A Snowy January

Start As You Mean To Go On

I am sharing with you a beautiful New Year's card from Sophie and Jean Paul in France.

 

 

Happy New Year

 

A Few Of Our Favourite Things

 

 

The Christmas tree is always in the dining room so we can enjoy the fairy lights at every meal.

 

 

Movita's Awesome Yule Log

 

 

A Family Tradition - Ice Cream Snowballs

 

Melissa's Beautiful Treat Bag for Puppy Nora

 

 

Ornaments Old and New

 

 

Lucy Darling's Beautiful Handmade Green and Gold Ornament

 

 

One of Six White Angel Gabriels Who Are Well Over Sixty Years Old!

 

Cheryl's Traditional Orange/Clove Candle

 

 

Beautiful Antique Table Linens Sent From France

 

 

Truly, truly precious - a key chain and a brooch handmade by Lucy and Apolline in France
 

 

The Dunkleys had a wonderful book made about our woodland garden and sent it to us for Christmas. They have pictures from just about every aspect of the property, summer and winter. It is a lovely publication and we are so appreciative of the time and effort it took to produce it. The garden has taken many hours of hard work to develop but it has also been a source of enjoyment, a creative outlet, and this book reflects the love and respect for nature that motivated us.

 

 

A unique and imaginative gift - from our children and their partners.

This is a CSA (Community Sustained Agriculture) voucher, which will give us a box of fresh produce every week from a Nova Scotia farm. This is really much appreciated as we are great believers in whole foods and great supporters of both our own provincial farmers and crafts people. Making it even more special is the fact the food will come from Ironwood Farm . We have never met Rupert but Heather from Ironwood is a person who has always been dear to our hearts.

 

 

AND an entire box of treats from Ronce les Bains and Normandy!!

How lucky are we?! A gorgeous scarf, an agenda book, French cookies and candies, a gadget for taking air from a wine bottle before corking and 

 

 

                                                            A Treat Ball For Nora

 

and

 

 

 

A clever little device to insert in the top of a lemon.

When the lemon is squeezed, the juice comes out the holes in the spout!!

 

We want to thank our family and friends for their generosity, imagination and creativity, and, most of all, most important of all, the comradeship that enhances and enriches our lives.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Flowers From A Fella In France

 

Now, this is why I call him Sweet Baboo.

Nora Is Growing Up

 

(All Photos of Nora Courtesy of Brittany Ernst)

 

I have had several requests to post more pictures of Nora. We are constantly taking photos but, unfortunately, most of them are not great as it is difficult to capture a moving target!

 

Nora is growing up. She no longer looks like a baby. Instead, she looks like a miniature Golden Retriever! Turns out she was the largest pup in the litter and we think she is going to be a big girl.

 

 

And today, Nora received her very first Christmas gift - a wonderful bundle of bones, rawhide, biscuits, and pretty pink poo bags so thoughtfully and beautifully packaged by Brittany at Woobie's Doggy Daycare. Brittany is marvelous. Her daycare is spotless and the dogs are either outside in a pristine, fenced off area, or in the large, open basement, or sometimes - Nora!- snuggling up next to Brittany on the sofa!

Brittany owns two Australian Shepherds and her parents own Nora's brother, Ralphie. We have been taking Nora to Brittany one or two days a week to help her socialize with other dogs and we have seen a huge improvement in how she interacts with other pups.

 

Nora Living The Good Life at Woobie's Doggy Daycare!

 

 

 

 

Shelf Life

 

Here is the start of a Christmas village on a hallway bookshelf.

When we were growing up, we didn't put presents under the Christmas tree. Instead, white felt-like cloth was laid around the base of the tree and we had a snowy village scene, complete with houses, fences, vehicles, telephone poles, ponds, small animals, fences, etc. As a small child, I could lay on the floor and imagine all the things that were taking place in the village that day.

Christmas Classics

Pattern: Basic Cabled Sock
Designer: Brainy Lady
Yarn: Cascade Heritage Solids and Quattro Colors
Needles: Circular - 2.25 mm

This is a sock that combines two classic elements - Christmas red and knitted cables.
Each time I cast on this pattern, I murmur thanks to Brainy Lady for the design and for her generosity in posting the pattern free of charge for other knitters.

And also back to tradition:

 

I couldn't stand it. As much as I liked the modern, wire mesh wreath, it just didn't seem like a Canadian Christmas without balsam fir.