AND AWAY THEY GOOOOO

The boys and their Christmas gifts from Grandma and Pappa aka Rejean and I.
It is very expensive to send anything over to Abu Dhabi so I send Jodie E-transfers for their birthday and Christmas presents.  I let Jodie decide what to get them as I haven't a clue what kids want and she hit a bull's eye with these pedal bikes as the British call them.  As soon as they unwrapped them they were excited.  "A Bike A Bike" was all they could say.  They knew what to do immediately and thankfully they live in a rather large condo so they were able to get some practice in before they hit the road so to speak.  And they knew how to ring the bell on the bike too.  Toys that make noise!!!

I hope they know how to stop...

SANTA!

My My My  What a difference a year makes!  I couldn't find any more Santa pictures of the kids.  The top one is the most recent one and the one below I think is from last year.
I think they are enjoying Santa - Jodie says they love him.   They may realize that Santa brings them treats.

SURPRISE!!!

It had been in the planning stages for a few months - a surprise 70th birthday party for Roger.  Ute let us know well in advance about the plans for the party and it went off without a hitch.  John and Rejean took Roger to the Legion from 3pm til 5pm while Ute finished off the decorations and Linda and I went over at around 4 to lend a hand.  I was in charge of the cheese "butcher block" tray.  Turned out pretty good if I do say so myself.
I met a lot of new people from town - people I have seen but never knew who they were and a lot of friends from up the highway.
There were lots of munchies and the catered food arrived just at the right time.  Delicious!  My first time eating a Turducken - turkey, duck and chicken all rolled into one.
Roger enjoyed his gifts as a lot of them were bottles of booze - which he likes.  I gave him a biker t-shirt from Florida and he liked that - because there was also a bottle of vodka wrapped up in the t-shirt.
Such a fun time with friends especially at this time of year.

LADIES LUNCHEON

The monthly Ladies' Luncheon was held today in beautiful downtown Blind River at the 17 Restaurant in our own private room.  26 beautiful local ladies showed up to enjoy each others' company.  Plus there was a gift exchange which we got out of the way first thing.  I picked number 9 (or 6 but Linda already had number 6) and I received two beautiful Christmas ornaments in a nice reusable bag and some nice new paper that I will reuse.  Considering how many there were of us, we all received our food fairly quick.  My toasted Western on their home made bread was delicious.
After lunch we walked along the main street and looked at other stores in town.
When I got home Rejean told me about some ice formations on the lake by the beaver dam.  I went down to get some pictures - they looked like feathers had been dropped all over the little bay.  I am sure they won't be there tomorrow so got some nice shots.  It has been cold here - this morning it was -30 in Wharncliffe - all the lakes are making ice.

TRANSITIONING TO WINTER

We put the last of the 4 wheelers away and got the Snow machine in the garage ready to go out when the snow gets a bit deeper.  We got a snowmobile trailer last year so hopefully this year we will be able to transport our machine to the trails we purchase Trail Passes to so we can use the trails.
And a picture of one of our "crop circles" that we have on our lake.  It is freezing up nicely after today when it is still -16 out there with a good stiff wind.  It was cold walking to get the mail.

WINTER HAS ARRIVED

It is -10 outside and the wind is blowing the snow and ice around - looks a lot like winter up here.  The lake was frozen over about 80% last week but with the rain we got and the milder temperatures, the ice has sort of shrunk.  But with these temperatures it is making ice.
I have my show tires on and all my winter hats and scarves and gloves are handy so I am ready.

A CHRISTMAS TRADITION

It is a Christmas tradition that my M-I-L Claire,  bakes/cooks tourtiere pies and gives them out as gifts to her children and grandchildren and D-I-Ls like me.  This year they set a record of 36 pies in 4 1/2 hours - all hand made and home made pastry in a home with one oven.  Talk about a production line.
This year Matthew helped out Anne, Nikki and Claire.  I hope to make the team next year if they give me about two days notice to make the trip down to Windsor.
And usually earlier in the year they make a good batch of chili sauce to accompany the meat pies.
It is a gift of Love that you can eat and enjoy and savour every mouthful.

I look forward to Christmas Eve for my first taste of this year's pies.  They will be delicious!!