Oh what fun...

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas.

Here, our Christmas eve festivities went really well. Everyone seemed to enjoy the food and we all had fun talking and laughing at this and that. The kids were well behaved even though they'd been to a couple of other places visiting and were clearly excited about Santa's impending arrival.

People didn't stay too late, were gone before 11pm. After they left S and i did the big clean up and were quite brutal about it, according to her directions. Most food got thrown out. Her reasoning was that it had been sitting out since we'd eaten...we were so busy socializing that we left things. It was hard to argue with her (it always is)...she is the oldest and what she says goes. After we cleared everything up...i was meant to make my stuffing for the next days turkey...but i just couldn't...i was worn out. Instead i think i spent time with Tim (i can't remember if i had a wee nap first) and we enjoyed ourselves, as usual.

This year Tim and i ...because of our finances, decided not to buy gifts for each other. It's so hard not to buy for someone you love so much...i'm a natural-born giver and want to give...but i refrained. Well i could resist no longer and yesterday i ordered some cheese. I ordered a basket for him some months ago from this place called Igourmet. They sell specialized cheeses and fine foods. I'd highly recommend them to anyone. Anyway i ordered a gift basket for him some months ago that i was able to put together and one of the things i chose was some Stilton cheese. Well he loved it and since money is so tight for us this year, i knew he wouldn't treat himself to some more so i ordered him some of that and another favourite of his, brie. This time i sent him some Canadian brie. I hope it's good...i just thought it would be nice to have something from my country. So that should be arriving soon...and i hope he enjoys it and eats it in good health...cheese is just so yummy anyway.

SO back to Christmas. On the eve of...i spent time with Tim and then we decided we'd better go to sleep...which meant it was time for me to fill the stalkings. Yes we still do that here even though we are all adults. It's just a bit of fun and i enjoy doing it. I didn't realize how much stuff i'd bought...so the stockings were all over-flowing...a mix of practical and yummy things.

On the morning of, we rose fairly early, i think it was 9am and once everyone was up and about we sat down to open gifts. I ended up buying a fair amount of things for my sister....well for everyone. S and i gave mother an electric blanket (which we promptly returned on Boxing day)...she didn't even want to try it, she just decided it would be too hot for her ...this from the woman who is almost always cold. Oh well. As it turns out, we bought her a nice, incredibly soft blanket instead.

After we all opened our gifts i got to work on the stuffing. It took me a little while, i make a sausage stuffing....thankfully it turned out better this time than it did for Thanksgiving. We got the veggies and everything ready, stuffed the bird...put it in the oven...and by this time it was 1.30pm so we all decided to lay down for a nap. I think all of us (except my nephew) slept until 5pm, i think we were still tired from the night before....thankfully nephew was awake sooner and had been basting the bird. When we woke at 5pm the bird was a golden beauty and smelled yummy.

After dinner, which we all thoroughly enjoyed, we got the dishes done and relaxed for the evening. The next day, Boxing day too...i started some turkey soup and sister started the process of taking down the tree and decorations (no time to waste). I don't know why she was in such a hurry. She is off over the holidays until the 5th of January so she has 11 days off. Good for her buy she's been like a little whirlwind around here, cleaning etc...bless her little heart.

One day, since we had to go return mother's blanket and some other things, we braved the mall. Wow...it was packed. I think we went the Saturday following Christmas (but now i can't exactly remember)...sister returned what she had to...i bought myself a new purse with my Christmas money...a black Kathy Van Zeeland purse, my current favourite bags. I have three now and i just love them...but back to my mall story. We hurried around the mall as it was just plain nuts and i don't like crowds like that...and sister has very little patience for people...so we got what we wanted and left. The following day we went to Walmart. We had a return there...and again it was crazy...and the line-ups were almost as bad as the ones i'd encountered prior to Christmas. I decided then and there that i'd stay away from the stores for a while...til things have calmed down.

Since then we've just been getting on with things...i have a dental appointment on the thirty-first at 8.30am to get my teeth cleaned (yay!) then after that i'm meeting my sister Lane to get a manicure and pedicure. I am SO looking forward to that. On the sixth i go to see my oncologist and on the 12th i begin another round of chemo. I finish in February then will see what happens after that. I'm so excited to find out what this new year will mean for me, my health and my future with Tim.

New Years eve will be quiet here...no partying. We usually order in some Chinese food but my sister doesn't want to do that this year...so i'd better find out what, if anything, we're doing for New Years day dinner...but hopefully i'll be online with Tim to ring in the new year with him.

Will check back in with all of you soon...before the new year for sure. Now i'll pop round your blogs to hear about your CHristmases.