Sunday Night Chit Chat: Christmas Approaches

Howdy Humble Readers...

Geez, I suck at blogging, don't I?  Again, I have a picture heavy post for you all, so please bear with me. 

Pippin wasn't so sure about Santa Claus

The Shire has been subjected to the most drastic of weather patterns in the last week and a bit.  At the end of last week we were sitting at -47C (that's in the -50s for you all who use Fahrenheit).  Alberta was the coldest place on the planet for more than 24 hours.  I ended up with a bit of frostbite on my cheeks and nose, because I was out in it for too long bringing in several loads of groceries.  Not very bright.  Today we actually hit 7C (yes, that's above freezing)... such a drastic change, thanks to a Chinook wind.  We'll be hanging out around the freezing mark for the next few days, thankfully. 

Us on the night of my Beloved's
office Christmas party

My Beloved's office Christmas party was... well, interesting.  The food was alright, but we only had appetizers all night.  If we would have known that, we would have eaten beforehand.  We sat with a nice couple, but the rest of the party was a lot of people taking extreme advantage of the open bar. 

Hermy, the Elf, has been a busy guy the last couple of weeks.  Here are a few highlights...

Reading a Christmas book

With new ornaments to add to the
wee-lings' collections.

He doodled on our portraits.

With our Angel Tree gift

Fishing for goldfish crackers

Riding a candy cane zipline

Cookies to bake for Sunday School.

Ginny has really loved the process of looking for him every morning to see what he's been up to.  I confess that there was one night when he simply didn't move at all, and a couple of nights it's been pretty simple stuff (like hiding in the stockings) but overall I'm happy with what we've done so far. 

I went to see the Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug on Friday night, of course.  As someone who's read the book almost every year since I was twelve, I have to admit I was disappointed.  This is the first time in all of Peter Jackson's interpretations of Tolkien where I was left confused and a little sad.  He was so focussed on sticking as close to canon as possible during LotR, and even the first Hobbit movie was close, with the additions from the appendices.  I'm sure I'll come around eventually and be able to appreciate it, but on Friday I was just unhappy.  It didn't help that we got into the theater late and had to sit in the second row from the front.  I don't do so well with 3D movies anyway, and that close ended up making me dizzy and ill. 

Christmas preparations are almost complete for the hobbit hole.  I have one more batch of baking that I want to do, and I haven't started wrapping presents yet, but I'm feeling good about that.  We are going to be hosting on Christmas day and Boxing day, so I'm going to do some of my cooking this coming week... things that freeze and reheat well. 

Today was a special day for Ginny.  The Sunday School sang during the service today, and it was her first time joining them.  She is the littlest in our Sunday School, and it was obvious by how she handled being up in front of the congregation.  I'm intrigued to see what the Christmas pageant next week (in which she will be a teeny angel) will bring. 

Anyway, onto this week's chit chat.  Here's what I'm...

Reading... I'm embarrassed to say that I'm still reading Game of Thrones.  I'm beginning to think that I need to give up on it, but I've invested so much time in it.  Next up, even if I don't finish GoT in the next couple of days, I'm going to move on to a book I haven't read in the last couple of years.  It's called Tracks in the Straw, and it's an interesting collection of short stories surrounding the Nativity.  Each story is a different look at the birth of Christ, told through the eyes of peripheral figures, like the innkeeper's daughter. 

Watching...  The winter finale of Once Upon A Time.  I know that they'll fix it somehow, but this just sucks.  Lol... I get too into these shows. 

Listening to... nothing in particular.  Enjoying the relative quiet in the hobbit hole now that the wee-lings are asleep (Pippin has had a rough day with teething his molars and getting over a cold).

Cooking/Baking...  Tonight was a pot roast (with my best ever gravy), mashed potatoes, steamed veggies, and yorkies.  I did manage to burn myself pretty badly when I took the roast out of the oven.  I'm self medicating with a glass of really good white zinfandel.  I'm going to be baking some shortbread later in the week. 

Happy I Accomplished This Week...  rearranged/reorganized/cleaned out both our fridge freezer and chest freezer to accommodate our Santa's Choice order.  Both freezers are now packed to the gills (I went with more meat products and less processed foods for the pantry), and I can safely say that we have enough frozen potato products to last us a full year. 

Looking Forward To Next Week... taking Pip for his vaccinations and getting to talk to the public health nurses about his communication issues and what our steps will be after his hearing test next month.  Oh, and I'm going to colour my hair in a couple of days. 

Thankful For...  that I was able to get in and out of Walmart today (for diapers and a couple of odds and ends) in less than 25 minutes, I was able to get a haircut today, and that Ginny only had two accidents this past week.  Oh, and I'm thankful for the points program at my grocery store.  By the end of this month I will have gotten more than $200 in free groceries.

***Bonus Question*** Are you done your Christmas shopping?  Yes.  Have been since the last week of November.  Just have a couple of things to pick up for stockings, but I can get them next week when I do my grocery shopping. 

*****
This was posted as a part of Carla's Sunday Night Chit Chat.  Please click over and check out what the others are chatting about tonight.