The Holidays are Over

...and thankfully so.

It's been difficult this year.

Between the brutally cold temperatures and snow, and family members sick with the flu, I'm glad things have finally settled down.  I developed bronchitis just before Christmas, my 94 year old Mom was sick but still managed to make it to our Christmas dinner.  And yes, I managed to cook dinner for eight!

Husband's auntie, almost 90, made it for Christmas dinner with her 60 year old bachelor son who is here from Calgary caring for her following a difficult surgery.  Bless my daughter for doing kitchen clean-up that night as I was plain tuckered.

Husband got sick with the flu just after Christmas, and yesterday our 3-1/2 year old grandson became sick to his stomach while he was here for his normal Thursday babysitting session.  Fortunately it was just a one-day stomach flu and he's bounced back nicely today I heard.  Husband's better too.

We had a pleasant evening with friends last week...made even nicer because we simply pulled two pizzas out of the freezer.

The Christmas decorations came down yesterday, the latest ever!
I often take the tree down before New Year's but not this year...I didn't have much energy after being ill.

Stanley Park, railroad

Other friends went to the Coast and sent the above lovely night-time photo of the miniature train station and decorations at Stanley Park.  I thanked them with a text that it was -19C; they replied it was -1C.
I told them we had another eight inches of snow; they replied there was a skiff on the ground in Vancouver.  And so it went, back and forth.

Grandson (at right) thrilled that he is now going into the next stage of lessons.

Silver Star instructors are famous for teaching little kids to ski!  Our grandson now enters the "Ready Teddies" program in early February, having completed his "Lil Rippers" lessons.

two cock pheasants in the birch tree, above the feeders

The deep snow has been hard on wildlife.

I have a suet feeder as well as a black oil sunflower feeder in the above-pictured birch tree.  Twice a day I fill the seed feeder!  It's as though I have the only birdfood in Coldstream...finches, chickadees (my favourites!), juncos and, yes, quail and magpies.

Seeing two pheasants high up in the birch tree shows how desperate wildlife is for food with the deep snow.  Deer and coyote tracks crisscross our acreage, some tracks are only 50 feet from the residence (likely because Kia is no longer with us).

Yes, Christmas and New Years are both over.

from internet

Hope everyone has a healthy and happy 2018.

OK, healthy anyway...happy may be a long shot for some folks!
Higher rates are again on the horizon...property taxes, hydro?, water rates, insurance (all three: commercial, residence, and vehicle), commercial supplies.

And thank goodness for a temperature warm-up!  Yay!