Wishing You A Happy New Year

It's the end of the first day of the year...and I'm wondering where the last half of December went?!

The last couple of weeks were filled with 'grands' birthday celebrations...

Recitals and Christmas Shows...

Baking...

A crashed computer that needed to be replaced...

Family Christmas Celebrations...

Winter Outdoor Fun...

Games ......................................and .............................more games...

And before we knew it....

Our time at home was over!

We started our New Year in the south...where we are experiencing 'cold' weather for the area...but a WARM sun that we enjoy.

We hope to do some travelling this winter and I hope to take you along for a few of our experiences!!

Special Granola Recipe

Having a few moments of retirement time on my hand, I decided to construct a granola recipe I found, while  rearranging Bev’s recipe binder.  The following is the recipe, the preparation, baking and completion:

Dry mix

6 cups -  Rolled Oats  (large flake)

1 cup -  Sunflower Seeds (raw unsalted)

1 cup  -  Wheat Germ

½ cup - Large Shred Coconut (unsweetened)

½ cup - Sesame Seeds (white untoasted)

½ cup - Wheat Bran

Wet Mix

1 cup  - Maple Syrup

¾ cup - Vegatable Oil

½ tsp - Salt

1 tbsp - Vanilla

Garnish –your choice or as a suggestion:

4 cups Rasins

2 cups Almonds or other dried nuts

Preparation

Mix dry ingredients in a large bowl and set aside

Mix wet ingredients in another bowl and stir well

Mix Garnish ingredients and set aside

Mix the dry and wet ingredients together and then divide them evenly onto two large baking sheets.

Baking

Cook at 350 degrees for:

7 minutes then remove and stir

then bake another 8 minutes.

Remove from the oven and spread the garnish over the two sheets

Return to the oven to bake for another 10 minutes or until reaching a desired golden appearance.

Remove from the oven to cool, then store in an airtight container.

Enjoy the fruits/nuts of your labor ........ filled with delicious healthy food.

Sprinkled on some yogurt and fruit or as a breakfast bowl on its own.

Great for the holiday season!!!!

Brian

Ski Day

Hubby and I went Cross Country skiing with firstborn and one of the grands!...

 The weather was warm.... you can see the Chinook Arch in the sky...

The warm temperatures and cool evenings have given the snow a smooth frozen look...

You can almost see the reflection of the trees in the snow.

I love the 'warm' winter days!!

Happy Monday...

 I love the frost...hanging around!!

We had a full weekend..

Christmas recital with a granddaughter.... 

Nutcracker performance with another grand...

Freezing rain and icy roads....

Ready for a new week!!

Retirement......

My this is wonderful ......... I would not have imagined it would be like this!!!
Over thirty five years wondering what would this look like when it finally came.
Well the past five years have been a "transition".  I don't think "cold turkey" would have been the way to go. In fact it seems as if I have slipped into a "different life style" with my best friend. We like it!!
Know doubt there will be adjustments to be made along this journey and we will keep you posted.
Keep in mind this is my reflection and is not the same for all retirees.

The biggest positive change I feel is "the quality use of our time". Being able to focus in on what is important to us at this stage of our life and appreciating it.
For example:

Shop Time

Father/Son's Campout

Kayaking - Father/Son

RVing with my Best Friend

Brian

Home...

Monday morning 4:30 am...we hit the road. I don't know why...but I have a hard time sleeping when I know we are going to be travelling...so I was up at 3:00 am... got all ready then woke hubby up and it wasn't long before we were driving away!

We didn't hit any snow until Utah...and it was just in the distance!

We drove 13 hours Monday... and 13 hours on Tuesday...We have made this trip often over the past few years and we never tire of it!!

. I keep busy when I'm not driving... 

The scenery is beautiful! And has changed since our drive down.

Middler and family live in Southern Alberta...so we visited on our way thru...

Hubby was put to work....saving a trip to the hairdresser!

Such a talented man I have:)!! 

(He has been wanting  to do a few posts on my blog for a few years. 

These posts are now in the works and will be posted occasionally!)

We are now unpacked...

We put our tree up before we left...so I just have to do a bit of decorating and the house will be ready  for Christmas!

Filled with Gratitude

Our time in the desert is coming to an end as we will be heading home for Christmas! I've so enjoyed our USA Thanksgiving and Black Friday!! I don't like the crowds...but I enjoy the experience!!

One of our park neighbours puts up wonderful Christmas lights with Christmas music...this year he started them a few days early so that we could enjoy them before we leave.

We love walking by in the evenings...watching the lights and hearing the music...

Being a Canadian girl Christmas- cold and snow go together   .... 

I am still in awe as we walk through Christmas Tree lots in shorts and tank tops...

We'll head home to family, cold and snow... i hear there is lots of snow...

We'll get to wear toques (being down here... I realize most Americans have no idea what a toque is:) mitts, boots scarves, heavy coats...we'll walk in the snow, shovel the snow and ski...

I can't begin to express the gratitude I have that we are able to enjoy both worlds!