Christmas 2018 Wrap Up

Our Christmas card photo

At the beginning of December, my friend Linda and I decorated the stage of the gym (where our church meets) with 3 faux trees and white lights. It took us 3 hours! One of the trees (found at a thrift store) was pre-lit with coloured lights and many were zip-tied onto the tree. Removing those lights took forever! Here is the finished look:

There are 3 trees but the small one is hard to see in this photo. This is the first time ever that our church has had any Christmas decorations other than the poinsettias that I bring. Here is Linda working on it:

On December 23rd, we went to Evergreen Church to see their light display.

C loves this place since they hand out free hot chocolate as well as 2 different types of cookies.

On December 24th we went to our church's Christmas Eve service after we had a simple dinner of appetizers from Trader Joe's. Our church had its largest ever turn out. They ran out of bulletins. Here we are with our candles.

We always get someone to take our photo at church on Christmas Eve. This year there wasn't a great place to take it and the lighting is a bit off.

We played a game as a family after church.
On Christmas morning we had 2 breakfast casseroles - one savory and one sweet (French Toast casserole). We opened presents in the am. Here are A's presents.

C's presents.

The mug is more than a mug. It is a special one from Starbucks that entitles you to a free drip coffee or tea for every day in January. C has done this for the last 2 years.

My presents.

The things in the box are bath bombs. J got a new grill, a My Pillow, a tool carrying bag, chocolates, and a new fleece sweatshirt.

The boys received a mini air hockey game.

We watched the queen's message on TV.

We ate our feast at about 4 pm. Grand Dad called during the meal.

Place setting:

I was frustrated that the turkey breast was a bit dry even after I brined the turkey the day before. This is the centrepiece that I made myself.

We always do Christmas crackers that come with paper crowns inside.

We watched C's new DVD of Mission Impossible - Fallout. We called Grandma and Grandpa.

Here is a photo of the tree.

I loved how narrow this tree is. So much easier to decorate. We set up the electric train to run around the tree. The tree is super dry so I plan on taking it down tomorrow which is much earlier than I prefer.



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Downtown Christmas Tradition

Almost every year we have gone to downtown Seattle in December as a family to see the fun things there. This past Thursday, our first stop was the Sheraton hotel for the gingerbread houses. This year they moved them into a conference room and the line was super long. We are a determined bunch so we waited an hour!

There is a theme every year and it was The Grinch this year.

My chiropractor's brother-in-law made one of the creations.

J got down on the floor to take this photo:

We always have lunch at Specialties. I wish they had a location closer to us. They have delicious sandwiches. Next, we went to see the model trains in the Macy's window.

As we walked a few blocks to Macy's, there were Starbucks employees handing out gift cards to people on the sidewalk. We managed to get 4. :)

I love to go see the teddy bear suite at the Fairmount Four Seasons hotel but that is a tough sell for teenage boys.




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Party at Chihuly Garden in Seattle

J's Christmas party (on December 4th) was held at the Chihuly Garden and Glass (a museum). It was such a beautiful setting. I took lots of photos. The glass art is created by Dave Chihuly.

The museum is located in the shadow of the Space Needle in Seattle. The garden section is outside and since the party was at night (and it was very cold that night) we didn't see that part.

I loved the Persian ceiling.

Sea Life room

Float boats

The party itself was held inside the Glass House.

We were treated to delicious food (prime rib was J's favourite), jazz, and caricature artists.

J and I by a chandelier.

Photos were challenging in this room since it was so dark.






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My Christmas Mantle

I kept it simple this year. I've had the Christ the Lord sign for several years. I bought it at a vintage fair (Ruffles and Rust,  I think). It is handmade.

I put a fresh cedar garland (from Costco) down over top a white faux fur ribbon. The garland was much bigger to begin with but I cut it to fit.

The nativity is Willow Tree. I treated myself to the star background a few weeks ago.

The candle holders came from Decor Steals several years ago.


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Thankful November

I'm doing a project on my Instagram page for November.
https://www.instagram.com/sheilajoanne67/

I'm posting every day with something I'm thankful for. An acquaintance of mine did this last year and it inspired me to do the same.

Here's a list of the ones I've done so far. Photos above.

1. Fall Colours.
2. Dahlias in my garden.
3. Godly parents celebrating their 55 anniversary.
4. My husband.
5. My letterboard and my sense of humour.
6. America (this was on Election Day).
7. My husband's job.
8. Music, hymns, and singing with the worship team.
9. My church. The photo is of our small group having dinner together.
10. My youngest son.
11. Veterans.


I think making it to 30 will definitely be a challenge. Thinking of things to be thankful for isn't hard but it is hard to find a photo to accompany.


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An Unconventional Fall Mantle

Thanksgiving and Christmas are quickly approaching. I've had this mantle up for a while and I'm thinking of changing it out. I get antsy that way. Before I change it, I wanted to make sure to document it. No leaves, no pumpkins, no orange colour! Reading and fall go together in my opinion.

I saw a similar mantle at a boutique in Edmonds and that was my inspiration. The vintage books are a mix of actual books from my library and ones that I picked up at thrift stores just for how they look.
Here's a close up of some of the books.

The owl poster is Cavalinni wrapping paper.


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September Birthdays

My mom and dad both have birthdays in September. My mom turned 91 and my dad had his 85th birthday. I was able to go up to visit them last weekend. I took the Victoria Clipper. It is such a fast trip and the view was beautiful.

This is the view looking back at downtown Seattle, early Saturday morning.

My time in Victoria was spent chatting with them, checking out their new place, and helping them sort their storage locker. In the summer they moved to a smaller apartment in the same city block.

I stayed at the Oak Bay Guesthouse, a large bed and breakfast with lots of character.

On Sunday we went to their church together. So many of their friends greeted me warmly. After church we went to Murchie's for a delicious lunch and tea. I returned on the evening Clipper.



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Hanging Out in Hood River

For our vacation this year we went to Hood River, Oregon. We had originally planned to go to Jasper, Alberta, but to stay in a hotel you need to book many months in advance. Maybe next year! A mom of one of C's friends recommended Hood River (along the Columbia River) to me. Hood River is an hour east of Portland.

The weather was pretty hot. Over 90 every day. There was no humidity so that helped. We stayed cool with the pool, the river, and air conditioning.

We stayed at the Best Western which was very conveniently located. There is an outdoor pool with a view of the river and we were pleasantly surprised that they provided breakfast vouchers for the restaurant. The photo at the top was taken at breakfast. Our only complaint was our room location which was a very long walk to the pool.

Since we recently acquired a bike rack for our car, we brought the boys' bikes along with us for the first time on a vacation. They were able to have some independence which they appreciated.

Monday morning we left home. We went through Portland. A stop at Powell Books was important to me. It is the world's largest bookstore. It is four storeys tall and covers an entire city block.

As we drove along the Columbia River, we stopped at Vista House at Crown Point.

I asked the ranger at the info desk why the building was created. He said in short, "it is the world's most expensive restroom."  It was built in 1916 as a rest stop observatory for travelers on the old Columbia River Gorge Highway.

The view of Columbia Gorge from Crown Point:

If I return to the area, I'd like to stop at the "Portland Women's Forum" viewpoint where you can see Vista House in the distance. It is an iconic view of the Columbia Gorge.

Tuesday morning, the boys biked along the waterfront while J and I walked the path. In the afternoon, we rented a stand up paddle board (SUP) for A to try out. There is a cove that is perfect for playing in the water.

J used our inflatable and paddled around. I sat on the sandbar and read a book.

On Wednesday, we went on a short hike in the morning. Tom McCall Nature preserve. It was a 2 mile hike with no elevation change. It was 80 degrees while we were there. The views were fantastic.

We spend the afternoon by the pool. We were told at the visitor centre that Panorama Point was a good place to see Mt. Hood. We drove there shortly after 6 pm. The park was closed at 6 pm. Strange. There was so much haze/smoke that we couldn't see Mt. Hood.

We watched kite boarders that evening.

On Thursday we went on a sternwheeler sightseeing cruise.

The above photo is a photo I took of the photo they took of us, therefore the quality is bad. The boat is completely powered by the paddle wheel.

It was a very nice trip. We started out at Cascade Locks (a town west of Hood River) and went east for about 30 minutes, returned, and then went west, underneath the Bridge of the Gods

and turned around just outside of the Bonneville dam. We saw lots of wildlife. There are osprey nests on all the navigation posts.

We also saw a very fat sea lion near the Bonneville dam.

We also saw native American fishing platforms on the shore.

Our river cruise was two hours long. Friday morning we left Hood River for home. Our only excursion that day was Beacon Rock which is on the Washington side of the Columbia River.

A said to me "there is no way you are getting to the top." Ha ha! He and I made it to the top. Photos to prove it:

J and C went about 1/3 of the way up and stayed there.

It was pretty disconcerting if you looked down.

There are 53 switchbacks on the trail.

On our return home we got stuck in some nasty traffic south of Tacoma. J and I would like to return to Hood River.

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