So long, Santa

 Well, Christmas came and went in the blink of an eye, as it seems to do every year. We are in that strange time in between Xmas and New Year, where we don't feel like doing much other than snuggling up on the sofa with a cup of tea, good book or film to watch. I have been reading Eat Pray Love (have not seen the film but heard it isn't great, although the book was a good read) and Pride and Prejudice, which is especially enjoyable since I watched the BBC tv series again only recently. We have recorded a few things on Sky Plus but haven't been bothered to see too much, although we watched the new Upstairs Downstairs series which was fantastic - even the kids stopped playing and joined us on the sofa to watch it. My husband got a Kindle for Xmas so he has been reading a lot too. In fact, the only time I have been out of the house has been to do the food shopping (luckily extremely quiet at the supermarket) and to do a bit of sales shopping. 

 I got this 1950s style diary from M&S - a bargain at £2. It is packed full of useful info in the front, including detailed first aid advice, useful telephone numbers and the usual conversion charts. Very handy. I have always automatically bought a calendar for the kitchen but I thought I would try a diary this year - I am hoping it will prevent lots of paperwork from floating around the house. Doubtful!

 I also got some black suede boots which I was very pleased about as I don't often manage to find shoes/boots that fit me well. I have quite narrow feet and I hate uncomfortable shoes so shoe shopping proves quite difficult and I avoid it at all costs. Not entirely sure the kids were too pleased to be with me in the packed shoe shop.

And what I got for Xmas this year was...

... something I have wanted for a long time and which I hope will see a lot of use over the coming year. My first job will be to dig out a coat I started making a very long time ago - I am embarrassed to say how long ago it was, but I need a new winter coat so it must be finished. I have been buying old dressmaking patterns from the 1950s onwards at charity shops so I am sure I will be making a few items from these too. I am really looking forward to making my own clothes over the coming months and I hope I will get to wear them too - this is all dependent on how well they turn out though.

My other big project for 2011 is the garden, something I mentioned in my previous post. I have already got a gardening book from the library for inspiration. I need all the help I can get, but have at least decided on the style of garden that I prefer and that my non green fingers prefer - a woodland garden. It also fits in nicely with what we currently have - a bit of grass surrounded by tall trees and mixed hedgerow. I have no idea how it's going to turn out but I will have a go and learn from my mistakes. First of all, I will need to prepare a tortoise enclosure for my 3 tortoises, which will be right next to the decking so we can keep an eye on them from inside. All we need now is some dry mild weather. Not likely!

Tree!

Merry Christmas

I have been unable to blog for a while, what with snow, illness (youngest daughter again) and lots of last minute stuff that needs doing, that I think I will have plenty of time to do, but ends up being a bit of a rush. However, we have had time to do lots of lovely crafty things, and my wonderful sister was here to join in. We had lots of fun making the above crackers, although I think I must have found the most heavy duty crepe paper on ebay - I don't think anyone will be able to pull these crackers. Also sticky tape did not seem to want to stick to the crepe paper and we kept forgetting to put important stuff in like the snaps or the jokes so had to undo them. Admittedly we were rather more enjoying the making than being efficient! 

 We also made a batch of homemade mince pies (yum - have been eating them for breakfast instead of cereal) and our traditional reindeer cakes - chocolate fairy cakes topped with melted chocolate, glace cherry for a nose and curly wurly antlers. Very popular with young children and they taste delicious too. We have yet to make the yule log - the shop bought chocolate swiss roll is sat waiting, but the kids don't seem too bothered about making it. Never fear, my sister has offered to make it on Christmas morning - I think she is secretly looking forward to it! Can't wait to see how it turns out.

 Here is the Xmas bunting I made with some beautiful 1950's style fabric that I got at the Knitting and Stitching Show. I bought some gingham and pine cone fabric from the local sewing shop to go with it. I'm really pleased with the end result.

Here is my little cute Christmas Tree I got from the local garden centre a couple of weeks ago. It reminds me of the old fashioned trees that Woolworths sold in the 1920s and 1930s. Some toadstools and a length of ricrac were all that were needed to make it look its best.

I hope you all have a very Happy Christmas and New Year. We will be at home with family visiting, spending lots of time snuggling with the little people, playing games, reading books and enjoying a cup of tea/glass of wine by the light of the fire. I will be back in the new year, fully refreshed and ready to blog about more adventures ie. tackling the garden - my main task of 2011, which will be a bit of a challenge as I cannot be described as a gardener in any way/shape/form. Wish me luck. xx

Biscuits for Christmas - M&S can do no wrong

 I have not had much time to blog recently - illness, decorating, Xmas shopping - you get the picture. This is just a quick post though to show you what I bought today as I am so pleased I managed to get the above tin of biscuits from good old M&S, who also were very accommodating in reducing it to half price -  which was exactly what I was waiting for. I got the tin below too as it was only £4 and I thought you can never have too many pretty tins to store homemade biscuits, felt tips and lots of other clutter (we seem to generate quite a bit of clutter in our house, I don't know why).

 The picture below was in a pesky mood and refused to sit the right way up, even though I rotated it on more than one occasion. This tin is a gift. Shame.

Anyway, I will update you on further Christmasy goings on soon. We are putting the tree up tomorrow and eldest daughter and I will be decorating the wreath for the front door once I have finished this post. There is lots to cram in before my lovely sister and her lovely fiance arrive on Wednesday and prior to the kids finishing school on Friday. So much to do, so little time and all that. Take care all. Hope you are enjoying putting your deccies up. x PS. Must say how lovely my husband is - poor thing fell down the ladder whilst getting the deccies out of the loft. Bless.

Snow!

Snow?

I am wondering whether this view will be all white by the end of the week. There is much talk of snowfall but I get the feeling it may just be the North of England and Scotland who will get some (or indeed already have some). Unfortunately I have been stuck at home for the past 2 days as my youngest has come down with a bad cold which has developed into a temperature and no movement from the sofa all day. She went to bed at 4.30pm after refusing dinner, and is now tucked up in our bed fast asleep. I hope she has a better nights sleep. She was supposed to be doing her Brownie Promise tonight and there is a party going on as one of the leaders is leaving, but she was too ill to care. :(

We had a lovely weekend with family and the school Xmas Fayre was very busy and made a good profit. My eldest played her guitar in the talent show and did so well - we were so proud. We were all exhausted by the time we got home. I had lots planned for this week, including the decorating but have not been able to do anything. I was hoping to get the Xmas shopping finished very shortly - not looking like it's going to happen any time soon. I have had plenty of time to snuggle on the sofa and crochet though - I have so far made an oak leaf, a giant acorn (not sure why it turned out so huge as I used the same yarn that I used for the oak leaf), mistletoe and half a bumblebee. Once they are fully constructed, I will post about them (assuming they look any good!). Right, must stop waffling and get some more crochet done.

Busy busy

 It has been a very busy week this week and there are no signs of slowing down any time soon. Monday and Tuesday found me sanding down walls and woodwork and painting all the woodwork in the hall - 9 doorways in total, however luckily I didn't have to paint the doors. Wednesday was a trip to the doctor's with my youngest, followed by lots of tidying and preparations for my Mum coming to stay the night. The reason for her visit was our much anticipated trip to London. The local school had arranged a coach trip to Harrods, which was very reasonably priced and left from a short walk away from our house. We had to be outside the school at just after 9am; it was a long day but we had the best time. Mum was her usual thrifty self and bought some stitch markers for £1.95 - that was all she purchased! I bought some wool from John Lewis (for projects from the book below), a Christmas gift and a Harrods retro bauble for my lovely friend Alison, who definitely deserves a treat at the moment. It was a fab day and I am sure we will be doing it all again this time next year.

 Anyway, this doesn't really explain the photos above. After painting the woodwork, I realised that I would not have time to start painting the walls, what with Harrods shopping and catching up with housework today (Mount Everest sized ironing pile and washing basket overflowing - to top it all, the tumble dryer decided to pack up this week) so today I ripped up the underlay and staples and cleaned the floor. It is looking very shiny and in remarkably good condition, apart from a rather large gap between blocks running almost the entire length of the hall. You can just see the last bit of carpet left under the doors to the "Tardis", our hall cupboard which seems to hold most of our belongings! I couldn't quite get this bit of carpet up so it will stay there until a certain handy person has time. Said certain handy person has also been filling in the gaps between blocks with wood filler this evening. So helpful. :)

 Anyway, onto more exciting matters - I ordered this book a couple of weeks ago and I have been so pleased with it, it is one of those books that you just want to keep flicking through. It is full to the brim with beautiful flowers and leaves to make. I have already had a go at a couple of the patterns, although it is a bit tricky following a crochet pattern for the first time. A little concentration and patience is in order, not something I usually have an abundance of unfortunately.

The flowers are truly beautiful and I can't wait to have a proper sit down and have a go at a few. I bought the wool in John Lewis to practise with. There are a few things I need to get done first though. We have relatives round for dinner tomorrow so I will be cooking for most of tomorrow. The school Xmas Fayre is on Sunday - my eldest is performing in the Talent Show (Good King Wenceslas on guitar) and I am helping on the children's craft stall. I will then be finishing the painting next week and I must get on with finishing the Xmas shopping. So much to do, so little time before Xmas. Right, I suppose I had better go cook the dinner and I believe a glass of wine may be in order... Hope you all have a fab weekend. xxx