Happy New Year!

Well the Christmas rush is over and we're back to the old routine, thankfully. We took the tree down on the 2nd and Art left the following day so it almost feels like the whole thing didn't even happen. If it wasn't for all the extra toys lying about you'd wonder. We had a nice time though visiting with family and friends and all the great things that go along with that such as good food (lots of that) and the excitement of following Santa on the NORAD website and then watching the kids open their gifts. We actually took a break between Christmas and New Year's and went to White Point Beach on the southeastern coast of Nova Scotia. The kids enjoyed all the bunnies and we enjoyed not having to cook meals or clean up. We stayed in a cabin with a woodstove so although it was cold outside we had a couple of warm and cozy days tucked away from all the hectic festivities. Art took the kids swimming while I did what I like to do, read by the fire, and we bundled up and walked on the beach and watched the surfers brave the cold Atlantic Ocean waiting for that perfect wave. No snow this year, which makes it seem less like Christmas to me. I like a little of the white stuff in December. It's been unbelieveably mild on the east coast so far and I think it is supposed to stay that way for the duration of the winter. Art and I rented An Inconvenient Truth over the holidays and it brings all this mild weather into perspective. Hannah is anxious for a little bit of snow to play in and if the Farmer's Almanac has it right we should have a big snowstorm in February. That might be all she gets to see this year. Art is back to work and a new apartment downtown Fort McMurray. The lease is up on the place he was living in so he had to move on. I think he will miss Barb's cooking and all the great lunches!