We wish you a Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas everyone!

Brian and I would like to say a very Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all of our family and friends. We hope you have warm and happy times with your loved ones - and even maybe with those "not so loved". Christmas seems to conjure up some interesting feelings in us all - and different for everyone. It can be a sad time as we remember those no longer with us. I love the season and feel it's a great time to make extra effort to catch up with people we care about but don't seem to connect with often enough; or just do something nice for someone...because it feels nice. I always think the New Year is a great time to renew our attitude to life - not just with "Resolutions" but thinking about the future in general and how we can approach it in a more positive way - despite any hardships and challenges of the past.  Okay, Ginnie, get down from the soapbox! Sorry. I meant to just say Happy New Year after Merry Christmas but got a bit carried away.

This is my last post until the New Year. We ended up leaving for Christmas in Alberta a week early as Brian's mum is very ill and he wanted to get to Ontario as quickly as possible to see her. We caught the first ferry off the island at 6.30am last Saturday - no pretty pictures as it was dark most of the way over. The first day's drive from Vancouver through the mountains as far as Golden was wonderful - roads mostly dry and not too much traffic. We drove a bit further than planned as the weather was so good so we thought we would "make hay". There had been very recent snowfalls in a few areas and the views were picture postcard perfect...see below. It was certainly different to the summer version of the Rocky Mountains.

*My apologies to all Canadians as I'm sure you will find these photos very ho hum and wonder what the fuss is all about - but I know Aussies find all this snow and ice fascinating. Oh yes, and please remember all photos taken from moving vehicle so not totally perfect. This first lot are between Vancouver and Golden - on the "good" travelling day.

It was certainly a Winter Wonderland.

We got up on the Sunday morning to find snow on the car...yuk. But, it did justify the purchase the week prior of a cadillac snow brush. The second day's driving was pretty horrid - the roads were much more snowy and icy and more traffic. Photos below are from Golden to Banff.

Zelda was not impressed!

Out the front of the motel - Ginnie was not impressed!

Sunrise in the mountains - very ethereal.

Just outside Lake Louise.

Despite the awful driving conditions, we made such good time we stopped in Banff for lunch and a bit of shopping. It wasn't too cold and so very pleasant to walk the streets - it was even snowing while we were there...very romantic. As we drove on into Calgary, the driving conditions worsened (saw a few cars in the ditch) and it kept snowing. We stopped at Brian's brother Trevor's to leave Brian for a visit and wait for his flight to Ontario at midnight. I headed off alone out to Okotoks which is about 30 minutes south of Calgary to spend a few days with my former sister in law Mary and husband Al. This was my first winter driving experience in 5 years - the streets in Calgary were terrible with lots of snow and slush. The highway wasn't much better. Mary lives about 20 km out of Okotoks along a country road. That road had a lot of snow and hadn't been plowed so that was a bit scary - it was just starting to get dark and it was hard to see where the sides of the road were. Finally made it there safe and sound.

Road from Banff to Calgary.

We were happy to make it safely this far.

Brian looks thrilled doesn't he?

The first day on the farm, I "helped" Mary with her chores. It was pretty cold (around -11 C) so we bundled up and went out to the barn. One of the horses (she has a dozen or so) had been quite sick and wasn't expected to live. As it turned out, she died as we watched her - very sad. Mary needed straw for the chicken shed so off we went into High River - about 10km away. It was so beautiful with all of the fresh snow in the fields along the way and on the trees in the town.

Early morning view of the Rocky Mountains from Mary's kitchen. 

The farmyard.

And again... 

And, sunset over the Rockies.

The chickens don't like the snow.  

The horses don't seem to mind.

And cats always seem to find a comfortable spot - the chook is
happy to have escaped from his cold henhouse into the warm barn.

Once back home and inside, I bugged Mary to get all of her Christmas decorations out so we could Chrismafy her house. She has the hugest collection of the most beautiful Christmas ornaments I have ever seen. We did two trees and they look gorgeous and there were still untapped boxes of ornaments.

Mary's beautiful Victorian themed tree.

Woke up the next day to the news that my stepfather John in Australia had died. He hadn't recovered after a recent operation so that was very sad news just before Christmas.

The week has passed really quickly with more farm activities, shopping, etc. Not sure when I'll be heading up to Edmonton - Brian is still unsure when he can leave Ontario. His being able to spend time with his mum at the moment is so wonderful. She is not doing well and we pray for improvement. Brian will either fly back to Calgary for a visit with Mary and Al and then we'll drive up to Edmonton together or he'll head directly to Edmonton and I'll drive up to meet him there. Time will tell.

Next week will be spent in Edmonton visiting with our children, doing last minute (hey, who am I kidding - doing ALL) of my Christmas shopping, and some pre-Christmas social activities and then, of course, enjoying all of the hustle and bustle that is Christmas Day.

It feels quite strange to be back in Alberta and going out and about in the snow - when I think about it, it feels quite normal and that worries me! Calgary tends to be a bit "warmer" than Edmonton so I'm just happy that the temperatures are quite bearable. I don't think Edmonton is too bad at the moment either so let's keep fingers crossed that it stays that way until we are able to make our escape back to the mild conditions on Vancouver Island.

For a "feel good" few minutes,be sure to click on this link to watch the charity Giant Teddy Bear toss at a hockey game in Vancouver recently. It's amazing. You can fast forward to the action part if you don't want to listen to all of the preliminaries.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HOiQBUqTnhc&feature=youtu.be

...and a Happy New Year!