A post-Christmas walk

We've had a quiet but very pleasant couple of days.  Much-appreciated gifts, wonderful home-cooked food, one or two warming beverages along the way, phone calls to loved ones in other parts of the country.  And, surprisingly for us, we watched some television; some very funny, entertaining programmes that have added to the enjoyment.  We've also had some quietness, just right for reading, doing puzzles and crosswords.  It's been a really nice mix.

I usually try to get out for a walk on Boxing Day but it yesterday was a bit wet and a warm house seemed as preferable option!  However, today was bright and dry and I felt the need for a breath of fresh air.  Yes, well, it was blooming freezing!  N sat in the car and read while I buttoned up the jacket and set forth along the seawall.  There were a few dog-walkers out and about, and some parents supervising small children on new bikes and skateboards but actually there weren't as many people as usual.  It was cold.  No, actually it was very, very cold!  My ears and cheeks were stinging by the time I got back to the car and I'd only been out for half an hour.  It had been very windy last night and the sea was stirred up, banking up pebbles and shells along the beach.  

The beach-huts are all shut up for the winter, and look a little sad at present.

There's snow in some northern parts of the country, but I doubt we'll see any on the Island.  The weather has to pretty extreme to see the white stuff this far south.  I think we just have to content ourselves with some sharp frosts and very chilly winds, although I did manage to get the washing dried outside yet again.  

I'm trying to marshall my thoughts for the coming year into some kind of order.  It's always tempting to charge into new plans and challenges, with lists on clip-boards to organise the new year, and while there are things which I would like to incorporate into 2015 I think I have come to realise that nothing will be achieved, and indeed much might go quite the other way, if I don't take time to be kind to myself.  This is something that has been on my mind for some time, and I think it is important to start off in a state of positive well-being.  There is much to look forward to and I want to dive right in but I need to be in the right place to do that properly.  And actually taking a little time for me is certainly going to be beneficial to not just me but those around me, so for me it makes sense.  

But I think I'll still make sure that clipboard is to hand, just in case!!

Taking time out

All the making is done, gifts wrapped and under the tree, food prepared, guest safely collected.  After a rather frantic couple of days, Christmas Eve finds us surprisingly calm and at ease with ourselves.  

We had some fun baking Monday and yesterday, and have plenty of goodies to see us (and half an army, to be honest!) through the next few days.  I tried my hand at a stollen cake - well, it's huge but so superior to shop-bought.

 

N has made mince pies, and I've also baked cherry buns and chocolate chip cookies, adapting the ginger biscuit recipe I've had previous success with.  The grandchildren have tried them out and declared them to be better than the bakery ones so I think we may have cracked that one.

This afternoon, I made the most of the bright, sunny but somewhat chilly weather and took myself off for a walk.  N is still nursing a very troublesome knee (he had finally got an appointment to have it checked out) so he put his feet up and watched the original Robin Hood film with Errol Flynn (what a very well-dressed band of outlaws they were!!)  

My walk took me through the woods to the Quarr pigs - where else? - and it was lovely.  The low sun sent shafts of light through the trees, and it was beautifully clear across the Solent to the mainland.  

The pigs were very muddy but seemed to be blissfully content snuffling around.  Mama pig had seven youngsters to keep an eye on.

I walked through to Fishbourne and saw one of the car ferries loading before its return to Portsmouth.

I certainly wasn't alone on my walk, many people were out and about enjoying such a lovely winters' day, but it gave me some time to my own thoughts.  Being outside, enjoying the countryside always seems to bring some peace, and the opportunity for quiet reflection.  I have some things on my mind needing reconciliation and resolution, and my walk this afternoon at least allowed me to simply think.  It was good.

And tomorrow we will have a quiet, simple Christmas - with good home-cooked food and a few home-made gifts among the presents.  

Busy days

Nothing says 'Christmas' quite like a pointsettia

Apparently today was 'Panic Saturday' when every man and his dog went shopping for all those last-minute must-haves that are essential for Christmas.   Oh good grief!  I read an article on-line this morning and was gob-smacked by the figures (money) that were quoted.  

There's still quite a lot of making going on hereabouts.  The box N is working on is looking lovely; he will begin polishing it tomorrow to get the finishing sheen.  I've started my part of that particular present today, fingers are crossed that the measurements I'm working on are accurate.  

We have both been walking in and out of town quite a lot this week - the weather has been dry (hooray!) and chilly, ideal for brisk walking.  We reckon a round trip is probably four miles and generally takes about an hour and a half, maybe two.  I've done a trawl of the charity shops for puzzles, books and a DVD, and as there are, I think, 9 such shops, it takes a while to check them all out ;-)  However, bargains are there to be had if you're prepared to take the time, and I've been surprised just how busy those shops are at the moment.  Seems I'm not the only one happy to give them my custom.  

We've got a menu plan sorted for the next week, and some alternatives to hand should there be last minute changes.  The bread is baked and two of the three loaves are in the freezer; that will see us through next week.  I have a couple of cakes and some cookies to make, probably tomorrow or Monday.

There are many things on my mind and most, to be honest, are not Christmas-related.  I'm going to start jotting these things down as I think of them, because I need to come back to them in the New Year.  I need to give time to these issues, deal with them and allow myself to move on.  And there are lots of new challenges and ideas I'm looking forward to next year so a clear head will be a good start!

Festive makes

I've been retreating to the sewing room at every opportunity this week in an effort to finish off some festive makes.  In past years I have tried to make a little decoration for each of the children/grandchildren but in my gloomy mood this year, that didn't quite happen.  However, I have done a bit of sewing for us and our new home.

Every house needs Christmas bunting!

A bit of crazy patchwork in the process

The end result . . 

. . . and two more, one sparkly and golden, the other sporting more free machined snowflakes.

There will be three of us here for Christmas, and we now each have a cheerfully colourful stocking.  I may have a root around to find a few little bits and bobs to pop in them but even if they stay empty, I'm really happy with the way they have turned out.  And the best thing of all - they didn't cost me a penny to make.  All the fabric came out of my stash, the wadding was offcuts sewn together and all the trimmings I already had.  Even the tape for the bunting was home-made.  Yep, I enjoyed making these.

And I have certainly enjoyed eating these!  N made some delicious mince pies earlier in the week and they were just the thing with morning coffee, and afternoon tea!  We could do with some more.

I finally managed a tidy-up in the sewing room (after several days of stocking-making, the room was a tip, I confess) and discovered a secret present I'd forgotten about.  It just needs a pocket to finish it off, and hopefully, now I've cleared up a bit, I'll get around to doing that.  

We've got a busy day tomorrow - the car goes in for a service, bread to be made, grandkids collected from school and shopping for a few presents for each other.  We go for the useful, practical and therefore much appreciated gifts and we'll probably both have a tour of the charity shops as part of our search.  We'll be on a tight schedule (while the car is being serviced) so a list is crucial and I must make sure we have a supply of bags with us (we don't need any more plastic bags, thankyou).  It could be fun. 

Talking it through

I knew I'd get my head around Christmas eventually.  As with most problems or dilemmas, it just takes time and talking things through (a couple of shots of brandy seems to help, too!) and eventually some kind of resolution is reached.  Perhaps it's having the courage to make decisions based on your own values rather than attempting to conform - whatever, we are at ease with the stance we have taken.  

We finally managed to get some cards in the post today.  Oh dear, it happens every year, this last minute rush, and it's always of my own making.  But there is a bit more of a plan for the next few days emerging, and organisation in any shape makes my happy ;-)

We walked into town this afternoon (to post said cards) and on the way back, as the light was fading, we spotted a large dog fox slinking into someone's garden.  I never fail to be thrilled to see any wild animal, and even in such an incongruous setting of a residential road, the sight of that fox made my day.  Those are the things that are special and to be treasured.

This time of year makes me very reflective - for a number of reasons - and although I'm not usually one for New Year resolutions, which have a nasty habit of running out of steam by mid-February, if not before, I have found myself pondering over a few options and challenges for the coming year. When I turned 50, a few years ago, I cheerfully wrote myself a 'bucket list' of 50 things to do before I was 60, although I have a feeling I ran out of ideas by about number 38 or so.  I cringe as I recall some of the items which I felt, at the time, were crucial and quite indispensible to my future happiness (owning a pair of Jimmy Choo shoes was, apparently, vital - I am quite ashamed to admit to that).  A big shift in perspective and a desire for a far simpler life have changed my conception of what constitutes happiness and contentment.  I think, come New Years Eve, I shall reconsider my 'bucket list' and jot down a few alternative ideas that resonate far better with me than the consumeristic diatribe I wrote last time!  

I also think I need to take some more photos - my melancholia this week seems to have curtailed my artistic flair!

Is it just me?

A bit of a moan . . . 

I am trying hard to embrace Christmas but I suspect I'm not really succeeding.  It's a time of year I always have difficulty with and that seems to get worse as I get older.  There's such a frenzy of pointless consumerism and 'must have' surrounding the whole season, an obligation and expectation on everyone to enjoy it all.  I think I must just be a real humbug, because I struggle with it.  I want to enjoy it, have fun like I'm supposed to but ...

I suspect much of my problem stems from a fragmented family.  I seem to be in the position of trying to please everyone, trying to do the right thing by everyone, worrying myself silly over what other people think, and of course the end result is that I'm the one that's left with that rather disappointed feeling.  There is a temptation, which has been voiced several times this week, that it would be quite nice to simply disappear over Christmas and come back when it's all over!  Not really a viable option, I guess, but still fun to contemplate.

I know the feeling will pass.  I give thanks that we are in a position to buy food and presents for one another as I am only too well aware that many do not have that option, but it's the waste that I think gets to me more than anything.  We are so fortunate that there really is very little we need and not a great deal we want; our small list includes sandpaper for N and a large reel of sewing thread for myself - items which may seem mundane and boring to many but which will be very gratefully received and be used by us.  Our voluntary work at the donation centre has really brought home to us the 'throw-away society' that we live in now; so much unwanted stuff, hardly, if ever, used.   N and I will both be scouring the charity shops for books and puzzles which will be read, completed and probably returned for someone else to enjoy again.

Anyway, enough of the wingeing.  I'm having fun making bunting and Christmas stockings.  We've found that our decorations were fine at a two-bedroomed flat but look a little thin on the ground in a much larger bungalow.  Any excuse to sew, I say.  There's an assortment of cards and wrapping paper strewn around (the cards should have gone in the post by now but it happens every year) and there are scrawled lists on scraps of paper, presumably to remind us to do something terribly important on the appropriate day.  It will all come right on the day, these things always do, and perhaps this indecision and uncertainty is all part of the build-up.  We will have food to eat, a few gifts to unwrap, and a warm house to cosy up in.   Many people would happily trade places.

Busy winter days

We seemed top have escaped the worst of the 'weather bomb' onslaught but did watch a video clip online of stormy seas and huge waves at Birsay, Orkney.  It's always a bit breezy in Orkney, even on a good day, but yesterday's weather certainly was dramatic.  Here it's just a bit windy, which is great for clothes drying!

We are loving the pine scent from the tree, and the droplet of resin that catch the light in the morning

After a bit of prevaricating, the tree is now decorated.  We try to keep things fairly simple and most of the ornaments are ones that have been around for quite a few years.  One or two sentimental bits, many others hand-made.  

Both of us are kept busy through the days, me generally sewing (mending, presents being made on the quiet, and things that we find we need but haven't got eg draught excluder), N busy with woodwork (cutlery canteen, emergency repairs to guest room door).  We're glad to have the time to do these things, and it connects us, little by little, to this new house.  Gradually we are moulding it to our requirements.  It was always going to take time, and so it is proving.  Yesterday we had to move a piece of furniture out of the hall (to accommodate the tree) and into the 'middle room' where we spend much of our time.  It was, we anticiapted, just a temporary measure over Christmas but it looks right at home in it's new location and will, I have no doubt, stay there come the new year.  I have no idea what will go in the empty space in the hall but I'm sure the solution will present itself.  

Through the shed window something is taking shape

We are fast approaching the shortest day and I had to switch the light on at 3.30 pm today, in order to see to sew.  

It seems strange to think that in a fortnight's time, Christmas Day will be drawing to a close.  As usual, it has caught up with us and I'm in a quiet panic.  Things to do and so little time left - my own fault.  Every year I fervently promise myself that next year I'll be better organised, that I will plan ahead, that I won't leave everything to the last minute.  I clearly don't listen to myself!  I wish I did.  Everything will be done, of course, but the rush will take the edge off the enjoyment just ever so slightly, and I rather wish it didn't.  So next year . . . .