HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!

It is the end of the year and I wish everyone a great New Year. I will be watching the fireworks from my balcony which is the best view anywhere in the city. It looks like very close from the 23rd floor.

I don't do New Year resolutions but I will just try to enjoy life and I would like to do new things. Since I have completely healed from my eye surgeries, I will be back to my fitness regime and try to eat healthy food. It has been mostly prepared food for the last two weeks and I am tired of it.

I will welcome the New Year with great hope that it will be a good year and wish the same for everyone.

Merry Christmas

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL!!!

Let us celebrate and enjoy the true meaning of Christmas.

See you all in the New Year.

Childhood Christmas memories

The start of Christmas in the Philippines officially starts with the Misa de Gallo which is celebrated on the early mornings fromt the 16th of December to the 24th. Decorations are put up early and radio stations start playing Christmas music in October! It is a tradition to have a parol (Christmas lantern). It is a star shaped lantern made of bamboo and tissue art paper. Nowadays they are elaborate and made of capiz shells and other materials. They are hung on the windows of homes.

Christmas trees are branches of trees painted white and decorated with ornaments. There is not a lot of pine trees in the country, Now they have artificial trees like we have in North America.

Now that Christmas is almost here, I have been thinking a lot about Christmases when I was a child. What was the tradition we grew up with? As far as I can remember, we never spent Christmas eve nor Christmas day in our own home. It was always spent at my maternal grandparents home.

We would leave our house in the afternoon of Christmas eve and drive to my grandparents lugging all the presents. There we would put all the presents under the tree and then play with all the cousins. There is light dinner and the big meal is at midnight which we call Noche Buena. Sometimes the younger kids are asked to take a nap and will be awakened before midnight.

While the younger ones are asleep, the aunts and Lola (grandmother) would be preparing the meal. In the Philippines, Christmas dinner always consists of ham and queso de bola (cheese). It would not be Christmas without it. Then there are side dishes, macaroni salad, potato salad, shrimp dishes and whaterve else goes with ham. One of my aunts liked to have homemade hot chocolate.

At midnight, one of the uncles dressed up as Santa and distributed the presents. Sometimes we are asked to sing to get the presents. I do not sing even if my life depended on it. One year I remember I just will not sing and I did not care whether I got my presents or not. I did not get it for a while until later on in the morning. To this day, I have resented one of my uncles for having done this.

By Christmas day, our family will be off to my father's side of the family, where we would stay until late in the afternoon. The same thing happens although the tradition there is much simpler. By the time we get home, it would be Christmas evening and we would be so tired.

Then New Year|s eve is spent with my father's side of the family/ I also remember that we would also celebrate Three Kings. We would get presents as well and my father would make it appear that the Three kings were there by leaving foot prints on the screens of our bedroom windows.

When we moved to Canada, my parents continued that tradition. The menu changed and we had turkey and ham. When I got married, I started my own tradition with my kids but kept the midnight meal although it is just appetizers and we had the main meal on Christmas day.

In the last few years, I have celebrated Christmas by myself and still continue to have the Christmas eve midnight meal even if I only have chicken wings, a salad, a drink. To me it is not Christmas without that.

Do you have a Christmas tradition you had when you were younger and do you still do it today? Or what something special do you do on Christmas eve/day?

I'm back........

This is the reason why I have been away for a long time. These pictures were taken after I got home from each surgery. It was difficult as I could not read so I have not posted anything nor have I done any computer work at the office.

My surgery was done not in Edmonton but in Stony Plain which is another city about 45 minutes away. Both days were not good for driving as it was snowing hard and thankfully the roads were cleared by the time we hit the road at 5:00 am.

I would like to thank my good friends who got me to the hospital and my check ups. Adele, Michael, Raquel, Rogelio and Sheryl. I really appreciate what you have done. Two ladies at work who are like private nurses making sure I get my eyedrops everyday. Louise and especially Zahra who has done it for more than a week now.

Like the nurse at the hospital said, I am lucky to have very good friends.

I did not realize that I had been living in a hazy world for a while, now I can see colours as bright. Although I am not completely healed yet, it is a relief to know my vision would be tremendously a lot better. I still have to be careful not to get water in my eyes and still wear eye shield at night. In about a month, I will have my final check up and get prescription.

This is me now.

Having the Christmas spirit

Today at work, they started decorating the office. As usual I have to take pictures and the ladies are not too happy but I promised them I am only taking pictures of the decoration and not them.

Once a few have been set up, the feeling is way different. If seems like now we are in the Christmas spirit and talking about shopping, baking, menus, traditions, and the office Christmas party which will be in a Greek restaurant and I had received the menu in my email and I feel bad I can't attend as that day is my eye surgery.

There are more but I just want to show some of it. If that does not get you into the Christmas spirit, I don't know what will.

Shopping

This is the first time I had done catalogue shopping in a long time. And I decided to buy a pair of boots, being worried about how it would fit and just thinking I would have to return it. I remember 30 years ago in Yellowknife when we mostly ordered stuff from Eatons and Sears because otherwise we have to wait when we have our annual trek to Edmonton to do our shopping.

So today it arrived and was delivered at work. There were a few other ladies at work who also ordered footwear. We were so surprised because all of what we ordered were really comfortable. I did not have to return it. This pair is good with blue jeans and casual pants.

It is a very light grey in colour and suede material, so comfortable. Now I only need to get a pair of dressy winter boots. 

Special people, Special places...

I am doing another feature in the next few weeks. I think this will be difficult because of the topic but I have always thought of it when I started to blog. It will be about people I know who have done something special. It does not necessarily have to do with me but which I find admirable.


The places that I find special or important to me for some reason or another. It might include quirky places!
At least I don't need my camera for this one.


It will be nice to unveil it in the New year.

OK, I am still alive

I apologize for not posting. I have been going through some stuff I need to deal with and I did not feel like posting anything. Then my scanner decided to die and now I am having problem with my camera. I am also preparing for my eye surgeries and reading the prep sheet so I do not miss anything I have to do.

My surgery is not in Edmonton and I have to leave here at 5:00 am to get to Stony Plain Health Centre by 6:30. My friend Adele is driving on Friday and another friend Rogelio will take me on Saturday for the check up and removal of eye patch. Next week Raquel will take me and I hope I will have my check up in the eye surgeon's clinic 3 blocks from where I live. Thank God for all my friends for taking time off from their jobs to get me there.

So this could be my last post until after all is done and my eye is healing properly.

I have gone and had my hair cut but I was able to get only 2 pics so I will post them. I am satisfied with the colour than with the haircut. As usual, I am back to a short classic bob. No matter how they cut it, by the time I had to style it, it turns into a bob.

The highlights is subtle enough which is how I like it.

Just like I said, it is back to the bob!!