Bus Tour and More of the White Stuff.....

Yesterday was our yearly family Christmas Lights Bus Tour.  It was very cold, but we braved the freezing temperatures anyway cause our family is just crazy that way.  This year we visited the Trinity Street Light Competition.  For 5 whole blocks (2400 - 2900 block), the residents have created a winter wonderland of light displays!  Here's some background info on this yearly Christmas light competition --  it was developed nine years ago after two longtime residents, Martha Elliott and Norah Davis, were murdered during a home invasion on neighbouring Wall Street in 1999. Following the elderly women's deaths, Trinity residents decided to tackle the fear on the street by getting out to meet their neighbours.  Here's an excerpt from the Vancouver Courier:

About  80 per cent of the residents between the 2400 and 2900 blocks of Trinity decorate their homes. Some opt out for cultural or religious reasons, but some neighbours often surprise residents who haven't gotten around to decorating.

"Some people have been guerrilla decorating their neighbours' yards," she said. "It's pretty funny."

Everyone who takes in the displays is encouraged to buy ballots, at $2 each, to vote for their favourite. Ballot boxes can be found up and down the street. The money is then donated to Cottage Hospice and Harbour View Daycare. The lights remain in place until after the new year.

Here are some pics of our evening:

Can ya' tell by the way we were dressed how absolutely frickin' cold it was??? 

It was FREEZING!!!!  But the lights were beautiful!

 

And of course, the evening is never complete until we take a jumping picture.

 

We normally jump higher than this, but we were scared of falling on the ice!  See last year's jumping picture here.

It was so cold that this is what we felt like:

 

I found this sign on one of the lawns.
 

This means "Merry Christmas" in Tagalog which is the national language in the Philippines.  I can speak Tagalog because I went to school in the Philippines till grade 6, then we moved to Canada after that.  I went to St. Theresa's College - a private Catholic School in the Philippines....which is why I am such a pure, innocent and religious young lady.  (NOT....!)   Okay, to my family reading this.....I can already hear you laughing.   I mean, I wore a uniform and everything!  And the nuns were strict --  your skirt length had to be below your knee!  We'd have it at the proper length at school, but there was some heavy waistband folding action after school, when we went to the stores to shop.

Here are some more pics of the light displays on the street.

 

 

It was a fun night -- can't wait till next year!  After the tour we went to my brother's home to eat some delicious Filipino food -- pancit, (delicious noodles!)  pan de sal (Philippine bread rolls -- the best bread ever......growing up my mom made this for us and we'd dunk it in hot chocolate!) and the awsomemest ham ever that my mom makes at Christmas.  It is smoky, yet sweet cause it has brown sugar and it has a rich, thick syrup that is to die for.  Gotta hit the gym today......though I did go yesterday and did 5 miles on the treadmill.  Thank goodness for the gym!

Comments

[Dragana (Happy Inker)]

I love Trinity Street Lights competition. The gingerbread house was done by a good friend of mine, Jim. Both he and his wife are great people and love children. Like you couldn't tell that from his house, eh? :-) Great jumping.

[Joy Kennedy (JoyOfStamping)]

Maligayang Pasko! :)