Christmas, curling, and cold

Being a bit of a number nerd, I did the calculation on items that I can purchase here in Canada as compared to the US prices (after conversion to Cdn dollars). Overall I saved nearly 40% on those purchases. Some items were definitely worth it - like the Skechers slip-ons and Christmas pj's for Eli. Others, not so much - I could have picked up the sweatpants for Eli's for (slightly) less here in Regina since they were on sale here too.

I also picked up some items that we just don't have here - Dot's Pretzels (not as good as I was assured they'd be), Dolly Parton cake mixes, and specialty flavours of Oreos. The amount I saved in Canadian dollars offset almost half the cost of the trip. Had I stayed home, I might have saved money, but I wouldn't have completed my shopping in such a short period of time and probably run all over town looking for the "perfect" gift. On this trip, I had to make my decisions quickly - do dithering allowed.

The rest of the week has been fairly quiet. I did a little grocery shopping on Tuesday in order to pick up some needed items and a few sale items. The furnace guy dropped by later that day to check out the furnace as I've been hearing a whine occasionally when it starts up. Yes, we had the home inspector check it, but he didn't mention the whine and the furnace is 22 years old. Of course it didn't whine when he was here, though he knew that it would like be the inducer motor. He did a couple of tests and everything is working well though did say when it starts getting very loud, we'll want to replace it. The part is about $1000, but a new furnace is about $6K so I'll ensure my son knows to keep an ear out.

I also finished off the six cocoa cups for teacher's gifts for Eli. (Photo of the two was posted on Wednesday). I've started a couple of small ornaments for my nephew and niece to go along with their gift cards. Last year I gave them little snowman ornaments and they couldn't stop talking about them. Perhaps this can become a annual tradition and when they are on their own, they'll have a start of decorations for their trees.

Wednesday was stitch and chat. I puttered around the house in the morning, doing a bit of laundry, dishes, reading blogs, and working on the Christmas letter. My travel agent called before lunch and we chatted about her trip to Portugal, my bus tour, and my upcoming March 2024 cruise. Final payment is due next week, so we took care of that. She's keeping an eye out for airfare for my August 2024 cruise as well though prices at the moment are quite high. I'm hoping for a price drop though that's probably wishful thinking.

On Thursday I had planned to visit the nearby community center to meet some local women and try to learn Mahjong. However, I woke with a cough and a drippy nose. I decided that I'd best stay home and after some Buckley's and a sinus and cold Tylenol, I felt well enough to get some more cleaning done, got my Christmas cards written and ready for the mail, as well as some crocheting. I cannot locate my safety eyes in my craft room boxes, so ordered more as I'll need them to finish off the ornaments. In the afternoon I discovered another curling event on You-tube. It was only the second draw, so I should be able to amuse myself for the rest of the week.

I was feeling quite a bit better on Friday morning, so I masked up and went to the mall to mail my Christmas cards and a parcel for D & Eli. A stop at Safeway was on the agenda too, where I picked up some ingredients for Christmas baking. At home between curling games, I mixed up a pan of gingerbread cake. I also finished Chilly, the penguin I started making for a friend back in October (before the packing began in earnest). He's a little crooked and not perfect but I think he turned out pretty cute.

My son is learning all about the trials of home ownership. On Friday, the light in the main bathroom started to fail. It's an enclosed LED vanity light fixture with no way to replace the lights, thus a new fixture is needed. I checked on-line at our local outlets and none had the appropriate size in stock, except one and the reviews for it were abysmal. I ended up ordering from Amazon, so he'll have to remember to take his cellphone to the bathroom for light in the morning, as it won't be in until December 9th (at the earliest). I'll convince my brother to help us install it. I'd done an install on a light in the old house a few years and it worked fine but this one is quite a big bigger and heavier.

Today, getting my little tree decorated, gifts wrapped, and more crocheting is on the agenda. And, of course, more curling to watch.

Oh, and the best thing to happen this week is: I found my tea canister. I have absolutely no idea why I packed it as I did. The darn thing was tucked in among toilet paper rolls in the original product packaging. I mean, it was a safe place for it, but I don't remember putting it there and I never would have thought to look for it, I just happened upon it when I was getting more paper for the loo.

Have a wonderful week ahead everyone!