We set up the Christmas tree that Bernard bought with his sisters a few years ago. It's been kept in the storage all this time because they got tired of settingit up and taking it down. It took us about 2 hours to set everything up too, but we were happy with the result. Bernard bought some cute ornaments which added a dash of color to the mainly gold and silver tree.
I made a wreath from the materical that we chose from Michaels, and we hung the wreath above the fireplace.
And it's so much more festive with a tree! It was actually my first time setting up a Christmas tree so it was really fun. But I might find it tiring after a few years :)
On the 23rd, I had dim sum with my high school friends because our high school classmates Gwen and Derek were visiting from Toronto. They haven't changed a bit, except that Derek now has a #1 haircut. It was nice to catch up with them and to see everyone else at the dim sum gathering.
The cymbidium orchid that Mr and Mrs Ng (the last owners of the house) left us are blooming. I was so exciting! It hasn't bloomed since we got the house 2 years ago and from what Mrs Ng told me, it didn't bloom for a long time before then as well. The flowers are light yellow and have a faint fragrance.
On the 24th, we had a Christmas potluck gathering at Uncle Woshun's. It's a fun night. Unfortunately we didn't bring our camera so we didn't take any pictures. Aunt Lydia gave me an artist set with oil and water color paint. She hinted that she wants a new painting.
We had a quiet dinner at home on the 25th since almost all restaurants were closed. We bought some fresh stuffed pasta for dinner. I invited Rose to join us since her family is away during Christmas. It's been a while since we got together and we had fun listening to her cruise adventure in Hawaii.
On boxing day, we had a potluck dinner with Bernard's side of the family, including his mom, sister Catherine, her fiance Norm, sister Agnes and her boyfriend Glen. I made Shitaski stuffed with squid paste, which was a hit. Catherine's prawns with green beans was also very delicious. We took pictures after dinner. It got a bit confusing as to which camera to smile at because we had 3 cameras going at the same time.
We didn't do much during the holiday but did go for a walk at Deer Lake during one of the dry afternoon. It got dark so early, it was only 4:30 pm but the sun started to set. Below are two pictures taken by the lake. The tall buildings on top of the hill are high rises at Metrotown and the area on the slope used to be a women's prison but now it's a big townhouse complex.
Here's a pictures of me saying hi to two huskies. They belong to a guy that lives in a big house by the lake.
It was cold so our walk lasted only about 20 minutes or so. We decided eating warm food at a restaurant was a much better idea and two of us lazy bums quickly went back to the car.
We ventured out again on a sunny day to Cypress moutain - not to ski, but just take a few pictures. It was a clear day and at the view point we got a nice view of the whole city as well as Mt Baker in the States.
The sunset casted a golden glow on our skin.
After leaving Cypress mountain, we decided to eat in West Vancouver because of the huge amount of traffic crossing the bridge. We were pleasantly surpised to find a Steamworks restaurant in the Park Royal Mall. We shared a pizza and a pasta dish, which were delicious. We walked around Home Depot in the mall after dinner and found a small chandelier that we thought would fit perfectly in the eating area. They didn't have anymore stock but we managed to find it at another Home Depot. We installed the chandelier right away. Bernard did most of the assembly. It looks more cozy than our old halogen light.
I spent the last two days of vacation doing a watercolor painting after blowing the dust off my paint blushes. My watercolor paints were so old that most of then dried up in the tubes and I couldn't squeeze them out! I was quite rusty as well so it took more than a day to finish the painting. I wasn't totally happy with it but it's a good start.
