Christmas at Gull Lake Ranch

At the airport a few days before Christmas

It was a quiet and mostly peaceful Christmas this year. Alex drove to Vancouver on the 19th to spend some holiday time with his dad and his sister, who had flown in from Toronto. That left Carol, me and the two dogs at the ranch. As per our usual practice, we had closed the office for the week between Christmas and New Year's so would have more than a week and a half at home. We were up early on Saturday, Christmas Eve, baking pies and preparing for the following day's feast. The pies were gifts for friends so we spent the afternoon visiting Bud and Lea Thorson and Sara at Dreamscape Ranch. We have all been busy with our lives recently so it was nice to meet up and share an eggnog and some good conversation. They've been renovating the modular home that sits by the entrance to their ranch and Lea was kind enough to show us the progress they've been making. It looks very cozy and will be a wonderful rental home. We made it home shortly after dark (sadly, only about 4pm!) and spent the evening watching a variety of old Christmas favourites on the tv.

We did sleep in until 8am on Christmas Day but were quickly busy getting the turkey in the oven, in preparation for our planned early dinner (3pm). We opened gifts, phoned various family members spread out across the country, and continued our tv marathon viewing session. The meal was fantastic, if a little much for just the two of us. It's a good thing we both like turkey sandwiches! It was the first real test for our new kitchen, and everything worked out perfectly. I have to say that it is REALLY nice to have a proper kitchen sink and a dishwasher!
Apart from the dogs going berserk every so often, it was a peaceful time. The weather continues to be unseasonably warm, but not warm enough to melt our snow yet. Carol has been working hard on her puzzle (thanks, Reen!) and I have made several forays down the driveway cutting and loading firewood to replenish our wood shed. It is turning out to be a wonderful holiday - one that is well earned after our busy building schedule this year. We are planning to wire and insulate the basement before heading back to work later next week so I had better go and get at it. Happy New Year!