Christmas at Byron & John’s – 2023

Merry Christmas and all the best wishes for a wonderful New Year to you and yours, Dear Reader! The hustle and bustle of it all are over for us now, but my second favourite part of Christmas is the days leading up to January. It’s a time to slow down and relax after all the work put into making another memorable holiday. But first, grab a coffee, and let me share our Christmas with you!

I just started to write this up and it hit me that this time is the tenth time I’m sharing photographs, traditions, and memories with you all through my annual Christmas posts. I feel like I’ve just gotten started, but to be perfectly honest, I love to look back at previous years and read through what we did that year and how we celebrated. I love keeping up with old traditions and starting new ones too, so documenting our little family Christmas this way brings me such joy.

Unlike the past few years, 2023 was really quiet for us. This past year was the first year we did not have any major construction work on our house. I think it’s safe to say that we finally got it to where we dreamed we could get it when we first bought it back in June 2019. Thinking back, the only thing we did this year was work on our garden. Oh, we did have a generator installed in September. No more power outages!

The past few summers, I’ve put my hand to gardening. I’ve read a lot and I’ve watched many tutorials and how-tos on YouTube. Every summer I tried growing something new and improving on something that didn’t grow so well in previous years. At the end of the growing season in 2022, I was confident enough to build a better gardening area. We purchased raised garden beds and hired a local landscaping company to build the pad and fill in the crushed stone. We’ve used the same company several times for other projects and have always been happy with the work and service provided by Extreme Landscape and Construction. So thank you to Brock and his team!

I grew cayenne peppers, jalapeno peppers, tomatoes, cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, celery, peas, cucumbers, bell peppers, brussels sprouts, beets, carrots, radishes, and a variety of fresh herbs too. I’ve already planned the layout for this coming summer, and I’m adding more root vegetables this year – like turnips, parsnips, and lots more beets!

Oh, I almost forgot! I left my job in 2023. I had been on leave from my job at the college off and on for a while. Lord Byron’s Kitchen had been doing well for some time, so I decided to leave after 15+ years. It was a great decision because it meant I had more time to work on recipes and more time to garden!

OUTDOOR CHRISTMAS DECORATIONS

Let’s start with the outside. I just showed you all of the gardening pictures, but the following are pictures taken at Christmastime. I mentioned in previous years that we like to add more decorations every year, so this year we decorated the old garden shed. It had been painted and new doors were installed earlier in the year, so John.e added lights to it for Christmas.

And, of course, John.e’s shed and my shed were also decked with lights. Yes, we have our own sheds. It’s just easier that way, trust me! Ha!

The picture below shows an extension of our back deck which jumps out with a few steps leading to our driveway. We affectionately call this section of the deck the dock. When it was first built it didn’t have any railing, so it looked very much like a dock. John.e added lights and garland to the dock this year, along with Santa and Frosty, of course.

I should mention that all of the garland and greenery that you see outside of our house was prepared by our friend, Mary. She owns and operates The Garden Shop just outside Newboro. If you are close by, drop by and take a look at what she has to offer. She is closed for the season now, but check back in the summer for your gardening needs. We buy most of our gardening supplies there. So, thank you Mary for our custom-ordered wreaths, garlands, and swags! See you back at the Garden Shop in May!

Here’s the front of the house. I wish I was able to take a photo properly without the street wires. I always joke that the day ever comes that we buy another home, the first thing I’m looking out for is which side of the street it’s on. We won’t be buying anything on the streetlight side!

The deer that you see standing next to what looks like an outhouse in this photo were joined by this multicolored tree this year. Long story short, I bought the tree, decorated it, hated it, took it down, and threw it outside on the back deck. I bought another tree to replace it and John.e took the discarded tree and placed it next to the outhouse – which, by the way, is not an outhouse, but a shed to keep gardening tools in!

This little spruce tree is one of my favourite things. When we first bought our house, it was only about 3 or 4 feet tall, but it has grown tremendously. I took this photo one early December evening right after our first batch of snow. It’s just so pretty!

Speaking of that little spruce tree, we had our gardener, Wendy, rip out more than half of what was supposed to be an annual flower bed, but over the past few years it was left to its own devices. It got out of control and we had no idea what was in there. Sometimes weeds look like flowers and I’m not expert, so Wendy gutted it and made everything look so good. I can’t wait until summer so I can see all of her work come back to life.

And, finally, here’s how we decorated the deck this year. It’s very much the same as last year, but John.e had the great idea to put lights under the awning, which looks terrific. Again, all of the greenery is from Mary’s Garden Shop!

LET’S TAKE A LOOK INSIDE!

THE ENTRANCE

Last year I didn’t put a vintage-inspired tree in the entrance and McKenna will never let me live that down! After a quick moving around of some furniture items in the entrance, we had room to put the tree back up. Here’s the thing though, two years ago when I decided to not put up a vintage tree, I got rid of the tree. So, this year I had to buy one to replace it. I hated the first one so John.e put it to good use outside.

I bought a second tree, which was an improvement on the first, but still not as good as that old one I got rid off. That will teach me a lesson! Anyway, here’s the tree. I decorated it three times and I still don’t care much for it. If it makes an appearance next year, I will have to up my vintage tree decorating skills!

Heading upstairs, not much has changed. The same pictures and decorative items are hanging on the wall.

OUR DINING ROOM

The dining room is still my least favourite room in the house, but it’s getting there! If you know me personally, it is no big secret that I love to move furniture around. Not only does it mean that I can clean where I once couldn’t, it also makes a room feel new and fresh. The two cabinets that were in the living room last year were moved into the dining room this year. I still have that white china cabinet which I’d like to refinish to match, but for now, it houses my holiday Rae Dunn collection.

Finally, after months of working to convince John that our Ikea table needed to go, he gave in. The table was perfectly fine, but the style didn’t work for me. We found a new table and chairs which fit better. And the chairs are nicely padded which means we can play board games longer without getting sore bums! Ha!

THE LIVING ROOM

Unlike last year, there is very little change in the living room this year. As I mentioned, we did move the blue cabinets out into the dining room, which meant we had room in the living room for more cabinets. The taller white cabinet that you see with the Santa’s on top used to be in my bedroom. I used to use it to store books in, but we moved it into the living room, which I think makes more sense.

Because we moved two cabinets out and one back in, that meant there was empty space. That’s why I decided to decorate two trees in the living room this year. One is a 9-foot tree with a white and gold theme. I had enough white and gold decorations left over to decorate a 7.5-foot tree too! Why not, right?

Take note of the coffee table. It’s the same one we’ve had for a couple of years. A couple of months ago, I decided to give fusion paint and aging wax a go. I wanted the previously white coffee table to match the TV stand. John.e took it outside and sanded it and I applied the paint and aging wax. I stained the top and applied a matte protective coat as well. It turned out beautifully, so I’m sure there will be more furniture painting in the future!

MY FAVOURITE ROOM IN THE HOUSE – THE KITCHEN!

I never thought this kitchen would ever be finished! The renovation part was easy enough because we had a really great contractor, but replacing the appliances was an actual nightmare! I wanted Thor appliances because I researched and did my homework first. We bought a 36-inch electric range with a hood and a Thor 36-inch refrigerator. They had the right look and a decent price, and I could get them delivered and installed easily enough. So, the first Thor range broke within a month. The replacement range didn’t work at all! This was all happening between Thanksgiving and Chrsitmas. I was losing my mind!

I’m going to be really honest here because I don’t want the same thing to happen to you. The range was $3500. (And, the power cord is an extra fee. It doesn’t come with the range!) Thor would not take back the first broken range and would not refund me. They would only offer to fully replace it. The delivery company dropped off the replacement range at the end of our driveway where it sat for a week until they came to install it. (We couldn’t get it inside the house, because it was too heavy.)

Those tall double doors you see to your right is my pantry.

Finally, it was installed but unfortunately, it didn’t work at all. After days of back and forth, Thor offered another replacement and would not refund even a partial amount. We ended up buying a GE Cafe gas range for $7000 which we had to convert to propane because we don’t have natural gas this far out. The fee for that was $1280. I’m extremely happy with the GE, but all in, we spent $11,780 to get a working range! Please, Dear Reader, do not consider buying a Thor product! Oh, for all of our troubles, Thor sent us a free cutting board. I threw it out. We still have the range hood and refrigerator; thankfully, they’re still working!

This is a new addition this year. Remember when I said I like to change things a lot? Well, last summer, our kitchen guy installed a desk here, but this year, I had him rip it out and put in a custom-built cabinet to store my blog props. The angled door you see in the background to the left is my canning pantry. And, as you can see, to the right is our back entrance and our laundry area.

LET’S GO UPSTAIRS!

OUR BEDROOMS

Our home has three bedrooms. We each have our own bedroom – even McKenna, even though she does not live with us still. John and I shared a room for years, but just over a year ago, he moved into the spare room. He says that I snore, but that’s a lie. I like lots of heavy blankets and flannel sheets, but he doesn’t. He likes to read on his iPad at night, but the light disturbs me. I can’t sleep without a fan on, but it keeps him awake. It was just easier to sleep in separate rooms! Ha!

This first room is mine with a photo of my personal Christmas tree. (And, I do apologize for the dim photos. It was a very gloomy day when I took the pictures and I did my best to lighten them up. I should have waited to take them when everything outside was covered in snow! Snow brightens everything up!)

This is John.e’s room. It used to be McKenna’s old room, and like her, he too did not want to remove that one wall of wallpaper from we bought the house. You can probably tell from my word choice that I don’t care for the wallpaper. But, I can’t win every battle! The second photo is his personal tree. He uses ornaments that he inherited from his mom.

Lastly, we have McKenna’s room. This used to be a storage/guest room, but she claimed it. I did not put a tree in her room this year because she is bringing her cat home for the holidays. After seeing what he did to her tree, I wasn’t going to have it! Ha! Because her cat and our cats don’t get along very well, her cat will spend most of his time in her room with her, which, let’s face it, is where most university students spend their time over Christmas break!

THE LANDING

So, you might not be aware of this, but we are very big fans of Lego. We have a collection of Christmas Lego sets that we build and store in their very own cabinet which we leave displayed all year round. It would be too much work to store and then re-build every year.

We decided to put our Lego modular buildings into cases too this year and leave them on permanently display. It’s a hobby that we both love and can share together, so why not put it out there!?

Our cats, Jake and Maggie, also have their own tree every year. Their tree always lives up here on the landing, which is where their food and water bowls are. (They’re litter is in the storage room on this level too.)

This next photo is a picture of three Christmas trees that I made this year. I used brooches and other jewelry to fashion the trees. The jewelry is affixed to foam crafting cones that I purchased at Michaels.

Last summer during a local, small-town summer fair, I was in Toronto taking care of McKenna’s cat while she was away on vacation. John.e went to the fair alone and bought me one of these Santas. A local vendor carves them and paints them. This summer, I got to go to the fair, and John.e pointed out the vendor. I bought two more from the gentlemen. I’m sure I’ll add another one or two this summer as well!

CHRISTMAS EVE

Christmas Eve is my absolute favourite day of the year. All of the days leading up to Christmas are great, however, it’s that one last day before the big day that is the best. On the 24th, we get all of our last-minute things done and out of the way as soon as possible. It gets dark here around 4 pm, so we get a jump start on our regular Christmas Eve traditions by getting changed into our Christmas pyjamas.

Every year, we have matching pyjamas. I usually pick up flannel pyjama pants from Old Navy and John.e designs a t-shirt. This year he turned us all into Lego characters. The amount of work he puts into these annual t-shirts is ridiculous. He’s so meticulous! Look at the details. My dad has to use an oxygen tank at all times and you’ll note that his character even has the nasal cannula! (He was supposed to join us for Christmas, but the drive is quite long and he wasn’t feeling up to it.) Our cats, Maggie and Jake are featured on our Christmas sweaters. McKenna’s cat, Fang, is on hers, and my dad’s dog, Mike, is on his.

Once we take a few family pictures and selfies, we turn on a Christmas movie and dig in. Normally, our Christmas Eve night is fueled by a charcuterie spread, and this year I prepared a seven-layer dip and served it with nachos. The day before we had our friend over and instead of running around preparing finger foods, I ordered platters of food. That way, I can sit and enjoy their visit without having to spend most of the time in the kitchen. In typical Byron fashion, I ordered way too much, so I packaged up the leftovers to snack on while watching movies.

Finally, I always hide a pickle ornament in one of our trees and wait for John.e or McKenna to find it. The person to find the pickle first gets to open a present of their choosing. This year, I hid it on the old fashioned tree in our entrance. The green pickle in a sea of colours was very hard to find!

CAN WE TALK ABOUT FOOD NOW? PLEASE!!

Oh, sweet Lord! The amount of food that came out of my kitchen this year was incredible. Starting out on the blog this holiday season was my 12 Christmas Donuts series. I followed that up with my 12 Christmas Appetizers series and then my 6th annual 24 Cookies of Christmas. Lastly, there was my 12 Christmas Breakfast series.

A couple of days before Christmas, we did our annual cookie delivery to our neighbours. And, as you know, when I say we did our annual cookie delivery. Usually John.e will deliver the cookies, but this year we took the car out because a few of recipients were not within walking distance. Also, we had planned to drive into some neighbouring towns to look at the Christmas lights, but unfortunately, the weather wasn’t cooperating, so we bought some dinner at Stoodley’s in Elgin and drove back home to watch It’s a Wonderful Life.

CHRISTMAS DINNER

It was just the three of us this year for Christmas dinner. My dad was planning to join us, but it’s a long drive for him and the weather can be so unpredictable. We know the real reason is that he does not want to leave his dog that long! Even though it was just us, I prepared an entire dinner, including a real turkey and a tofurkey for my favourite vegetarian.

I also prepared mashed potatoes, stuffing, green beans, and carrots. I so badly wanted brussels sprouts, but I’m the only one who likes them, so I picked vegetables that we all like. It’s just easier that way. Either way, it was absolutely delicious!

In true Christmas Day fashion, both John.e and McKenna washed up all of the dishes – because I did the cooking – and we settled back into the dining room and spent the evening eating cookies and chocolates while watching more Christmas movies.

AND THAT’S A WRAP!

Over the next few days, things will slowly go back to our normal. We will slowly put away our presents, lounge around the house with the cats, and grow tired of eating too much. Here are some festive photos of our two cats, Jake and Maggie.

And, just like everyone else, we will struggle to remember what day it is! (The days between Christmas Day and New Year are always so confusing, aren’t they!?) Finally, we hope you had a very Merry Christmas and that your New Year is filled with joy and happiness, prosperity and health. Lord Byron’s Kitchen will return to regularly scheduled recipe posts early in January. Stay tuned! XOXO