Weekend

My weekend started out like this... with a giant bag o' marking.

But it got better. Yesterday was the official start of the Christmas season with festivities down by City Hall.

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I know it seems quite early for Christmas activities, but here in Canada we don't have an anchor holiday like the U.S. Thanksgiving to tell us when we should start. Plus, if we wait until late November or early December, it's too bloody cold for outdoor events.

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Downtown is nicely decorated...
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And at the appointed hour (5:00 pm - just when it began to get dark-ish), the Mayor and Santa Claus flipped the big switch...
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to turn on the Christmas tree lights.
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Ooohhh... aaahhhh. There were fireworks too!

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We were actually a bit surprised that they even called it a "Christmas" tree, since that's not considered politically correct anymore. It might be offensive to someone who doesn't celebrate Christmas, you know.... In fact, City Hall is no longer allowed to display a creche (nativity scene) because our government is supposed to be completely secular.

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All cynicism aside, I love Christmas and the whole season.

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After the downtown festivities, Mr. P, the OnlyChild and I went out for dinner. It was nice.
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Then we went home and watched a movie... well, Mr. P watched a movie and I finished my Seed Scarf.
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I like it. It's long and warm. There are a couple of twists in it, since it was my first time knitting on circular needles, but I think I can live with that. It was a learning experience. I plan to make another one... without the twists.
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Mr. P requested that I make him a scarf too. He asked for black and orange (Philadelphia Flyer colours - I'm not sure if he was joking...) but I think plain black will do nicely.

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Today was supposed to be a nice, sunny day with temps hitting about +10 celsius (about 50 degrees fahrenheit), but I don't think it got that warm. AbbyDog and I went for a walk this morning down in the River Valley.

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Brrr... there was ice floating in the river.
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AbbyDog loves a walk. She tugs on the leash quite a bit, especially in the first few minutes, but today she settled down nicely. She's much friendlier around other dogs than Derby is so I don't worry about meeting people with their canines on the path.
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Isn't she sweet? There's something about the tops of their heads that I just love. Those little triangular ears...
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We strolled around the neighbourhood a bit, too, stopping at the local yarn shop, which never seems to be open. I would love to shop local and make all my yarn purchases there, but every time I go over they're closed.
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Look at this cute little fella in the window!
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When we got home, Mr. P was out putting up the Christmas lights. We won't light them until the end of the month, but he thought he'd better get them up before the snow flies. It's quite unusual for there to be none by mid-November, so we are lucky.
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We have them around the eaves and windows and along the hedge out front (which, according to Mr. P is a pain, but he does it for me). I promise to show photos when we turn them on.
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I hope you had a lovely weekend. I've got the Sunday Evening Blues but I'm already looking forward to next weekend which includes quilting the Swanky quilt I made, a birthday party for my friend Patt Saturday night, and possibly the Homes for the Holidays tour on Sunday. Gotta love looking at other people's houses all dressed up for Christmas!

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Have a great week! ☺