And then it was on to Montreal

Our quick visit was a mix of the mundane

and the amusing (Hudson's panto)

plus some good old stand-bys

and some tourism!

Our Boxing Day Feast

Our bird wasn't quite as big as the Nutcracker's but what a glorious meal.

The amazing mushroom and lentil Wellington

The numerous, delicious side dishes to choose from

The feast included a father-son staring contest - watched by a much amused Grandfather

And some relaxation by all

The Christmas days of 2019

The schedule was something like this:

Our New Brunswick contingent arrive on the Sunday 22nd

Monday, Jo did the huge shop and in the evening, we all went to see the latest Star Wars movie

Tuesday (Christmas Eve), we hosted our Calgary-based friends (Christine, Robert and kids) plus my newly-in-Toronto colleague, Sylvie for nibbles (foie gras anyone?) and games, before heading to RUC for Christmas Eve service. This year was made special by a certain someone reading the news and competing in the Christmas movie trivia contest. Late dinner was Jo's parsnip & cheddar soup, crab cakes and salad, and the Yule log/buche de Noel. After gathering for the traditional reading of the Gift of the Magi (and the less traditional Olivia loves Christmas), some of us snuck off to wrap some gifts and stuff some stockings.

Wednesday - we woke to our stockings and gifts, as well as a lovely breakfast

Pouring over the blog book from 2018

Stylish in his crown

and theirs

It was another delightful meal at Old Mill. We will be talking about the salmon baked in lobster sauce, as well as the cranberry and white chocolate tart for ages! Unfortunately, for the first time someone was missing, as our lass was feverish and slept on at home.

Resting and reading after a long day

Boxing Day meant G&L did a brief bit of shopping (not downtown or at a mall!). And then the meal prep began!! See that other blog post for photos of the gluttony.

The 27th was to be a day of rest (except for a little work by Jo). Seb took his grandparents to see the "in one take" movie 1917. That evening, we managed to squeeze in the traditional "exploration of global cuisine" meal. All 6 of us headed to a Moroccan restaurant in Etobicoke (a strip mall just 10 mins drive from ESA...). The waiter/owner was lovely and we enjoyed the food and fine mint tea.

Our new candle

and our old

Both give lovely light in these long nights

Christmas festivities get underway

Every Christmas celebration begins with a shop...

Christmas Eve, we had a bo/uche  de Noel for M

Our inherited/gifted ornament collection

The ornament ring this year

Lots of dishes - which is always a good sign of an elaborate and delicious meal

It's the holiday season

May you have many riches throughout the year and may you dream peacefully of sugar plums!

Flowers galore

One of the benefits of hosting a birthday lady AND a budding dancer was all the flowers! We must have had 6 gifts of flowers in our house in early December! Here are some of Sophie’s roses.

Working Mum's Day #43980499

When reading this, do know that I'll miss it when it's over...😆😅

Yesterday, Seb was home sick. Was it strep again? 

I took him to the dr (no), so I drove him to school for a special drama class and then his main rehearsal. 

I walked the dog and snuck in 90 mins of work

I drove back and picked up the teen and a castmate. 

I made dinner (from scratch). 

Mike came home - sick. 🤧

I held strong and went to the pool anyway (maybe it will help to fight the germs?!). 

Then I sat down and marked my students' final papers. I finished at midnight and wrote them a cheering note to get them through the final days of their programme.

This morning, Mike & Seb are both sick in bed. 🤒

 At 7:23, Sophie announces that she needs to make something for the school potluck. She makes a lemon loaf from a package (which we always stock up on at end of term).

I clean up. 

At 8:20 she is late and announces that she needs $10.25 for a school outing. Now!

I do a load of laundry (costumes from Sophie's Nutcracker). 

I re-wake Seb and drive him to 2nd period for a quiz. 

I do a grocery run on the way home. 

I hang up the laundry and walk the dog.

And finally at noon, I sit down to do some paid work. In case you ever wonder what happened to my career?!?🤣😕

All things Nutcracker!

And so, after dozens and dozens and dozens of hours of rehearsal, Sophie and her ballet castmates brought the Nutcracker to the stage. Pia Bouman's 34th production and how magical it was - both on stage and backstage.

It was a feast for the eyes!

Some last minute pinning for our snowflake

Sophie had 4 roles this year: party guest, snow, reed flute, & Sugar Plum courtier

Waiting in the wings for her moment!

Can you guess the character? Answers below!

prepping her hair

almost done!

Any ideas on the character?

And what about this costume of Sophie's (lined up for a "quick change" in the hallway)

Guest list 2019: Nana and Seb  (2x each!); Mum & Dad; Gramps; Uncle Kevin; Uncle Mark (sweetly stayed an extra night on his business trip); Daisy & David - 11 tickets

All proceeds from the show, the amazing bake sale, flower sales and the Nutcracker-themed gift stall - go to help those who can't afford dance fees through the year. And being a community production, while you have to be taking at least 2 classes/week, the actual rehearsing and performing are free of charge. No cost for costumes, etc.

Volunteer hours: Jo - backstage runner (for people and things) &laundress; Mike as the cupcake and bake sale guy

Costumes above: Mouse King (played by the wonderfully talented Maya Granic - Seb's Grove & ESA classmate); "little mice"; and Sophie's Reed Flute

The need to practice

The Nutcracker cast warming up before a show at Humberside Collegiate.

Seb and his passions

50th anniversary of the moon landing

Somewhere over London on an Airbus A380 (simulator0

I was going to say that this summed up his year but there was lots of theatre opportunities and taking on his first real job and such personal growth with & through his friendships. 2019 was quite the year for our lad!

Too much of this...

For Jo, it's been a month (or 5) of this...

Our newest teen

Somehow November got away from me: 4 birthdays, a girl in constant rehearsal mode, too much work, a phone with a crummy camera, etc. But we did pause to celebrate our lovely gal

Showing our love with these heart-shaped, stuffed pasta

And these elegant and tasty homemade treats - if I may say so myself

and some time round the fireplace

Piles of laundry

The master of laundry was noting that one pile is very very high...

Tea, anyone?

Dear boy indulged me in some tea for my birthday!

We gave Thanks

Some of our crew gave thanks with other lovelies last weekend. Dress code: very informal (but hey, the gal wasn't wearing sweats at least!)

It's all about the feet

This fella and his natty sock collection! Oh, and since the weather is no longer sweltering, he is starting to re-install himself in the leather recliner.