Carbon monoxide, coyote skulls and ice fairies

Nighttime photo of our candy cane tree waiting for Santa Claus.

Our Christmas was a white, icy wonderland. Our power went off on Dec.22 about 8 pm and came back on Dec. 23 at 5 pm. It was an interesting 19 hours. This was my housecleaning day!! No water and no electricity. I used the broom and dust pan and found I had one Swiffer wet cloth left in the container. It would be used on the kitchen floor. Wrapping had to be done and potatoes cooked and mashed for the traditional cheesy potatoe dish for Christmas dinner. I did it in three stages on our Coleman stove (not the wrapping, Mike did that) not thinking about carbon monoxide poisoning until the potatoes were finished. Now I no longer shake my head at the people who end up in the hospital for doing dumb things like that. Our kitchen is large and open and the stove was small so I was likely saved by that. Our carbon monoxide detector in the garage didn't even go off!!( I would likely have been dead by the time the fumes reached the garage.) Of course as soon as my husband explained what could have happened to me I felt a little dizzy and seemed to stay that way for most of the holiday.

But Santa still came and brought all the gifts we asked for and a few we didn't. 

Coyote skull Mike got from his brother. It is for his collection. He doesn't collect skulls per se or coyotes but it is likely the beginning of one.

The turkey was cooked with a pork roast. The veggies were prepared while our guests worked on the crossword puzzle and the jig saw puzzle. I tried two new recipes, one for brussel sprouts and one for carrots. I don't usually choose two that needed to be prepared immediately before dinner but I did this time. Maybe the carbon monoxide was getting to me when I decided to do that! My daughter's friend, who was spending his first Christmas with us, jumped in to help while Mike looked after the meat. The table was set and we settled in for a feast.

Table all set for company.

I got a pair of snowshoes for Christmas with poles. I knew that if I didn't get on them asap they would likely stay in their bag until spring when of course I couldn't use them. So off we went to the Kingston Peninsula to Elmhurst Outdoors. They rent snowshoes and serve delicious soups and biscuits in their lodge. It seemed like a good activity to enjoy as a family and an activity to keep Mike (from Toronto) from getting bored. My husband's name is also Mike so we had to do the Mike M and the Mike O thing all week. They both had tired necks from their heads snapping around to see who was asking them something.

Meg and Mike in the snowshoe lodge working on hot bowl of curried squash soup.

Me, Phoebe,Meghan and Mike O wilderness snowshoeing.

We surprised ourselves at how well we all did on the "shoes." We were able to stop often to listen to the ice fairies as they moved through the trees with us. 

Phoebe and I in a fashion shoot for outdoor wear.

The ice fairies followed us quietly until we came to the top of our last hill. We paused to listen and they obliged by increasing their chatter. The sound moved through the tops of the trees seemingly touching the ground just next to where we were standing. Phoebe announced that they were applauding us! What a nice way to end our trek.

Here's hoping the ice fairies find you this winter and applaud you and yours.