Neighbours

Last week, our doorbell rang. Lo and behold, it was a reindeer.

In keeping with the protocols he was masked -- with a seasonal theme as well.

A day or two later, his wife dropped over with a snowflake that she had crafted.

Sue gave it pride of place on the front door. Some photographer or other has been caught in the reflection and various indoor decorations are visible as well.

It is nice to have neighbours think of us -- the older folk -- from time to time. She even finished tidying our walk after the plow had done its job.

I think this is because Sue is so nice and friendly and most people like her. And Sue likes people, which is something that I have great difficulty in trying to understand. ;)

An Exuberant Display

From the previous post where we just walked around the corner from our main street to take some house photos, we then drove a little piece and found a house with a lot of decorations and a bit of everything. 

The above photo looks at the side of the house going from Disney characters on the right to Star Wars characters on the far left. Santas and his sleigh are at the top where they should be.

The front of the house was also loaded, but I just photographed a slice of it which features the traditional Christmas story.

Just Off Main Street

One of the features of town geography can be mixed land  uses, or close to mixed land uses. What I mean by this is that just around the corner from Santa's Workshop of the previous post is a small residential area.

We did walk around that corner where, adjacent to a Chinese restaurant, we saw a classic and tastefully decorated residence.

I love the classic elegance of the house above, but we had actually been drawn to the neighbourhood by the house next to it after we passed by earlier.

Sue advised me to take a close-up of the glass globes/balls by the front walk. I appreciate her suggestion because this is the type of photo op that I tend to overlook as I mostly see the bigger picture.

So, not only is main street well lit for the season, but we were also able to appreciate these houses just a short walk around the corner.

Santa's Workshop

The town's Christmas adaptations to the pandemic continue. I have ready posted of Santa's neighbourhood driveby here, which helped to reduce the loss of the usual grand parade. Now, there is a Santa's Workshop on our main street.

Santa and Mrs Claus are there in a storefront safely behind glass but ready to wave at the children, big or little. There is a small bench out front where the children can sit for a photo op with the Clauses in the background. (Never mind the reflections; the pictures had to be quick.)

It would be pretty hard to eliminate reflections without pressing the lens right up to the glass, which I couldn't do because Santa and Mrs were too close to the pane. Here's one from a little farther back.

As we walked away, I turned back for a photo back towards the workshop which was at #136. The town has decorated the street nicely. 

For fun, I tried one with the lens way out of focus. It was from almost the same spot.

From there we walked and drove a bit to look at some house decorations. I know it will be hard to contain yourselves, but you must wait until tomorrow.

Our Little Porch

We have a small porch at the front. Very small. It was meant to be open, but the previous owner glassed it in. This affords Sue the opportunity to decorate -- in all seasons really, but especially in this one. As I show you all of her touches, keep in mind that it is a very small space.

Newfangled Grocery Shopping

I think this phenomenon was just beginning to occur before COVID, but it has grown apace ever since then.

Of course, I speak of making your grocery order online, having store employees do the gathering, and then picking up your already bagged groceries in the parking lot at a suitable time. They even put your order in the car for you.

There are two employees choosing produce in the above photo although only one is very visible: the young lady with the bag who is approaching the cart.

But these is a fellow in that yellow, caution outfit also choosing produce, who perhaps wears the outfit to avoid frantic shoppers running over him. His cart is somewhat out of sight, but it was there. (I was trying to take the picture surreptitiously and didn't do a very good job.)

I seem to see two or more employees at this task every time during my weekly shopping expeditions.

We also shopped like this in the early days of the pandemic, but once masks were ubiquitously mandated and we also understood more about the transmission of the disease, I re-commenced doing my own shopping.

Mind you, they did do a very good job of filling my orders back then, but I rather like being able to make my own choices and to be able to pick up other items ad hoc as well. And since one doesn't get out as much these days, especially in winter, I rather appreciate, a weekly outing in a warm environment. Thirdly, I don't feel that in person shopping takes much more time than faffing about with scrolling through an app to make my choices.

I assume that this newfangled phenomenon is occurring everywhere. Is it thriving in your area? Do you use such a service?

A Banal but also an Electric Post

Do I post this or not? 

It seems eccentric and banal.

But what else is there to post of today?

So here we go.

AC has a new blanket. Electric.

It is to use, not in bed, but in my chair.

You see, sometimes, AC sleeps in his chair rather than in bed.

Because sometimes body parts hurt less there. Or at least, one is too confined to roll about and get oneself into hurting positions. Once I settle into a suitable position in the chair, I am pretty well bound to maintain it. Not so in bed.

But I can get cold on a winter night. While I already have a good blanket, it becomes insufficient on a  very long and cold Canadian night.

I thought of  adding an additional layer. but rejected the idea because two layers would be difficult to control in a narrow, reclining chair. I tired wearing a hoodie, but it wasn't enough. I tried wearing a wooly sweater, but it was too bulky and a little prickly. We thought of opening a sleeping bag, but that would be very bulky in my little chair and room and probably slippery too.

Sue came up with a solution. Purchase an electric blanket; one layer isn't bulky or unmanageable, but the electric heat would provide sufficient heat to keep a body warm.

We tried it out, and it seems that it will work. And the colour looks rather royal, eh?

Except, I have yet to use it at night, for I have entered a stage where I have been doing well enough in bed lately.

This is the way that AC's life goes.