Merry Christmas

 

And so, another year was brought to a sudden halt at work,
sent home early due to rising COVID.
Again, no tree at work - and just a small one at home.
Hard to muster up that "feeling", but today,
Christmas Day,
I am here with my blessings,
the Cat Wrangler and kitties, and perfect softly falling snow,
whilst listening to the Salvation Army show from England.
 Then Mr. Bean later on!
Oh, and still later maybe I'll see what the Pope has to say as well. ;)
Merry Christmas!!!
🎄

A Chair with a View

🎄The view from my armchair 🎄

 

Ghost of me and Christmas - Past

Every year I have gloomy thoughts as I put Christmas stuff away,

and this year a little bit more so.

Having received a 35 year service award pin at work,

I am feeling mighty old - and tired.

Pain of osteoarthritis is causing much struggles to just get to the bus stop,

just to get out of my chair, etc. etc. 

Something in the word degenerative that is really really depressing. 

Like, how can you have any hope with that word hanging around.

To make matters worse, all my life I've been pretty much avoiding talking pills for aches and pains, only now to start taking them out of desperation, and realizing with utter astonishment and dismay, 

that I have no pain relief - none. 

Medicinal MJ?

My last hope, I guess.

And I hope soon.

Oh little tree in library,

How sweet you are each year!

(to the tune of O Little Town of Bethlehem)

Where?

Even Santa looks down in the dumps :(

My little tree got a new topper this year,

instead of the broken one, 

mended with paper clips for a couple of years (shocking!), 

and which I took home last year,

with every intention to glue it together.

But - A whole year passed...

Can someone say Amazon!! :)

I tell you, when it's as cold as it's been lately here in Quebec,

online shopping is just the ticket!

And if you stick to it, 

every day is Christmas when you get home and check the mail!

(Um, oops, just forgot my NY resolution).

In closing I share this neat image.

Cool make-over app at Facebook,

transforms photos into artsy creations,

like this old favourite - a frosty me,

taken at a frosty bus stop,

on a very frosty morning.

Happy New Year!

(Just don't wish me good health or any such malarkey, thanks, 

it's not in the cards for me!)

Welcome!

Welcome to my world!

Can you spot the festive visitors?

Santa makes himself comfy on my desk...

Green glass kitty hangs around all year 
- she matches the lamp!

She insisted on being included,
as this is Cat Whisperer's blog after all!

And of course, the little tree,
bedecked with ornaments new and old...

Vintage publications grace the table
 on which the tree sits...
Representing Britain, The Illustrated London News...

Inuit: The Night the City Sang.
Many many years ago,
when I was just starting in this field,
as a student assistant,
my boss would gather us "kids" at Christmas
to listen to a reading of this book,
a charming tale.
This book comes off the shelf every
Christmas to sit under the tree,
and I recall the wonderful time we all had,
and remember fondly,
this special lady who left us too soon.

And of course, French Canada - this is Quebec after all!

There is something so lovely about vintage decorations.

Over at the main library,
my colleagues got busy with a new twist
on a Christmas tree,
using books!

How cool is that?
"Behold! Our beautiful tree, created from Forbes,
Fortune and The Economic Journal –
with some Church History added to the mix!
Topped by The Great Atlas of the Stars,
opened up to the Omega Centauri –
the largest globular cluster in the Milky Way!"

The tree is complemented by a paper star,
fashioned from discarded magazines,
a trick learned from YouTube of course!

Happy New Year!

Well, I am very late with an update and best wishes for all for 2012, but sometimes over the holidays, one is so busy doing nothing, there is not time to do anything else! ;)  Anyway, here it is Sunday afternoon, and rather than wake up the puddies with some much-needed vacuuming, I am relaxing watching the snow fall lightly, and enjoying the last days of the Christmas tree. I always hate taking everything down - it seems like I just put it all up! All seems warm and cozy, and I suspect the tree will still be here next weekend - breaking my Epiphany rule/deadline. As I write, Chaiyka, pictured above, sleeps in heavenly peace with his little pals that double as pillows. Seeing that face, would YOU start the vacuum?? I think not!

A Silence Deep and White

The snow had begun to fall in the gloaming,

And busily all the night

Had been heaping field and highway

With a silence deep and white.

James Russell Lowell

Featured today is one of my very favourite vintage Christmas cards. I do not recall where it came from - maybe a garage sale, or a flea market. Or maybe it was tucked away in a donated book - in my line of work, that can happen often. People pass away, their stuff donated or sold - away and onward. I have no idea who the Tibbs or Johnstons were, and although I have had this card for many years, it is the first time I have noticed that Mrs. Johnston writes: "This is not just the book I wanted, but may appeal to the gardener in us all."  I wonder what book she may have been referring to? From the look of her handwriting, perhaps she was already advanced in years when she penned these few words. For me personally, the card itself is evocative of Christmases long ago - riding in the countryside with my father and sister - going to ski or snowshoe - feet aching with cold at the end of it all. Then, warming by the wood-stove at a friend's farm - the smell of wet woolen mittens - the welcoming warmth as toes unfroze. A simple sketch accompanied by a few brief lines, and yet draws out such deep and distant memories - tinged with melancholy and sadness of times gone by. Maybe one day someone else will find this card and treasure it as I have. I do hope so. In the meantime, while it lives here, may it stir another soul in need of some "memory and desire" and warmth. I am not so sure of April being the cruellest month...

In the Bleak Midwinter

This weekend we had a special dinner party - a small intimate group - to end the season officially. A wonderful lasagna, delightful full-bodied red wine, brandy chocolates for dessert, and good movie afterward. All this with Christmas decorations still plentiful, including the Christmas tree (believe it or not). Here is the centerpiece made from a newly purchased mold - just fill with water, freeze and voila - a lovely icy star-shaped candle-holder, decorated with seasonal touches (I was having a Martha moment!)





It was a quiet night, but very enjoyable, even though some decided to wear lampshades (it was NOT THAT kind of party!)





Beautiful Sylvester, a neighbor's cat, came in to warm up - minus 20 today!


Sometimes he rushes in laden with snow, eager for a snack at the local "Kitty Daycare"!





And last but not least, the arrival of the amaryllis. This one is called Intokazi, and as you can see in other photos of the window garden, more scapes (flower stalks) are pushing upward, to provide much needed color now that the holiday greenery etc. has been taken down. In the winter months, my entire garden, which is a very large one, is reduced to this one windowsill. There reside the amaryllis of course, and various others including azaleas that always bloom for me at the holidays, and various geraniums, which may be considered ordinary in the summer, but in winter are colorful treasures indeed. The newly installed fluorescent lights in the basement have prompted and encouraged growth and even flowering, and as soon as I spot an imminent bloom cluster, up it comes to grace the window garden. Currently, we have some splendid peach colored types, and at Christmas we even had some bright red ones (a beautiful and different "Sparkler" variety). I could not survive the bleak winter without my winter windowsill garden.

Snifter Snoozer

(Snifter Snoozer)

It seems as though every time I have attempted to update my blog or write to friends or family (Joasia - if you reading this - sorry for my lateness!) - there is an interruption. Usually a good one to be sure, but an interruption nevertheless.

To recap a little: I decked the halls, made myself and others jolly, and I even donned some gay apparel (ha-ha). I sang joyous - by myself and with others, and I was most definitely heedless of the wind and weather - I stayed indoors! I am embarrassed to say (am I really?) the only fresh air I got was whilst letting the cats in and out and in and out - well - you get the idea. And yet, a whole week has flown by anyway - the time seem to fly, even when not doing much of anything.







Some helped me decorate...





Some kept active (unlike me)...



And still others refused to share any glad tidings whatsoever, and agreed to disagree, briefly, whilst facing opposite directions...





And there were Christmas visitors - three cats comprising of Picolo Angelo, who slept all Christmas Eve night in Angel's favourite spot by the tree - it felt as if Angel was actually with us - quite amazing he chose her very spot to sleep in...


And the two neighborhood scamps, Rascal (aka, Is-he-or-isn't he homeless - sorry no pic this time - he moves too fast!), and Sylvester (long-haired, black and white) slept overnight in the basement on some warm and comfy old comforters at Christmas, as it was bitterly cold and it was obvious they were locked out for the night. I must say I slept soundly and peacefully knowing that at least these three were warm and safe on what had been so far the coldest night of the holidays.





And of course a new box is always the best pressie...

Today, New Year's Eve, the temperature has risen, and it almost feels like spring. So much so, that several of the residents actually slept on the porch this afternoon.

I was very late decking my halls this year (the tree was decorated on Christmas Eve - this has never happened before - lack of time and Christmas spirit was to blame), so I won't be taking it all down any time soon.





We all love the way it looks - cozy and warm and dreamy. I am sure I am always amongst the very last to "de-Christmas" the house. I really don't look forward to that task as it always feels sad and depressing, so I try to enjoy it as long as possible.

And so, by the end of this evening it is possible I will resemble this little fellow at the top of the page, once again from a vintage 1960's card, entitled "Snifter Snoozer". However, it takes a lot less these days to reach the bottom of the glass! Happy New Year everyone - health above all, and happiness in equal amounts! Cheers! And Na zdrowie!