Merry Christmas from Spiritdance!
Merry Christmas from Donna and the gang!
Christmas trees against the Rocky Mountains. I took this picture at a meeting I attended in the Kananaskis! I keep pinching myself that I live here. It is so beautiful!
This is my first Christmas in Alberta. I am so used to tramping around in the "bush" and cutting down a tree, that I was in shock when I saw the price of Christmas trees, so am going without one this year. Instead, I have a little collection of decorator trees around the house. Above is my forest tree, with my wolf collection. I actually made this tree for my Grandma for her last Christmas before she died, to try to bring some cheer to her little apartment in a senior's home. It is neat to have it here, as it reminds me of Christmas's with my family. My Grandma used to put on a huge spread when I was a little girl. When we got a bit older, my Mom took over having the whole family over at our place, and taught my sister and I how to make the important Christmas staples - chips and dip, cheese and crackers, and oysters (haha!) Actually my Mom made the most delicious pineapple cake at Christmas, and I have never been able to make it right, since my mom passed away.
Here is Caden on his chair. Behind him you can see my lights, which I have strung throughout the house. They are purple, which is my favourite Christmas colour. I put a bunch of them in a jar and it is the most beautiful lamp next to my computer.
Here are my angels. I actually have an angel collection (not all shown here). It started when I was recovering from Cancer, and so many people gave me angel figurines. I buy angels that catch my eye as they remind me of my recovery from Cancer and that God is looking over me. I had emergency surgery on March 19, 2003. Because my mother had died from Cancer I was afraid I was going to die, but tried to put on a brave face and go into surgery with a positive frame of mind. So you have probably noticed the windows in the background of my pictures. Christmas seems like a good time to introduce my new house in Alberta. I fell in love with it right away. It is a renovated Church! A father and son renovated it as a project. It is sitting on a new basement, and was moved from its original site to make way for development. It was known as Chalmers Presbyterian Church. I am the first one to live in it, and my next door neighbour taught Sunday School in the basement! It still has the cross on it.
Because of the tough year I have had, I believe this Church was put in my path as a place to heal. Have a look at this photo - it is the backyard, taken last September (I drove by it constantly hoping to get it)... the French doors open from the living room.
Double doors at the front open to the entry vestibule...
...and the kitchen is on the stage where the Minister once stood, so I understand all of my meals are blessed!
Here is the house from the front. It is in a little hamlet called Penhold, 10 minutes south of Red Deer Alberta. Every day I drive to work (10 minutes) past tracking fields galore, between Penhold and Red Deer, and more horses and cattle than I have ever seen in Thunder Bay! On my way home, I look west and see the Rocky Mountains silhouetted against the sky. Every day I pinch myself, it is so beautiful! The sky goes on forever and I am on the edge of the foothills - where Prairie meets the Mountains...
I have fenced the backyard for the dogs. They love it here. My bedroom and bathroom, and main floor laundry are at the 'front' of the house, looking out on the street. It is very retro. And there is a false ceiling above them, and a drop ceiling fills in the steep steeple. When it was renovated, they thought someone might like to put a loft over the bedroom, so they made the ceiling "floor strength."
Under the deck are the basement stairs and a door to the basement. It is very funny, there are still Exit signs over the doors. And the original church kitchenette is in the downstairs hall. The bathroom is new, but there is still a 'Ladies' sign on the door. I love it! 
The kitchenette (above) and the hall (below) with the exit, and sign! I plan to make a bedroom down here that will be a walk-in closet while I live here.
Here are the dogs, on the weekend we moved in! We still have boxes in the basement (that is why you get to see the 'before' pictures!) but we are making this our home. I can walk to the grocery store, the post office, the building supply store, and the bar (if I wanted). Across the highway is a huge subdivision of new homes, as Penhold is becoming a bedroom community for Red Deer. A new sports multiplex is going in this coming year. And from here I can drive to Edmonton or Calgary in 1.5 hours either way. I am still looking for "the farm' as housing prices continue to come down, but in the meantime, there is herding in Bowden just 25 minutes away!
Merry Christmas
from Ted, Shaman, Caden, River and Jet
and me of course!
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