on the sixteenth day of december...
yesterday was not your typical mid-december day in southern ontario! first of all, it poured rain for most of the day. trust me, i am not complaining – i would rather have rain than snow. you don’t have to shovel rain (not that i ever have to shovel anyway, haha!) and you don’t have to worry as much about treacherous driving conditions [anyone else freak out just a little, though, when you're on a rainy highway with transport trucks surrounding you??]. secondly, the temperature yesterday climbed to 11 degrees celsius (that’s 51.8 degrees fahrenheit, u.s. friends!). that is not a record, however: 12.9 is the record high for december 15th, from back in 1975! (i learned that very important cliff claven-type fact information on the radio, at the store).
no skating allowed on the rink in uptown waterloo, yesterday!
after work, i decided it was the perfect time to fulfill another annual christmas tradition: go see the lights in waterloo park. some people may think you need gently falling snow and crisp night air to enjoy the full effects of the light display. not i! i’ve frozen my bunz off enough in previous years. i revelled in an evening temp where i hardly needed mitties!
greetings!
the “wonders of winter” light display takes over all of waterloo park from the first saturday in december until new year’s day. it’s really quite impressive! in addition to the light displays, they play christmas music near where the animals are, there are horse-drawn trolley rides, and hot chocolate is available. i totally recommend it if you’re local and looking for a fun evening excursion.
well, at 5:30 p.m. on a rainy thursday eve, the park is not exactly hoppin’! there were a few other people out and about – and i saw one runner in shorts and a tshirt – but it’s been wayyy busier other years when the temps are minus-frostbite!
now, unfortunately, a point-and-shoot camera takes really crappy photos of lights in the dark. but here’s the best of the bunch!
this tree goes from dark ->1/3 lit->2/3 lit->fully lit + flashing!
there’s a “ring road” that goes around waterloo park…
candles line this side of the road; candy canes mark the other, parallel side
this castle marks another entrance...
another neat thing is that the lights are set up by volunteers. what a lovely sense of community and holiday spirit.
there's dora!
is this a "captain canuck," of sorts?!
inside this cute little house...
...you'll find santa and his workshop!
yikes! that santa’s a little scary, if you ask me! i think i prefer this guy!…
ho ho ho!
look! it’s a running moose!
...or a jiggly photographer!
right about this time, it started to rain again, so i hightailed it to a couple more displays, then called it quits.
"the stockings were hung by the chimney with care..."
swans right beside the waterloo park lake - very appropriate!
that was fun! and you know what’s cool? when i’m at home, if i look out the big, front windows of the condo casa, i can just see the edges of the light display!
after my xmas-light walkabout, i got groceries, came home and cleaned the toilets (i wish i was joking), and did a load of laundry. hey, even when it’s all christmas all the time, around-the-home duties call!
what’d you do last eve? esp if it’s christmas related, do share!
locals: have you been through waterloo park yet this year? i hope to take a boo through at least one more time!
rank these household chores in your order of most favourite to least favourite: groceries; laundry; cleaning (dusting, bathrooms, etc); vacuuming. me = groceries, laundry, vacuuming, cleaning. i genuinely don’t mind the first three! but bathrooms + dusting? yuck-o!
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It was warm here this week, too, and Wednesday night my lululemon crew partned with a group called Runners Drink Beer for a holiday lights fun run- you would have loved it! We met at Starbucks, ran a 3-mile route through an area highly lit up for Christmas, and returned to Starbucks for hot chocolate. It was warm and rained on us, but still a really great time. Even Billy came with me!
ah!!! that sounds like a ton of fun, dorry. yes, i do wish i could have joined you, too. what a great idea. starbucks has donated hot chocolate for us when our store has hosted running events in the past – great community spirit. did you sing christmas carols while you ran?!!
Thanks for featuring pictures of Waterloo Park, Cathy. Nice job…
Mom and Dad K
thanks, mom and dad k! haha, our temps are ALMOST floridian!! (although today is colder again). hope you are enjoying some warm weather, down there with the palm trees!
Thanks for sharing your pictures of Waterloo Park. The very first light display was in 1994. I remember because that is where Chris took me when he proposed 17 years ago tomorrow! Being on that cloud and then walk down the lane surrounded by the red lights in the trees is one of my very favourite memories. Funny thing is we have not gone to see the lights since.
oh, juanita! that is a wonderful story!! happy proposal-anniversary, tomorrow! wow, time flies. and that is too funny that you have not been back since! maybe take b & b this year?!!
I love to shop for groceries. It’s such an adventure for me. I especially like to shop (when I have the time to spend) in stores with which I am not familiar – different towns, countries, etc. I love to see what’s new and different. I know, I’m easily entertained. Beneath that I like to vacuum and clean my kitchen. I don’t like to dust (it makes me sneeze) and I hate to clean the bathroom.
oh, i love grocery shopping at new-to-me stores, too, johanna. ESP in the states!! you guys have so much variety and new-to-us-canadians products! yea for another bathroom-cleaning hater!
Looks like you had fun! The weather yesterday was nice for us too.
Last night I played with the kitties at the shelter, asked to my mom, worked on a post for Saturday and watched some tv!
Ugh, I hate all chores! Grocery is ok…maybe vacuuming too but dusting, tidying and bathrooms are all groan worthy!
Bah. I have to clean the bathrooms today. And that’s just awful and boring and depressing. I agree with you about the strange weather! I don’t mind driving in the rain, but I hate driving in the rain in the dark, with all of the reflections on the road. That makes me a bit nervous. That light display looks like great fun!
ok, i say clean the bathrooms asap, then tell yourself you get a reward after. or else mentally compose part of your next writing project while you’re scrubbing away??!
We haven’t been through the park yet but hope to soon. Would rather go when it is cold, but not raining! I find that that all of the “characters” in those little houses are creepy. I ran last night, so also got to see some Christmas lights.
I hate doing bathrooms, especially the bathtub. We have hard water so it is hard to get all of the hard water scum off! I find vacuuming very satisfying!
Have a great day!
yes! i should have added that the tub/shower is THE WORST. have to confess, i skip it some weeks…in fact, i think i’d rather clean the toilet than the shower stall! i, too, like the rhythm of vacuuming! glad you got to see the lights during your run, and i hope your family gets out some time, too!