Merry Christmas to ALL

Merry Christmas 

 After being stuck in Washington, DC for 25 hours during the wind storm, I managed to make it back to New Brunswick.

Dad is slow but on the mend from his open heart. My son from NYC flew in and my daughter and her boyfriend from Montreal came in last night. We are all snug as a bug in our 650 sq ft cottage—- it can be done.

This season’s family crises and topsy turvy planning have meant I have needed to throw myself on Christ; this has meant laying aside all my expectations and ideas of a perfect holiday. Sometimes several times an hour. 

I leave you with a photo of our daughter gazing at gifts beneath the tree, our Reggie cat beside the tree and , our son in a a surprise market meetup with a high school friend. Merry Christmas; whatever it looks like!

Update and Snow

Our little house in the snow

Dad had two bypasses and they were declared successful . But he hasn’t been able to get up and moving yet. Still, I’m heading there when we estimate he’ll be released.

I am discovering more about my grown siblings’ personalities through this. They each have their weaknesses (of course!), and their strengths have been a real help in this situation. I know our family is very blessed that way. 

Rug hooking party tonight! We did have several bow out already with Covid and flus. I’m ready for yummy food and laughter 

Beauty and Challenges

I draw strength from my time in nature. Today I gathered red dogwood branches to share with some friends. Around here, folks pair them with birch and pine to decorate for Christmas. The sky is heavy with coming snows.

To connect to our new community, I’ve been volunteering at the Saturday markets, making breakfast sandwiches to sell to vendors and shoppers. The season will end December 9th. I discovered that the women who make sandwiches also decorate the hall for Christmas, keep the restrooms supplied with tp and paper towels and troubleshoot heating and cooling issues😂. This is all fine and good with me though. 

I’m looking forward to our rug hooking group’s annual Christmas potluck— this Wednesday. We will have a gift exchange game and some draws; it’s always a fun time! Last week our group  finished our wool trees. Here is our lovely forest.

Tomorrow my dad will have open heart surgery. He went in for a heart cath and they found too much blockage. My busy working siblings (who all live within 3 hours of my parents) have scrambled to rearrange their lives. I’m planning to go once he gets home. I live in another country😞. Poor mom is befuddled and exhausted. 

Life often interrupts our (holiday) plans- but reminds us what’s important ♥️