Its Beginning to Look Alot Like Christmas!!!!!

As you can see Glen has found a wonderful spot to display the Santa collection. This corner of the recreation room accommodatesthem very well.
We decided that the tree definitely belonged by the fireplace. I think it misses its prime location in the entry in Halifax. The boys always put up the tree...so we are still challenged
by this awesome task. I fluffed the branches and assembled. Glen and I put the lights on as a team. Glen was in charge of ornament placement! He did it in quadrants. We are pleased with the results. Yes, Marie the "Cape Breton Pickle" is hidden in the branches waiting
to be discovered.
The nativity scenes are spread throughout the house. I can't believe we have so many.
We are as ready as we will be for the big day.
The Christmas Eve service is at 4:00 in Foam Lake. My brother Greg is hoping to drive up from Regina to spend the day with us. The downstairs bathroom received a new coat of paint in honour of his arrival. He has requested the "downstairs" guest room and ensuite. What he does not know is that the Grandfather Clock is now fully operational and marks each quarter hour.
We have found several people in Theodore to share in Christmas dinner. Tomorrow we are dipping the shortbread and pretzels in chocolate and Glen is making the cheeseballs.



 

The Blooming Cactus

To Glen's delight the Christmas Cactus
has indeed bloomed. The colour of the
blossoms is intriguing. We were expecting a bright hot pink and these are an orangey reddy pink!!!! It has definitely put us in the Christmas mood. We think of Ruth Hudson each time we gaze upon it.  

Christmas Cactus

Last June when we left Halifax our back seat was full of plants. The Christmas Cactus a gift from Ruth Hudson was among them. As you can see it survived the journey and has thrived in sunny Saskatchewan. A few weeks ago Glen noticed a pink tinge on the edges of the leaves and today we decided that they are definitely buds. Glen is thrilled with the prospect that it will indeed bloom for Christmas.
The wardrobe and cupboard that sat in pieces for several weeks are now assembled thanks to some help from our neighbor Jerrold. Andrew, our son, reminds us that the many pages of directions that come with all these bags of bits and pieces are merely someone's 'opinion' of how it should eventually go together.
On Sunday we were all ready to make the trek to Foam Lake for service...Glen started the car and backed it out of the garage and the driver's door would not close. We tried various types of heat on it thinking it was frozen but it would not budge. On Monday Jerrold again came to our rescue and he and Glen were able to unjam it.
The storage room is an ongoing project. We have put together four sets of shelves to house the contents. Yesterday Glen created a high rack on which to hang his vestments. They are very long and won't get nearly as wrinkled hanging from on high!!!!!

 

The Ongoing Saga of the Sump Pump

There is an irony to our "sump pump" saga. During our married life Glen's Mom would come to visit us. She loved to travel but after a few days the novelty of being away would wear off and she would become a little homesick. We always knew when this occurred because she would tell us that she needed to get home to check on her "pump". The water for her farm home was supplied by a well on the property and she was indeed in difficulty if the pump lost its prime. I think the "pump" issue has come back to haunt us. Remember the sump pump was the cause of our damp carpet and soggy drywall back in early July. We have tried various scenarios in the past few months to rectify the problem. Initially the pump was suspended in the hole by binder twine. When it "pumped' the force of the water caused it to twist about in the sump hole and the float would get caught. Then the pump would run and run. We tried various positions but same story. So using our "cathedral kneelers" we found wood bits and made a platform on which the pump can rest. We slowed down the water with a length of hose and it now drains with less "power". For the moment it seems to be a viable solution.