Merry Christmas, everyone....

To all my friends and relatives all over the world, I would like to wish you all a very Merry Christmas. I hope you are with your loved ones and enjoying this happy day.

 

 



Christmas Eve.....

It's Christmas eve, and the celebration starts. For me it would be a quiet one. When we were kids, this is the most exciting part of the Christmas season.

We usually head to my maternal grandparents place which is like a compount with three homes and this is where we congregate tor this holiday.

We had midnight meal prepared by the aunts and this is when we are allowed to open our presents. When my kids were younger I followed this tradition but also made our own.

This time, the kids are now adults and we celebrate on Christmas day and they receive their presents, if they have been good....yes, even at their age I still do this.

On our last day at work, we had our Christmas celebration and had Chinese exchange gift which I really do not like. I would like to buy for a particular person and try to find out what is the perfect gift for her/him.

But I should not complain as I got a present which is a good addition to my collection.

I have this collection and this is a good addition.

 

These two Port Meirion serving knife and fork, I am glad to get and lucky that nobody stole from me during thd Chinese gift exchange.

 

This is a gift from a friend of mine. A collection of rock salt, one with rosemary, one with chile slices and one with black peppercorns. As I have posted here before I have all kinds of salt and another great addition. Thank you, C.

 

I will be busy starting to get ready for the Christmas dinner preparation.

Happy Christmas Eve.

 

 

One of my favourite Christmas song.



Christmas menu....

We were planning to change our menu, my son wanted to try steak and lobster and I wanted a whole salmon baked in the oven, then thought of crown roast of pork. Last Friday night after looking at what the weather will be like for the next 3 days, I decided to leave and go to Save- on - Foods to do my grocery shopping at 9:30 pm. I am so glad I did as the roads turned nasty the next day.

While in the store, I decided to just do the standard menu as I was thinking there will be leftover for sure and I do not have to cook on Boxing Day. So it is turkey and all the trimmings. I am trying a new dessert which I saw on line and it looks yummy and easy to make. I hope it turns out well.

The weather is nasty, cold and snow. Christmas eve will be cold but no snow and it is almost the same for Christmas day. Now I am just relaxing and making sure I have everything.

Early morning on Christmas eve, I will go out just to get fresh buns from the bakery and maybe some kind of pie.

I am watching a lot of movies and then it is time to do the dinner preparation.

Enjoy the last two days before it really gets busy Christmas Day.

A sad time........

With Christmas just around the corner, we are so busy trying to get things done. But in the last week, it had been a sad time for everyone. I am sure everyone has been affected by what happened in Newtown.

Even though we are far from the tragedy, it still affects us. It is harder to celebrate the holiday when there is sadness all around.

We should remember the 26 people and hope that this will bring something good. I know a lot of people all over the world are saying prayers for the family so they may be able to move on.

Twenty children who were taken at a very young age, who knows what could they have become. It is nice to watch the support in all forms given to the town by strangers who just want to help and I am sure it is appreciated by everyone in Newtown

I am sure there will be a lot of discussion about mental health, guns and safety of schools. I hope there will be changes and that everyone will feel safe anywhere.

God bless the 20 children and the heroes....the teachers who saved a lot of lives.

Table decor....and others...

For every holiday, we decorate our homes and part of that is the tables. When I was in San Jose, the dining table was decorated but mostly with autumn colours.

My little sister's dining table at Thanksgiving.

 

This is my coffee table and I have displayed my coin and teaspoon collection, though I have not decorated it for Christmas yet.

 

This is the electric fireplace that my brother-in-law liked when we were out on Black Friday and bought it at about 40% discount, It looks classy and lovely at night and it gives out heat.

 

My cousin's table where she puts her Christmas give aways, mostly home made presents.

 

I am sure everyone is aspiring to do the best Christmas decoration in their home this holiday season.

 

 



Rogers wireless.....

The worst service provider and I mean the worst!!! My son was trying to pay his phone bill and they were asking for his postal code....so he gave it to them and they told him it was not what was listed on their record.

They never ask for that before and they just plainly told him, we can't help you. So I tried to see if I could just make sure it was the correct code they have in their system. Oh they can't give me that information. So I told them I paid his bill before and you gave me information and you took the payment.

But they have this attitude. And why can't they find his account just by his name and phone number and his address. He even showed them his ID which clearly shows his postal code. What a bunch of idiots. He is not paying for someone else so if you have his identification in front of you.....is that not enough?

I have heard a lot of negative things about them and I used to be one of their customers and I had also a really bad experience with them. So if anyone is considering going to them.....DON'T. Save yourself the grief. Worst....ever.....Rogers can be the biggest, but definitely the WORST!!!

Jackson Rancheria Casino Resort...

We decided to go to this casino as my sister has not been here before. It was about 2 hour drive from San Jose and a nice, leisurely drive.

We passed by a lot of wineries and fruit farms and even stopped at a roadside fruit store with lots of other baking, jams for sale. I bought persimmons as I really like them.

Arriving at the casino resort, we tried to see if our room was ready and it was and we checked and went to the casino after having a light lunch, sort of. We had lunch at Margaret's Cafe and Bakery and had the rib eye chicken fried steak which is their specialty. I had posted it here before.

After we had to get our memebership card and was given $5.00 to start with. I won over $120.00 on the same slot but different location.

I did not take a lot of pictures as my battery was dying. It was ok and the service is friendly and the whole place is clean. I am used to non-smoking casino and this was not but it is a dry resort.

 

Entrance to the casino taken from our room on the third floor.

 

Showpiece at the entrance to the resort.