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dear diary ~ dismantling Christmas

You will all have heard of the saying ‘it will get worse before it gets better‘ – well that is the state of my house at the moment…in the getting worse part.

So far, DH helped with removing the baubles from the Christmas tree, dismantling it and returning it to the box and bit by bit all the decorations were taken down and repacked in their boxes ready to go back into the loft. It is always a little sad….there are many memories in our decorations and we only see them for a few days a year.

I sorted through the unused rolls of wrapping paper, replaced them in the special long ‘wrapping paper box’ and this too will have to go in the loft as there isn’t another place to keep it in the house.

Why, I am wondering, did my mum never have such a box, nor my gran – were they able to estimate to the very last sheet the amount they would use so there was none left over to deal with? I am left with yards still on a roll…and there is more than one roll and it is difficult to store in a small house. I did have the bright idea this time to take a photo of what is in the box before it disappears away so I don’t buy more unecessarily next year – I can’t think why I didn’t think of this before. I took a photo of all the decorations as I repacked the boxes.

When that task was completed, I turned my attentions back to my new planner notebook – that is always a much more pleasing job. DH reckons my love for stationery and anything admin is due to having a post office set at a very early age.

I have ready made calendars and checklists for birthdays, household tasks and such like, stored on my computer that I print off and stick in the front of the book. Other lists are written in as I go along. Each month I start with a list of intentions, a note of appointments, events etc and then the list of tasks – some I have to do, others I would like to do. It is a catch-all for anything of interest or anything I need to remember as well as a place to plan for wekly menus, birthdays and parties, holidays and Christmas. I also make a note of anything I need to buy this month, gardening notes and tasks and to keep tabs on our monthly financial and administrative tasks.

Each month I try to do a review. It reminds me how much I have done and what is still to do and going forward this year I will also make a note of what worked and what didn’t. I am determined to only repeat things that enhance my life not make it more difficult.

I have for many years made notes about Christmas so that I don’t repeat mistakes the following year – so below is a review of what worked well for us and what didn’t.

I thoroughly enjoyed the visit to Mrs Gaskell’s house and this will certainly be on the do again list, it may not be this same house but something similar.

I also enjoyed the lino cutting workshop, the result of which I turned into our Christmas card. I would certainly enroll on one again, but next time even earlier in November would be better. I have yet to overview my Christmas card list and revise it ready for next year.

Even though I made it myself, I have loved my Advent calendar and will be sad to take it down. I have a couple of sheets of black card already cut out with the windows so I might make them up ready to send as a little gift next year with a card.

The tiny outdoor flower lights that I bought, reduced at Argos, have looked so pretty at night in the wooden planters, the batteries are still working and they were very little trouble being on a timer. I am undecided whether to keep them out for a while or remove them and pack them away.

The little desk calendars that I made as gifts for my friends took a large part of my time so if I do them again another year I must start them earlier so I am not burning the midnight oil.

The gingerbread stars were well received and I am told were very good, though I would add even more ginger to the mixture next time. They were a bit fiddly with the different chocolates, but they did look Christmassy and quite effective. I would make them again and I will add the recipe to the menu below the header.

The children loved the session we had decorating the gingerbread too and this will certainly be something we will do again, and I would buy the ready roll again for them, and maybe, I will ask them if they want to make a gingerbread house.

The Santa visit to Portland Basin at Ashton-under-Lyne (our second year there) was good too because the venue is geared up for children; it was a really lovely family day out, but whether the children might want a change next year we shall see. They do like repeating things they get to know, like our yearly holiday to Scarborough. I shall have to make a diary note though to check for the booking form early as there are very few slots available and they sell out quickly.

The gift from Santa’s Elves that we put on the doorstep on Christmas Eve is still a magical mystery to the grandchildren, so I will probably keep that going next year, the difficulty is thinking of some game they can all join in with across the age range.

I think (touch wood) I managed to bake my cake for the right length of time this year in the oven – it turned out perfect for once …not under or overcooked. So I have made a note of the times and temperatures for next year.

There are always things that don’t go well or to plan, I was disappointed to miss both the Carol singing events and the Christingle service. Every weekend was taken in December and so conflicted with the Carols and there was so much Christmas ‘stuff’ to pack into the car on Christmas Eve for our trip up north that we set off later than intended and it meant something had to give…. and it was the Christingle service.

Having to pack cookware and food to make a dinner for mum and ourselves on Boxing Day in her apartment was a big hassle, partly because we had to keep a lot of the food in a coolbag or my daughter’s fridge over two nights. It worked OK last year but we went to mum’s straight from home on Boxing Day morning. This time we were staying the two nights before in a hotel and didn’t have access to a fridge.

Luckily, the temperatures outside in our car boot were freezing which helped to keep the coolbag cool. We had to go into Yarm to Sainsbury’s on Boxing Day for vegetarian gravy granules. DH had made the gravy at home and I accidentally forgot to take it out of the fridge and put it in the coolbag! I wasn’t sure Sainsbury’s would be open on Boxing Day, but it was and looking back it would have been far easier to have bought some ready meals or something which would have been a lot less trouble.

Blogging everyday leading up to Christmas was another challenge which I may not do again, I might only be repeating myself anyway. Taking the pictures when the light is at its’ worst during December is also a trial. It was fun, but quite time consuming and I admire those bloggers that ran the course.

Tomorrow, we will put the decorations back into our loft for another year and then maybe tackle the overflowing box of Christmas items I have for crafting – ribbons, cracker parts, and embellishments and hope I get some ideas for creating a few bits and pieces for gifts next year. I doubt I will get to do anything with them immediately as we really need to make plans for the mammoth decorating bonanza…long overdue.

So if I haven’t bored you to death with my random thoughts, I will be back soon with even more random thoughts!

I hope anyone reading this who has some brilliant ideas for making Christmas an easier and super simple time, will share them in the comments!

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dear diary ~ a new year, a new day, a new start

Wishing all my readers and blog friends a Wonderful and Happy New Year.

Thank you to everyone who reads my little blog and to those who leave a comment. I always find such pleasure reading them; hearing snippets of your own lives, little words of encouragement and advice – I welcome it all, it builds connection and we certainly need more of that in today’s world.

Many of you, both bloggers and readers, will no doubt be thinking of the year stretching ahead and what it might bring, what you wish for, what changes you would like to make, places you want to go and people you want to see and not forgetting those dear to us, but sadly, not with us anymore.

I love this day, more than any other.

That marvellous feeling of ‘the blank page’ with an air of excitement and an expectation that perhaps a dream you have had for so long might come true. Or perhaps, like me, you are hoping for a year where you can get to grips with your life and if you feel like you are just bobbing about like a boat on the water, going nowhere fast, set yourself on a new course and break free from any accumulated bad habits and that feeling of being in a rut.

Of course, just as bad habits accumulate over time, inching their way into your life unintentionally, it takes time to establish new ones and often slow and steady wins the race; not being one to rush into anything, this will certainly be a year of slow change.

And hopefully change that will last.

Did you all have a good New Year’s Eve? – whether celebrating with family, friends or even your own company; staying up or going to bed at the usual time.

We spend Christmas with our family and always New Year’s Eve with friends. For us it is a good balance and another of those ‘it works for me’ moments, so this is one thing in my life that will continue.

We had a different take on our get together this year which would normally be during the evening and well past midnight, always tuning into Jools Holland for the countdown. This year our hosts decided their year had been hard and they were tired, so they hosted an afternoon get together until just after 6pm.

On the morning I asked if I could bring something and the reply came… ‘something sweet’. I hurriedly checked in the fridge and found fresh raspberries, we had nuts too from making the nutroast and cake and DH dashed down to our friendly Co-op for a tub of cream.

So out of nowhere, and after a seriously long phone call with my Sis-in -law that delayed production of my hasty effort, I managed to produce this Raspberry and Hazelnut Roulade within the hour. It is a recipe I have done so many times before, basically a swiss roll mix with ground hazelnuts and you crush a heap of raspberries into the cream (or you can use creme fraiche) then spread it onto the cake base and roll – I threw on a few festive sprinkles this time for good measure and just to glam it up a bit.

It was well received and vanished within minutes. I will put the recipe in the Menu section on my header strip and I can vouch for the fact it is relatively quick and easy – and quite an impressive dessert, though mine did crack a bit in places – nothing that a little piped cream didn’t cover and hide any flaws!

After a lovely time chatting with friends we hadn’t seen for ages and sampling the bits and pieces layed out on the table we left for home just before 7pm. It was a brisk walk with our empty cake tin in the freezing cold and we were glad to get inside and warm up. The preprepared curry DH had made yesterday may also have helped!

We started to nod off during Vera (we had seen it before) so switched over to watch Ken Dodd, the unseen footage – there is nothing like a good laugh for that well being feeling – and ended up going to bed later than intended and we were still awake at midnight listening to the local fireworks going off outside and the constant tune alerts on my phone as the Happy New Year messages started to come in from our family.

We have a very strange new year message, known only to a few in the family, which is Shimme Hips Wob. It is a standing joke from when I had my first mobile phone for Christmas a long time ago. It had predictive text, of a sort, but not very sophiticated and of course, as with most of these things, it learns over time what you want to say. I am 100% certain I typed in happy new year, however, the message was ‘predictively’ changed as the phone didn’t recognise these words I had typed and substituted some of its own. I had no idea how to change it back to what I wanted and in trying the message got sent. It read ‘Shimme Hips Wob love Mummy Nonmo and Daddy Faddidy!!

And so that sticks even today and I still get cards written by my daughters to mummy nonmo – quite an affectionate term I think.

So, today is that day when the festivities are truly at an end, well for us anyway, we have the day ahead to rest, chat, make a new batch of soup, maybe watch some TV and grab an early night. I might look to do a review tomorrow – taking stock.

Until then, this is mummy nonmo signing off and Shimme Hips Wob to you all x

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seasons ~ twixmas

I love this time of year so much I invented my ‘twixmas season’ – the interval between Christmas and New Year. Although not a true season of course, I can treat it as one as it is a very defined period that we don’t have at any other time of year; the Christmas festivities are over, the hard work done and the new year is a few days away – it is a good time to stop and catch my breath, a time to reflect and review and formulate plans for the year ahead.

My Advent calendar is fully opened now and very colourful, I might make another next year. Below I just thought I would show you the delightful Christmas card that Master Freddie made and the school printed them.

During these few slow days of twixmas my new notebook is being prepared – next year’s calendar pasted in, along with a note of birthdays and a list of intentions for the year – those endless tasks of home maintenance, self maintenance and any ideas that spring to mind for revamping the house.

There will be roll-overs to put down too from last year’s list….all those tasks that didn’t even get a look in – the ones where I wonder how on earth a year can pass and so many jobs still remain outstanding. After all, I really don’t remember lying in my bed all day….I am sure I was up and about ‘doing’ all day, most days – so why has so little got done?

I have known for some time what my focus word will be for next year, well actually it is two words, something that is much needed here; twelve whole months to Restore and Reset my life, in fact both our lives as DH feels exactly the same way. After the sale of the cottage last year and both daughters moving this year, we have both felt to be wandering a bit in the wilderness with no real objectives in mind.

Of course, I had to Google the differences between restore and reset and as I read through the definitions it has more than confirmed this is the right road for me.

Restore: is to put back something to how it was before or return to an earlier good condition. This is exactly what I need for my health, sleep, exercise, routines and systems that once worked well.

Reset: is to start again after a period of rest or change ( in my case definitely change) so you are better able to deal with life or a situation. If I were a computer it would be putting myself back to the factory setting!

I see reset as an opportunity to shake off all those bad habits that I have acquired recently and begin new ones that are more aligned to a better, healthier, less stressed me. I need to take stock of my life and identify the changes that have happened over time that are really not helping me, and restore anything that has worked before.

It is about recapturing the essence of any period of my life that was balanced and worked well. Since we sold the cottage last year we have not got into any routine here at home, other than shopping on a Tuesday….and now we don’t even have my friend K to pick up anymore, but Tuesday is as good a day as any for us to continue doing our shopping on.

In 2010 I came across the book ‘Everything That I’ve Ever Done That Worked’ by Lesley Garner. It is a series of short essays where she documents everything in her life that she has found to work for her, especially in times of stress and trouble. It started me thinking back then of just such habits, routines, systems, attitudes and behaviours that have worked for me in the past and those that really didn’t.

Presently, I can name a few unhelpful habits I have developed that will be detrimental to my health and well being (perhaps not immediately, but certainly in the future), and I need to get myself on a new and better path.

As I have pondered over these two words I have come to the conclusion that many of the RE words are going to be utilised within the bounds of Restore and Reset.

Rest, reconnect, recharge, reflect, review, recycle, rearrange, return, revamp, recover, reduce, reflect, relax, renew, replenish, research, resist, return and revisit.

I need to do all these, and no doubt more, to improve my life and now is a good time to start.

So I am taking the opportunity this week to recover from all the pressures that Christmas brings with it – often nice pressure, but even the accumulation of nice pressure is stressful.

Recovery for me isn’t lying down on the sofa watching endless TV, but rather having a good potter around the house putting everything slowly back into place and making plans.

Along with recovery, I went shopping today to replenish the pantry, mainly of bread, milk and fresh fruit and veg that we needed, but not before making a menu plan – that is certainly on the ‘it works for me’ list.

I used my personal Nectar discount offers that are given for using scan shop – I had 10 reduced price items, nine of them are items we normally buy and wanted, which is good…but when did I ever buy an Aero chocolate mousse? Sometimes, these computer generated offers are far off the mark.

My personal Nectar points were good too, 110 bonus points (worth 55p) on organic leeks, and 90 bonus points (worth 45p) on large organic tomatoes, organic broccoli and varying points on twenty other items. If I had used them all I would have added £4.15 to my Nectar points spend total. There was also 3 x bonus points if I spent over £120 but I certainly wasn’t spending that much. DH has his own offers of Nectar savings and points. We tend to just buy anything that is on offer each week where we can, and if it is a very good offer we will stock up with 3- 6 items depending on how often we would buy the item and how often Sainsbury’s put them on offer. I find their offers are very cyclical and come around every 3 to 4 weeks on main items like butter, tea and coffee.

Once I have done a bit more sorting at home I will be in a position to attend to any returns and the recycling.

I know of one or two bloggers who will choose a new focus word for the year and I am always eager to see what that word will be, equally I like to hear of those plans or (dare I say it) resolutions for the new year that you might have.

Do excuse me now I am off to the local pantomime, Beauty and the Beast with the family…my Christmas treat. X

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creating Christmas * enjoying the festive days

Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and the Christmas walk

We finally all arrived at my younger daughter’s new house for our Christmas Eve celebrations. It is her first Christmas in this brand new house and she had decorated it beautifully. Elder daughter with partner, Master Freddie and Baby Chocolate had been delayed by over an hour so we ate in two sittings. It was a simple meal of baked potatoes, beans and cheese – which suited everyone’s pickiness, followed by a homemade (by Little L) chocolate log. I had my slice with icecream.

When tea was over we cleared the table, assembled the children and brought out the iced Christmas cake ready for decorating.

The characters had been patiently waiting in the wings.

Baby Chocolate was eager to join in this year and soon got the hang of coating the bottom of the characters with icing and once a gap was located on the cake, splodge it on, no accuracy required!

Once all the characters were in place, the Christmas sprinkles are added and even more eaten.

The remains in the bowl all tipped on for good measure at the end!

And the cake frill put around the sides – then stand back and admire.

Master Freddie’s homemade snowman took centre stage this year.

Once tea was cleared away we went into the living room to open the Christmas Eve boxes, with Master Freddie’s surprise crackers inside.

They were rather tough to pull open!

As the children were engrossed in the contents, DH crept out of the back door with the Elve’s present to leave on the front doorstep, then rang the bell and crept back in. As soon as the children heard the doorbell there was a rush to open the front door with anticipation and excitement as they saw the present with a big tag saying ‘a gift from Santa’s Elves’.

This year I had chosen a 50 piece jigsaw with a Christmas Scene that they would all be able to do, as our age range is from 2 to 11 now.

The pyjamas were on straight away and all fit well.

With the children suitably occupied and ready for bed we went off to our hotel for the night at Preston Park to relax for an hour and watched the end of Love Actually – it was to be the only TV we would get to see over Christmas.

The next morning we had breakfast and then prepared for get-together no 2 at my sister’s new bungalow and we would meet up with both our daughters, their partners and grandchildren, plus my mother and brother would be joining us…14 of us in all.

The Christmas Day walk

We had an hour to kill before we drove down to my sister’s house near Northallerton, so we decided to stop in Yarm on the way through and have a walk by the river. It was absolutely freezing and we had to wrap up well, but the cold air was very welcome after being in the airless hotel room.

The river Tees dominates and loops around the market town of Yarm. We parked in the empty Sainsbury’s carpark and headed out on the path going towards the old road bridge, known locally as True Lover’s Walk (though at this point we didn’t know that).

We came across many unusual features starting with this 19th Century Mill Wheel.

Decorated Christmas trees lined the route for part of the way.

And just before the railway arches we came across this tiny King Charles Coronation Garden full of woodland creatures.

We couldn’t make out if this was a quirky house or a cafe maybe?

A few steps later and we saw this sculpture and began to realise this was True Lover’s Walk.

There are many houses that line the route, their back gardens face the river and can be accessed from the pathway. Strong black metal gates are placed at the end of every garden to prevent flooding. We noticed quite a few decorative touches by the owners, creating a path of interest for passersby.

This one is obviously a Disney fan….

…and some time has been spent to decorate the rather ugly block concrete steps with heavy metal handrails that prevent the banking slipping into the river when it rises above the banking.

Other people have chosen to protect the wildlife along the route with bug hotels…..

and yet others have made a feature of their gateways.

We followed the path for a while longer as it runs behind the old church. It suddenly comes to an abrupt end with a notice that prevents you using the next part and you are oblidged to turn up this alley that will lead you, eventually, back into town.

A little way along the alley we came across this door in the wall which had a notice above saying ‘True Lover’s Library’. How I would have loved to have seen inside but we dare not try the handle – I suspect maybe it is like the mini libraries you find at the end of people’s drives sometimes.

I just love the bold colour of the door, the wreath looks quite stunning against it.

Emerging from the alleyway we were back beside the railway arches again and these houses are built, not quite underneath, but close enough.

Turning to our left we walked up through the old churchyard of St Mary Magdalene. It is said that the graves of the True Lovers, to which the story originates, are laid in a medieval table tomb inside the church against the west wall. It was only through good old Google later that we discovered more of what we had missed.

We crossed over the road and turned to the right, admiring some of the unusual houses and features along here.

This is one of them below with a stone model of the Town Hall (to the left) and Yarm Castle on top of someone’s gatepost. This castle, or fortress, no longer exists and refers to a site where a castle once stood, now occupied by St. Mary Magdalene’s Church. The current building incorporates parts of earlier structures, including a 12th-century Norman church on the same spot.

Many of the houses have only a tiny outside space between pavement and front door, but I rather liked the simplicity of this one.

As we came upon the end of the row, the house on the very corner displayed this plaque – ‘Hope House is Elizabethan. Probably the oldest dwelling house in Yarm’

I was curious to know if it had always been a 3 storey house and once again Google tells me that Hope House, wasn’t always just three storeys (two floors plus attic); it was originally much larger, but the section containing its western part was demolished in the mid-19th century to make way for the railway viaduct, reducing it to its current two-storey (plus attic) size. 

As we were lingering at the top of this narrow street called High Church Wynd (I was actually waiting to take a photo without the pedestrians coming in view), a lady appeared with a cake tin and asked if we were looking for the Wellness Centre. She said it was only a few yards away on the right and we would be welcome to go inside and sample the free buffet that was laid on there. How lovely!

Apparently, it is a charity who run mind and body wellness courses, with a drop in cafe, for the local town.

Unfortunately, we were at the end of our hour and, after thanking her very much for the kind offer, explained we would be having our Christmas dinner shortly at my sister’s house once we left Yarm.

And this is the Wellness Centre looking very welcome.

I have been down this wynd before and have been enraptured by the beautiful cottages that line either side of the street. All the traditonal cottage names like Lavender and Hazel displayed on decorative plaques.

And even more delightful, the little window displays in each one. Should one stare into the windows? – I wouldn’t want to appear too nosey, but there was no doubt these are done for the pleasure of the passerby as blinds and nets prevent any further intrusion.

This tiny cottage in candy pink is by far my favourite and their simple, but cute, window display of tiny hanging characters did not disappoint.

Across the way we noticed Flood Cottage which is a constant reminder of the great height the flood waters reached in 1881.

This was the tallest house – was it built like this or a storey added at some time in the past? I always have so many questions – that even Google cannot satisfy.

The stonework by the steps caught my eye here at Ruby Cottage….

….and the wooden star filled with pinecones in lieu of a wreath.

At the end of the wynd you have a good view of the Town Hall which has recently been renovated.

Going back along the town’s main street I just had to have one last photo of the window display with moving parts. It was like being a child again being taken to see the department store windows in Sheffield at Christmas (only on a much smaller scale of course).

The Christmas Day dinner

Back at the car with frozen fingers we headed off down the road to my sister’s house and arrived just as they were wheeling mum back from the local pub, where she would have indulged in a large gin and tonic. The idea being to get her relaxed enough to enjoy the day and see if we can get her through it without any complaints.

We knew it was going to be tricky as my sister’s new bungalow, which she only moved into 2 weeks ago, is like a 1960/70’s museum and half the wallpaper is missing as you can see from the bare plaster, and what decoration remains is a strange combination of print and pattern and clashing colours throughout.

And who knew you could have plain painted gloss walls teamed with woodchip covered coving around the ceilings (and then, as an added touch, painted mustard).

Mum must have felt at home because she never uttered a word about her surroundings. We reckoned that the huge stone fireplace and plastic wood panelling in the living room reminded her of the 1960/70’s bungalow that my dad built as the family home. That too had a similar feature fireplace wall, very fashionable back then, and very handy little shelves for accomodating the Christmas knick knacks.

It was a squeeze getting all 14 of us seated for dinner, we always have to have a long run of tressle tables to accomodate everyone and extra chairs are brought in from the local village hall. The tables had to run through the dining room and into a wooden (actually melamime) panelled vestibule type room that sits beside the two kitchens.

Yes, you did read that correctly, the bungalow has two kitchens – the old original one, completely covered in pine boarding, still equiped and in use by the previous owner, and the one added on the back, (the purple one – with purple perspex ceiling…I kid you not) also fully equiped with central style island and also in use, as a bonus!

Once seated there was no room for anyone to pass at the narrowest point so we rigged up a self-service servery using 3 hostess buffet servers spread throughout the two kitchens and devised a one way system, going into one kitchen and coming back out through the other into the dining area, selecting your choice of veg from the heated dishes on the way. So an orderly queue was formed starting with the people sitting furthest away and once you had your plate full you sat down and eventually the rows were filled. It was like a military operation on a roundabout, with a lot of commotion and laughter trying to sort 10 adults and 4 children into place with their meal.

Mum has to sit on the end so we can manouvre her walker and she was joined by myself and my brother so we had to plate our dinners up last. Once we were seated no one could get through the kitchen door behind me. Eventually, we were all settled and eating and a hush fell.

So, well done to my sister for cooking an amazing meal in two strange kitchens with strange appliances and having to try and locate her dishes and utensils in a new layout.

Of course, after the large dinner, the whimps amongst us had to have a snooze. (They will kill me for showing this!)

And the rest of us helped with the washing up. That is a story in itself as the old kitchen has a dodgy strip light, to go with the dodgy boiler and plumbing. Halfway through the light decided to give up and plunged us into darkness. The starter motor at the end of the tube needed taking out and putting back in (this according to my sister would bring it back to life). For this she needed the steps…the steps were in the garage outside, but to open the garage door she needed the scissors to prise it open….well of course she did!

Eventually, she found the scissors to retrieve the steps and the starter was taken out and put back and lo and behold….we had light and we all cheered just like the moment on the National Lampoon film when the lights come on at last. The steps and scissors were returned and all was well.

But only for 5 minutes until it decided to strobe frantically and then cut out altogether again. So the scissors and steps were called for once again, by which time we could not do anything for laughing with tears rolling down our faces. It felt like some kind of two Ronnie’s sketch. All the men had a go at fixing the light and then the electrician (snoozing on the sofa) was woken and brought in.

Did he fix it? Well no!

So that was our eventful Christmas – I hope you made it to the end of this post. We went to mum’s apartment on Boxing Day, cooked a meal, and as it was a lovely sunny day, wheeled her to the park. The cafe was closed, but we managed to get a Costa coffee and hot chocolate from the machine in the garage opposite. She had a good Christmas and a smile on her face most of the time.

We are safely back home now and making plans for the coming year.

I know a lot of bloggers have also had a lovely time, I have been reading along on my phone when time allows.

No doubt I will be back very soon to share the new year plans. x