Merry Christmas and Season’s Greetings All! 
 It was a bountiful Christmas yule tide for the Gillier’s this year. Very thankful and happy with lots of lounging and eating and chatting. We are experiencing a beautiful white Christmas this year, not house bound but warm and cozy! On Christmas Eve big snowflakes gently drifted down and hung on the trees blanketing the landscape – looking so pretty.
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Laura and her friend Jenny left this morning to be in Chatham’s Christmas Day Parade. They helped the local letter carriers union hand out candy and collected children’s letters to Santa as the parade wound it’s way through the downtown route. Tonight called for a girls sleep over and gingerbread crafts.

Due to the ground being frozen solid every morning, I told the landscaper to call it quits for this year. We had a good run, but it would just be a waste of money and time to continue this late in the season. Hopefully the basement windows will come in before Christmas and we can get those installed before it gets too cold to work outside.

Yesterday Scott came and placed the flagstone down for our firepit. He had fun with the jigsaw puzzle but it turned out real nice. We can hardly wait to sit around one stary night and toast some weinies.
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At the dinner table, the Ambassador’s wife was talking with Madame Chretien; “Your husband has been such a prominent Canadian figure, such a presence on the international scene for so many years! How quiet retirement will seem in comparison. What are you most looking forward to in these retirement years?” 
 “A penis,” replied Madame Aline Chretien. 
 A hush fell over the table. Everyone heard her answer . . . and no one knew what to say next. Prime Minister Jean Chretien leaned over to his wife and said, “Ma petite, in hinglish dey pronounce dat word, ‘appiness!'”

Yeah! Laura got her braces off today.  
 Monthly visits to the Orthodontist. 
 Four years of upper and lower blocks. 
 Sixteen months of upper and lower wires, wax, elastics and brackets.  
 Voila!

The retaining walls are up and can now be back-filled with soil. The bubbling rock is installed and working but I feel the water flow is not strong enough so I’m picking up a Binford 3000 pump this afternoon (old Tim Allen – Home Improvement joke) I’m still waiting on the electrician to install the hydro outlets outside. Feel free to keep checking the photo album for up to the minute pictures.

We will be able to have our breakfast on the deck tomorrow. Today they completed the deck with a flower box on the end. It is done in cedar and looks fantastic. The deck is big enough for a BBQ, table set and room to spare. It has a 3-board width step around. Check out some pictures here.

 
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Halloween was a great success this year with the best weather I can ever remember. There were 26 trick or treaters at the Gilliers some of which were pirates, puppies, cheerleaders, dinosaurs, princesses and Spiderman. Laura went to a Halloween party at a friends and Tom and I gave out the candy. I bought large Crunch chocolate bars that we got into. We watched Interview of a Vampire with Brad pitt and Tom Cruise. Post your pumpkin pics.