Moving on

Watty1

Creme eggs already??? oh my!  I'm glad I rarely go to the shops

Cherryfudge

No creme eggs have yet been consumed in this household.  

I somehow didn't update yesterday but it was quite full-on. In the morning DH took the dog for a short walk before and after church as she had to be left alone rather a lot, then he had to be in for a final choir rehearsal at 9am. The morning service was combined carols and Christingle followed by spiced biscuits and a/f mulled punch - very nice! I had a small expenditure as one of the children is making jewellery and I bought a bracelet each for the older two granddaughters (£2).

DH and I had to dash afterwards as DGD's birthday party started at 12. We had a lovely afternoon with them all: it's the same crowd as were present for DGD2's birthday early in November. Lots of conversations had and food eaten. I managed to catch a moment with someone whose Mum has just had an op, with added drama. Nothing much I can do to help but at least I was able to ask after her. We also managed to do a quiet gift exchange with the parents of our children's partners. It's only a small gift but it's a nice tradition - though it was kept low key so as not to detract from the birthday.

We got home about four thirty and J and L came to collect the dog, who was delighted. They've just had a couple of days in Paris but she doesn't understand that!

DH and I were quite tired so we had a slow evening (salmon for tea, cooked by DH. It was yellow-stickered the evening before so quite MS). Later on I wrote a couple of cards which are unlikely to get to the recipients in time but at least they will be posted. I realised handwritten notes in each one was going to be unachievable so I at last wrote a Christmas letter to pop in - then edited it down as DH thought it was too personal.

Late on, I realised the milk had gone out of date yesterday. It still smelled okay but wouldn't keep, so I made yogurt overnight.

Today I need to write more cards and either post or hand deliver them, then I have work at five. I'm still trying to get back to not having a dog in the house - part of me is listening out for her! However, she will be very happy to be back at her real home.

Cherryfudge

Yesterday was exhausting: all that mental effort and I got four cards sent! It's a real problem for me and has been as long as I can remember, so I do a minimum. Then the printer and my laptop wouldn't talk to each other so I had to uninstall the printer and they communicated again. Result: two letters included in cards. No more written today.

I noticed on Olio that Iceland had the smallest gammon joints down to £3.50 so I bought one and we've decided to have that for Christmas! We still have lots of chicken so the two will go well together and we won't have to deal with too much in the way of left over meat.

Today has, in fact, been nice and relaxing and I've done almost nothing towards Christmas but it will happen, one way or another. J texted to say she had forgotten to collect some post she'd accidentally had sent to our house, and would we like to meet up for coffee? So we did, and she brought L, baby A and the dog! We went to the nicest coffee shop and L treated us all. I had a hot chocolate with gingerbread syrup and cinnamon on top. It was wonderful! We all walked back to ours and DH invited them for lunch but they needed to be going. However, I've left the paperwork for a kitchen mixer with J so she can make up her mind if they can fit it in their kitchen since theirs broke. It's one I bought off a colleague a few years ago and have used it perhaps three times, if that. Again, storage is a problem so it's been shoved in an inconvenient cupboard and I realised I can do the things it does using other equipment. It would be great if they can find cupboard space and I can regain some of the same!  

We had chicken and chorizo pasta for our main meal - using up spinach from the freezer and some red pesto and pasta from stores - then set off to A and H's to see N on her birthday. Her other grandparents were still there so we had a pleasant hour before they had to get their train. N is looking much more grown up with her new bike but I think she's a bit worn out with so much socialising over the last few days.

I had another three hours of work this evening but so many people are now off for Christmas that there's less to do. I also went to the shops on my way home and at last got a Christmas-priced red cabbage (okay, two of them) and more parsnips and potatoes. At least I had a baked potato and finished up some cheese when I got home - not point getting cheap food if I don't make good use of it.

Tomorrow I'm on church cleaning (which is lighter than it used to be) and I'm working in the evening but that will be a maximum of two hours. I've also got to wrap the presents I have for DH, wash my hair, sort out cards for neighbours and dig out the dining room table which is probably still somewhere under the papers and books that have mysteriously accumulated around my computer. I might even find my computer glasses which I've not seen for a couple of days.

Cherryfudge

I have just finished wrapping DH's presents! It's a job I put off nearly as much as writing cards, though I don't have the same heaviness over it. This evening I timed the wrapping and it took about an hour, so if I remember that, it will help me leave enough time for the other presents we still have to wrap for the family gathering on Sunday. Of course, that doesn't allow for procrastination, but knowledge is power so it might just give me a bit of leverage over myself.

Quite a lot of Christmas Eve's jobs got done: hair washed, some of the dining table papers sorted, church cleaning and work cleaning done as well as our bathroom and a bit of carpet shampooing as there were marks on the lightest coloured carpet and I really didn't want them to look so bad over Christmas. As it is, they are a lot fainter but for some reason the carpet shampooer stopped circulating the shampoo part way through so I literally poured the solution on then used to machine to mop it up again. Getting the machine working properly is a job for another day but the carpet smells lovely now, even if still not perfect.

I made soup for my lunch and there are still a couple of portions in the fridge - I used one of the pumpkins, a very small one, and a couple of potatoes plus spices, tomatoes, onion, garlic, and coconut milk. I'm very aware of having lots of veg to eat our way through! I actually bought more potatoes and another swede, but L1dl has run out of shallots which I would have bought again if I could.

The gammon is soaking in cold water overnight and I've taken chicken out of the freezer to have with it, and prepped potatoes and carrots ahead of time. There are still parsnips to do, and stuffing and bread sauce to make, and DH will do the gravy. There's cranberry sauce in the fridge and I will do some green veg with dinner as well. There's Christmas pudding, stollen and cake if we have any room, and if we can ever face a mince pie, I've still got five jars of mincemeat which I made a while ago.

We had a lovely photo of A, H and children all in matching Christmas pyjamas. I think they're been to see Polar Express. We also had a little video of baby A confidently walking along leaning on her trolley. She isn't nine months yet... I am amazed at this child! None of the others walked till a year. 

Well, this Grandma won't be up in good time if I don't get to bed soon.

Happy Christmas one and all.  

liselle

Happy Christmas to you!

I heard about some drawstring bags to replace wrapping paper, I’m strongly considering them for next year….

Baileys_Babe

Wishing you a merry Christmas 🎄

Sun_Addict

Happy Christmas 🎄 

Cherryfudge

Thank you for the Christmas wishes, @liselle, @Baileys_Babe and @Sun_Addict, we had a nice day and I hope you all did too.

I did have a bit of a lie in but managed some food preparation before heading to church and as usual on Christmas it was quite a short service as people have gifts/chocolate/dinner etc. to tend to. The theme was a birthday party so at times a bubble machine went on, which I don't think I've seen in a not-just-children's service before. Mind you I've seen some interesting things included in services - there was one where there was a bow and arrow used to get a balloon out of a high roof, and while I'm pretty sure it wasn't a real bow and arrow but the imagery stuck with me.

They also got members of the congregation to do Nativity-linked charades. Amazingly, the person who had to act out 'Caesar Augustus' managed to get someone to guess correctly.

I caught up with a couple of friends afterwards: at this time of year people tend to be visiting family and that includes those of my children's generation who I knew as children and are now visiting their parents. I learned that a couple who can't have a second child have been approved to adopt in the next few weeks, which is lovely. I need to pass that news on to DD who was good friends with the woman's sister back in the day.

Back at home, DH sorted out the mess on the dining table with a  little help from me (my computer glasses remain missing) and I found a rosebud in the garden which I used in a small flower arrangement to grace the table. Everything managed to cook successfully, and I was so full I didn't want to eat again till late evening, but we opened some presents afterwards and I had Christmas pudding at that point. Although we still have lots of (cheap Christmas) veg, we've less than we had and the only main course leftovers are gammon, bread sauce and stuffing.

We walked over to A and H's which takes about 40 minutes each way and still didn't give me the feeling of having burned off many calories. I'm fairly sure I've gained weight over the last month so I need to put the brakes on and get back to running but with having a cold, then bad weather and being really tired, I've only recently felt I could tackle running again. Anyway, I digress. It was good to have an hour or so with the family and see the children's new toys. We facetimed DH's sister while we were there: she has her grandsons staying with her so we saw them, too.

We walked home via a lit-up Christmas display that's put on every year to raise money for the Air Ambulance. It was excellent so I put a couple of pounds in the collecting box.

The rest of the day was very relaxed: Christmas Bakeoff, a few more presents, DH rang Auntie... this reminds me. DH heard the other day that his other auntie has had to go into respite care as she has dementia and her husband, who has mild dementia himself and is 90 years old, isn't coping and has been admitted to hospital. It's so sad. DH is trying to support their daughter long distance. There aren't many other relatives so we want to help it we can.

Right - bedtime rolls round again.

Cherryfudge

Well, so much for bed time - the relaxing mode has clearly kicked in because I wasn't quite physically tired enough, which has been getting me to sleep recently. Instead, my brain wouldn't slow down. About half past two I decided I hadn't had enough to drink and I was starting to feel slightly hungry so I went down for a drink and a snack and discovered a mouse in the bin. Grr. I've set the trap near there but caught nothing yet.

Yesterday, I went into the drawer for placemats and serviettes and discovered mousie had chewed some cloth serviettes. So annoying. I will have to clean it all out and have warned DH that we must make sure the sideboard doors are fully shut. There's no way it could have got in otherwise as the sideboard is quite solid. (I know they can get through something the size of a pen or somesuch, but why bother with the hijinks when the door isn't latched shut?) I'm rather amazed it went for that drawer as it's right beneath the cutlery drawer which is opened multiple times a day and isn't quiet.

I went to sleep at about 3 and had a decent kip after that, not getting up till gone 10. DH was about ready to go and watch the hunt leave from the High Street so I just had a mug of hot water and went out with him. The horses were magnificent and there was a big crowd watching, though for some reason one of the hounds didn't move off and was just wandering round. I hope someone managed to return it to kennels. After that we did our annual Boxing Day pilgrimage to F@tface where I got a couple of pairs of socks for stocking fillers, then checked out a couple more shops and bought some sewing-themed things for E's stocking before heading home for lunch (in my cases, brunch).

The weather is beautiful after a hard frost last night so DH will probably go out for a walk or cycle and I need to wrap those stocking fillers!

Sun_Addict

Oh no to the mouse 😞