I flew to Ottawa on December 9, just in time to celebrate my birthday the next day with a group of girlfriends. We had a great evening and fabulous food. Another party with my family on the next day, and then the rest of the week was used for the laser surgery and healing. You know, several days without being able to read or watch TV or basically use your eyes for anything except not walking into furniture is really really boring - even though I listened to 3 audio books! In any case, I didn't miss much outside, as the weather was drab and warm, and no snow! In fact, they had had no snow in weeks. Plus, I got to spend all week playing and cuddling with my Mom's new kittens. Tobi and Luna were about 4-5 months old by then, and very different kitties. Luna chirps all the time and is super tiny but is not that cuddly, and huge black Tobi is a sucker for attention.
Even the second week, as I was running between appointments and meeting friends, still no snow. I was getting worried, it's just not Christmas without snow! But I was in a Christmas mood anyways. Here in Vienna, we have fancy lights strung up downtown, and cute Chrsitmas markets with arts and crafts, yummy food and hot drinks, and the odd Krampus around (sort of a devil).
But I am North-American bred, and I admit I love the constant Christmas jingles in all the stores, over-decoration everywhere, lights strung on every house, roof or bush. People are cheerful (even store clerks!), and it's perfectly acceptable to hand strangers candy canes - which I like to do every year: I keep some in my pocket for the right opportunity.
And then early on Christmas morning, it started to snow, and snow, and snow. Fantastic! (Unless you needed to go somewhere). From then on, it snowed about every other day until I left. Unfortunately, the termperature kept dropping as well, and there was a -25 windchill by the time I flew out.
I spent Christmas Eve as usual, first having a fondue at my mother's house with my sister and nieces, and then going to my sister's house to wrap presents and chat until way too late. Then Christmas morning, my mother and brother-in-law came over, and we unwrapped Santa's presents. Such fun, even though waaaay too early in the morning for grown-ups to be very enthusiastic. Even my eldest niece had trouble waking up at first.
A few more days of family fun, and then it was time to fly back to Vienna, my suitcases empty of presents and ful of Canadian products.
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