First Christmas

Oi! Is it December 26th already?!

This was technically my first Christmas in my Hintonburg home as last year I was living the pura vida in Costa Rica. As much fun as that trip was, I'm a bit of a traditionalist and there are certain things I like to do every holiday season to make it a real Christmas.

1. Go to an early Christmas eve mass at our local church.

My lil' church does a good job of combining a dash of spirituality with a sprinkle of Christmas magic. It's fun for Margot because much of the service is  a mini Christmas pageant with kids acting* out the parts (Margot has been everything from a sheep to a Shepard to the star of the show himself: baby Jesus!).

2. Watching Christmas TV shows.

Watching Frosty the Snowman on Christmas Eve

Technically this is more of a month-of-December-thing but when I was a kid I loved watching Christmas TV shows. Loved 'em. Every night at around 7 or 7:30 pm there was always something fun to watch, whether it was Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, the Little Drummer Boy or Mickey's Christmas Carol. The month of December was just amazing for TV if you were a kid. Even nowadays, with a bazillion TV shows available at the touch of a button, there is still something extra fun about watching Christmas specials.

3. Reading The night before Christmas.

Reading The night before Christmas on Christmas Eve is something I grew up with. It was a nice way to end Christmas Eve and left me anticipating the morning. I'm trying to continue the tradition with Margot.

4. Opening Gifts on Christmas morning.

Margot's enthusiastic laughter says it all!

5. Seeing family for a Christmas dinner.

It took a bit of Christmas magic to seat 10 people in our dining room

This one is a bit tricky as Glosette Girl and I take turns every year driving up to see my family near Toronto or staying in Ottawa. This year it was her family's turn and we hosted dinner at our house. After tucking into some turkey and cake we had lots of fun playing Werewolves and Villagers (such a Christmas-sounding game!). Super fun!

6. Finally, we always do something outdoorsy. Normally Glosette Girl, Margot and I try and go for a Christmas walk but this year it was just too damn cold. Even Canadians have their limits! So we decided on a short Boxing Day skate at the nearby experimental farm. We were the first customers at this skating rink for the season!

It was still incredibly cold but at least our hearts were pumping.

Ahh. So much stuff crammed into one season. I can't wait to do everything again next year. Merry Christmas from Tough Cookies - Hintonburg Style!

* It's completely relaxed and impromptu. Acting means showing up and not wandering off stage.

Absinthe

2017 is slowly but surely winding down and all the "lasts" are coming out of the woodwork. This is my last work week before the Christmas shutdown as well as Margot's last school week. A couple of weeks ago I had a last 2017 pub night with my boys and this past weekend was probably the last time Glosette Girl and I will hit up a restaurant sans Margot before the new year.

But we are going out with resto-style!

Our restaurant of choice this Sunday was Absinthe, which is a local haunt in Wellington West.

The friends? D & E, the coolest cats this side of Centrepointe.

Centrepointe pride!

The food? Well we started on the savory side of things with a selection of three local cheeses.

After that, Glosette Girl felt she needed some seafood love and tried the poached peanut crusted cod, which is served in coconut shrimp broth, along with baby bok choy, fresh herb salad, and crispy shallots.

Margot doesn't like seafood so Glosette Girl usually goes for that option when we go out

I'm normally a carnivore but was feeling veggie friendly that day and tried the home made ravoili with...um...some really yummy things that I forgot to write down.

Saint hubert? Mets-en!

Finally, we ended our meal by sharing a dessert sample of chocolate fondant, lemon tart, profiterole (so good!), and crème brûlée. 

Sorry - no photo! I know, I know, not my best meal review!  

But, trust me, overall it was a nice experience. Not just because of the great conversation with D & E but because our waitress/hostess did a nice job of periodically checking in, keeping our water and wine glasses topped up and the food coming at a good pace. Actually one of the most impressive things I saw her do was turn customers away even though there were a few empty tables. It turns out that two servers had failed to come in for their shifts that night and rather than seat customers she knew the restaurant couldn't handle and compromise the quality of everyone's meal she made a judgement call to focus on the customers (like us) who had made reservations.

You don't see that too often!

Anyways, cheers to gutsy calls, friends who go out on school nights,  and the babysitters who let that happen (thanks TM!)

Me thinks the lady likes me

Island Stillness

The stillness of the forest. Crunching new fallen snow with your boots. Crisp winter air. Simple pleasures are everywhere.

Last Friday there was almost no snow. Now it sits several inches deep. Winter is here in Ottawa in spirit even if technically* it hasn't arrived yet.

The change in weather was the perfect excuse to go for a walk with my visiting family, R, N and A in nearby Morris Island Conservation Area, one of my favourite places for a walk within an hour's drive of my house (the rough amount of time I'm willing to drive for a casual day trip) .

I love Morris Island because it's essentially true nature, not semi-nature like the greenbelt that surrounds Ottawa. Don't get me wrong, semi-nature has its place too but sometimes it's nice to know to your miles from anyone and the realm you are walking isn't quite tamed yet.

Margot and A technically didn't walk the whole route. They hopped on the Dada express for about half the trail. I didn't mind.

Children's Laughter is also a natural forest noise

We came, we walked, we appreciated and we left nothing but our footprints (or toboggan prints).

*Winter starts on December 21st

The Magic of the Aylmer Christmas Parade

I love small town Christmas parades! They are innocent, a tad hokey, and magical all at the same time.

Where else do firetruck, police cars and other government vehicles get to blaze their lights and sirens - noise bylaws be damned? Where else are brightly coloured semi trucks considered parade floats? Where else do Scouts, Sea Cadets, Brownies and other local children's groups get to march shoulder-to-shoulder with adults?

Watching with Dada

The small town Christmas parade that I always make a point of seeing year after year is the one in nearby Aylmer, Quebec. It's especially nice as it's held at night, which gives it an extra dose of magic.

Glosette Girl, Margot and I tried the much-bigger Ottawa Christmas parade one year but...it just wasn't the same. The floats were too fancy. Too sophisticated. No! No! No! Give me an honest amateur work over  your professional-high-falutin-floats any day of the year.

We usually go with Les Cousins and this year was no exception. They had tons of fun, and watched with excited eyes as the spectacle rolled by.

Les Cousins and the Big Red Fire Truck

Glosette Girl got to see her favourite part of the parade too: the marjorettes (girls throwing batons in the air and catching them). Every year, deep in her heart, she dreams that one of the marjorettes trips and falls and the leader of the troop cries out "She's hurt! Oh No! Who will take the place of  our fallen sister?" to which Glosette Girl responds "I will!" and joyfully steps in.

Glosette Girl's dream job

And of course we got to see the big man himself, Mr. S. Claus. Seeing him at the end of the parade always caps off the evening. It's wonderful for Margot and makes me feel like a kid again. It's Christmas!

The Grande Finale!