I can't believe our little girl will be 8 years old tomorrow. It seems like yesterday that we set off for the hospital in Swindon at 4am. Here we are, 8 years later, 4000 miles away where she came into the world. Christmas is just a couple of days away and finally we are beginning to feel more festive. We've watched a couple of Christmas movies which always helps get you in the mood, and the house finally feels more of a home as we now have our bedroom furniture (complete with the bed from heaven - huge and like a cloud!) and sofas in our downstairs sitting room at last! More neighbours have appeared with Christmas goodies, including jars of cakemix - no excuses, I'll have to make them now!
Christmas spirit abounds in Okotoks. There is a feeling of warmth in the air, in spite of the freeeeezing weather (more about that later). Everyone is smiling, full of festive cheer and happiness. It's a lovely place to be. Christmas Canadian style is all about the little things you can do for others, like shovelling snow from someones drive, making them cookies, or giving your time in some way. Charity donations and collections are commonplace, and presents generally consist of homemade goodies. Everyone bakes like crazy and makes beautiful ornaments to decorate the tree. It's all about the people around you - less commercial and less about money - I love it! Landmark Homes, who built our house, delivered us a large hamper of christmas goodies the other day. It was a lovely touch, and we've put it under the tree.
The children finished school at lunchtime on Friday, and came home with backpacks full of special Christmas crafts, including gingerbread, tree ornaments and candy canes. They have been enjoying just chilling out watching movies and playing with all the toys they'd forgotten existed for the last few months.
We are looking forward to our first Christmas as a foursome. It will be strange not to have our families around us, but kind of nice in a different way. It's going to be a relaxed affair with lots of eating, drinking and movies to watch. We also have planned an outdoor walk (and sledge) in the snow on Christmas morning.
The weather continues to be extremely cold, although it is supposed to get slightly warmer in the next few days. We have had a really long spell of extreme weather. There has been a lot of snow, ice and fog, with very little sun (unusual for Alberta!) and very low temperatures for over a fortnight now. The windchill has made it feel boneshatteringly cold - up to minus 38 at times! The average temperature has been down around -25 or so. It is unusual for it to be so cold for such an extended period of time here. You get odd weeks of very cold weather, but this is dragging on and on! There is a bit of blue sky today, and it is a welcome change. Your mood lifts when the sun comes out, the mountains come into view and everything looks beautiful again. We've been plugging the cars in on the coldest nights to stop the engines freezing, and you have to remember to warm up the cars in the morning for a good 15 mins before you go out, otherwise it's freezing in the car!
Neil is applying for part time work to supplement our income while he completes his realtor training. He has his first exam in January. My work has started well and I am really enjoying the work. The hours are ideal, although I have an early start and a long commute time on Tuesdays and Wednesdays as the weather has made traffic bad travelling into Calgary. A half hour drive doubles in the wintertime!
We'll put some Christmas photos on here in the next few days. Meanwhile, Happy Christmas to you all wherever you may be. Have a peaceful, relaxing holiday season xxxx
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