The last 2 ½ months have passed by in a blur – lesson planning, bake
sales, and the resulting lack of energy. I have two weeks off and I’m going to
try and enjoy every minute of it.
With my first weekend off I decorated my first ever gingerbread house.
When a friend heard that I had never done one, she invited me to join her and
her daughter’s afternoon of gingerbread house decorating. It was quite fun and
my friend was ever so helpful in giving me directions on what to do, but once it
came to decorating, I got a little stressed out. Having an artsy background and
being a bit of a perfectionist I wasn’t sure what to do. Here I had a blank
canvas in front of me and I had to decorate it at that moment. My friend, I’m
sure, was unaware of this inner strife and after a minute or so I trucked on.
The end product was cute to look at, and far from professional, but that
doesn’t matter. I had fun and great company – my friend’s cute little girl
provided hours of happiness and joy (and some laughter too). My student was
also surprised at my lack of experience with gingerbread houses and was
impressed by my first attempt. Honestly, I think he was more amused by my
excitement for the task. (And I know someone is going to ask – No, it isn’t
gluten-free and I don’t really care if it isn’t because I have no intention of
eating it.)
Our little one, who is on the futon behind me snoring away, is happy to
be back at home after numerous visits to the vet in the last week and a half.
Her first visit was for some dental work, then to the emergency clinic after
she went into a diabetic seizure (I thought she had eaten enough for her
insulin shot – apparently not), then back to the vet a few days later for an
‘after-near-death-experience-check-up’. Thankfully, she is doing so much better
(on new food and off the insulin!). I’ll be returning to the vet, alone, after
the holidays to pick up some new asthma medication for her.
Friday we got pounded with a snowstorm; first with freezing rain then
with big, fat snowflakes. Our 10-minute commute turned into 30 minutes. We
quickly learnt what our neighbourhood is going to look like when the city
finally begins the LRT construction – a nightmare. Buses were lined up along
Scott and Albert Sts (most of the Transitway in that area was shut down for
some reason), cars were backed up, and accordion busses were jack-knifed
blocking lanes – what a holiday joy!!! But coming up the hill at Albert and
Bronson I was overcome by the beauty of the season. Everything was covered in the
sticky pure white snow and it looked absolutely beautiful. Now if only it would
stay that way.
With our holiday plans turned upside down due to our munchkin, my mom
came to us. She arrived yesterday and helped put up our tree. I think I spent
more time laughing than singing carols because my mom was so funny. You see,
her tree is very organized and particular; every decoration has its place. She
has always been like this and that is why I have multi-coloured lights,
whatever kind of ornaments I want, and they go wherever one feels like putting
them. My mom was at a bit of a loss: ‘Where does this one go?’, ‘Where should I
put this one?’, ‘Does this look ok?’, ‘Are you sure you want to put that
there?’. She wasn’t used to the lack of rules when decorating a tree and it
gave me quite the laugh. It had been a few years since we put up our tree and
it looks nice all lit up and decorated.
Whatever you do to celebrate at this time of year – a holiday tradition
or just time with family or friends – enjoy.
