Morning Messenger Calls, MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Awake at 7 am on this marvelous Monday, Dec. 25^th and up out of bed soon after. I got an early Christmas present…………no, not what you’re thinking, but Bill got dressed right away and walked my mile and a quarter with me. It was a very nice walk, chit-chatting about good things in our life and admiring the way some people have set up their units.

Good Christmas Morning everyone!

Bill checks out this cactus

Interesting how this fifth wheel is skirted

Clemson had gone back to bed so had no interest in joining us. When we got back, we made our morning tea and coffee and I gave Clemson, our little boy, his stocking to open. He soon had things pulled out as he rooted in there for the loose treats I’d tucked inside. Oh goody! A new collar! Santa is so smart!

Clemson knew there were some treats in there for him

Before doing too much and realizing that it was 2 hours later at home, we began with Facebook/Messenger calls to the parents and children. After first calling Bill’s Dad, we caught Charlotte, Cory, Chelsea and Olivia on video chat. 

Charlotte, Cory, Chelsea behind and Olivia peeking in at the front
Cute how you can see our excited faces as well down in the corner

I love seeing their shining faces on this morning, the girls were happy and excited, Olivia showing us her new doll, Rachel. Nice to hear that they are staying home today, that is the way Christmas Day should be with children. Then we noticed our friend, Ilke, on Facebook so we took a chance and called her and Jay.

We met this wonderful young Turkish lady in 1998 after chatting with her
online (icq) for a few months before that.
Living in a bachelor(ette) apartment in Clemson, South Carolina
she gave up her bedroom the first time we met in lieu of us getting a motel
That is the type of person Ilke is
Now married, we've met Jay and are thrilled THRILLED that we were able to chat with them in person

Then we connected with my son, Patrick, Chaela and Nathan at their house in St. Thomas, Ontario. Nathan was quite excited and will be deeply involved in putting the 2 Lego sets together. I think Mom and Dad will be lending a hand on these!  

Patrick, my youngest grandson, Nathan and Chaela

We then tried my daughter, Bridgette, but she wasn’t answering yet. We heard that they had a rotten drive home from Lambeth to Cambridge (an hour on good days) last night so hope they were home safely. Yvonne, Bill’s oldest, wasn’t answering yet either so we’ll try later.

And under our tree, we find goodies

Ooh, I love Turtles
this kind as well as the kind we have on The Ridge

Who next? Um, I tried Mom but there was no answer so maybe she was out sharing her beautiful smile with everyone. We called Krystal, Bill’s daughter #3, and briefly wished her a Merry Ho Ho too. We’d talked to Jess yesterday and knew that she was still with her new fiancé, Matt, in Alberta so passed the message on to them at that time.

Christmas morning breakfast in my Christmas tee shirt

I began preparing bacon and eggs for our Christmas morning breakfast and Bridgette called back. It was wonderful to see and hear from her and my two oldest grandsons. Jacob was home with his little French girlfriend, Beatrice and for the first time in too long, I got to see Taylor (TJ to his friends). And along with all that joy, we got to meet Bridgette’s new boy (man) friend, Chris. Looking forward to meeting him in person when we get home.

Bridgette and Chris

Jacob and Beatrice

My oldest grandson, Taylor

Definition of Gorgeous! :)

Yvonne, called on Bill’s phone while I was closing the conversation on mine so I caught the tail end of that conversation with her and Dennis too. I tried once more to connect with Mom and had success this time. She sounded chipper and happy although said she’d forgotten it was Christmas. 😊 I’m sure they have a nice dinner planned for the residents and I’m sure she’ll have company today.

old collar

new collar

Other than a couple of close friends near and far, that was it for our Christmas morning phone calls. We cleaned up after breakfast and dressed in our special tee shirts for now. I’m sure I’ll be changing before we go for dinner at 2. Just because. I’m happy Santa saw and met our needs this year as we needed new wash cloths and tea towels. How did he know? 

Clemson models his new collar for us

We also were happy to see a Waterpik toothbrush/flosser system, something we have talked about for a while.

While Bill figured that out, I touched up my fingernails and then went outside to see if I could get into a new book. I’m talking about James Patterson’s Jack and Jill. Bill read it in a day, I think, so I’m sure it is a good one. The weather is looking a bit iffy this morning only because of the clouds. It is 63F with a teensy bit of breeze so not sure if the pool idea will work out. I’ll let you know!

Everything went smooth for the rest of the day. At 12 noon I took a walk with Clemson so he could show off his new leash but we only bumped into a couple of people to wish Merry Christmas to. I brought him back and then took my camera for a walk further around the park. I checked out the pool and wasn’t surprised to find no one taking a swim. There was a lady in the hot tub.

My sweetie reading directions
Bill's saying is if all else fails, read the 'destructions'

Bill and I got cleaned up for our dinner at 2 and walked over to George and Suzie’s shortly after 1. We met with the rest of our dinner ‘Party of 10’. Len, Brenda, Jean, Skip, Roger and Sue. How great it is to meet new people and even nicer that they are Blurkers, blog followers. We fell into an easy conversation for having first met and together walked up to the clubhouse.

From the left:
Patsy, Bill, Skip, Jean, Len, Brenda, Sue, Roger, Suzie, George
We chose the same table as last year and got called first for serving
..... just like last year!

Dinner was wonderful! Turkey, ham, dressing, gravy, green bean casserole and rolls. I didn’t overeat although I cleaned up everything on my plate. Oh, and yes, that includes apple pie with whip cream. Delicious! George took his tripod, thanks Mr. Yates, so we both got to get into the pictures we took of the group. 

The clubhouse tree

Yummy Christmas dinner

George wears his free hat

Apple pie for dessert

Our VQA Niagara Peninsula wine for dinner

Jean and Skip provided Christmas crackers for everyone to pull

What a great time and to top it off, after walking back it was time for………….you guessed it. Happy Hour!

At close to 5 we said our goodbyes and walked back to the Suite. The air was so calm and it was still 71F so I decided to change and take a swim/hot tub. First, we called Bill’s sister, Liz and then my sister, Donna and Gerry. We knew they had made it home safe and sound from Milton earlier today but had a driveway that needed to be shoveled and blown out before getting their car in. This is why we are where we are.

Christmas Day and I'm in the outdoor pool

and hot tub
No goosebumps!

I took my clothes up to the pool with me so I could dry off and change in case it was chilly coming back. I was wrong. I set up my little tripod in a couple of spots so I could prove that I was actually swimming on Christmas Day. It surprised me when I stepped out and the air was not cold at all. I changed all the same in the shower room and walked back, just catching the pretty sky to the west.

It has been a truly wonderful day. We met new people, made new friends, had a terrific turkey dinner and spent some quality time together. 

And the sky is performing once more

And today I captured the little hummer at our feeder

and to all a Good Night

I hope you all had a very Merry Christmas too. Thank you for stopping in today.