Christmas 2022 was rough. We were planning our first visit back to Canada since Christmas 2019, before the Covid-19 crisis. My father-in-law became ill and hospitalized in early December. My husband flew up as soon as he could. Boogs and I went up as soon as school was out for break. My father-in-law was in the hospital for about three weeks. Luckily, he was able to recover and move back home to the assisted living apartment with my mother-in-law. We spent quite a bit of that time at the hospital.
This photo was taken a day or so before he was released. He is doing very well now.
While we were in Canada, we tried to do the things we traditionally do at Christmas time there. This is the first time we had been back in Canada since my in-laws sold their house. We lucked into a great Airbnb house. My mother-in-law was able to stay with us there. The house was conveniently located about 5 minutes from the hospital.
There was a lot of snow in December. We made sure to enjoy it as much as possible.
The house was close to a trail by the river. We walked there a few times to get outside for fresh air.
We went on our annual downtown walk. This year, we did not stay to watch the Winter Lights Across Canada projection show on Parliament Hill. But we did quite a bit of walking.
Of course we had to stop and get Beaver Tails pastries.
They are absolutely delicious! Boogs and Daddy got the Killaloe - cinnamon and sugar with a slice of lemon. I had the Hazel Amour - chocolate hazelnut spread with a dusting of icing sugar. We also had to get a few maple cones - mini ice cream cones filled with pure maple syrup.
There were some neat decorations up this year.
We had to have Boogs pose with this bear in one of the shopping centers in Byward Market. He has posed with that bear for years.
We walked by the canal locks.
We walked up the York Street Stairs near Major's Hill Park and the Byward Market. The stairs are frequently repainted with different designs.
There were lots of lights downtown.
This ornament was right outside the Bridgehead Coffeehouse near Parliament Hill. I liked the benches it had to sit on. Over the years, we have usually ended up at Bridgehead for hot cocoa during our downtown walks.
There was quite a bit of construction work going on at Parliament Hill. Cranes were all over the place.
We visited the Centennial Flame, which was first lit in 1967. It now burns biogas instead of natural gas.
We had our traditional Harvey's burger with my mother-in-law. It was a nasty weather day. The electricity was out in several parts of the city. Heavy ice was blamed for knocking down power lines. Our Airbnb house had no power for about 15 hours. Fun times.
We spent quite a bit of time clearing snow. It snowed a lot while we were there. I am so glad I live in Texas and do not have to deal with snow all the time.
The neighbor across the street finished clearing his driveway right before the snowplow came by and blocked his driveway. He had to get out there with his snowblower and clear it again. There was a snowplow service included with the Airbnb to keep our driveway cleared off. I'm glad we did not have to worry about that.
Boogs became pretty good at keeping the car, porch, and walkway cleared off.
The good news is that my father-in-law was able to return home. We are very thankful for that. He got a Fitbit to help monitor his heart rate.
He was in good spirits and his health was greatly improved by the time we had to head back to Texas.
Boogs has grown so much since the last time we visited. We keep in touch throughout the year with video chats. Hopefully, we will be able to visit again soon.
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