It's Definitely Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas

This is our second round of snow here (Vancouver, BC), and this time it is really coming down.  The back yard is already blanketed, and there is no sign of stopping....  I guess I should go get some corn for popping....

I was delighted to be asked to play piano at the elementary school again this year, while the kids had their pancake "Breakfast with Santa".  So I played about 2 hours straight, while the kids came in and out, and stopped to sing songs for a while.  I've done it for many years now, often taking turns with my friend Shelley who is a piano teacher.  Me, this is really the only time of year I play much piano at all.  But it is some of my favourite music, especially when I have a chance to flip to my hymn book and the beloved Christmas carols.  This year, the kids kept arriving to sing, so I played mostly songs about Santa and reindeer and jingle bells.  Since I bang these out louder for the kids, my fingers were actually sore by the time I was done.  But it was lots of fun.

It was great to see other moms (and dads), and my friend Beth gave me these adorable gingerbread men:

I like the idea of the ziplock with the bow in it, so they will make it home safely!  Ha ha.  They look too adorable to eat.

We were fortunate that we had visitors a week ago, which forced us to get our tree, and decorate and clean up the house early.  So we are now in pretty good shape for more entertaining.  Here are photos of our tree, and a Christmas centerpiece I quickly assembled from the variegated cedar in our yard, and berries from our female Skimmia Japonica bushes.