Missed It

I skipped Christmas this year.
I didn't plan to miss it completely because I did a little prep (gifts, a few cards, hung a wreath by the front door, listened to holiday music) and attended a few pre-Christmas events.
But on December 24th I left town and didn't return until December 29th. Neal's sisters didn't want to attempt a traditional holiday celebration this year without their brother so they invited me to join them on a getaway. It sounded interesting so I drove to the farm and spent the night. Christmas Eve we actually had a special meal - ham, scalloped sweet potatoes, steamed green beans and apple cobbler. Scalloped sweet potatoes (or are the pale ones called yams? I never remember) were fabulous.  Late that night Lisa and I drove to the Kingston ferry to meet her daughter, look at the lights around Port Gamble and return home about midnight.  Very early on the 25th we drove to Port Angeles and took the ferry to Victoria. It was too early to check into the hotel or go to Butchart so we drove around and saw a lot of Victoria, including a street with the same name as my niece. She was thrilled.

We went to Butchart Gardens as soon as they opened and spent the rest of the afternoon and evening there. It was beautiful in spite of the cold rain.

Butchart provides see-through umbrellas which made it nice for visibility as well as keeping other folks safe from collisions. There was also a fun theme to find throughout the grounds. They did displays of each portion of the 12 Days of Christmas starting with a large tree hung with silver pears and a partridge on one branch. I didn't get a picture of my favorite which was four large birds each with a cell phone. Clever.  Here are the seven swans in a brief moment of sunshine.

The Butchart Garden dining room had been our choice for Christmas dinner since it was Neal's favorite place to eat, but it had been completely sold out for over a month so we had dinner in the Blue Pansy next door instead.  Their butternut squash soup was wonderful.  After dinner we walked the entire loop once more so we could see all the lights.  This is the best one I have of the Butchart rose and showing the original home on the left in the background.

Each generation of the Butchart family is expected to add something to the gardens and the recent addition is a carousel.  The animals are beautiful and detailed - this horse cost $10,000.  Notice the tiny blue forget-me-not below the saddle, near the stirrup - it was the owner's favorite flower.

After the gardens we went back to the city center to check into our hotel.  This is the reception area of the Empress Hotel

I should have taken a picture of our rooms on the 3rd floor - they were absolutely gorgeous and well-appointed.  But we were so very tired that we just closed the doors and went to bed.  More about our hotel and the rest of the visit in another post.
For the record it was a very nice getaway and I enjoyed my time with Neal's sisters and his niece. 
It just didn't feel like Christmas.