their home Winnie was content to find any small patch of snow to play and chase after Olive.
Once we all cut down our chosen trees we headed back to the bundling area, had the trees netted and then loaded onto and into the cars. Normally we would have all gone back to Gaelan’s house for refreshments but this time we all went our separate ways.
Later that evening Winnie put the finishing touch on their tree. I hate to admit it but our tree is still in the back of the car.
Mama Cormier 