My dear friend Alanna and I drove down to the valley on Dec 30th, after quite a few hitches in our plans. After finally packing everything into the car, getting some fruit for the planned fondue, and then having to go to another grocery store to find the right chocolate, it was about 2 pm, and we were itching to leave the city. Then I noticed that one of my headlights was burned out, so we had to get that fixed. Then I realized that my car insurance pink slip had expired the day before! It seemed like we would never get out of the city. Thank goodness I knew that I had paid my insurance, so it was still valid... Anyway, we met Tamara in Calgary and got to Al and Bjorn's late in the evening. New Years Eve was a quiet day until the afternoon/evening when everyone else arrived. It was SO good to catch up with such dear friends. I am continually thankful for these friends of mine. God has been SO good to me.
We had an amazing fondue that evening, consisting of wild meat, breads, crackers, fruits of all sorts, and of course cheese, chocolate, oil and broth. It was a lot of fun. We all felt quite old as midnight seemed like it took forever to come. It's probably partly because it is so dark here these days, that it feels like the middle of the night at 7 pm! Once we got a game of Dutch Blitz going, the time flew! I love that game!
On New Years Day we had brunch and then headed out into the cold winter outside for a sleigh ride. Sometimes you had to jump off the sleigh and run a bit to get the blood flowing to the freezing extremities. I certainly didn't want to end up on my own plastics ward with frostbite! Just kidding, it wasn't that bad at all. Bjorn's brother Tor leant me his really warm Carhart overalls. I was very thankful! Darcy had some hand-warmer packs, which he generously shared all around.
We stopped on the trail and gathered deadfall, lit a fire, whittled some sticks, and speared some delicious marinated meat to roast. The smell of campfire, crisp mountain air, and the good company of my friends reminded me so much of camp,... if only it was quite a few degrees celsius warmer!
We stopped at Doug and Robin's to visit, and enjoyed holding Jackson's week old puppies. I wish I could claim one for myself, but alas, I'm living the life of a gypsy, with nowhere to raise a young pup. I'll just have to wait for some unknown day in the future. They were Christmas Day puppies. What a great present! They are so perfect and tiny, and their eyes are not open yet. Some of them whimper quite a bit, but eventually they snuggle into your arms - a little, soft, precious, warm bundle.
Alanna and I drove home, and almost had to pull into a motel to wait out the blizzard we hit north of Calgary. We really would have pulled in if there was a town when we needed one. Goodness it was scary! You couldn't even see the road. The only way I could stay out of the ditch was by following the truck in front of me and aiming for its rear lights. Thank the Lord that He answered our prayers and kept us safe until it cleared up a bit.
It was a good start to a new year. I think this is going to be a year of gaining a deeper experience of what it means to truly trust God and seek Him first in everything.
I wish you all the best in this new year!
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