Boxing Day

Cousins Amber, Courtney and Colin

This Boxing Day blow-out was held at my sister Lois and her husband Doug's house in suburban Alma. Strong west winds made the drive over interesting, but upon arrival, Doug had a warm fire in the wood stove going and Lois had plenty of food and drink to warm us up. Pretty well all the Bedfords were there, and there was a lot of laughter and stories exchanged. Doug trusted me to use his gas grill. It was really good to see everyone!


Kim and Lois in same pose as 45 year old photo Kim's holding


Gift Exchange

Christmas

The Gift Exchange at the Carters

Wow! Christmas in the Stonetown...It doesn't get any better. We have had a very peaceful, relaxing spirit-filled weekend. Yesterday, we stayed close to home and were very domestic, cooking, eating and washing dishes all day. We attended a beautiful evening church service. The choir was excellent. One of our local story-tellers told a story of a poor juggler in Italy who ended up in church on Christmas eve. I got a Swedish axe for spitting wood. We had a tasty dinner with all of Jane's relatives at her mom and dad's tonite and are now just getting over the turkey buzz. We thank God for the gift of his Son, our Saviour Jesus Christ.

Goodbye Film

My last film camera

Goodbye film, I'll miss you. You have been my companion since I was fifteen. Black and White, slides, colour negative. 35mm, the 6X7cm 120 film I shot so much of as a professional, 4X5 inch sheet film. Sniff, sniff. My last film camera is for sale on eBay. But all is not sad...There will be a new Nikon digital SLR waiting to use all my lenses on...this is exciting...I'll put the photos on this blog.

December 15

Full moon tonight. Can't see it for the clouds.

The Little Church in Avonbank

The St. Joseph's Convent, now home of the sisters Linda and Jane and families

Last night we attended the annual Community Service at the church in Avonbank, just down the road from Jane's sister Kathy's. It was a wonderful candlelit service in a beautiful old country church. The service was followed by a fellowship time in the basement. Jane's mother Marg came with us, as well as sister Linda. Her sister Kathy and husband John help to organize this annual event. Gabriela came home for the weekend with Adam. They were both studying for exams and catching up on their eating. It was really nice to have the house full.

God's Promises

On the way to work...early AM...17 below

To all my fine-featured readers: can you recall any of God's promises? If so, please write your favourite one in the comment section. It has been a fantastic week on the King Street hill, with the arrival of real winter weather. Can't wait to get the skiis out and head to Wildwood for a burn! On Wednesday night, Jane and I attended an amazing concert by classical guitarist Remi Boucher in Stratford. Remi played a flawless set of pieces by Spanish composers. It left us breathless. Ever notice how the best guitarists seem to live and breath the music even before it leaves the instrument? Uh-huh. We went out to the Pine Glen tree farm late this afternoon and cut down our Christmas tree. Jane thought we should get a large, wild-looking spruce and we did. It was cool to see all the families trudging through the snow, kids bundled up in snowsuits, picking out the perfect tree.

How do you stop a cat from chewing?

Nephew Frank with Grandpa John outside his workshop (Image stolen from his dad's (Big Willy) blog)

Lizzie is bored. She won't go outside because it's too cold for her dainty little culo. Because of this, she is extremely bored. She spends her days sleeping and tormenting Jane and I by chewing up all the paper in our office. What a mess. Does anyone reading this have any ideas on how to stop her?? If we're not careful she might end up eating something important, like a bill from the Canada Revenue Agency. The residents of St. Joseph's Convent are busy getting ready for Christmas. Lights are being put up, decorations dusted off...we might even get a new sofa! On Sunday night, the ministerial association put on a community Christmas service at the Presbyterian church. Wonderful! All the churches in town put forward their best singers and scripture readers to tell us the story of Jesus' birth. A highlight for me was Dave MacPherson singing 'O Holy Night', accompanying himself on the guitar. Dave did a wonderful job of balancing voice and instrument, and didn't make one mistake, no small feat considering the many chord progressions in the hymn.