Christmas in Stratford

Our first Christmas abroad.

 

                         The streets and shops in Stratford are all decked out, it's so lovely!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Stratford Sweet Shop--the boys' favourite.

 

 

A family playing Christmas carols for charity.

 

Ben got nuzzled by a reindeer. This isn't surprising -- he's our animal lover.

 

 

These candles remind me of Newfoundland.

 

 

Embarrassing to say, but we have been consuming MANY mince pies. It seems that they are served at every social function in December. Apparently Brits consume 70 million mince pies at Christmas. I have yet to try them with brandy sauce... that will be tommorrow's treat.

 

Speaking of Chrismas dinner, we decided that since it will be "just us" this year, we will have a menu made up of 1 choice of each family member. Will be an interesting combo:

 

Levi's request: toutons

Ben's request: chicken kiev

Daniel's request: smoked salmon

Ken's request: roasted potatoes

Nancy's request: a Christmas cake from Marks and Spencer

 

Yesterday we had a little celebration with our friends the Dancy's that included a little gift exchange. So lovely, helped us to not miss all the folks at home quite so much.

 

 

Ken was so pleased with his Shakespeare cookie. "I will never eat this!" he declared.

                                                      Christmas Eve game of "500".

 

Our little tree:

 

 

 

 

As I write this at 11:15pm, I can hear the church bells pealing from Holy Trinity as a prelude to the Christmas eve service. We love that church, especially the advent services this month. Earlier today:

 

 

 

 

Peace, love, light and joy to you this Christmas.

 

 

Evergreenery

It's still so green here. Everywhere! Makes a nice change from white, just for 1 winter.

When I think about "evergreens" I think of coniferous trees like the spruce, juniper and pine that surround me in Newfoundland. It's been fun to notice all the other kinds that there are. I guess everything else that still might be green is bundled in burlap to survive our 16 feet of snowfall.

Some of the greenery:

There are these giant cedars and pines by our house, that give off a gorgeous scent when it rains.

I don't know what this one is called but I notice its knarly trunk whenever I pass by.

Large, glossy leaves... no idea what it is either, but so pretty.

Hedges (boxwood?):

Lots of flowers, too. Recognize these?

"Winter Pansies" was what the sign at the store said. Bit of an oxymoron to a Canadian!

Another little lovely that we plant in the spring:

Holly!

Some find the moss that grows everywhere pesky, but I love its green hue creeping along the bricks, a bit naughty-like.

And a pretty little "falsie" seen quite often:

Usually I try to make a wreath for our front door at Christmas, but some years I've been too busy. With all this abundant greenery, and a tight budget, I thought (shhhh!) a little pruning might be in order.

But no need because low and behold, there was a dumpster in a park with some legitimate prunings:

Home they go in my basket.

Then the fun starts!

Final products:

Happy Christmas!