It’s officially feeling “real” — December is here!
The weather in Nova Scotia is certainly reinforcing this message. We’ve had fairly consistently white weather these last few weeks. And while I’m a bit cranky about the cold, I have to admit the layer of snow does add a certain je ne sais quoi to life.
It also leads to school delays (last Friday) and outright cancellations (last Wednesday and this Monday).
Speaking of the most recent snow day, let’s jump right in with that in terms of Happy Things.
SNOW DAY
By the end of our previous snow day, I was TOAST. All the mess and chaos of having the kids home, plus the mess and chaos of all their friends who came over, feeding a big group spontaneously, the utter carnage of snow gear everywhere. Etcetera.
This snow day I said Indy could play with friends but we were limiting it to outside.
He played outside for hours and then we actually ended up going as a group to my parents (who were delighted to have three kids and an adult arrive for a cookie and coffee/water) and it was their problem to deal with the sopping entryway! After visiting for a while, we bundled back up and went outside and shovelled the driveway for my dad. Many snow day shenanigans occurred and all the boys were covered head to toe in snow.
My parents came to our place in the late afternoon, and I asked two teenagers from the neighbourhood (who call my parents “Grammie and Grampie” and Indy/Belle their “cousins”) if they wanted to come over, so it was a festive, big group around our table for supper.
LIVE NATIVITY
One last happy reflection on the Live Nativity: here’s a video summary, complete with a few glimpses of some members of our family (blink and you might miss it). Perhaps more importantly, there are cameos by both Willie Nelson and Gertie. (More information here if the latter references are making you confused.)
CLEAN FLOORS
During the snow day last week, Indy (and his friends) massacred the floors. They came in from outside with socks that had gotten wet from the snow and then they proceeded to drag those wet feet back and forth all over the floors while playing.
I finally got my act together, vacuumed the floors and gave them a proper mopping. Of course there has been more wet stuff tracked through the house this week…such is life!
SAYING NO
Because of snow cancellations, the Ladies Bible Study Christmas Party I was supposed to lead last week (and had prepared for in various ways) was cancelled and…I could have moved things to make it work for me to lead this week but…I didn’t want to! And so I said No which wasn’t ideal for everyone, but it was what worked best for me. (To be fair, I offered to move things around on a different night so I could help out, but that wasn’t going to work for other people. Weather delays are such a nuisance, especially this time of year when things are so busy.)
MOST GIFTS ARE WRAPPED
I’m making progress! I wrap everything that goes into stockings, and with 7 people at our house this Christmas it adds up.
The guest room was feeling overwhelming and chaotic, but now that I’m down to a single (smallish) box of things left to wrap, it’s much more manageable. I need to get everything cleaned up by next week so I can wash sheets and generally get the space ready for my father-in-law, so I’m on a timeline!
I’ve also been setting out the Christmas gifts as I wrap them. I’m not putting verse clues on all of the gifts (here’s a post that explains all about this tradition!), but some of them are getting that added step, and I’ve been making sure to keep up with that as I go along.
DINNER OUT
Last Friday, the kids went to my parents after school and John and I headed to Halifax.
We did some thrifting (obviously; including the white and gold tree skirt pictured above for $1—I’ve been using a tablecloth for years, but had wanted a tree skirt; Belle very adamantly insists she liked the red tablecloth better) and then went out to eat at our favourite steakhouse. We usually only go once a year (for our anniversary), so it was a delight to go out in celebration of the holiday season.
The food was absolutely delicious, the restaurant was warm and cozy, and we had great service (it was actually the same waitress we had this summer who was excellent both times).
We have go-to orders, so there is no deliberating over the menu. (I get notoriously stressed by having to navigate a new menu.)
It’s rare we opt for dessert, but this time we shared a small sticky toffee pudding. I’ve never made one at home, but how hard can it be? I need to look up a recipe! [I Googled a recipe and it looks very straightforward; maybe a culinary experiment to try out over the Christmas break?]
BLOG LAND JOY
I enjoy doing a little roundup of things making me Happy in blogland. Here are some things on my radar from this week.
- A huge congrats to Maria for completing the 1,000 Hours Outside challenge AGAIN.
- Michelle took us on a tour of what is probably quite literally the world’s cutest, most amazing advent calendar.
- Suzanne posted two more holiday gift guides—here and here. She is the GOAT at this!
- Two of my favourite bloggers—Jenny and Kyria—spent time together and they WENT TO A LIGHTHOUSE and said they thought of me. All the heart emojis for this; read about it here.
- I am over-the-moon excited that Kristen is finished a much-loathed nursing course.
- Sarah (Jedd) has gone running 100 days in a row AND her son has officially chosen his college.
- Jana is working steadily (through less-than-ideal conditions) to paint a mural at her town’s library. I so appreciate her sharing photos of the artistic process.
- Engie posted her round-up of contenders for her 2025 Christmas ornament. This is one of my favourite things she writes about all year. While I’m not a fan of profanity (and warning there is one ornament with profanity), it’s also pretty spot on for the year she’s had and the sweary one happened to be my favourite 😉
- Suz’s posts often make me laugh, and the snafu with her holiday cards is just TOO HILARIOUS!
BONUS HAPPY THINGS
- A literal bonus. John and I both opened up Wealthsimple accounts (an online investing platform here in Canada) and because we had talked to an online agent (free), there was a special opening bonus. Yes, please!
- A nap. I caught up on a lot of sleep over the weekend, but I was still feeling tired. After church on Sunday, while John was in Halifax with Indy at a soccer game, I heated up magic bags and took to my bed for a few hours, and it was LOVELY! I got up in time to prepare soup for Monday’s supper…and prep peanut butter balls.
- I make peanut butter balls once a year at Christmas and I was starting to feel a bit behind on my traditional baking. One thing down! These are in the freezer ready for spontaneous social calls. I just spoon a bit of chocolate on top instead of dipping them (which is such a messy, annoying process).
- The Christmas tree at dusk is so twinkly and happy looking. It makes a big difference in my mood. Especially if the day has been overcast and dreary; everything feels much brighter emotionally once the lights go on!
- Leftover lasagne soup. This recipe tastes better after sitting for a few days and the leftovers were, quite literally, *chef’s kiss*!
- The kids’ moods have been pretty great lately. There are rough moments, obviously. We all have them, and kids definitely have them. But I feel like they are generally compliant, cheerful, and excited about the current season. Is it all the twinkle lights? Starting the day with chocolate via their Advent calendars??
- Speaking of the kids, Indy got a haircut (much needed) and it was so sweet to sit in the waiting room the whole time and listen to him engage with the hairdresser. He’s been going to the same place since he literally had to sit on someone’s lap or a stool to be tall enough and now he just marches in and tells he what he wants and then they talk to each other like he’s a 45-year-old man of the world. It truly is hilarious.
- Belle had a bake sale last weekend with a group of friends from school. It was a citizenship project and all the proceeds were destined for our local food bank. Other than providing ingredients and driving she and a friend to the agreed meeting location, I did nothing. It was especially fun to drop her off at the food bank with the bag of money. She was shocked they gave her an official giving receipt for the donation, and it all felt very grownup!
- Pickleball! Monday night’s session was cancelled due to weather…but we didn’t get the message so we went anyway and ended up having the whole gym to ourselves which was ideal since we’re newbies. We went back again on Tuesday and all had a blast, though after two nights of pickleball I was sore!
Your turn.
- What’s been the highlight of your week so far?
- Do you like sticky toffee pudding?
- Have you ever played pickleball?
- What’s one small thing (a light, a treat, a routine) that’s boosting your mood this December?
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This is such a happy and festive post!! Even though I am going through all the holiday motions I haven’t quite gotten into the Christmas spirit yet, and reading about all your happy preparations and wintry adventures helps immensely!
I love sticky toffee pudding and for years it has been our Christmas Day dessert. Yum!
Last night was White Christmas watching night with Joy and I am OFFICIALLY IN THE HOLIDAY SPIRIT.
Highlight: playing with cats at the animal rescue. And giving my final- grading will be done today!
Pickleball is really popular here, but I’m not interested. My kids play sometimes- they have fun.
Denial is saving me right now- ignoring some big hard things, pretending Xmas isn’t two weeks away. Sometimes need to do this to get through the day!
I wasn’t interested in pickleball either…until I started playing it. Very fun!
“Denial is saving me now.” I’m sorry this is where you’re at but, also, this might be the single best answer I’ve ever heard to this question.
Yay for cat therapy. Win, win, as I’m sure they love all the extra attention and affection.
The highlight of my week was meeting Kyria- and is there anyone who DOESN’T think of you when they see a lighthouse???
Peanut butter balls!!! I talked with the kids about what cookies they want this year, and peanut butter balls were on the list. i might be making them this weekend!
You have had a lot of snow! It looks very festive and Christmas-y. I’ll just be down here admiring it from afar.
i just read mbmom’s comment above- what’s saving me right now is compartmentalizing the hard stuff. Maybe there’s a bit of denial in there too!
Compartmentalize sounds a lot better than denial , though! Let’s go with that!
Agreed! Love this reframe!
I am SO glad you got to see Kyria. I know life has been…a lot for you lately, and seeing a friend and getting to have a little adventure together must have been such a bright spot <3
Peanut butter balls are sooooo good. And since I only make them once a year, they really do seem extra special.
It is yet another snow day and it has been snowing all day. This actually feels like the first truly "proper" snow day. We are home and inside and it looks like a snowglobe outside my window.
Lol clean floors. Rex makes that impossible. I vacuum and mop so much and sometimes I feel like I should just give up and wallow in filth. However, I do not.
What’s been the highlight of your week so far? I passed 10K words on my new project! It’s just fun to write.
Do you like sticky toffee pudding? NO
Have you ever played pickleball? ALSO NO
What’s one small thing (a light, a treat, a routine) that’s boosting your mood this December? On Saturday mornings I have been having *our* peppermint mocha creamer in my coffee!
Well, the kids are off AGAIN TODAY (though it really is deserving of a snow day; it is snowing and blowing like crazy outside right now) so my floors are filthy again. Oh well! It was good while it lasted and I’ll mop again after the weekend??
I had TWO coffee’s today with a splash of the creamer and it was a delight <3
Oh, I spotted you in the video! Singing at full volume and fully committed. The whole clip has such a joyful, community-feel vibe; no wonder it meant so much to you all.
Your week sounds just like a December week should be: snow, cookies, family, friends, shovelling, and somehow still squeezing out bright moments. Exhausting, yes, but in the best possible way.
That Halifax dinner must have felt like the perfect breather in the middle of all the bustle. And then having sticky toffee pudding for dessert!
My highlight: a fun 10k race and the news that all our mentoring-student girls passed their exams, including the one who was convinced she’d fail and ended up with the most “with distinction” results. A very good week all around!
It was such a fun production (the Live Nativity). Very festive and definitely a big, happy community.
What wonderful news in terms of the girls your mentoring. You must be so proud (and also relieved)!!
I have never had sticky toffee pudding, but I can’t focus right now because I’m drooling over that twice baked potato. Note to self: make some soon.
Yes to just putting a dab of chocolate on the PB balls instead of dipping them. This is genius and I might steal it. I love PB and chocolate, but I’m mostly in it for the PB so cutting back on the choc gives me more of the good stuff. I’m traveling this next week but once I get back there will be some serious baking going down.
Congrats on the new account bonuses!!! Free money FTW!!!
The twice baked potato is SO dang good, Birchie.
I find dipped PB balls are too chocolatey for me. I like being able to take a few bites from the bottom where it’s just peanut butter (and sugar and butter)!
Free money is some of my favourite money 🙂
I think I had sticky-toffee pudding when I was in England, but I can’t remember what it tasted like.
I’m thankful for :
– Laughter in the house
– A great potluck
– Christmas lights
Unabridged version here: https://practicalwalk.com/2025/12/12/thankful-post-4/
I have always loved twinkle lights, but I don’t think I’ve ever enjoyed them as much as I have this year. They have really boosted my mood…each and every day!
The video production (I know it was just a bunch of clips) was awesome— top-notch! I saw Gertie, Willie, and Indy!
I would lose my mind with all the snow, wet, cold, messiness! Kudos to you for keeping (mostly?) together. 🤣 I’m a bit crazy when it comes to clean floors, so you are in my thoughts and prayers.
“took to my bed for a few hours.” This made me laugh and also think of my favorite comedian, Leanne Morgan. She’s very southern, and that is one of her go-to phrases. Look at you, being all southern this week. Honestly, though, sometimes we DO need to take to our bed for a few hours to regroup, and I’m glad you had the time to do so.
The highlight of my week has been getting SO much done Christmas-wise. I started wrapping. I’m finished decorating. Most of my cards are in the mail! This might be unprecedented for me this early, so I’m wondering what’s changed from years past? Hmmmm….I suppose I shouldn’t question it, cause it might never happen again.
Happy Friday!
Yes! Indy is there (so am I a few times). *Sad face* I didn’t see Belle or John this year. But I assure you they were there.
IT IS ANOTHER SNOW DAY TODAY, SUZ. I honestly did not see it coming (a bit of a last-minute storm), but it has been snowing all day. The floors are covered with streaky sock prints. Oh well.
Hooray for feeling like you’re in control of the holiday things. It is…a lot. I finally got most of the wrapping finished and cleaned up. Just a few odds and ends left. It feels like such a relief to have it behind me. It’s fun, but also very nice to be done with tape and scissors and wrangling wrapping paper!
Great idea to put a dot of chocolate on top of the peanut butter balls! I agree, dipping items into chocolate is always so messy. I watched your video, what a lovely community event, and I saw you singing twice!
Highlight was having dinner with friends at their house, after 20 minutes the power went out and stayed out for almost 3 hours, but we quickly agreed to have a candlelight dinner made up of cheese and tomato sandwiches. We had lots of laughs and that’s when you know you are with good friends.
Pickleball – no, but I have a friend who loves it
Sticky toffee pudding – yes, but I find it a bit heavy so rarely have it if it’s on the menu
What’s boosting my mood – knowing I’ll be catching up with several friends over the next couple of weeks that I often only see at this time of year.
Great eyes spotting me (yes, I was in there twice; so was Indy, but no sign of Belle or John-they WERE there).
Awww. I just love when things like the power outage happen like that. It makes for such a great memory and elevates the whole experience in an unexpected way. If you’d planned to eat by candlelight and have sandwiches it wouldn’t have been magical. But this way it is truly magical. Thanks for sharing!
Enjoy the points of connection with friends. That is one of the wonderful things about the holiday season <3
My husband and I are going Christmas shopping today and then out to eat, so that will be my highlight. Three of my grands are coming over tomorrow for games, crafts, and a cheese board (their request) while their parents shop and go out to dinner, so that will be another good time here. I’m fatigued with the winter already, to be honest. We’ve had lake effect snow for the past few days and it’s been brutal. My husband had to run the snow blower twice after he came home from work last night. UGH! I’ve had desserts similar to sticky toffee pudding and loved them. I’ve never played pickleball and never will – HA!
Enjoy the shopping; I’m always hungry after walking and being on my feet in stores, so I bet that supper out will be a delight.
What fun to have the grandkiddos over (and I’m sure their parents are most appreciative).
My main happy thing is that we haven’t had a snow day! It takes A LOT of snow for us to have a snow day. We got about 6″ on Tuesday night and I feared there would be a delayed start but there wasn’t! I am very very glad we have an SUV now as there is no way we could have gotten out of our alley garage with a sedan. My other happy thing is a nice lunch out with my coworker yesterday. We had one scheduled to celebrate her birthday at the end of Sept and you know what happened then… She’s the person who rode in the ambulance with me to the hospital and kept me and Kira calm. So I am glad we could finally go out for a nice lunch. We had an N/A prosecco and the most delicious salmon with a lemon sauce, mashed potatoes and asparagus. We talked about work quite a bit so I expensed it as a meal with employees. We are kind of a satellite office that doesn’t get a lot of perks like the main offices do so I figured we were ok to let my company pick up the tab. 🙂 My Amex bill is high enough as is w/ all the gift buying for teacher gift cards ($230!!) and other items, so it was nice to not add to that balance!!
I have never played pickleball but would like to try it with another beginner some day. And a small pleasure continues to be Starbucks lattes. I got an extra one this week, but my previous one was free since I had enough points to cover it!
I am jealous of the no snow day. This is our THIRD in just over a week. Oh well. Today very much deserved to be a snow day (sometimes they do not, though we live in a valley with buses coming from some rural spots, including up on a mountain and the weather there can be so much worse than “in town” where we live).
I love salmon and asparagus and am pretty much drooling just thinking about it.
Pickleball is a lot of fun. And good exercise (which I actually enjoy). Yay for Starbucks. Sometimes it is the little things that make the biggest difference.
Snow on the ground is really pretty when you don’t have to go out in it, unless the sun is shining. We’ve a good couple of feet accumulation here. And today, it’s accompanied by a howling gale.
I feel for you with all the kids traipsing through the house trashing the place. Now imagine my mother coping with six kids plus their friend doing the same, and staying for dinner. Truly, I think my mother as a saint these days. I don’t know how she did it. So, kudos to you for not going bald. 😀
Now you have me thinking about checking out whether our Y has pickle ball. I’m in need of something a little more physical other than yoga, and this could be a good option. Now, I just have to convince the OH.
As for mood-boosting? It has to be our over decorated crazy ass Christmas tree. It has five (5) sets of lights on it and, I love it. It really cheers me up when the darkness settles at around 3:30 in the afternoon.
Same here – oodles of snow and lots of wind. Which means it’s yet another snow day. But a truly “proper” one. Belle walked to her grandparents and Indy has been outside a good chunk of the day.
I CANNOT imagine having six kids at home. Eeks.
I am of the firm opinion no tree can have too many lights! Like you, twinkle lights are bringing me so much joy. Especially in these long, dark, cold evenings.
Thank you for the mention. To clarify, the town where I am painting is 35 miles away. It’s rather grim. I posted about it today on my blog: https://www.cabinart.net/ivanhoe/
Happy thing: I made the good decision to only work on the mural on Fridays when the library is open. No more walking 3-4 blocks to use the bathroom. (ARE YOU KIDDING ME??) If they won’t give me a key to the library, it will take a long time to finish the mural. Their choice.
Are those no-bake peanut butter balls?
When I take a break from painting today (the library is closed so I will be working on 2 oil commissions), I will treat myself to watching your video!
I applaud your choice to only work on Friday. What an absolute nuisance (and an unnecessary complication) to not give you access to facilities.
Yup. No-bake PB balls.
Awww. I just love that you think of the video as a treat <3 It is well put together and I show up a handful of times.
I also cracked up at some of Engie’s ornament options. It is so inconvenient when the weather throws a wrench in plans. Sometimes we need to say Sorry but no.
My highlight this week was my little party Wednesday. Everyone enjoyed themselves and I managed to pretend I want having a party since Coach took the day off. I went to the mall and bought some Christmas gifts plus I bought all the party guests an ornament. The thing I’m enjoying the most in December- I’m really loving the cleaned up house. I need to tackle the laundry that landed in my room, but I’m finding it very calming to have tackled the clutter.
Your kitchen is gorgeous and it looked incredibly neat ahead of the party! Sometimes it’s nice to have an excuse to clean up because it lights a unique fire AND it helps inspire family members to NOT TOUCH THE NEAT THINGS.
Gold stars on saying NO! It’s hard to do, but necessary sometimes.
Thanks for the shoutout! Doing 1000 hours has been really great for our family. 🙂
A highlight is that I am 100% done with Christmas shopping as of this evening, and I knocked several other errands that were easy to do alone but would have been intense with little kids this evening on my solo errand/shopping trip. I did have a funny moment of being glad I have a super thick coat. My husband doesn’t drink much but there are some local beers he wanted for Christmas, so I ventured into the Alcohol NB, but at 26 weeks pregnant I am definitely showing so I was grateful my winter coat just makes me look super fat not pregnant hahaha. The beers were the last thing I needed to get and I’m glad I could do it without scandalzing people!
Haha. I’m chuckling at the coat situation. There are plusses to winter!
That is wonderful you’re all finished your Christmas shopping. It’s always a relief. I feel like little things trickle in for a while yet, but I’m just picking up a few stocking stuffers here and there which feels fun, not stressful like making sure each person has a “main” gift.
How much snow do you have to have before they close school? When we lived in Philadelphia, it wasn’t much. Philly is a huge city though, and doesn’t get a lot of snow generally. When I lived in Alaska, I don’t remember the schools ever being closed. I’m sure they were, but it’s not a memory I have. I know we had snow tires (not all weather) and they probably only closed school if there was a huge storm or if the heaters weren’t working at school. My time in snow is limited to Philly and Alaska, so not something in between.
There’s not a set amount of snow; sometimes it’s just FORECAST snow that will cancel things, or ice. Also, because we live in a rural area, some kids coming to a school might live in a moutainy spot and the road conditions can be horrible there. So sometimes I would have no problem getting my kids to school, but the busses can’t safely get other students.
Schools close much more easily here now than they used to. I understand it on one hand, and it is a proper nuisance on the other…
I think I spotted Indy in the live nativity video! What an amazing production, I wish I was local and could have attended. I LOVE sticky date pudding- my favourite dessert. A little thing giving me joy this week is a funny mug my student gave me- every time I use it I smile. And our sparkling Christmas tree too. Most gifts have been purchased now but not wrapped- I tend to do this in a frenzy a dat or two before Christmas? Not sure why but I kind of like it. But we are NOT having people stay with us this Christmas (or hosting it!), so things would be different in that case.
Yes! He’s there twice <3
You'll have to text me a picture of the mug! There is something festive about wrapping a lot of things all at once!
I love all these good things, and especially that you squeezed in some special time with Jon in the busyness of the season. I have had sticky date pudding many times. There was a number of years when it was on every menu, and it is still quite popular. It is E’s favourite dessert. The highlight of my week was dinner out with the kids for my birthday.
I have never had sticky toffee pudding but I LOVE toffee so I will have to try it sometime! And I think I need to add PB balls to my Christmas baking rotation. I always make peanut butter blossoms (with the Hershey’s kiss in the center) but it literally never occurred to me that I could make PB balls with just a dollop of chocolate on top instead of coating (which sounds too time consuming and intimidating). We are big PB + chocolate fans in this house! The other non-negotiable Christmas treat is 7 layer bars. Perfect proportions of chocolate, white chocolate, butterscotch, coconut, and graham cracker!
Loved the live nativity video and spotting the animals. Your church community is so vibrant and full of joy!
PB balls are sooooo good and I like them better with just a dollop. It’s not as overpowering and really lets the peanut butter shine through.
You have so many happy things here! (Thank you for including my Advent calendar post!) We’ve been have the most unusual warm weather where I live! It has been 40 to 50 degrees F every day, while all around us there’s snow and negative temperatures. I don’t know what’s going on, but I’ll take it! We’re in a little tropical pocket! I think the happiest thing I’ve seen this week is the video of your live nativity. Wow, that’s really special and beautiful.
Awww. That’s so sweet. It really was so much fun!
I wish I had your warm weather. We have yet another snow day today. That’s 4 in the last 1.5 weeks. I am…over it.
I am a little jealous of your snowy neighborhood and some fun in the snow, but NOT of the sopping entryway! I am so happy to read about your parents being close by and you being able to just pop over or have them come over to your house. What a delight!
Pickle ball is everywhere right now. I haven’t played myself but we have a pickle ball court a block away and maybe we’ll give a go next summer.