Wednesday, December 23, 2009 Happy Christmas to you in Australia!!

As you are waking to Christmas morning Roger and I are having a beautiful Christmas Eve here in the Okanagan Valley in Canada. It was a mild -15 degrees last night which we are getting quite accustomed to.

(We posed for our Christmas photo this year in out classic Aussie attire - our swimmers - in the snow! It didn't surprise our families however we nearly froze our toes off in the attempt and had a good laugh doing it!)

Today the sky is a soft blue with wispy white clouds drifting over the snow capped hills. The snow covers the driveway which is lined with the outlines of naked trees and a mass of fresh paw prints from our friends' two big dogs. The picture below is the view from our bedroom window... how gorgeous is that!


Ginny and Willy have a beautiful family home here in the Armstrong valley and all of their grown children are coming home for Christmas. They are a beautiful family with big hearts and there is never a dull moment. Their youngest son, Darcy, came home last night with his friends and a range of wigs which they go out partying with. I look pretty funny with short black hair.

These are some of the fun moments with young people around - the noise and laughter level certainly get raised!

Having a white Christmas is certainly a joy, and very different to the Christmas day celebration Roger and I shared with our family on Sunday November 29th in Coffs Harbour when it was 39 degrees in the shade. We had lots of fun (see the article on Christmas and New Year rituals) and gorgeous food with beautiful salads and cold meats

In light of the temperature differences, the menu here in Canada reflects the need for warm food! Yesterday Ginny and I made a beautiful Caribbean Fruit Cake yesterday which smells heavenly...mmmm...

The decorations in nature are stunning... like these little caps of snow on the last of the seasons apples...


Wishing you a warm and heartfelt Christmas Day and lots of love at this special time of family get togethers.

Cheers, Wendy