Christmas Decor

Just a couple of blocks from where I live,

there is a tiny tyny Xmas market.

You have Adirondack chairs, Xmas trees and open air fires.

 I love the smell of a wood fire.

There's also a heart with a rocking chair, but no Santa.

It seems everyone can be Santa....

NO! I

Xmas is Xmas! I want Santas, stars, baby Jesus, the virgin Mary

and the whole kit and caboodle!

 What is wrong with people?

You want to celebrate Hannukah? Kwanzaa? or Diwali?

GO AHEAD, BUT JUST LET ME CELEBRATE XMAS

THE WAY I LIKE IT!!!

For some reason, here in Montreal there is a lot of tension over Holiday

Decor....

Some town halls decided to take down their nativity scenes to avoid controversy and

some libraries took down their menorahs.

How about we just celebrate our own holidays in peace?

I prefer the melting pot and all its flavors!

After all variety is the spice of life!

On the thrifting front here are some pics of

tackylicious things I left behind!

 I left them behind because there were kind of cruddy

 And broken and sad.

And that is too bad because they had a lot of 

tackylicious potential!

And here is my 2015 Xmas tree!

The 2016 tree is taller.

I started decorating it today.

Picture to follow!

Sleep tight!

Checking the list

Hi there!

We all know that Christmas is as inevitable as taxes and death...It will come no matter what!

Am I ready? Kinda.

95% of gifts are wrapped, stockings are full, cookies baked (mostly).

I am still adjusting to my new oven. It is so good that I have to relearn old stand byes.

My trusted caramel corn recipe flopped. It wasn't crunchy and overall blah.

I tried it again and this time it tasted like meat....how freaky is that? I tasted the popped corn, the brown sugar, the corn syrup...everything tasted the same!

Except the BUTTER! The butter, brand new pound, never frozen, tasted like crap!

I have been cooking for 30 years and I have never had CRAP butter! What's up with that?

With our combined big yaps, word spread around and we gathered 2 other tales of CRAP butter, one with black spots and one with green streaks....How nice!

It seems that Quebec dairy farmers reached their quotas and there is a shortage of butter (hush, hush of course) and that the butter, some of it at least, is being sourced from less than reliable sources....

So a word of advice, keep your receipt and taste your butter before using it. I finally made a third batch but most of it was already spoken for....so there is none left (except the so-so first batch).

I don't think I will have enough time to make some more....

Otherwise the tree is all finished and the village too.

It is the same as when I was a child. It

smells great. Next year I will buy my tree from

the same couple; my Dad has been buying his tree from 

them for 25 years.

I'll finish watching Scrooge and then off to bed I'll go.

You should do the same, so you'll wake up all refreshed!  

Home

We wanted to go on a mini roadtrip, but let's face it folks we had to TCB on the homefront!

I'm ashamed to tell you that the tree wasn't down....yet

So now I can proudly tell you that all the ornements are put away and that the tree itself will be put in its box tomorrow and on its way to the basement.

Of course when you put away Xmas stuff; you cannot help but reminisce...

  

I got this cutie patootie from a flea in Massena NY in December.It is made in Japan

It set me back $1.

 

Now this is my yearly ornements in Pyrex pic.

 

 

 

I had a lot more but they were unbreakables and they got packed earlier

 

Most of the glass ornements are heirlooms from my parents and some are even from my grandparents, and even my great-grandparents.

 

  We had snow so Dan shovelled evrything, I shoved a blade roast in the new crockpot with spices, onion,garlic and red wine , changed the beds, tidied the kitchen and started the beans for the cassoulet.

The Montreal Gazette published  an easier and simpler cassoulet recipe so Dan  wanted me to try it.

 

I was really surprised because last time we had it we had a really hard time digesting it even if it was made by a famous Montreal chef; I swear I burped it for 2 days.

Dan keeps making faces everytime someone mentions cassoulet!

 

in case you're wondering...Cassoulet is an old french dish with beans, duck, sausages and pork.

 

It is of course a cold weather dish....

 

I can't wait to taste it! 

 

I hope mine goes down easier...lol

 

 

Merry Xmas to ALL!

It was a lovely Xmas with good company, good cheer, plenty of food and excellent company!

And it is just beginning! We will be visiting Dan's mother and my Dad later on today!

Here are a couple of pictures from the house.

                                             The tree slightly less fuzzy than last year....lol

The centerpiece...a gift from Suzanne one of Dan's co-worker.

The candy canes are Dan's touch...

 

This is an ornement gifted from our dance teacher, Sylvia.

 

 The sweet reindeers were a very thrifty decoration.

$2.24 plus tax. The right one was free because of a mixup in pricing

and the  left one was bought yesterday at 75% off!

 

I love boxing day before Xmas!

 

Speaking of deals....

 

Too bad I don't have a dog! I would so buy one!

It was reduced to $3.50 from $14.

 

Maybe one day we'll get a dog, no 2 dogs....

 

So I digress this was supposed to be about the joy and gretefulness of Christmas!

 

So I want to wish all of you and your families a wonderful Xmas and a super New year!

 

May you all be healhty, loved and prosperous.

 

May you find thrifty deals all over.

 

May you fill you sweet sealed can with loads of  money to fulfill your goals

And may I find some interesting stuff to write about so you will continue to visit and

leave comments!

 

See you soon!