day 1023 - oh! Christmas tree

tonight i took partner out to dinner for his 69th birthday. after having a large baklava dessert, we decided to walk off the calories by taking photos of the light display at the greek town parkette. this is the illuminated Christmas tree, and there happened to be a pair of lovers arguing about something.

day 1022 - reindeer

not the one whose nose glows red but a whole flock each illuminated by a thousand fairy lights. the eaton centre has these giant reindeers all over the mall.

day 1021 - blue lights

the orb Christmas tree at Dundas Square changes lights from white to blue. caught the blue segment.

day 687 - Christmas blessings

taken after an evening mass; the church had this enormous tree in its foyer lit with tiny lights, must be hundreds of them, and make for a nice lookout.

day 686 - away in a manger

a nativity in light at a church on stanley avenue in niagara falls, ontario.

day 685 - he's come to town

and he made a list and checked it twice... have you been good? naughty? nice? ass?

day 672 - Christmas angel

tonight, i put up my Christmas tree, put the decorative balls and this little Christmas angel that my friend donna beth made for me last year out of the craft materials i gave her.

day 670 - and for the discriminating palate...

Henry of Pelham 2009 sauvignon blanc to down the halibut entree i had at the party - smooth on the palate and easy going down. perfect pairing, i should say!

day 669 - fine herb-crusted atlantic halibut

my entree of choice during tonight's firm Christmas party at the Ritz-Carlton hotel. if you notice, i had a bite already before i took this photo. tsk! tsk! i see food and i forget everything else. i like it!

day 668 - late view

i like staying late at the office, and that is not just because i come in late. i just don't want to be jostling with so many people during the rush hours, morning or afternoon. it gives me time to start to unwind from the long work day. it gives me time to think. it gives me time to appreciate what's around me more. i know i miss a lot of things by being late, but i've been early all of my life and now that i have 'adjusted' my time, i enjoy it more. late is still late, one minute or one hour or one day; time that can never be gained back. but it's my time and i will spend it the way i want to, n'est-ce pas?

like appreciating this little Christmas tree at the lobby of our office building. there are more of this around the lobby so there are more to appreciate. this one in particular seems cheerier than the other ones. i'll photograph the other ones when there are less people in the lobby. and that would be on a weekend!

day 646 - at the 'mall of asia'

the 'mall of asia' or MOA as the locals refer to it, is billed as one of the world's biggest commercial mall. it might have to be between position 4 and 7. it is quite huge, built entirely on the reclaimed lands along manila bay. the two ladies who were helping us at home (in local parlance, they are called 'maids'), told us they haven't been there at all and they were quite excited when my friend lulu announced we will take them with us to that mall. so i recorded their visit in photos and i made them pose everywhere. i even took random photos and also asked them to go up the tall escalators them come back down as i took their photos. they were quite excited. here, they posed on a random kiosk selling Christmas decorations. alma was wearing an orange top and layda was wearing yellowish striped blouse.

day 326 - oh, Christmas tree!

this is the Christmas tree display at the Brookfield place. my little grandson had the impression that they were like UFO's decorated for Christmas. meanwhile, all he was interested in were the coins in the fountain below. hahahaha!

day 325 - snowflakes Christmas tree

walking around in the cold downtown toronto, i chanced by this Christmas display on front street. during the summer this serves as a large fountain among the trees and flower paths. i haven't seen this in the evening, but i would guess it is much beautiful to see as the base would be dark and the crap around it is unseen. if one tries to find the beauty in this city, there is exceptional beauty to be found.

day 324 - wishes do come true

my six-year old grandson was asking to have a wallet and a "credit card". so for Christmas, i bought a wallet at dollarama and gave him a gift card from mcdonald's, his favourite place. grandpa got him a $10 gift card from tim horton's so that now gives the little boy two "credit cards". he's so happy he can't figure out where to keep his wallet so that nobody can see it - until this morning it's on the Christmas tree, at some point he had it inside the linen closet but he said he might forget it there. he's been dying to go to mcdonald to treat me for breakfast.

the only thing that's a pity is he's too small for his age, thus he wears smaller size clothes and his man-sized wallet wouldn't fit in any of his pockets. i think i would have to convince him to just use a 'card wallet'.

day 323 - a Christmas centrepiece

this is our Christmas centrepiece arrangement which i had bought from the florist near my building. interesting story, 'though. i've been passing by this florist for twenty-two some years and last tuesday was the first time i ever went in to order some flowers. i was amazed that their prices were so reasonable that i ended up having two arrangements delivered and also bought two smaller arrangements for my dining table and a gift for a friend. all for the price just under one hundred twenty dollars, much less than that. and the owner even gave me a small arrangement for free for my bedside table!

however, our excitement during our Christmas lunch, or perhaps because it was lunchtime, we forgot to light the candles. well, there's still new year's eve dinner in the meantime.

day 322 - a Christmas birthday cake

we celebrated our Christmas today, boxing day. the grands opened their presents, which were a ton, and helped grandpa blow his belated birthday cake, the ever favourite ube (taro)-macapuno (young coconut) cake, to cap the sumptuous lunch we had (which we forgot to take pictures of!).

day 321 - Merry Christmas!

well, two photographs for today, it being Christmas, would have to be an exception. as you can see, the tree is lit, i managed to grab two sets of 35 at the nearby canadian tire store and the bonus is that they are the colours i wanted - blue and purple. the second bonus is that the colours are interchangeable, the one set from blue to white or vice-versa, and the other from blue to purple, all at the touch of a switch.

and lookie! more presents underneath the tree that i'm actually getting stressed over how to properly clean and vacuum that corner now. i know, it's Christmas day, but the good Lord didn't really tell us not to vacuum on his birthday. as long as i have the spirit in my heart, is all that matters.

merry Christmas to all who may chance upon here.

day 320 - presents

it's the morning before Christmas and there's reasonably plenty of presents under the unlit Christmas tree - unlit because we could not find the lights that we've been using the last several years, as our storage is desperately in need of overhauling and culling. but my son will be coming in the afternoon to bring the presents for the kids so this tree will be brimming with presents before the Christmas bells toll at midnight.

day 319 - a Christmas card

from an old flame...oh, that was so many years ago. but we have remained friends to this day. and he always sends me Christmas cards, with a short note - always wishing that i am happy and healthy. always, "happy" is his wish. i don't know if he's happy, but for sure that is my wish for him, too. and of course, i am happy. broke and poor, but happy, nonetheless. smile! it's Christmas.

day 302 - a Christmas display

a Christmas centerpiece, all natural and live materials make up this elegant centerpiece, and the pines also emit some very pleasant aroma. it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas, in fact it's 19 days more and it's the big day already. gotta buy those gifts!