Holiday Post

We had a lot of things in the holiday post this year.

I thank you all for your cards and letters and pictures, even though I didn't send any out. Not one! Next year I promise that I will be sending out my lovely homemade stamped cards from my card-making weekend.

We had a very exciting Christmas. It wasn't all good, but it could have been much worse and for that I'm thankful.

Christmas Day was deceptively cold and frosty, but it all looked beautiful as we headed out to the farm to be with family. I made Yvon stop the van to take a few pictures. I love it when the frost stays in the trees like that. Growing up in the wind of the south, it still seems unusual for the frost not to be simply blown away before it has time to settle.

There were a lot of family present, the house was crowded and loud and a lot of fun.

Here's the beast that caused a bit of our excitement. In advance already, the girls were excited by the prospect of skidoo rides.

What they didn't know was truly how fast it can go. How frostbite can get any exposed skin mightly quickly at 30-40 km/h. And how fast your reflexes need to be while stuck in reverse and heading towards vehicles. It could have been so much worse. In the end one vehicle was dented and three panes of greenhouse glass were shattered, Beth landed in a planter and had a mild concussion, her helmet was broken and her beautiful downfilled coat has tiny glass shards in it. Fortunately the driver wasn't hurt at all.

Luckily no lasting trauma. She'd still love to go riding again and the value of a good helmet was learned. I may have to start all of my own tomatoes this spring though.

We visited my parents between the two holidays and saw more family there. It's always relaxing to visit the quiet of their farm and the girls somehow entertain themselves really well while Yvon and I drink lots of coffee and visit. And I learned to knit a cable! Very exciting.

We left on New Year's Eve with a tin of "Grandma Cookies" and enough time to meet with friends if the mood struck. Or so we thought.

The 6 hour trip usually takes about 8 with pee breaks and one meal. We wouldn't need to stop for a meal if we didn't pee so much, but maybe we wouldn't need to pee if we didn't stop for a meal and a drink. It's a cycle that one day we'll break as the kids' bladders grow...maybe. Anyway, this trip took almost 12 hours and ended with a 1 1/2 hour tow truck ride into town. See - more excitement!

Luckily the van started having problems near a town with a restaurant open. All of the bars were open for New Year's Eve, but that wouldn't have done us any good. We settled into the restaurant as if it were home, reading books, crocheting and chatting with the waitress while we waited for AMA. And the tow truck was a club cab with room for five extra passengers. Do you see how it could have turned out much worse?

We're now short $650, but we made it home and the van is fixed. The house is warm, the chickens happy, the kids in school, I have work and the house smells of bread. Even if there were a few surprises over the holidays, life is good.

I hope you all had a good Christmas and are excited about this new year. I am!