Christmas Cards

When we first bought Mist Cottage our road was a dead end. It is a short road, so we knew most of the people on the street, even though we did not live in the house while we were renovating it, which was the first five years of ownership.

We were pleasantly surprised at what a welcoming and friendly neighbourhood it was. One of the things that we enjoyed was that our immediate neighbours left Christmas cards in our mailbox, and we reciprocated. It was a lovely.

A developer built a complex of over 50 units at the end of our little dead end street. It transformed rather quickly into an impersonal neighbourhood, with heavy traffic, as the only way into the complex was through our little road.

We tried to keep the card exchange going, but eventually gave up as our known neighbours lost interest in the ritual. There was one exception, our immediate neighbours on one side of us, who were here decades before we were. At first it was Husband and Wife. Sadly she passed away, and now it is just Gentleman. We exchange Christmas cards with him every year. And we receive a Christmas card from my Mom, how wonderful that is! To our surprise, another Christmas card popped into our mailbox, from neighbours with whom we had exchanged plant seedlings in the spring.

In the photograph above is the surprise in the mailbox card. On a sudden whim I placed it on top of the lampshade. It lights up from below and is quite cheerful. There is no heat from the bulb, the LED bulbs are good that way. The widowed neighbour’s card sits on the other lamp. My Mom’s envelope sits unopened on the Christmas tree, to be opened on Christmas Day.

People don’t seem to send Christmas cards very much these days. So different from my childhood. My parents received a great many Christmas cards, and sent as many as they received. Mom would hang string across the walls and hang them there. It was quite magical. All of my Mom’s Christmas decorations and traditions were magical, such wonderful memories!

Attila and I are setting up our puzzle, tonight’s entertainment. The one we are working on is a challenging one, no two pieces are the same shape, and the colours repeat everywhere. Still, we are making progress.

I am finding it more challenging to work on puzzles as time goes by, particularly at night, as I need surgery for cataracts. My requisition has been sent to the surgeon, and I am not sure what the wait time will be. I was advised not to buy new glasses at this time. It seemed that the optometrist indicated that it might take a year or so before getting an appointment. I now use assistive technology to read the computer screen, it works very well. The Kobo will enlarge the print significantly, so that reading books is still comfortable. I am still able to see well enough to cook and bake and do household projects.

Cataract surgery in Ontario is covered by the provincial health plan. However, that is very basic. Now there are all kinds of different lenses one can choose, and different kinds of surgery, it can be very, very confusing and incredibly expensive. And by all account, some surgeons are prone to upselling the costly upgrades, so trust is an issue. The upgrades are not very tempting to me of course, unless there is an extremely compelling reason to choose one of those options, I hope the government basic surgery will do me just fine.

And oh yes, I forgot to add that ONE MINUTE of daylight was gained today, and so it begins!

Worldly

Weather

1°C
Date: 8:00 PM EST Monday 22 December 2025
Condition: Mostly Cloudy
Pressure: 102.7 kPa
Tendency: Rising
Temperature: 1.2°C
Dew point: -4.1°C
Humidity: 68%
Wind: WSW 6 km/h
Visibility: 24 km
Wind Chill: -9

Quote

“Sometimes I worry about being a success in a mediocre world.”
Lily Tomlin
1939 –

I respect Lily Tomlin. I’ve only seen her once in a live performance, “The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe“. and I’ve appreciated her ever since. The quote above, I believe, would have been uttered with complete sincerity.