Another Christmas

Christmas in Victoria is about as close as we'll ever get to Christmas in England - and it's only 20 miles away, as the crow flies.  Too bad there aren't enough crows to carry us.  So with Laurie and Kent, Laura and Bill, we loaded onto the ferry and sailed to a foreign land.

Of course it's usually all about the food and here are just some of the desserts in the Dining Room at Butchart Gardens. Santa whisked all the calories away and dumped them somewhere over the ocean.

 The snow began to fall just as we entered the Gardens, and this is what we saw when we left the restaurant.  Hard to get good pictures with the white stuff, but it was magical and glorious.

Happy Birthday to Canada.

Christmas morning from our hotel balcony.  Nothing exciting for you in the real snow, but unusual for us out here on the edge of the continent.

British Columbia Parliament 

Our front yard.  Nobody wanted to build a snowman.  Darn.  And it's all gone now.  

   Maybe I can get the neighbor kids to build one next time. 

Merry Christmas

 This tree is just the right size, doncha think?    Turns out this is the total decorating I've done this year, unless you count dragging all the boxes down from the attic and stacking them nicely in the overflow room.  I think that's a real good start. We've been to countless (well, countable, but I don't want to) plays and performances and concerts and dinners, but none of them at home, so those boxes might just stay right where they are until next December.  Bah-Humbug.

Al harvested his first garlic crop, thanks to the generosity of Paulette who shared her starters.

 I discovered a lazy way to make peppermint bark.  Much less messy than trying to break up an entire pan full of the goodness.  Drop a blob of melted chocolate, sprinkle some crushed candy canes (the hardest part is unwrapping the canes, the messiest part is crushing those sugary devils), then drop a glob of melted white chocolate, a bit more candy cane and that's that.  They look kind of funky but taste just as good.  A few of them fell into my mouth before I had a chance to get them bagged for gifting.  If only my mouth could stay closed more often.  For many reasons, but let's not go into that right now. 

This idea came to me in a dream.  Or was it online?  Yeah, that's it.  

Thank you, paint department.

Not a very good shot, but when I found out that Toys for Tots accepts scarves along with the baby blankets, I got busy.  Anything for the privilege of hugging a Marine!  Or Army, Navy, Coast Guard, cop, fire fighter.  Stop me before I hug again. 

Okay, that's enough silliness for now.  See you next year!