It's that time again!

 Well, it took me long enough.

Poor Sophie. What is becoming of her mother?

I finally dragged the Halloween totes upstairs and we set to decorating the house for the holiday.

I only used about 1/3 of what I own, though.

Now THAT"S scary!

I did keep with tradition, though, and had a little craft session with my mum, sister, and our little girlies.

I scoured the aisles of Michael's (love that place!) and picked up some 50% off Martha supplies and a few other ditties to make our crafts.

This is what my mum and I made (from an inspiration photo I found on the web, but forgot to mark the source! Drats!):

Easy peasy: A little glue, glitter, craft paper, and my mum's talent at paper cutting (she can draw anything!). It looks just like the inspiration photo, which I really wish I could show you but can't find it!

(my witch's get-away!)

Oh, and here is my spooky tree which lights up my dining area: 

And some of these adorn the tree. We made them last year:

Lots of Halloween activities left to conquer this week! Sophie wants to make a craft with a few friends and we will likely host a pumpkin carving party on the weekend.

What are your Halloween traditions?

Sundae, Sunday...

 

One of my favourite things about maintaining this blog is that it reminds me to create something special from the ordinary. Like putting your best face forward. Basically, if I am going to go to the trouble to snap a photo, record my thoughts, time-stamp a moment in our lives, then I should put effort into making those ordinary moments stand out. Because there is enough ordinary in life and sometimes all that is needed is some extra attention to details. And details matter. You can never pay enough attention to the details when they have the power to make life more enjoyable.

Right?

Right!

On the weekend, we put a real dent in our Summer List, which (for the record) has turned out to be a true blessing this summer. It has given us direction and allowed us to do some of the things we have always meant to do, wanted to do, wished to do. On our list are many easy, quick, inexpensive ideas and two of them involved food (we have to eat dinner, right?) so we did double-duty by choosing those ones.

Sundaes.  

Who doesn't love them? A sundae bar was on our to-do list so a pretty set-up made things extra special:

 

Ice cream: we chose plain vanilla and marshmallow fudge crackle with toppings of fresh strawberries, hot fudge, Maltesers, gummy bears, Dove chocolate mint cups, real whipped cream, and Smarties:

But before all of that sweetness, we devoured salted, vinegared golden crispy on the outside-soft and fluffy on the inside homemade french fries, just like my mum used to make. In fact, I hope my mum isn't reading this because the handyman declared them even better than hers! 

Which, of course, secretly pleased me...

Honestly, they do look pretty perfect, don't they?

(Note: no electric deep fryer was used in the making of theses french fries. They are a once/summer treat so I go the old-fashioned route of employing a "chip pan" - which should only be used by the most safety-conscious cook. Not recommended for scatter-brained cooks. Safety first!)

It is fair to say that it was an extra-ordinary day!
With half of the summer remaining, I look forward to many more days just like it!

Sunday, Sunday...

Sunday.

A day of rest?

Well, I suppose so...

I love Sundays, though I didn't always. As a child, I found them too quiet and boring, especially because I spent much of my childhood stuck in the boonies. But, that's another story. Now, I love the quietness of the day and take advantage of the lull to clean out a cupboard, weed the garden, catch up with friends, or call a family member to chat. Oh, and of course there is always the ritual of Sunday dinner. Nothing beats a good Sunday dinner!

What's on the menu tonight?

And for dessert?

Do you really think we need anything after that?

A good cup of tea will do, I'm sure.

So, what are you having for dinner?

Are you in?

Phew...my annual Christmas card photo is officially over, hurried along by the early snowfall that I desperately wanted to take advantage of for its photographic possibilities. It is not an event I particularly look forward to, however, I so enjoy the end result. I have tortured myself this way for as many years as I can remember, and love looking back on the photos of Christmases past. Many have been taken as the children sat under our Christmas tree, and others in front of the mantel, whenever we had one. For some reason, I have upped the pressure on myself to be creative and photograph them in a different way each year. Perhaps it is the ever-honest voice of my husband's brother that I hear as he proclaims that "...last year's was better" or "...you can never beat the one of the boys on the front step" (when they were five and three years old),

but regardless I plan that photo with the same intensity that the "old man" in A Christmas Story bargained for a deal on a Christmas tree. Who doesn't need a little more holiday pressure??!!

The common theme (besides well wishes to friends and family) has been to show off my children...and I make no apologies for that. They represent our family best; and their father and I have yet to join them in a Christmas card photo - partly because of the logistics behind it, and partly because I want to look at the photo with sheer contentment, instead of picking apart my flaws and second guessing what to wear. I think I am like many women, who shy away from the camera, wrong or right. I also think we are misguided, and may regret our opting out of these pictorial keepsakes.

I have, on one occasion, posed for professional photos with my boys, albeit completely unintentionally. The following photos were taken when my boys were two and one yrs old. Despite our best efforts, my baby would not let me put him down, nor would he relinquish the train the photographer had given him, to coax him from my arms. Try as we did, there was no way he would pose for her, thus she suggested that I be in the photos. Despite my protests (I was not dressed for a photo session), and my shyness in front of the camera, I knew it was a losing battle: either pose, or go home empty-handed (photo-wise, of course...).

Apprehension aside, I laughed my way through the shoot as both boys "kept it real" and alternately toddled away, pulled hair (see below), acted silly or squirmed in my arms. Either way, I ended up with photos that are priceless to me, and instead of scrutinizing myself, I simply saw an adoring mother of two hopelessly cute boys. On this occasion, I was in...!!

Are you?

The Witch is In...Happy Halloween!!

Taking a page from Matthew Mead's new Halloween magazine, I copied him directly (although not quite as lovely) and staged my own ready-to-wear Witch ensemble in my front entry. This was a fun and easy Halloween display: a pointy, velvet hat with shiny buckle; cape; witchin' shoes;, keys; pet crow; and of course...broom! Every witch needs a broom...

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Traditions are very important to me, and some things just need doin'. In sickness or in health, with brothers or not. With a generous assortment of pumpkins, a bad chest infection (me) and two boy at basketball practice, Sophie and her little friend and her brother (their sister, too, was sick), their mum (my good friend and Scrabble partner) and I decided that pumpkin decorating just can't be skipped.

After a nice supper and some goodbyes to the men in our house, we started carving our pumpkin masterpieces. I made a skeleton, Sophie a scary Jack-o-lantern. Not very creative, I know, but better than nothing, right? I even toasted the pumpkin seeds, which are always a hit with the main man in the house.

After carving, we took the annual porch shot with our pumpkins. It is a bit sad that the boys didn't join in, but it just worked out that way this year, and my oldest had no interest anyway. ~Sigh~

To cap off the evening, the kids decorated some cookies from a kit I bought, and this was a big hit with the girls!

Can you believe I just remembered to dig this great runner out of storage? It is from Pottery Barn (last year).

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**Check out Tanya's (Sunday Baker) post about her take on traditions. She invites you to share yours, and has posted a very special photo of her very own pumpkin carving memories. Tanya is my go-to gal when I don't know what to make for dinner, and I always enjoy each and every one of her posts.

Preserving Memories and Traditions.

looking at my scrapbooks with family...

I am sentimental. I am also a chronicler. My mum would say I chronicle because I am sentimental, but that is only part of the reason. I would say that I photograph, journal, videotape, scrapbook, and even blog because I have a poor memory. Yes, my memory is poor, yet I love memories. So, I take record of the parts of my life that are important to me. It is more important that I remember my children's first words than what I am supposed to pick up at the grocery store. Indeed, I have a chalkboard in my kitchen to remind me of the daily "to-do's", and I have my own personal "archives" to remind me of the important things.

As I write this, I have lumps of stress residing in little pockets all over the house. They are our family photos that are now numbering in the hundreds. Even worse, many are also backlogged on my computer - not forgotten, but definitely neglected - awaiting the attention they so deserve. I have bountiful scrapbooking supplies taking up residence in my scrapbooking/wrapping station, which are also collecting dust. It all makes me feel very guilty and anxious, thus making me avoid it all the more.

I did, however, make one huge stride towards protecting the most precious memories of all: our family videos. From our wedding, to the moments immediately following the births of our children and beyond, those videotapes sat languishing in their cases until yesterday. My fears of the tapes silently deteriorating, and erasing those wonderful moments forever (ten years is their shelf life), led me to pack them all up and take them to a photography store to be recorded onto DVDs. I know it will be an expensive undertaking; but those moments are priceless, and I am both relieved and excited to have gotten that ball rolling. We are all looking forward to lazy Sunday afternoons with popcorn, spent watching their childhoods unfold again before our eyes.

Speaking of eyes, I know mine will be filled with tears as I watch them. Now that they are older, their father and I find ourselves reminiscing about them as little ones. It often makes me sad that the time has passed so quickly, and I hope that I appreciated all their gifts of humour, cuddles, and toothy grins that they gave us so willingly. We, as parents, get caught up in the difficulties of raising little ones: the sleepless nights, the sicknesses, the temper tantrums, and other stresses of just raising and affording our kids. I honestly feel each stage is the best stage, but there are some I miss very much...

As I settled my daughter into bed last night, I was reminded of the importance of the traditions we have set in place as parents. She asked me to sing her a song, one of our favourites; and as I warbled out a tune that probably only she could appreciate, she beamed at me. A big, bright smile that my song didn't really deserve. I was silently starting to get a little paranoid when she explained the reason for her happiness: "It reminds me of when I was a baby, Mummy, when you sing me that song. I loved being your baby."

~Sigh~

I am going to be a mess when I watch those videos of my babies...

Sunday Dinner...

Ever since I was a young girl, Sunday dinner has been a tradition held close to my heart. With five siblings, mealtime was often served dine and dash, with little emphasis placed on the intricacies of setting a table or the Norman Rockwell image of a family gathering to slowly dine and reconnect over a meal. Indeed, protecting one's food from nipping brothers was more of a priority than sitting straight in one's chair and keeping elbows off tables.

Sundays, however, were the exception. I have many olfactory memories of roast beef cooking in its savoury juices, Yorkshire puddings bubbling away in muffin cups, and the distinctive scent of turnip and broccoli wafting through the kitchen. Whether tucked away in my room reading or outside, playing, the delicious scents would inevitably find me, and the rumblings within my belly would begin. One by one, my siblings and I would wander out to the kitchen, voicing the question, "Is supper almost ready, Mum?" Often we'd be sent back to where we came from so as not to be in the way or, conversely, given a job such as stirring the gravy, setting the table (one fork, one knife, paper napkin...), or of you were a strong boy, given the job of mashing the potatoes to creamy perfection.

photo source: wikipedia.org

As our mother served up our plates (which she always heated in the oven for us), we'd bellow to each other to come to the table. Manners were always minded a little more, conversation would extend beyond requests of "Are you going to eat that?", and although elbows still resided casually on the table, it felt special to me. I imagined that people driving by would glance in the window, smile and dub us very Norman Rockwell indeed. Sunday dinner and all its traditions were very important to us, and made us feel very civilized, almost refined, and definitely warmed us through and through. Sunday was even special enough to warrant dessert, a real treat in our home. Usually it was one of my mother's apple pies or crumbles, or sometimes it was simply sticky pudding cake straight from a box. Either way, the special nuances of the meal have remained with me, and Sunday dinner is a tradition that I carry on with my own family. Times may have changed and my own husband often assists with the meal and its preparation, but the meaning has remained the same: Sunday is a special day, deserving of a fine meal, and is a day where we come together as a family to eat, laugh, and sadly, are subjected to my husband's favourite radio show: classic country. Oh well, it can't all be perfect!

After all, our last name isn't Rockwell, is it?

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This post is dedicated to my "long-suffering mother" who has cooked more meals than she could ever count; and to my husband, who made the entire Sunday dinner today in all its glory. Dinner hasn't tasted that good in a long time...and I didn't once ask, "Is it ready yet?"

Shop till you drop...and gifts you don't have to spend a nickel on...

Well, shortly after those of you south of the border have pushed away from the dinner table (and put on your stretchy pants..HA!!), it will be time to concentrate on what is really on your minds: Christmas shopping!! Now, I know you all (y'all) call it Black Friday down there, but if I was in on the action, they'd have to rename it, "In the RED Friday"!! Yep, as i've been told, it is quite a big day for those diehard shoppers!! Pushing and shoving and getting up with the birds to beat the crowds...why, it sounds so...festive!!!! I'm kidding, of course, and I'm certainly in no position to judge...all the adult female members of my family head out for the Boxing Day sales bright and early and have a strict set of rules that we all have to swear to abide by: no kids, no whining, and no dragging your feet!! No exceptions!!! I still shake my head when remembering that two years ago, in the midst of a major snowstorm, my mum, me, sister, and sister-in-law headed out in defiance. We weren't going to let (a lot of) snow stop us from our annual ritual. Or so we thought...thankfully one or a few of us gave our heads a good shake and decided dying in the pursuit of shopping is not a very noble way to go. We're MOTHERS for Pete's sake!! We turned back and nestled back in...zipping up coats and searching for stray mittens while our kids played in the snow. Besides, it's not as if we are ever really on the hunt for anything in particular. We simply love the break from all the togetherness with the kids all crammed into one spot, and we look forward to chatting as girls, and a lovely meal that doesn't involve turkey or washing dishes!!!

Which brings to mind some gift giving ideas that I wanted to pass on to you with regards to the seniors in our lives (and NO, I am not talking about you, Mum...you're way too young!!). I am thinking of our elderly loved ones who either live alone in their homes or in a nursing home. I worked as a nurse in a nursing home for a fair number of years, and would find myself groaning at some of the gifts some of the residents would receive from their well-meaning, if not misguided relatives. More boxes of candy roll through those facilities than you can shake a stick at, even though most would shatter their dentures trying to bite into the hard candies in their midst. Often, we'd have to take some of the boxes away to prevent choking mishaps, and they would inevitably get opened and enjoyed by the hard-working staff and visiting families. Other common, but unsuitable gifts would include large novels with tiny writing that the resident would not have the eyesight or patience to read. If you give these types of gifts to the seniors in your life, I am not picking on you. I know you mean well, but with my firsthand experience (hey, I knew my nursing degree would come in handy again!!), I offer up the following gift suggestions:

• scratch tickets...who doesn't love the thrill of the unknown and the promise of instant wealth? Ttrust me, if you could see the excitement that Monday Night Bingo incites in a group of seniors, then you'd know what I'm talking about!

• magazines...ones that appeal to the individual's hobbies and interests, even if long given up. A subscription to a great magazine is the gift that keeps on giving...it is something to look forward to each month and it is always exciting to get something in the mail...If you do purchase books however, try to choose ones that have larger print and/or books on tape.

• a variety of greeting/birthday cards that are placed in stamped, addressed envelopes. If you're a family member, this is a fairly easy task. Your loved one then only has to write the recipient's name on the card and sign it and it is good to go. It is especially nice to include a small calendar with the dates of the special occasions circled in red, so the date won't be forgotten

• free electricity, cable, or heating for a month. You can't wrap it up in giftwrap, but paying your loved one's electricity bill for a month enables them to treat themselves to something that month without the worry of stretching their budget.

• A supply of bus tokens, a gift card to a favourite restaurant (especially one that delivers), a gift certificate to their local grocery store, etc. Again, anything to lighten their financial load. Many seniors are on a very fixed budget that doesn't allow for extras. They don't get Christmas bonuses like some of us do...

• On the same vein, a gift card to their local pharmacy or simply buying them their monthly medications. Many seniors do not have great drug plans and their medication needs are a huge drain on their budgets...

• Clothes that actually fit, reflect their taste, and are easy to fasten and zipper for those with mobility/dexterity challenges. Sometimes it is better to buy a gift card to the clothing store of their choice, but keep this in mind: do they need transportation to and from the store, or will they appreciate having you go woth them to offer your assistance with selecting the purchase? Everyone likes a second opinion when trying on clothing...

• Which brings me to this: a gift of your time and company. If you are gifting your loved one with movie money or theatre tickets, keep in mind that your accompanying them may not only be desired, but necessary. Especially for those living in nursing homes or senior's complexes: they may not get out as much as they'd like and spending time with you doing a fun activity might be just what the doctor ordered. I'd often see too many able-bodied residents spending the entire Christmas Day with nary a visitor, but surrounded by scented soaps and candy they couldn't enjoy. If you can, pop in and visit your elderly loved ones over the holidays and beyond. It really is the best gift of all...and if you can bring them to your home for even a few hours, it will not go unappreciated, believe me. Giving of our time and love is something that costs nothing but lifts the spririts of those we love immensely...and you'll feel pretty good, too!!

My top ten Christmas Traditions...

Well, since I have shared some of the things I won't do in the name of Christmas, now I will share my some of the traditions that I hold near and dear to my heart. Traditions are, to me, one of the most important aspects of Christmas...they are the rituals that help make the season special, memorable, and are what my children will likely grow up to share with their own families someday.

When I was first married, my husband and I packed up to spend Christmas with our families, all the while looking forward to the day when we wouldn't feel the need to leave our home in order to experience that hustle and bustle that comes with being around a larger group of people. We soon learned, however, that although it is lovely to share your baby's first Christmas, that little baby doesn't have a whole lot of awareness of the holiday...so off we went again to our families' homes...enduring the long road trips with a baby who didn't enjoy car travel, or a disruption in his schedule.

top photo: Ladies Home Journal

Fast forward to now, and while we still travel to see family over the holidays, we always spend Christmas day at home, having created our own little traditions that have grown to mean so much. Many of our traditions are quite common, but they are common for a reason, either because they are simple and manageable to continue from year to year, or are steeped in tradition that binds us as a family with history and shared values. Whatever their origins, they are rituals that mean so much to us, and make our holiday special.

So, what will I always try to take part in? Well, here is what is important to me:

• Taking an annual Christmas card photo...I love looking back from year to year and seeing how my children have grown. In fact, I have since framed all of the photos in one large frame that I hang in a prominent spot in my home each Christmas. My kids love seeing themselves as little ones and marvel at how they and each other have changed. I also love adding a photo of my children to my Christmas cards, and I think my family and friends are happy to see the updated photos as well.


• a new Christmas ornament for each child...I have given my children a new ornament each year...one that fits their personality an/or interests for that year. I give it to them on the night we decorate our tree and I plan to gift them of all their ornaments when they either someday marry or move out into their first "real" homes as adults. I write their names and the year on each ornament and they are so excited each year to see what ornament I have chosen for them! It makes for a very crowded tree and I honestly don't know what I'll do with at least fifteen more years of ornaments being added...but it is a tradition that they love and I so enjoy selecting the perfect ornament for each of them every Christmas. My one worry is, what will their future spouses think of their collections and will they appreciate it as much as my kids do...!!! Oops!!


• Going to the Christmas parade...we haven't missed one since we moved here. One of the highlights are the stuffed (real...and hopefully met a natural demise)"reindeer" leading Santa's sleigh...they are quite freakish looking and always give us a good laugh. Sounds simple, but literally, one of the highlights of the parade...politically correct they are not!!!
• 
  Doing our annual girl's craft with my mum and sweet girl. Last year we made the glittered houses that I refused to shell out the money for in the shops. My mum is coming this weekend and we will be "creating" then...and of course it will involve glitter!! Sophie is practically bursting with excitement!!
  
• I host two get-togethers for sure each year...an after parade party (pots of chilli, soup, biscuits, hot chocolate, candy canes-the first of the season, and hot cider... pot luck style of course...I keep it simple!!!). It is after that party that I get inspired to decorate for the holidays and my resolve weakens...Also, I have a drop-in on Christmas Eve day and our closest friends pop in and we always make a seafood chowder that is bursting with scallops, salmon, lobster, clams, etc. I also make vegetarian lasagna swirls, rolls and subs for the kids. When we first started this tradition, we did so out of loneliness. We found the day to be long and having no family nearby to come and visit with made us feel a bit homesick. So, we took the bull by the horns and decided to borrow a family or two: invite those who we are closest to and who have plenty of Christmas spirit. We give each other simple gifts and I take photos of each family all dressed up for the day. It is like the calm before the chaos...the kids look forward to it, and we get our fix of the holiday hustle and bustle that we crave. We have also done it in the form of a Christmas Eve breakfast that we cooked and was always a hit. I just might take that angle again this year...
• On Christmas eve, we enjoy going to the candelight service at our church. Just hearing the beautiful Christmas carols sung in such a heartfelt way by young and old alike; and seeing all the families so happy to be together while considering the true meaning of the holiday, gives me goosebumps. I always feel quite emotional looking at my children watching their candle's flame and singing along to the words of Silent night, my favourite carol...


photo: cremedelacremeinteriors.com


• Christmas jammies...I know my sister and one friend in particular are chuckling to themselves right now...but each Christmas eve, I give my boys a pair of special holiday p.j.'s and a nightie for my daughter. However, I earned a bit of a reputation as a ridiculous mother two years ago. Finding it difficult to find matching holiday-themed pyjamas for my boys, I resorted to buying them somewhat girly p.j.'s (okay, okay they had Clarice instead of Rudolph on them) and tried to pass them off as boys. Well, like good sons, they wore them for me, but my eldest who was eleven at the time and in grade six, wore them for the Christmas Eve tree picture (another tradition in our family), but never put them on his body again!! Personally, I think they looked adorable...the pastel colours made them look so little and cute again...but I did buy them more "manly" p.j.'s the following year! Now...I know many of you have and continue to do this tradition...so don't judge me too harshly!!!!
  Waffles for breakfast on Christmas morning...homemade...with mashed strawberries and real cream...made by my husband!! Need I say more?? It is the highlight of my morning!!


• Christmas crackers...Since I was a little girl, I cannot remember a Christmas without this wonderful tradition. The familiar smell of the puff of smoke as you pull them apart, the silly jokes, and the best part: looking around the dinner table at everyone wearing a paper crown. I will never have a Christmas without them!!!!!!


• Speaking of Christmas dinner, I have to have English trifle with real Bird's Eye custard, pound cake, canned fruit, strawberry jelly(jello), and fresh cream...no liquor, that would just ruin it!! My mum makes it for me (and her) each year and I eat it for breakfast with a good cup of tea while I'm visiting there. I'll share with her, but that's it! I'm getting quite good at hiding it at the back of her fridge...


• I also like to make a delicious Buche de Noel (Yule log) that I make from scratch with fresh cream filling and buttercream icing. Sooo yummy and quite impressive with little "mushrooms" placed around it and a real log pattern on the icing. I'll post the recipe sometime on one condition: you have to give me credit as there is very little that I bake in life, and this cake actually gives me some credibility as a good baker!!


• The Queen's message...because I am Irish, I grew up watching the Queen's message on Christmas day. I always hoped to see a glimpse of Princess Diana and her boys, and while I didn't really listen to what Her Majesty was really saying, I loved to perch myself next to my beloved Auntie Jean and quietly take in the formality of it all. To this day, I still like to watch it out of sheer loyalty and tradition, especially for my sweet Aunt who has long since passed. The only speech I can truly remember was the year she labelled it her "annus horribilus"...which I suppose it was with Charles and Diana separating and Fergie having her toes nibbled by a strange man...
• Watching our favourite holiday movies on t.v. together...Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer, One Magic Christmas, Elf (our Sophie sings her little heart out to "Baby, it's cold outside" , Little House on the Prairie's holiday collection (which had me sobbing last year when I watched it!!), and my all time favourite: A Christmas Story (Red-Rider BB gun movie). It is the best Christmas movie of all time, hands down, and is so good that I will be devoting an entire post and Christmas tree to it...lucky you!!
  
• Stockings with an orange in the toe...doesn't everyone do this?? It is a great way to fill up the stocking a bit, and if you splurge on some of the bigger oranges, it actually might get eaten by your sugared up kids! Incidentally, stockings are really the only gifts my husband and I exchange at Christmas. We know we don't need anything and don't feel the need to give each other gifts just for the sake of it. Instead, we take care in filling each other's stockings and they are more than enough.

photo: cremedelacremeinteriors.com

• Twas the night before Christmas...Of course we read this to the kids each year. A few years ago, I had the foresight to videotape my hubby reading it to all three while they were cuddled up with him in our bed on Christmas eve. I knew in my heart it would be the last year for my eldest to truly enjoy the tradition and believe, and I am so grateful that I did. We read from the book a friend gave me whose son died the year we left our previous town. I treasure that book as it always reminds me of her and her family and how fortunate I am to have our own three children in our lives. My friend and I have since lost touch, but I think of her and her lost son often...and especially at Christmas.


• Christmas home tour...I love this tradition and haven't missed one since I discovered them in our town. Often my mum will come down for it and we love going from house to house admiring (and sometimes critiquing) the decor and wind up the tour at the sponsoring church for a delicious tea and lunch where I trade my mum my cherry balls for her shortbread. The I go home and seriously start poking around in my boxes of decorations. And that my friends, is when my hiatus from holiday decor and clutter ENDS!!!

photo: www.countryliving.com

Do you have any favourite traditions you'd like to share? I'm always open to adding a few more to my family's list!!

p.s. I want to thank Julie from Nunnie's Attic for this award: (I don't know about jolly...but I certainly do enjoy Christmas!!)