Christmas Vacation - Jelly of the Month : Advent Calendar Review

I don't know about you, but one of my favourite all time Christmas movies is National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation.  So when I randomly saw this advent calendar pop up on my Facebook feed I knew I had to look into it.  

The post said it was at Canadian Tire.  Canadian Tire is a store that sells lot's of hardware, plumping, automotive things but also kitchen and holiday items.  They also own other franchises such as Mark's, Party City and Sport Chek.

I quickly perused their online store and found that indeed this advent calendar was available and it showed they were in stock at the location near my home.  So off I went...

I found it in what we have coined "impulse alley".  That's the part near the cashiers where all the bits and bobs are found that you just * have * to pick up.  There were some other advent calendars too which looked neat and affordable but the Jelly of the Month club was what I'd come for.  I purchased two.  One for my husband and one to give to my parents.  They were priced at $24.99 CAD.

The calendar was a 12 day box plus a jelly spreader which I thought was a very nice addition.  There was nothing on the box indicating what brand of jelly or jam was inside and I kind of assumed it would be a no name type of variety.  You can imagine our surprise when the first day was opened and we found Bonne Maman jelly in dainty packets!  

There were repeats as the packaging does give away the spoilers.  It contained 3 strawberry, 4 raspberry, 3 apricot and 2 fig.  Each packet was glued in place by a glue dot which made it easy to remove from each window.  One had to open the entire box to remove the spreader.  The spreader itself was generic but totally useful and will find its place in the cutlery drawer.

The entire calendar box itself was a little flimsy but held up through the month of December which we didn't start opening until the 13th so that each day had a sample.  I enjoyed the following located on the back of the box "Who needs a swimming pool when you can have a jelly of the month club set? Count down to the impending holiday season with this hilarious and delicious jelly-filled treat, inspired by the beloved classic movie!  A dozen individual packets of jelly and a handy spreader knife make this a gift that keeps giving for 12 whole days.  Even better than a holiday bonus if you ask us."

Indeed!

I have no idea if this was curated just for this year or if it could ever be found again but I would recommend it if you love Bonne Maman jam and don't want the Bonne Maman calendar.  On the box it says designed and distributed by www.thoughtfully.com aka The Modern Gourmet.

What was my over all impression?

It was a beaut, Clark.

1980 - Something

Picture it.

The Christmas mixed tape is playing on the home stereo with the same songs I enjoy to this day; Jim Reeves, Buck Owens and The Chipmunks. Dad is bringing all the decoration boxes from the basement. In the box there’d be some miscellaneous newspapers from Christmases past which always mystified me. We assemble the Christmas tree and Dad strings the full size string of lights carefully on each branch.  The sky is a rose gold in the setting sun, the snow outside is light and sparkly and there’s the faint smell of the heat from the lights touching the plastic branches.  They don’t make candles to recreate that festive smell do they.

It’s nineteen-eighty-something and completely magical.

There were some Christmases that we had two Christmas trees.  We had the artificial one in the basement and a real tree upstairs.  Dad’s brilliant trick to filling in the bare spots on the real tree was to take a branch from the bottom, drill a hole where the bare spot was and attach the branch.  It’s a trick I think he got from my Grandpa.

The decorations were a mixture of shiny baubles, felt ornaments and things we made. One decoration was always a small bell with a blue ribbon that I think had something to do with my brother (his birthday is Christmas Day) but I don’t know what.  There was silver garland and not tinsel because that was too messy.  The tree topper was a multi coloured star.  At the bottom of the tree rested a small plastic manger scene.

Some years Dad would want to hang streamers and foil stars from the ceiling. Mom would protest…”what are you doing that for?”…but often let him get his way.  There’d be a wreath that hung on the back door window that made the curtain puff out kind of funny.

My fuzzy Christmas stocking would rest on the arm of the couch. We didn’t have a fireplace or chimney. I hoped Santa had a key.  

It was probably a Sunday evening in December and when we were done we’d sit in the dark with just the retro glow of the Christmas tree and soft music playing. The next morning, getting ready to go to school, the tree would be lit up in its comforting glow in the coolness of winter. 

Everything would be ready and waiting for Mr Claus’ annual visit.

My Dad Knew Santa

Faint jingling bells could be heard from the other end of the hallway that led to the Bridge Room on the top floor of the Prince Albert Daily Herald.  The room was filled with little kids dressed in their Christmas finery and bursting with excitement.  I was one of those kids and what made it even more special was that my dad actually knew Santa Claus himself.

You see, my dad was the Press Room Foreman at the Daily Herald and co-chaired the Social Club.  He was in charge of organizing the children's Christmas party.  A few days before the big event, Dad would bring presents home, on Mr. Clauses behalf, to hand out to the kids.  They'd be from The Bay and would be wrapped in festive wrapping and bows.  Ice cream cups would be picked up...you know the kind, with those little wooden spoons that even as an adult leave you with a dry taste in your mouth.  The entertainment would be planned, and hamburgers ordered.

There was wild anticipation but there would always be a movie or two.  The movies would be rented from the library and were the real kind of movies using a film projector.  Every year, we'd watch the one about the Maple Leaf hockey sweater.

Then...

"I think I hear Santa coming!" Dad would say and sure enough the Big Man himself would start the jingling and Ho Ho Ho-ing as he entered the room.  Santa would greet the kids and do the customary questions like whether we'd been good or not.  Of course, we'd been good!  Treat bags would be handed out containing bridge mixture, those little foiled bell chocolates and balls and of course candy canes.  The most important would be the gifts because it was always something we really wanted.  One of the last gifts I received was a large plush stuffed pink and white teddy bear.  The kids would rip into their gifts and paper would fly as holiday chaos ensued.  

Santa would make another round of greetings and he'd be gone.

We'd eat our burgers, fries and ice cream.  Families would start leaving and after tidying up the Bridge Room we'd leave for home too.  It was the best afternoon ever.

Ye Olde Photo Camera

I was watching the Hallmark movie Haul Out the Holly last week and there was a part of the story where the main character had a Polaroid camera.  It was a flashback to when she was young and took photos of the Christmas celebrations in her town.  It got me to thinking that I also have a Polaroid camera.

It was very late and possibly midnight, but in a fit of nostalgia I dug through the cabinet doors of the hallway built in, to find my Polaroid camera.  There it was in its carrying case as pristine as ever.  I knew there was film left in it because a number of years ago I took it to work with me as part of my tourist Halloween costume.  I stood in the corner in my pajamas and lined up my camera in hopes it might still work and snapped a photo of our Christmas tree.

Nope.  It didn't work.  Well, it did take a photo but because the film cartridge has its own battery power it was likely so old that it just didn't want to work to its potential.  So, the two photos which were left didn't want to pop out nor were pictures visible.

Bummer.

A quick perusal of Amazon, London Drugs, and the Polaroid website told me that yes, indeed you can still buy Polaroid film in a vast array...for $29.99 which I suppose isn't that bad for some thing so retro.  But hold the train, that only buys 8, yes, EIGHT, photos.

Yikes.

I have 1000 photos saved on my iPad alone.

The difference is that besides sharing them on Facebook or Instagram, no one really sees them.  Gone are the days we'd take a roll of film to be developed only to find out weeks later how the pictures turned out.  We'd save them into photo albums and haul them out to show family members and guests.  One of the favorite activities at my In-Laws is to look through old photos and hear the stories connected to them.  I don't remember a Christmas as a little kid at my Grandparents where there wasn't at least one or two pictures resting on the coffee table waiting for the images to appear.  Now we post, share, like and maybe comment before moving on and it's all forgotten.

It's not all bad.  If it weren't for social media helping us to see what is going on in each other's lives I wouldn't get to see my friend who lives in Edmonton on the beach in Mexico.  I wouldn't get to see my Nieces share photos of their little one's meeting Santa.  This last year, when we wanted to gather photos of loved one's remembrance, I dove into the photo albums though.

The last time I had photos printed was in 2019 and at Costco.  Now they don't even have a photo department.  I made my Husband a collage shadow box of our trip to Utah and Nevada for Christmas that year.  It now hangs in our living room.

At work, I take photos of my students and print them myself to post on my classroom wall.  They love to see themselves and others who have completed the same music books they have.

Some of you still take special Christmas family photos for the annual Christmas card.  Are you planning on taking pictures this year?  How will you share them?  Maybe this is the year to set them out on the coffee table for the family to enjoy.

Any Way The Wind Blows

There hasn't been much going on in the CFL lately.  Pieces of news have been few and far between.  They've resorted to articles about players pets and who can be named best dressed CFLer.

Meanwhile...

* crickets *

...a dog barks in the distance...

🎵 a birdie chirps...

With this lull in activity every off season I find that my own rabid fan status wains and I wonder over to other activities and my influences change.  Some people turn to other sports - Saskatoon Rush, Nascar and hockey of course. Many of you haven't known me a long time but March seems to be a time for when I explore.  There was the Dean Martin infatuation of 20-something.  We won't discuss the whole vampire thing. Last year I researched my family tree and actually found a cousin living in Montreal who I didn't know existed. This off season was going along like normal and then in February I watched (finally) Bohemian Rhapsody and it seemed like everything changed for me.

I've made no secret that while I write this blog and am administrator for ABC Rider Fans, that in "real life" I am a piano teacher.  While I've always maintained that music is what I do - it's not my life...it's an illusion because it really does consume my life.   Where I am able to strike a balance is that I only teach after school hours so while you are likely gearing up to go home after your work day, I am gearing up to start teaching.  'Tis the life of a musician I suppose.  What these hours allow me to do is follow football during those off times except when I need to do research or find music or actually come up with a plan or strategy for my lessons, which by the way is unpaid time but I'm dedicated and I do it happily.

So there I was coasting through CFL off season and coping with some other health things that always seem to crop up at this time of year but you know everyone has "stuff" to deal with.  One of my students...my best student if I'm honest (and fav but don't tell the others!), is playing Bohemian Rhapsody for the SAM music festival in May which runs close if not at the same time as Roughrider training camp.  We had decided on this selection before Christmas so it had nothing to do with my off season doldrums but everything to do with the reason one quiet Saturday night I decided I should watch the movie.  I called it Professional Development. I actually streamed A Star is Born the same night but for whatever reason (I'm heartless?) it had zero effect on me, yet the story of Freddie Mercury made me feel a whole myriad of things that I can't even begin to sort out or explain in any form.

I was 18 when Mercury died from Aids in 1991 and when I think back to "me" back then I often refer to myself as a stupid teenager.  Maybe I was just oblivious? I remember the news but life went on.  I didn't realize until now how excruciating that event actually was.  Is it possible to mourn someone nearly 30 years later?  Well just like I seem to be stuck in this musical cycle, many football fans are stuck as well.  Bring back Dressler is one of the newest cries.  When will Rider fans move on?  Are we still in 2009 mourning too?  The Roughriders need to continue to move on to the future instead of looking back.  Unlike, Queen's front man, most football players are replaceable even if we've loved their character and personality.  To everything there is a season.  The show must go on.

With most things in my life even when I don't think music plays a roll it's there in the background noise.  If you're still with me here and wondering what any of this has to do with the football blog you've grown used to reading well it made me realize how much I've grown in all ways and continue to evolve and how fortunate...blessed really, I am to have a slightly successful page which is somewhat accepted by a mostly male dominated sort of hobby and industry.  No one ever told me I couldn't and I always knew I could do things, mostly artistic types of things with extreme ease.  I can do anything! I've often said. So while Roughrider football is an obsession in my life, music is a thread weaving itself deeply through it.  A team wins a championship - We Are The Champions.  A Calgary Stampeders game comes to an end - Sweet Caroline.  The Saskatchewan Roughriders score a touchdown - Green is the Colour.

"Like" and "Follow" ABC Football on Facebook for my latest musings.

When the city of Regina hosted the 2013 Grey Cup they knocked the halftime show out of the park by having flying snowmobiles and a rocking Hedley (at the time) group.  Randy Ambrosie said that the Riders pitch was so good they could have landed the Olympics so naturally that makes me question what kind of half time show was pitched.  Does the halftime show need to be Canadian or should they reach farther into the stars to bring the most epic halftime ever?  Can both be done?  What's your opinion on this and who would you like to see as the 2020 halftime show? 

This time of year - March, the cold snap finally comes to an end and we are looking for signs of life.  While it'll be a while until we see daffodils here in Saskatchewan, birds are returning and the snow is sinking as the sun grows higher and higher in the sky.  Our beloved CFL teams will be re-awakening after all the moves in free agency.  The CFLPA negotiations will get settled.  Soon it'll be draft day. Some people are already looking forward and talking about training camp in Saskatoon.  Our passion is renewed.  The season is renewed.  We feel anew.

I'm ready for the next chapter.

Go Riders.

Adventures in Dining

At the beginning of August I googled Saskatoon looking for some different restaurants to take Hubby for his birthday.  I found an excellent blog called Wonderlust and Words.  I found the name of two places to visit.  The Mardi Gras Grill and The Hollows.  Well that weekend of my Hubby's birthday was a long weekend and our timing was poor and it turned out that neither establishment was open.

Phooey.

We've driven by Mardi Gras Grill several times since then.  We've been checking to see if the parking lot is full.  But we somehow never found the time to stop.

Hubby took the day off work today.  He went out and about and attended to yard work while I did some chores inside.  Then around 3:30 pm I went outside and posed the question:  What do you want for supper OR would you like to go out for supper?  Out it was and off to Mardi Gras Grill we went.

It's located downtown on a busy street but the paid parking is ample.  It is housed in a building that was formerly a sports bar.  The outside has been painted and I'm sure the inside was renovated as well.  There are three photo paintings adorning the walls.  I over heard the waitress telling another patron that her aunt took the photo's in New Orleans but didn't like how they turned out so she painted pictures over them.  Genius!  They are the prefect decor.

There are both booths and tables with chairs as well as an outside patio.  There weren't many people there even though it was soon the supper rush.  We were brought a complimentary plate of corn bread.  I've had corn bread many times before and even made it myself but it never turned out like this!  It appeared and tasted like it was baked, then squared, then toasted or grilled.  It was tasty!


For an appetizer we ordered Fried Green Tomatoes.  Ever since the movie, it's something I've wanted to try.  "For Towanda!!!!!"  They were served with 4 giant shrimp, 6 slices of tomato and salad greens with a sauce.  Hubby ate the shrimp as they aren't my favourite.  I did love the tomatoes.  I would order that appetizer for a lunch as well.  It was great.

Hubby's meal was called Taste of New Orleans and consisted of Gumbo, Jambalaya and Etouffee.  He was given instructions on how to eat the craw fish.  This meal was enough to feed two people!  Hubby tried hard but couldn't quite finish everything.  Not totally being a seafood fan, I ordered the Pulled Pork Po' Boy with fries.  It was the most extraordinary sandwich I've ever had!  I ate the sandwich but couldn't finish the fries which were undoubtedly home made since they didn't resemble anything out of my freezer.

We were stuffed.  The waitress, who I found out is the wife of the chef asked if we wanted beignets.  I asked if we could get them to go.  She said yes.  So they were given to us hot but we were advised to keep the package open or they'd shrivel up.  The donut type dessert had powdered sugar and a dollop of blueberry preserve.  It's our midnight snack tonight.

It was delicious cajun creole cuisine just as promised and just what Saskatoon has been missing.

The Hood is a Changin'

When I first moved to Toon Town, I gave my neighbours nicknames because I didn't know their real names.  I had hopes that we'd be the kind of block that got together for parties and sat out on the lawn and had coffee and were friends.  None of that happened in the way I wished it would.  There was Neighbour Fred, The Rider Fans & Nice Neighbour.  I even blogged about them in another blog life.

Not all the original families are here.  Corrine was my immediate neighbour but moved away before we lived here a year.  There's been 3 families since Corrine.  Joel and Josie are the best next door neighbours we've ever had.  They do have parties and they do invite us.  Sometimes we go and sometimes we don't, but we always say hello and share our gardening tips over the fence.

Nice Neighbour is exactly what his name describes.  He's nice.  When he's outside working he'll wave.  He walks his little white dog and stops and talks.  He's told us he appreciates us as good neighbours.  He's chatted about our new fence and he's even said "Pop in for coffee, Dorothy and I would like it."  Dorothy!  That's the name of his wife!  Ten years later, I have no idea what Nice Neighbour's name is, but I always chat with him and I always wave back.

Next to Nice Neighbour is a new family.  I think they are Filipino and that's just fine.  There are little kids who ride bikes and play outside.  It's nice to see kids in the neighbourhood again.  There haven't been any for a long time.  So far, this family doesn't have a nickname.

Directly across from our house are The Rider Fans.  I called them that before I knew I was one as well.  They are better described as Tim Horton addicts though.  Whenever they leave, they always ALWAYS return with coffee from Timmies.  Yes, they still dress in green on game day, their little kids are clad now too, and so are we.

Next we have Neighbour Fred.  Hubby calls him Meticulous Neighbour because he is forever cutting his lawn or weeding or watering.  They've done a lot of work on their house.  Since we've lived here they've done a new gate, new driveway, and resided the house.  I'm sure there were renovations inside as well.....we just can't see them.  I've talked to Neighbour Fred up close a few times.  They've always been good and looked out for the well being of all in the hood.  I am thankful for that.

This spring Hubby was at work and was taking the elevator when a lady introduced herself as Cindy.  Here it turns out she is Neighbour Fred's wife.  Hubby had been working in the same building for 2 years in different departments.

When we first moved here their teenage boys would practise their skate boarding out on the sidewalk.  Brandy would bark at them. Then we watched them move away.  Now they return with little kids of their own.  It's the evolution of the neighbourhood  I suppose.

This evening I looked out the living room window.  There is a newly planted For Sale sign on the lawn at Neighbour Fred and Cindy's. 

It's sad to see a good neighbour go.  But on the up side, someone new will move in.  Maybe they'll be the sit on the stoop and visit type.  I'm hoping. 

Attack of the Pod Person

It began innocently enough on a December afternoon as I sat perusing a reward point website which was in conjunction with the diet my sister in law coached me for and which I had used in my ongoing weigh loss battle. I had accumulated many points. I was very excited to use some of them to claim a bracelet from Eclipse. It was a replica of the one given to Bella in the movie with a brown wolf dangling from one end and a “diamond” heart pendant from the other. I really wanted to use up all my points because I wasn't sure how much longer I'd be able to get the products from across the border. I happened to click onto the electronics tab next. Appearing before me was a selection of iPod Shuffle's in various colours of the rainbow. I chose green. When faced with a decision of colour, green was always the answer. 

 

♫ Green is the colour.....Football is the game.... ♪

When it arrived I was forced into installing all the necessary Apple programing. All I intended was to use it for music and maybe hook it up in the car for long trips. But on further investigations into iTunes.....I found out I could also use it for Podcasts and Audio Books. With all this investigating I became fluent in the “i” language. iRock.

I recalled as a kid listening to old style mystery radio shows late at night and often they'd put me to sleep. So I did a search in iTunes for these types of radio programs and to my delight I found out many of them were free to subscribe. Since it was just before Christmas I looked for Christmas programming and happened upon a selection of Abbot & Costello doing some Christmas shopping as well as Red Skeleton and the Martin & Lewis Show. It was only 3 shows but I downloaded them to my green pod and whisked them off with me to my parents for the Christmas holidays where on the Eve of the Chubby Dude arriving we hooked up the Pod to a “ghetto blaster” and listened and laughed to these relic radio shows. It was memorable.

Once Christmas was over I still wanted to enjoy these programs and decided I really enjoyed the Martin & Lewis programs the best. I found someone on iTunes who had made podcasts on a regular basis and quickly subscribed. I went back to the very beginning.....waaaay back to 1949.....a time warp. The comedy was clean and truly funny and I found myself often chuckling in the darkness waiting to fall asleep. Often Dean Martin's voice would swoon me to sleep.

♫ I'm at heaven's door.....Innamorata ♪

Honestly the only memories I had were of Dean Martin. I really knew nothing of his partnership with Jerry Lewis. I remember seeing some of the Dean Martin roasts on TV and had vague memories of The Dean Martin Show from my childhood and always thought he was a boozer. I am not one to leave a stone unturned and after Googling found out a great deal about them. I began watching clips on Youtube from the Colgate Comedy Hour and even ordered some episodes from Amazon. One DVD included a movie At War with the Army. This movie opened up a whole new era to appreciate and enjoy.

I've really found that I was craving this type of entertainment in my life. I find there is very little on TV to watch and music these days are somewhat of a disappointment to me. Plus, I am always looking for a new way to express music in my teaching. I may not teach this specific style of music but it really does impact us today. That's what I love most.....is finding something from another time and space and applying the concept to what we do today. Did you know that Elvis heard a Dean Martin song and wanted to record it? Then that song became his 2^nd big hit? It's true. Here's another thing I discovered. I am not the only person yearning for this type of programing.

Why have I told you this big long story?  I watched all of the movies featuring the duo of Dean and Jerry . I also wanted to tell everyone how one little decision changed my life over the last three months. Had I never clicked on that link on the reward page and ordered that little green Pod you would have never had to endure all my crazy ramblings over these weeks and months. At the same time, my eyes have been opened along with my heart to a time and place that only half exists on audio and film even though the impact is woven intricately into the tapestry of Hollywood and television. It leaves me wondering if what we see and hear today could also stand the test of the passing of 60 years.

The Girl Who Didn't Write a Review

Karl Stig-Erland Larsson (15 August 1954 – 9 November 2004), who wrote professionally as Stieg Larsson, was a Swedish journalist and writer, born in Skelleftehamn outside Skellefteå. He is best known for writing the Millennium Trilogy of crime novels, which was published posthumously. Larsson lived and worked much of his life in Stockholm.

He was the second best-selling author in the world in 2008, behind Khaled Hosseini. By March 2010, his Millennium trilogy had sold 27 million copies in more than 40 countries.

But those are just the facts. 

I started out attempting to write a review of the movie The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo which I watched Friday night. I had heard so much about it and was pleased to see it come on right after the news on my free movies on demand channel. The movie is in Swedish and I was somewhat curious as I have family of Swedish decent. I was thankful for the subtitles even though at first I found them difficult to read just due to lighting and I found myself wishing they were larger. Someone with a vision impairment would have definitely had a problem keeping up with the movie. With these thoughts in mind I knew I needed to do a review.

Yet, this morning, I realized everyone already knows about these books and movies. Some have read them and watched them. But what do we know about the author? He seemed like an intriguing fellow and that's when I was prompted to look him up. 

Stig was a journalist so was used to writing I suppose. The interesting part is that he kept writing in his spare time. When he'd come home from is daytime job he'd write for his own pleasure. He was very much like you or me in that aspect. We blog or jot notes or even just doodle. What I find most interesting is that he died of a heart attack before anyone ever knew of Dragon Tattoo's or Hornet's Nests. He had only halfheartedly pursued getting his work published and it wasn't until his death that the manuscripts for his work was found in a trilogy with clues as to the intention of writing at least ten books! It is the first 3 books which we now have in this world with a partial manuscript owned by Stig's friend. The works have won several literature awards in Sweden and no doubt will continue around the world.

So, I sit here with a work of my own. I've been writing for well over a year and some of you know I've become stuck at a certain point. Reading about Mr. Larsson has made me think how wonderful it would be to see my own work come to light. To just finish it would be huge reward.  Everyone has a story and I want to make sure that mine gets put down before someone can come along and find those first 13 chapters.....with 3 alternate chapters [because I can't quite figure it out!] and wonder what could have been. 

What else do we leave unfinished? We won't ever know the rest of Stig Larsson's stories but we can finish our own. What do you want to leave in this world? 

Live without regret. 

Finish your story.