When I opened the door to let the dogs out this morning I was presented with a wonderful sight. It had snowed!

Every year I wish against all odds for snow. Living on southern Vancouver Island snow is not a common sight, so when it happens I am thrilled.

Having grown up in Alberta and Manitoba where the first flakes always fell by the very end of October and lasted until March at the earliest - I miss the snow!

I have lived here on the Island since I was 13 years old, and in all that time I think I have only had one white Christmas. Normal here for Christmas is sunshine, blue skies, and lots of green grass.

Every year I make one secret wish for Christmas and that is snow.  I am hoping that this mornings surprize was a hint at our Christmas weather to come.

Although the snow of this morning is pretty much all melted away now, they are calling for more. I have also heard rumors that this winter we are going to get lots.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed - expecially for when Jamie is off on Christmas holidays, so that he will not get called in early to work.

* I want my house to be clean

* I want my house to be decorated for Christmas

* I want all my Christmas shopping to be done

* I want all my Christmas gifts to be wrapped

What do these statements really mean?

I want my house to be clean - by this I mean I want to be able to walk into any room of my house and get a good feeling. I want to be able to look around and not see anything that needs to be done. I want every room in our house to be finished. No more drywall that needs finished, no more floors that are plywood, no more rooms in waiting. I want every room in this house to be a retreat!

 I want my house to be decorated for Christmas - by this I mean when I am done decorating it will take the breath away of every person that enters. I want people even just for one minute be captured in the spirit of the season.

I want all my Christmas shopping to be done - by this I mean I want to find the perfect Christmas gift for every person on my list, without it costing me all the money that I have saved for the last couple of months, and without having to go into debt to do so. I want to take away the expectation of the recipients that they will receive more than one gift - or the feeling that I have given someone else a better gift than I have given them. I want them to feel beyond the gift itself. I want to be able to walk into the stores and know what I am after without the panic of worry that I will select the wrong thing.

I want all my Christmas gifts to be wrapped - by this I mean I want to be done. I want to have all the gifts bought, and wrapped and ready for the big day, so that the few days I have to enjoy the holidays are not filled with the last minute rush. It also means that I want each gift that I give to be wrapped with a meaning, and that the recipient understands the meaning behind the gift.

What am I going to do to accomplish this list?

- Start in one room and dig in - clean everything in the room. Do not leave one spot to stay. I cannot do anything immediate to finish rooms that are not done, but I can make each room the best it can be. I can start a list of things that need to be done, and start saving to purchase the things we need to finish off these rooms. I can put the buzz in Jamies ear to get them done. Make a point of not settling!

- Just start! Get Jamie to bring up the decorations and put them all into one area of the house. As I finish cleaning each room, do any decorating I want done in that room Use lots of lights for the twinkle effect.

- Make a list. Decide before hitting up the stores what I am getting for each person. Realize that people do not need more than one or maybe two gifts each. Don't buy anything that I cannot attach a meaning to. Shop for the person not the crowd. Make a goal of finishing all shopping within a couple of days.

- Wrap every gift I buy the day I buy it. Add a gift card that states the meaning of the gift.

Can I do this?

Do I believe in the word can't? No! Yes I can do this!

Will I do this?

Yes! It is time to take back the true feel of Christmas. Christmas should not be about rushed, Christmas should not be about stress. This year I am going to fight, to earn my place in the relaxation of the holidays! I deserve to have the time to enjoy the holidays, just like the other people in my family, I refuse to allow them to take for granted the effort, thought, feeling and love I put into the holidays for them! It is not my responsibility to make sure they all have a good time. It is not my responsibility to make sure they are all happy. It is not my responsibility to please everyone while forgetting myself in the process!

This year I am going to remember me, and why Christmas is important to me. If after all these years, my family chooses not to learn the lesson I have tried to teach them over the years then so be it, but I will enjoy the holidays, and I will look back on the holidays after they are over as a fun and relaxing time!

As I wait for my Blogging friends to add a new entry to their blog, I realize that they are doing the same, waiting for me to post again in mine… and so with that in mind here I go…

Halloween 2005 – again we were in charge of the walk, and again it was a huge hit with all the party guests. We used many of the same props as we used last year (have a look in the Aug. archives) – with the addition of a few new items.

Boris the Spider hung suspended over the main area of the walk, with cobwebs suspended from his long hairy legs. Not noticed until the ‘victim’ was directly underneath, when the cobwebs brushed the tops of their heads they looked up in fright only to be greeted by this ominous looking creature.

The Chopping Block was located just the other side of the maze, and contained bones and blood (Thanks to the local butcher shop and a bottle of fake blood) – the axe that was firmly planted into the round of wood completed this grisly scene.

Go Away Rocks were placed strategically along the walk, and looked much like any other rock you could happen to see, that is until you came within close proximity to them, when they would start to wiggle, shake, moan and flash the Go Away lettering in a neon green type of color.

The Black Wall was a huge tarp hung between trees, which hid the cottage and the lights beyond from the victim’s sight. There was no moon on this night so it was beyond black out there. We did not want the party lights of the cottage to distract the walkers. This was also a great place for the ‘It’s’ to appear as if out of nowhere.

The Sound Effects were new this year – not from the pre-made CD of last year. but a mixture of sounds., including a great thunder storm, wild animal sounds, and moans and groans. We located the stereo in the garage as we did last year, but hung speakers on both sides of the pathway. Making the sound echo off of the buildings. Full volume this made for a great effect.

The Maze was a repeat of last year, however in a different location. This year you entered into the maze just as you turned the corner on the driveway, the sounds from above were beyond the maze. Many people hesitated at this location, and you could see the panic in their movements, as they tried to convince themselves that it was safe to continue.

We were not as lucky this year as far as weather was concerned. It rained and stormed with high winds right up to the day of the party, giving Jamie and I only the day of the party to set up. Not enough time in my opinion. Although there was a little bit of drizzle the night of the party, for the most part the weather held, even though it was cold. The days after the party was again back to heavy rain and winds. Making all good intentions of many pictures impossible. I did manage a couple of shots of the graveyard during the day in the midst of setup, but that is it! Very disappointing.

But we do have bigger and better plans for Halloween next year. Which I promise I will go into more detail and tell you about a bit later on.

Now I am ready to move on to my Christmas plans.

I am testing out the moblogging feature with this post - sending it from my email rather than posting directly into the editor, it will be interesting to see how it comes out!

The trip from the T to our cabin seemed to take the longest, but finally we found the right road, with the sign pointing to our resort. We were here. Our home for the week!

After checking in at the office, and finding our cabin, Jamie and I set to unloading the jeep and putting our stuff away in the cabin. We then went in search of a phone to phone home to let everyone know we had reached our destination safe and sound.

I am not going to go into to many more details about our trip, as I'm sure your imagination can come close to the point. However we did have a wonderful and very relaxing time.

We used the hot tub daily, and sometimes more than once a day much to the blue jay's total disgust, as he sat on the roof of the cottage and threw bits of branches at us. I had a hard time sitting in the hot tub, as all I did was float. Jamie had to hold my legs down so I could sit in one spot.

We cooked dinners on the barbecue all nights except one, when we roasted a chicken in the oven (dancing chicken) - We ate by candlelight, and sipped orange juice from wine glasses - the food was out of this world and better than we could have found in any restaurant, and the company even better.

We took long walks on the many beaches that were in the area, but enjoyed the beach which was a two minute walk from our cabin the most. We collected shells and wrote love letters in the sand to each other, and giggled like teens through it all.

We had a fire in the woodstove every night, and were as snug as bugs in rugs.

We spent a lot of time talking and just being together, and now I want to go back!

Various Pictures:

A rock stream that the resort people made that was located on the walk to the beach.

The steps up from the beach. 

An enchanted path we discovered on one of our many walks.

Dinner is Served!

One of my most favorite pictures of the beach!

This was our favorite beach, just a two minute (if that) walk from our cabin.

Our second favorite beach showing off the early morning mist, and an eagle flying overhead.

Our last night at the cottage was rewarded with a sunset.

I will not bore you with more pictures - but you can now get an idea why I am so looking forward to our next trip.

New stuff to come in my next post. Stay tuned!