Christmas 2

Sunday, December 18, 2022

Picked up Jordan and Dave in Calgary on the Sunday, the 18th. It was about -38 with the windchill. Jordan arrived at 6:30 but didn't get through customs until after 8. The airplane door to get the stroller out was frozen, as were the cargo doors to the plane. We had takeout pizza at the hotel. George slept while we ate. Dave arrived after midnight since his plane was delayed.

What is this thing? wonders Finian.

Monday, December 19

We drove to Edmonton in the bitter cold. Mom was thrilled to see George. She held him. We took photos with everyone together. Had dinner at the Tin Palace that night. Doug, Marion and Jan were in attendance. We had a nice visit. Mom seemed to enjoy herself.

Tuesday, December 20

We took Jordan, Dave and Georgie over to Krista and Jordan's house about noon and stayed for coffee. Met baby Henri who is just a month older than George and about twice the size. He is a happy baby. Had dinner at mom's that evening. She was in a good mood. We had martinis and pizza.

Martinis at Nana’s.

Wednesday, December 21

Stopped at Krista and Jordan's house the next day. Stayed for coffee. Starting to warm up a bit outside but still really cold. The drive to Invermere was long. George slept until Aidrie where we stopped for lunch at the Secret Gallery Restaurant. The poutine that Jordan and Dave shared was good as was the prawn hamburger we shared. Jordan laid George out on the floor of the restaurant on top of a blanket. It was here he first rolled over from his back to his front. Big moment.

Getting to know George

Friday, December 23, 2022

Dave, Nicola, and I spent the morning shoveling snow, first, our own driveway and then Ron and Margaret’s. After that we visited Invermere, the main event being a trip to Arrowhead Brewery where we enjoyed some beer and purchased a hat for Geordie as he’d lost the one we’d bought from the coop brewery in Montana. That night, we ate at “From Scratch” where Nicola had managed reservations.

George in his jumparoo or, as referred to by mom’s, “the circle of neglect. 

Saturday, December 24, 2022.

Dave and I went up skiing in the afternoon. The snow was good but the light was very flat. It was definitely warming up outside. Nicola, Jordan, and George hung out in Desperado Lounge in the ski chalet. Dave and I had a good ski. When we joined the ladies in the lounge, George was lying on the floor, occasionally rolling from his back to front and then demanding that he be returned. They had managed a table by the fire, a nice spot to warm up after getting chilled on the hill.

We stayed until the torch light parade scheduled for 5:30, started at 6:00  Skiers carried torches down the hill in a pattern, then formed at the bottom with Santa in the centre. It was cold so we got slightly chilled waiting outside for it all to happen. Jordan and Dave stayed inside with George where they viewed it from the window. At the end of the parade was a firework display that was quite spectacular. For dinner we had Chinese hotpot.

Snowy day on the Fairmont Hill

Parade of Torches

Hotpot.

Sunday, December 25, 2022

We didn’t really do Christmas on Christmas day as we were waiting for the rest of the family to arrive. We had a special breakfast of baked eggs in ham and white cranberry mimosas. There was a lot of snow overnight. Spent a lazy day around the house getting a few things ready for the crowd to arrive the next day. Then took George for a walk with the second hand sled we bought, which he loved. The dogs found this very interesting. For dinner we had wagyu steak from the local J2 Ranch along with smashed potatoes and played canasta that night.

The back yard with all the snow.

White cranberry mimosa.

George and the dogs.

George learning canasta.

 

Monday, December 26, 2022

Dave tutored a student in the morning from his temporary office in the basement.  Hart, Liz and Geordie were supposed to flying into Cranbrook. The wind was blowing like crazy outside and there was fear of freezing rain. I started out for Cranbrook with an extra hour of lead time. Drove as far as the Premier Lake turnoff when I got a call saying their plane was diverted. I returned home. The roads were crazy icy as was the runway in Cranbrook. So, their plane had landed in Kelowna. Geordie stood in line to rent a vehicle, overheard a guy looking for passengers for the car he rented for the drive to Cranbrook. The guy turned out to be an RCMP officer meeting his wife and her family in Kimberley.  Along for the ride was a woman travelling with her grown son. She apparently maintained a constant commentary throughout the drive which caused Geordie considerable distress. Meanwhile, Doug Hartford’s flight with his boys landed in Cranbrook according to schedule and, as luck would have it, Liz, Hart and Geordie’s luggage was also on that flight. Their luggage arrived before they did at about 9:30 that night, which gave Geordie and Liz the opportunity to ice the boys. We ended up having dinner with everyone. Quite a surprise considering the events of the day

 

Nicola with George, dogs, and “circle of neglect” in the background. The gang arrived and we ate around 10 p.m.

Snacks while waiting.

Tuesday, December 27, 2022.

We celebrated Christmas this day. Stockings were laid out on the chairs for everyone to open. A large percolator with 42 cups of coffee received steady use. Nicola had prepared cinnamon buns held together in the shape of a Christmas tree, some with raisins, some without. There was the traditional Christmas morning wife saver that disappeared pretty quickly. Two types of Christmas breakfast cocktails were served, the usual mimosa with orange juice and a new one, a white cranberry mimosa. As well, we had some Irish cream with coffee as per Geordie’s tradition. Everyone got a stocking, including the dogs. As the youngest, as per tradition, Eric handed out the gifts from under the tree. Everyone seemed pleased with their gifts. I certainly was with a book from Liz, a record from Geordie, a bottle of whiskey from Hart and shirts from Fat Face from Jordan and Dave. In the afternoon, we played a tournament of games. Balderdash (not my favourite)  Telestrations (with super thick felt markers) and, finally, foosball. Dave and Kieran seemed to have the most success here although Jordan was very good after her many Family Day cookie parties at Dave and Gail’s house. Christmas dinner started with Nicola’s Christmas Negroni in a glass ball and included all the family favourites. The evening was spent on a lengthy canasta game which as usual, went on too long.

“Christmas” morning

“Christmas breakfast”

 

Wednesday, December 28, 2022

Nicola booked a sleigh ride in the town of Radium Hot Springs starting at the community center. A large wagon with bench seats along each side was waiting for us with two large Clydesdale horses hitched and ready to go. Two other Clydesdales were waiting their turn to take over.  We clomped through the golf course to enjoy a view of the cloud-covered valley. A herd of big horn sheep were spotted by some but not by me. Could have all been an illusion for all I know. There was also a flock of wild turkeys wandering from house to house.The pace was slow and peaceful. I really enjoyed it. I could see clomping across the prairie in a wagon pulled by a couple of these. There’s a peacefulness to it that you don’t get with the rush and bustle of a motorized vehicle. After the ride, we had our picture taken in front of the horses. We were also given permission to pet them. They’d look you in the eye thinking I don’t know what. Didn’t matter. They had great dispositions. Our next stop was Radium Hot Springs. The water which I would normally describe as tepid was today quite hot. George enjoyed the water a lot and he was held by nearly everyone there, Hart and the Hartford boys included.  We went from the hot springs to Arrowhead Brewing. I like the brew pub and the beer’s not as bad as Nicola portrays it to be. Fortunately, we managed to find a table for all ten of us.  Then, it was off to dinner at the Black Forest Restaurant to enjoy schnitzel and whatever else was on offer. Hart ordered the wines which was a good thing. One German, one Canadian. Surprisingly, the Canadian wine won the prize for being the better according to the taste buds of those in attendance. A communal meal was a nice way to celebrate our wedding anniversary. To my surprise, Nicola presented me with an anniversary present. It’s a brass compass inside a case. On the outside, Nicola had my name engraved and, on the inside was engraved, “Where you lead, I will follow. Happy 38th Anniversary. From Nicola.

At the “Black Forest Restaurant.”

 

Thursday, December 29, 2022

Skiing for the boys on the Fairmont Hot Springs Hill today. Dave and I had been skiing before Christmas when big flakes of snow had been falling and ski conditions were great. Since then, the temperature had risen considerably and, of course, it had rained so I was surprised to find the conditions relatively tolerable. The snow was hard packed with some loose snow on top. We all had fun. Hart and I took a break at the bar in the Desperado Lounge where we were never served. (I wanted a beer. Hart did not.) Then, we joined the others on the hill for the last few runs. Afterwards, we met Nicola and Liz at the hot springs by the resort. Unfortunately, many others who’d been skiing that day did the same. The hot pool was packed. Didn’t matter.  For dinner, we had vegetarian chil and cranberry margaritas along with saskatoon pie and ginger ice cream made by Doug.

View from the parking lot.

Cranberry marguerita

 

Friday, December 30, 2022

Bowling was the big event of the day. Two lanes with Doug, Kieran, Eric, Hart, and Liz in Lane 6. Dave, Jordan, Geordie, Nicola and me in the gibbled Lane 5. Doug killed it with the last few balls in the first game. Geordie won our first game and Kieran bowled the best overall although I believe Eric did well too. Valley Alley makes the perfect sketchy venue for afternoon bowling. Kids had just finished celebrating a birthday. Beer, wine and spirits could be purchased at the same counter you got shoes. Another room had a couple of pool tables and, for the gambler, a slot machine.  Marion and Jan arrived just before dinner. And suddenly, there were twelve people and five dogs. This was a moment I’d been worried about, but seeing everyone sitting in a large circle, chatting with cocktails courtesy of Nicola made me realize twelve people in our modest sized living room wasn’t a huge problem.  For dinner (pulled pork tacos followed by the chocolate fountain), some sat at the dining room table while others seated themselves on couches and armchairs.  And George, in the centre of it all.

	Candy bar/Bar bar

Saturday, December 31, 2022

New Year’s Day we did a walk along the Old Coach Trail. Nice views and some much needed exercise. For lunch we all met up at Eagle Ranch where the service was a bit slow but the views were excellent. Hart, Eric and Kieran played the cooperative boardgame “Spirit Island,” downstairs during the day. Dinner was ham and scalloped potatoes with tiramisu for dessert, one of my mom’s holiday classics. New Year’s Eve was a great celebration. We listened to music with each person picking their favourite tunes on a Spotify playlist Hart set up. Numerous people added “Wonderwall” just to irritate Jordan. We played foosball and Partini and had a lot of laughs. Elizabeth brought the hats and Nicola had noise makers. Dave and Geordie were in charge of fireworks which of course included a Wonderwall sound track.  We, or at least, I had a lot of fun.  At the end of the night, we bid farewell to Doug, Kieran, and Eric who had an early morning flight to Cranbrook. It was sad to see the beginning of the end of our Christmas celebrations. It had been a lot of fun.

Sunday, January 1, 2023 

Today, we drove Liz, Geordie and Hart to Cranbrook to catch their flight to Victoria. This time, the plane left on time and arrived in Victoria as scheduled. Amazing, considering all the screwups that had occurred with flights over the Christmas season. Doug and the boys didn’t have the same luck. Their early morning flight was cancelled so they couldn’t leave until that night, which left them kicking around Cranbrook for an entire day, not to be envied. For Jan, this was the day she would enjoy her last cigarette. Then, she and Marion took performed a ceremonial burning of her last pack. We all took a walk on the Spirit Loop trail in Columbia Lake Provincial Park, with George in his sled as usual. Kerry arrived for dinner, a nice surprise we weren’t necessarily expecting.

Monday, January 2

We drove to go skiing in Kimberley. A very enjoyable day for Dave, Marion, and I. The ski conditions were good. The temperature was a reasonable -2 or 3 degrees with no wind. And the lineups for the tows were just long enough to rest between runs. We didn’t take a break the entire day. Jordan, Nicola, Kerry, and Jan took the dogs for a walk along Lois Creek in Kimberley, then went for lunch and a little shopping, mainly for cards I understand. Nicola picked us up at 4:30 and we met the rest in the town centre. (Voted the best small town in B.C., did you know?)  Unfortunately, “The Shed” was full as was “Pedal and Tap”, our second choice.  So, we went to “Overtime Brewery” which is small but had room for us all. We had some great beers, then home for dinner

Overtime Brewery

Tuesday, January 3

Dave and Jordan went for a snowmobile ride in the early afternoon up at Toby Creek Adventures so Dave could get his full Canadian experience. We took George for a walk over the Valley Trail near Panorama and he slept in his sled the whole way. Dave and Jordan used their gift certificate which they had received from Dave’s brother and sister in law for some fine dining at the “Birchwood Restaurant” in Invermere. While there, we took care of George next door in the “ULLR Bar” where a music trivia bingo was planned for 7:30. Marion, Jan and Kerry met us for beers and then dinner. By the time the music bingo started, the place was packed. The caller was flamboyant and funny, giving out shots for people with hats and whatever else caught his fancy. And then, it started. Many of the songs were by the Monkeys, the Back Street Boys, and the Jackson 5 known by all and sung by all. It was quite a hoot. When George got fussy, Nicola took him next door to Jordan for a feeding. About 10 minutes later, I went over and picked him up. As I was leaving, I heard the waitress say to Dave and Jordan that they had a pretty good thing going.

Dave driving.

Jordan driving. Ach!

Kerry just given’ ‘er at the music bingo.

Wednesday, January 4, 2023

Today, we said good-bye to our guests minus Jordan and George. Dave left with Marion and Jan who dropped him off at the Calgary International Airport on their way through to Edmonton. At the airport, Dave discovered that he had been put on stand-by for his flight to Minneapolis which was where he was to connect to his flight to London. Eventually, they decided he was undeserving of a seat. Instead, they put on a non-stop flight to London from Calgary on Westjet and he left later but landed sooner than he would have on his original flight. Instead, at the suggestion of one of Nicola’s friends, he paid to hang out in the first class lounge at the Calgary Airport, drinking for free and consuming complimentary snacks while watching the Canadian Junior Men’s Hockey Team win gold at the World Junior Championships in Halifax. He said it was the best $42 he ever spent. Plus the airline gave him $800 to reimburse him for his troubles.  Kerry hung around chatting for a while after everyone else had left. And then, she had to go and there was just us, Jordan and George. We went for a stroll and then waited for our next guest.

Thursday, January 5

Nicola and I drove to Cranbrook where we picked up Nicola’s sister Crosbie who had flown in from Victoria. She can with a huge suitcase full of gifts for George. Her time here was spent cuddling with George. While she was here, Nicola made all her favourite dishes including broccoli with cheese sauce, roast pork, Jiffy Pudding and “mom’s good dessert”. The evening was rounded out with some canasta, where at one point our two teams were tied. Very unusual.

Friday, January 6

We went to Radium Hot Springs with Crosbie and George who loved it as usual. That night Crosbie treated us all to dinner at Station Pub. We continued our canasta game that night, with Nicola and I ending up just slightly ahead.

Saturday, January 7

Today we went to Fairmont Hot Springs which Crosbie declared the better of the two. It definitely has better views and was not as crowded as earlier in the holiday season. More George time, more eating, and more games.

Sunday, January 8

More George time for aunty. Tonight George discovered the NFL and appears to be quite a fan.

Monday, January 9

Early morning. George was lying on his blanket making a lot of noise, telling Nicola and I something. Jordan was in bed. Nicola was reading a book with him when I woke up. He was changing the pages while she held the book. Then he played peek-a-boo, grabbing his blanket and pulling it over his eyes and then releasing it. He also played it with his little hand puppet. With the blanket over his face, he gets all excited and moves his legs. Nicola said he was petting Finian which he hasn’t shown any interest in until now. Finian is very jealous but both dogs have been very gentle with him. Later on that day we returned Crosbie to the Cranbrook airport and then came back to Fairmont. Time to relax a bit and have one of Nicola’s special smoked cocktails.

Tuesday, January 11

I woke up at 7:15. Jordan was already awake with George so I said I would take over. He was generally good for the next hour when Nicola took over. Then he made his cranky noises while I was sitting in the rocking chair writing about him rather than doing anything.  That afternoon we went skating on the Whiteway with Jordan and George. We headed south where the Whiteway ends at Indian Beach forcing us to double back to Windermere where we’d parked our car on the ice. The dogs, and particularly Finian, were running too close to our skates, so we put them in the car and continued north towards Invermere. Nicola tied a rope around George’s waist so he wouldn’t slip into a lying position. And he did enjoy the view for a while until he fell asleep. Jordan pulled him part of the way and I pulled him the rest. We passed a few ice-fishing shacks (one with a nice Royal LePage for sale sign on it) and beside one was a bald eagle gorging itself on fish guts left there by one of the fishermen for the bird’s enjoyment. The bird didn’t mind our presence as you can tell by the shots I was able to take with my camera phone.  A very enjoyable way to spend an afternoon.