Sunday, December 24, 2017

Decking The Halls

It's Christmas Eve, and I will be largely off for the next three days, thanks to closures, but there will be posts throughout. I will have to play catch-up; thanks to those photo captcha issues I've been having, I'm over three weeks behind in reading and commenting.

Orleans is an urban area on the eastern edge of the city of Ottawa; before amalgamation, it was a city in its own right. Its major shopping centre is Place d'Orleans, and this spot was where they had their Santa photos. I was passing by one morning as the Jolly Elf was presiding over things.


When I started this series I showed you the Christmas tree in the Rideau Centre downtown during the day. This is it at night, after the mall's stores have closed up for the evening.


The Rideau Centre has its Santa photos done here, on the pedestrian bridge linking the mall to the Hudson's Bay across the street. 


This house downtown caught my eye as I was coming home one evening. This is now a private residence, and had been a business until a few months back. The Silver Rose operated out of this 19th century house for many years until the owner retired. The florist shop was well known in Ottawa, and the house itself is neatly decorated for the Christmas season. Given the artistic flourishes and the lack of for sale signs after the closure, I presume the retired florist still lives here.


One day a couple of weeks back I happened to be out in Kanata, the western most of the major urban areas making up Ottawa. I passed by this place. It looks like a 19th century farmhouse. Today it houses a place simply titled The Spa. The wreaths in the windows caught my eye. Tomorrow's post will include a church close to here.


This is the Christmas tree in the lobby at the Lord Elgin Hotel. Note the bust of Lady Elgin in the background at the left.


I went into the National Gallery of Canada one evening to take in some art, which I'll have in a series in January. It was the evening that the Christmas tree was lit up for the season in the glass tower.


One evening I stopped by the National Arts Centre, where a performance of The Nutcracker was to be held, with the Royal Winnipeg Ballet in attendance. The lobby areas were busy with crowds, as you can see. Note the ballerinas chatting with a group of people among them.


This display caught my eye. The rocking chair was definitely oversized.


And I finish with this Christmas wreath that was one of several hanging here. Snow shoes, a hockey stick and glove, ice skates, and a lacrosse stick- the only things that could make it more Canadian would be a bottle of maple syrup and a teddy bear in a Mountie uniform.

29 comments:

  1. A fine collection of Christmas photos. It appears your malls get decked out with holiday decorations just as ours do. But if your Santa can sit in that chair he's a lot bigger than our Santa here! :)

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  2. All decorations look so festive and beautiful. Merry Christmas, William!

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  3. Christmas is everywhere, have a nice time!

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  4. This is a very nice serie of Christmas shots again.
    Merry Christmas, William.

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  5. I wondered where you have been!!!
    I've been the The Spa, too rich for my taste...
    I love the photos. We're hunkering down right now, more snow on the way!
    Merry Christmas!

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  6. Schöne Bilder Serie von Weihnachtsaufnahmen. Wünsche eine Frohe Weihnacht.

    Noke

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  7. ...warmest Christmas greetings to you, William.

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  8. Very festive and pretty decorations! Merry Christmas to you and your family!

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  9. Love that Canadian wreath!!
    Merry Christmas, William!

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  10. Thank You Dear William. Merry Christmas wishes to you!

    "It is Christmas every time
    you let God love others
    through you.
    Mother Teresa

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  11. Great Christmas eve post. Merry Christmas.

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  12. @Linda: so do I.

    @Lowell: that chair is big enough for three adults!

    @Marleen: thanks!

    @Marianne: thank you!

    @Jan: Merry Christmas!

    @Jennifer: time has also been an issue lately. But the captchas were the real problem. There were days I was getting a handful of comments in and then getting slammed by endless captchas. I counted once: 327 captcha square clicks to publish a comment. I have been in touch with someone at Google who has confirmed they identified the problem and were working on it. Yesterday I got a lot of commenting in with no troubles.

    @Noke: thank you.

    @Tom: thanks!

    @Eileen: thanks!

    @Jackie: I do too.

    @Cloudia: a fitting quote.

    @Red: thank you.

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  13. You found a lot of beautiful Christmas decorations around your city. I love seeing all the decorations.

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  14. Such lovely Christmas decorations. I love the photo of tree at the mall in the night. One of bloggie friends is having issue commenting on WP posts. Sorry you are having captcha issue. It must be very frustrating :-(

    I wish you a wonderful holiday season!

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  15. So many beautiful sights that you showed today, William!

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  16. Oh what beautiful festive images, William. Merry Christmas to you and yours,

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  17. Fantastic photographs William.
    Merry Christmas Wishes to you and yours.

    All the best Jan

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  18. Yes! It's festive... happy Christmas!

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  19. Maple syrup and a Mountie Teddy Bear !
    hahahahahahahaha Perfect.

    cheers, parsnip and mandibles

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  20. @Sharon: there is much to photograph here in terms of Christmas decor.

    @Tamago: from my experience of two days ago, I am hoping the problem is resolved.

    @Red: and I didn't even feature decorations inside Centre Block!

    @Jo: thank you.

    @Jan: thanks.

    @Linda: very festive!

    @Parsnip: thank you.

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  21. Very nice Christmas decorations! Some are very cosy and comfortable.

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  22. Did you by any chance keep a count of all those Christmas trees you've photographed?

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  23. Wow! What a festive array of holiday photos ~ love the door with the spotlight on it ~ nice shot !

    Happy New Year to you ^_^

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