Christmas Collage

To celebrate the successful construction of the first gingerbread house I've made since I was a kid, I decided to create a still-life scene with my new Christmas tripod. Nothing says Christmas like gingerbread, Lego and a Cocker Spaniel in my humble opinion.

El Nino Ski Season

About a month ago I remember thinking that the local ski hills were off to a pretty good start compared with last year, but as of today it looks like their white wonderland has melted.

I was in North Van yesterday for awhile. In directly sunlit areas like the patio at which I was sipping my afternoon coffee, it was almost t-shirt weather. Twelve degrees Celsius on Dec. 11. It might as well have been Oct. 11. A nice respite from the month of torrential rain we've experienced, but none-the-less also a bit un-nerving in light of the recent climate discussions going in on Paris.

View of Grouse Mountain from East Van.

View of Grouse Mountain from North Van.

Downtown Christmas

Since Nordstrom is getting all the press lately I thought I'd post a photo of our good ol' tried-and-true Hudson's Bay store all decked out for the Christmas season.

Another iconic Vancouver building lit up for the evening is the home of Birks. I took this photo in 2011.

Lego Christmas 2015

We went a little nuts this weekend on Christmas-themed Lego. I guess it all started with a Lego search of Craigslist. I discovered that besides the annual Christmas-themed Lego that was released, there had also been a Black Friday-issued kit (of course!). I'm really not geared into shopping trends; I hadn't been aware of it prior to Black Friday.

But I must admit, the last few years I've tended to tune in a bit more to the Christmas shopping cycle, mostly for bigger items that may be on sale for Boxing Day. At least that's how it used to be. Lately however the sales seem to have crept forward to occur before Christmas. That's fine with me. I'll take the savings anytime.

So I guess that's how I came to be trolling the Craigsgeist. In the end I snagged a Lego Gingerbread house (which I later paired with a real gingerbread kit I found in the supermarket) and a fireside hearth scene complete with Santa (and a mischievous cat). A few special guests made the final cut as well, including the sled dogs and parka dude from a Lego helicopter kit I received a couple of Christmases ago.

And what Christmas vignette would be complete without a Mexican sombrero-bedecked hombre back from a recent goldpanning expedition? Yeah, OK, that last one's a bit of a stretch. But that's the beauty of Lego. It doesn't have to make sense!