Happy Holidays!

Well, over the Christmas break I got to visit with family and close friends.  I spent the first half of my holiday in a little Town called Griswold, East of Brandon.  That is where my mom lives, along with a couple of aunts and uncles.  It is where they are all retiring.  Some are already retired!  And the second half of my holiday back in my home town of Thompson where my dad, brother, nieces and and a few other family members and dear friends live.

Anyways, for the most part I spent my time simply visiting.  We reminisced about old time, had some laughs, watched some movies, played some card games, monopoly, charades, and of course baked and cooked wonderful meals!

One of our traditional holiday specials is meat pie.  Delicious! Basically you cook a whole chicken, beef roast and pork roast, grind them up, add some mashed potatoes, some other secret ingredients and then bake it to perfection.  My cousins and myself are learning the secrets to this recipe and are taking part in the preparations of the pies now, we are no longer the little kids on the side lines who just get watch and wait in anticipation until they are done.  We get to take part in all areas of the great Johnson meat pies!  Its always nice when  a bunch of the family gets together for a cook-out!  

Oh yes, I almost forgot!  The desserts!  We baked peanut butter cookies, chocolate chip cookies, butterscotch chip cookies, jam-jam cookies, and butter tarts!  So much food, but all delicious.

In this photo is my mom on the left, my cousin in the middle smiling at the camera, and one of my aunts to the right.  They are preparing christmas supper.

Let's see...  I thought I was packing rather light.  I had my tripod, and clothes for about a week.  I didn't have to put that much pressure on the luggage bag to have to close it, but apparently my idea of packing light isn't the same as the manufacture's.  My one handle on my luggage bag had previously broken this summer when I was packing for a couple of months.  But low and behold, as my luck would have it... thats right!  My other handle had to go and break as well.  Do you have any idea what it's like trying to lug around a 45lb to 55lb suitcase that doesn't have any decent handles?  I gotta say... it really isn't the most pleasant thing.

Now what else was there?  Oh yes, Christmas shopping.  Well, this year everyone in the family came to the conclusion that we were all a little poorer than usual, so we decided to just do stalking stuffer style gifts.  In other words... cheap!  I mean its the thought of the gift that counts... and it really was mostly just getting to spend some time with each other, since we don't get to see each other all that often anymore, and when we do it usually isn't for very long.  

To the side is some of the loot I got for christmas!  A cute little snowman box, a recipe keepsakes book, some of my favorite perfume at the moment, and some creams and soaps.  This is only part of what I got.  The other stuff had to stay behind because of its size and/or storage issues... I only have so much more room for nick-nacks and collectables!  But they are being saved for me for when I have room for everything that I own.  And it is in good hands, so I am not worried.

Traditionally we try to spread the festivities of the season in as many areas of the house as possible.  This includes the dining room and kitchen tables.  If there is an extra runner or doily, it will be placed on some table somewhere.  I think it helps in spreading the feeling of christmas.

We also try to make things festive for the family pets as well.  Animals enjoy taking naps just as much as we do.  I can't remember how many times I've slept next to the christmas tree, or taken a nap on the couch just to have the glow and warm feeling of comfort that it emits.  So for the pets... well we put a little bed under the tree for them!  They seem to love it.    

In order to be able to visit everyone my main means of transportation was the bus.  From Winnipeg to Brandon wasn't bad.  That is only a 3 and a half hour ride.  Now the bus to Thompson on the other hand isn't quite so short!  That bus ride lasts about 9 hours.  But thankfully I have taken it many, many times and am used to it.

I also got in a bit of time for drawing.  This one is not quite done yet, but is the second of a set.  The first one was given away before I remembered to take a shot of it with my film camera... but never the less, here it is...

All in all, I enjoyed my holiday.  I wish it could have been a little longer, mostly because it may be some time before my family all get together again.  I very much enjoy spending time with my family and friends.  I always look forward to when I get to spend some time with them.