I Love Christmas

Christmas makes everything so beautiful... this shot is one which I've been looking at every since we got at least 2' of snow, we got a bit more today and I love the way the snow on my patio glistens. 

 A look behind the scenes, I made a few more Christmas goodies tonight. This one here is Cashew Clusters.

This recipe is thanks to Cheryl, you can find it here, it's delicious and easy to make. It's one of those Christmas treats that tastes like you've spent an entire day in the kitchen yet it was quick and easy. 

And this one, this is a part of my centerpiece which sits on my coffee table.

Yup, I love Christmas!

One Week til Christmas

Well now, I was up bright and early and on my way to work when all of a sudden the radio announcer informed me that I have one week until Christmas... ONE WEEK, seriously I thought that this guy was nuts. Then I started to count the days mentally, that almost hurt because it was just that early in the morning, and the bugger was right, one week, that's it.

Well I didn't freak out, I've learned that freaking out doesn't do much good. I worked my shift, drove an hour home on horrible roads and came home and went to bed. I resigned, for two hours that is. I got up and baked enough cookies to feed the entire block at least one each. 

Now I have a game plan to make this all come together, I just hope my plan works out. I work tomorrow and again on the 22nd but it seems that I thrive under pressure, so bring it on... I have my helper all decked out and we're ready to tackle anything...

Okay, let me rephrase that, ONE of us is ready to tackle almost anything.

Precious

Tonight I had the pleasure of spending time with my granddaughter, naturally that means that my camera came with me and tonight we had some fun. I bought along my Santa's hat, Elyssa loved it but wasn't too keen on keeping it on her head.

 

With such a precious subject I can't help but post a few photos. 

And one last one...

I think she had enough. :-)

The Gardener

A man sooner or later discovers that he is the master-gardener of his soul, the director of his life.

                                                                                                                  James Allen

( I tried at least 10 times to post this photo on Tuesday when I shot it but it kept on coming up sideways. I resized it, played with it in Picassa, also in Picnic, and what'd you know, here it finally is right side up. As this is cheating in it's own way I'll post a photo I shot today later on tonight.)

Snow, Snow and More Snow

It's been quite the snow day here today, if nothing else I sure got my exercise. I was out shoveling 3 times and not just a wee bit of snow. The snow hasn't let up all day and it's even still coming down, enough already!  I hope that this ends soon, I'm running out of places to pile the snow. 

The poor reindeer were stuck, Santa wouldn't have had the deer power to pull the sleigh...

Not to worry Santa, I've cleared the snow and now you've got your team ready to go.

Just another day in paradise. 

The way I look at it, any day where I'm above ground is another day in paradise. :-)

Blue Skies

What a welcomed site to see, a beautiful blue sky, a rarity these days in this neck of the woods.

The finals been written, the essay is darn near completed and it's home free. Then I can get some work done and prepare for Christmas, they way I like to prepare. 

Whew

One final mark came in today which I'm pleased with, three more to come. To earn this mark I had to score between 90-95. I am pleased with this one, if only the rest could be the same I'd be one happy camper. I already know that one class won't be this high, one other one might be slightly lower and one could come close. All of this hard work will pay off one day, I just know it will.  I'm keeping the faith and going to say a special prayer that I at least pass my final in the morning. If I aim to do this maybe some sleep would be in order. 

Thank you to all of you who have encouraged me along the way, I appreciate all of the kind words and support. Now to keep this up for one and a half more years and we'll have a degree! :-) 

Cowboy Christmas

To all of you cowboys out there...

although I believe that there's a message in here for each one of us.

Christmas For Cowboys

Christmas Poem

Tall in the saddle we spend Christmas Day,
Drivin' the cattle on snow-covered plains.
Of all the good gifts given today;
Ours is the sky and the wide open range.

Back in the cities, they have diff'rent ways,
Football and eggnog and Christmas parades.
I'll take the blanket; I'll take the reins;
Christmas for cowboys on the wide open plains.

A campfire for warmth as we stop for the night;
The stars overhead are the Christmas-tree lights,
The wind sings a hymn as we bow down to pray;
Christmas for cowboys on the wide open range.

It's tall in the saddle we spend Christmas Day,
Drivin' the cattle on the snow-covered plains.
So many gifts have been opened today;
Ours is the sky and the wide open range,
It's Christmas for cowboys on the wide open plains

                                                            Author unknown

Two Angels

Tonight I was going to take a photo of my Christmas centerpiece, get the Christmas spirit happening, but then I spotted two angels and my heart danced. One of the angels adorns my  tree, the other has captured my heart. I am blessed and for this I will be eternally grateful.

"Reflect on your present blessings
of which every man has many,
not on your past misfortunes,
of which all men have some."

                                   

                             Charles Dickens

Slip Slidin Away

We got dumped on, it snowed about 10cm and the roads were terrible this morning. I ended up taking an entirely different route to classes this morning, the one I normally take was totally congested and traffic was standing standing still, the streets were pure ice. I left early and showed up 10 minutes late but in this weather nobody says a thing, it's just good that we can make it.

I managed to find one street where there was barely any traffic which was fantastic, if I started to slide there was nobody to hit! That lasted for about 5 minutes, everyone else seemed to find my short cut.

After classes the roads were no better, still glare ice. I was following this one car and kept my distance. It would have plain out sucked to hit this particular vehicle. One of our cities finest... that without a doubt would have fined me if I rear ended them.

Now how's this for redneck, just check out this brilliant sign.

I shot this photo from my car, (okay so I shot all the photos from my car),  I was stopped, inching along because the traffic was once again totally backed up and barely moving, but a huge thank you to the city of Edmonton for this reminder.

Like seriously now... how can anyone speed when traffic is moving at a snails pace and the roads are so slippery that I could have skated home faster then driving. Brilliant I tell ya! I guess that this is one of the many good reasons city employees make such good money.

For all of those who are driving in winter weather, drive safe and please remember... DON'T SPEED on icy roads where it's impossible to even go the speed limit and stay on the road. 

A happy, safe and blessed weekend to each of you out there in bloggerville. :-)