"Exciting Destination!"

I realized from a couple of posts back, I noted I was heading to an "exciting destination!"  My destination was...Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan!

For many, the Jaw might not conjure up ideas of excitement, but for me, that is where my home with my husband is, where friends are and a place where I can revel in the peace and quiet that only emerges under a sky as vast as the one in Saskatchewan.

It was a fantastic trip that started off with a holiday cookie exhange with friends and ended with a holiday party on the military base.  Dave and I snuck in a date to a not-so-great restaurant in Regina and took walks in the single-digit temperatures outside.  Let me just say that long walks outdoors are just fantastic this time of year.  Dave and I ventured out to Wakamow Valley to soak in some sun, listened to some Vinyl Cafe, and sipped on some tea as we wandered around in the snow.

In short, it was great to be home.

Cookie exchange...success!

I was feeling, from hotel to hotel and flight to flight, that I was missing out on the holiday season.  The time from Thanksgiving to Christmas is jam packed with meetings and conference calls.  All exciting stuff, but I love absorbing this of year.  I love walking slowly past brightly lit store windows on State Street in Chicago, seeing the ice skaters at Millennium Park and hearing the jingle bells ring of those seeking donations on the street corners.  It wasn't until I arrived in Moose Jaw that I felt I could take a breath, slow down a little and begin to enjoy the holiday season.  Sure, I was working from home and had things to do, but I was able to turn on some holiday tunes and spend the evenings with Dave...what could be more merry than that!

Moose Jaw has a small-town charm this time of year that can't really be described.  When Dave and I went out for a tea one evening, we got to Main Street and I said "I always expect to see George Bailey running down the street, screaming 'Merry Christmas!' to everyone this time of year!" 

Classic lights are strung up over the main drag and there is always a good amount of snow on the ground which lends an extra-certain-something to the electric glow of candles in windows.  Moose Jaw is the kind of town you can wrap yourself up in holiday style.  In fact, a holiday movie was filmed there a number of years ago...a movie starring one of Canada's own, Ryan Reynolds!

Ahem.  I digress.

I was grateful for my time in Moose Jaw...time to reconnect with friends, catch up on marriage (imagine that!) and just sink into the holidays...which are right around the corner!