instagram

Tuesday 25 December 2012

Merry Christmas .......

I hope you've all had a wonderful day - I most certainly have. I have been surrounded by my lovely family, but sadly Kate, Seb and Jake were missing as they don't get to us until tomorrow - but we will have another special family day on Boxing Day..

I had planned to take lots of photos for my blog - starting with preparing the Christmas vegetables, enough to feed an army!
 setting the  Christmas table -
But unfortunately that's it as far as my photographic record goes - my day was so busy and joyous I forgot to take anymore photos - sorry.

Hope you have all had fun, 

Good night Sue x

PS I forget to say the gravy was delicious x

Monday 24 December 2012

Christmas Eve .................

                                                         
I'm so excited it's finally arrived and everything seems to be falling into place. I was up early and managed to get lots done, I am just back from the hairdressers which was a nice relaxing treat ( managed to do a bit more of my knitting but alas this present won't be finished on time).


I've just put my ham onto roast as I have got family and friends coming round this evening for my Christmas Eve party, it's a very informal gathering and food will be simple but hearty. if possible I am hoping to do some foody preparations in advance for tomorrow. Laura is helping and she has used Jamie Oliver's recipe and roasted chicken wings to make the Christmas gravy in advance - I will let you know how it tastes.

Hope you all have an amazing Christmas and I will be back in the New Year xxx



Sunday 23 December 2012

nearly out of time ....................

My day was supposed to be quiet with just a few last minute things to finish. Why does everything take so much more time than you think.

that should be me....................
I've cooked, cleaned, washed, ironed, finished wrapping, sorted table linen, sorted cutlery and crockery - still not finished and it's dark outside - I really don't think I will be knitting anytime soon!

Only one more sleep then it's Christmas Eve  - I'm having a big family party................ if I finish all my chores!

talk soon x




Saturday 22 December 2012

quick hello ............

Only time for a quick hello tonight, I've been at the hospital most of the day with my dad and then had to take my mum supermarket shopping - it was crazy. People seem to be expecting a siege and I think the shops only close for one day.

I'm back home now but need to go out again for my Christmas groceries (the supermarkets are open until midnight - poor staff)  Just about to start writing my shopping list.


I am trying hard to keep Sunday clear and have a quiet day at home. With luck I will be so organised  that I may even have time to get on with my last outstanding Christmas knit ( famous last words)

Also hoping we have a Sunday post as I am still waiting for three presents to be delivered - fingers crossed.

talk tomorrow x

Friday 21 December 2012

catching up .................

good wishes from friends ............

I am about to string my Christmas cards and put them up in the hall but have taken a few extra minutes to re-read them. Life is often so hectic we resort to communicating by email or even text message  - it has felt so nice to read hand written Christmas messages from friends, some I haven't caught up with in ages.
(Message to me is be a better friend in 2013)

Happy Christmas everyone x

Thursday 20 December 2012

my creative space - Christmas baking.........

My creative space post this week is all about Christmas cooking. I have got Noah and Zachy for the day and I had promised Zachy that we could do some baking together when Noah had his morning nap.

I decided to do some Christmas day pre-preparation and make a few things that would freeze well. My husband is a vegetarian so he always has a festive nut roast for his Christmas lunch and it freezes really nicely, the flavour stays good.
nut roast cooling .................. smells lovely
I also love to have some Christmas morning muffins in the freezer I have already made a batch for the freezer but most of them have been eaten. The recipe is one of Nigella's and it's very easy and yummy, they are great on Christmas morning with a glass of bucks fizz.
oh how I would love to be a domestic goddess ..............

ingredients for the muffins all ready .....................  

wish you could smell the spices ...............
Lastly I decided to make a date and walnut cake, it's sort of an adaption of a cake I used to make which had a fudge and walnut topping. But today I wanted a simple less sweet cake that could be sliced like a malt loaf and even buttered,  so I cooked it in a loaf tin and left off the topping.

date and walnut loaf .................
All the baking turned out well and the boys have been little stars, I am just about to bath them and tuck them up for the night. Lets hope they sleep in as Noah has a habit of waking at 5am.

I have managed to keep up with "my advent post a day" - only 5 more sleeps before Christmas.

Talk soon x






Wednesday 19 December 2012

Yarn along - Snood and Lillian's Story

I am busy knitting a snood for Kate, it's one of a few last minute knits that need finishing before Christmas. I am using a soft snuggley angora and wool mix which is lovely to knit with, it's worked on quite big needles so is knitting up quickly but I am finding it hard to put my kindle down.

I never thought I would enjoy reading on a kindle but I am quite hooked and it's so light weight, it makes carrying your current book around so easy. I've also found that lots of books can be downloaded free of charge from Amazon which is an added bonus.

The book I am currently reading is Lillian's Story, one woman's journey through the 20th century by Sally Elizabeth Gardner. Lillian was born  in Suffolk in 1900, she went to work in service at the age of 12, she lives through two world wars, the Great Depression, the austerity years, President Kennedy's assassination, and so much more. It's a real heartbreaking saga but with humour too, she shares her experiences of war, marriage, love, children, death and heart break.

Time to nip over to Ginny's to see what everyone else is up to.

Talk soon x

Tuesday 18 December 2012

more jobs - with a little bit of me time added to the list ..............

Another busy day but I had a few breaks as I was pretty tired after yesterday - it was after 11pm when I finished icing the cakes.

Cakes all ready for Hubbies meeting.................
Coffee and a half hour with my new Mollie Makes Magazine .................
a spare cupcake for me to sample...........
a lovely half hour planning my Christmas viewing ................
after tea I spent some time reading with Finn and Daisy ...................
Little ones have just gone home I am about to tidy the house and then start wrapping a few more presents - hopefully I will also have an hour to knit some more of Kate's snood.

talk soon x

Monday 17 December 2012

lists ................

As planned I started my outstanding Christmas jobs list and as expected it was very long, I decided that it was a bit overwhelming so I decided to write a list for today instead - not in any order of priority.

                                                            
1. Meet Barbara for usual Monday morning at the gym
2. Wrap parcels for two new lovely baby boys - all my friends are having new grandsons.
3 Post Christmas cards and post wrapped parcels ( see item 2)
4. Visit mum and dad (dad is recuperating from having a hip replacement)
5. Grocery shopping for mum and dad.
6. Bake cupcakes for hubbies meeting tomorrow ( last one before Christmas)
7.Continue with Christmas present wrapping - need a quick stock take as not sure if I have everything yet.
8. Ironing.
9. Finish knitting Kate's snood.
10. Finish decorating the house for Christmas.
11. Laundry (see item 8, new rule is to clear ironing & laundry on Mondays)
12. Write blog post.
13.General tidy, dust, vacuum etc

Why when you have a lovely list and the day ahead of you is clear, do things always happen?

After breakfast I started to wrap my two parcels and then unexpectedly my sister arrived for a cup of tea, not a problem I would still be on track to take parcels to the post office before meeting Barbara. Then we received a phone call - my sister's daughter had gone into labour and was now the proud mum of a lovely baby boy  (wow so many little boys where have all the baby girls gone)

First change of plan, cancel gym (Barbara was very understanding). Then it was off to the hospital as my sister can't drive I am the designated driver. I did manage to drop my parcels and Christmas cards off at the post office on the way to the hospital, so a few ticks off my list.

Back from the hospital, my niece and great nephew are both doing very well, and my sister is very proud of her new arrival. Next I needed to drive over to see my parents and check everything was OK and then pop to the shops for a few groceries (next hospital appointment for dad is Wednesday morning)

Then back home to start my baking, I managed to make two dozen cupcakes for the meeting and two dozen for the family as I have got Alex, Finn and Daisy for tea after school tomorrow and Zach and Noah for the day on Thursday. The cupcakes are cooling and just need icing and decorating.

So far I have managed to tick a few things off my list but doubt if ironing will be on my new prioritised list, and I definitely won't get round to knitting, or Christmas present wrapping  (I have managed my blog post though - I am doing well with my advent posts - 17th day of December and 17th post)

Time to make my butter cream , and tomorrow is a new day with a new list.

 talk soon x



Sunday 16 December 2012

lovely Christmasy festive house...........

My house is starting to look festive, we got our tree yesterday and it's a lovely shape. My husband isn't allowed to go tree shopping alone as he can't understand the importance of checking out the shape of the tree, and not  buying one that has hardly any branches at the top. He thinks I take far to long to choose and often rolls his eyes when I ask the assistants to show me yet another tree. I love finding the perfect Christmas tree.

tree almost ready - now the rest of the house needs doing......  



 
Children's Christmas corner ....................
 
mantelpiece garland .................
I have knitted little Christmas trees and painted small  wooden trees to add to my garland, but the photo above isn't very clear, I have taken a close up - I think they look quite good.

knitted and wooden painted trees .............
sparkly branches .............

It was lovely when I came down for breakfast this morning I could smell the lovely Christmasy pine fragrance coming from my tree and the house looked wonderfully festive, only 9 days before the big day. Just a few more decorations to put up and the house is done - but where do I start next! I feel a list coming on as I still have so much left to do.

talk soon x

.


Saturday 15 December 2012

Liebster award ...............

I had a lovely surprise earlier in the week I was nominated for a Liebster award by Melinda from Creative Wishes.

Thank you so much Melinda for your kind comments and for nominating me for the award, I am so delighted that you think my blog is lovely.


A Liebster means "Favourite" in German and the award is given to Bloggers with 200 or less followers. The award helps raise the profile of smaller blogs that you might love and follow but not many other people  know about.

If you are nominated for an award, you are encouraged to nominate 11 of your own favourite blogs.

I have lots of blogs I love so this is going to take some thought - I intend to make my nominations after Christmas when I have more time.

talk soon x




Friday 14 December 2012

Christmas jam jars ............ my creative space

I knitted lots of jam jar cosies for table decorations at Kate's wedding and thought something similar might be nice for Christmas. I decided to crochet the cosies in traditional red and green Christmas colours.

The jars will have little tea lights inside so should provide some subtle lighting for cosy Christmasy evenings.


I was also inspired to crochet little stars after visiting Lucy at Attic24 I think they will look nice around the necks of the jars- what do you think. If I crochet enough of them I am going to make them into a mini garland for the Christmas tree.

Talk soon x

Thursday 13 December 2012

shopping and pampering .......

To start our Christmas celebrations Pam and I had planned a girlie day out. We decided to go to Buxton which is a picturesque spa town in Derbyshire, and is often described as the gateway to the Peak District National Park. It would only take us about 45 minutes in the car and we thought we could start with some Christmas shopping and then a spot of pampering.

We set off early it was bitterly cold, the temperature was - 4 degrees, so before we set off we had to make sure we had wrapped up warm and thoroughly de-iced the car. On arrival in Buxton we needed hot coffee to warm us up before we hit the shops, after we had re-found our fingers we set off for the Pavilion arcades.

Behind the shops in lovely gardens nestles the Palace Hotel, the Victorian Hotel is situated within 5 beautiful acres of land. 

crisp frosty trees ....................

The exterior of the hotel was designed by Henry Currey, architect to the Duke of Devonshire at the time it was built, and the interior is equally splendid. 
The hotel  not only boasts fine dining and luxury accommodation it also has a pampering spa, which we had booked into - we are so lucky.

After our shopping expedition we made our way to the hotel and sipped a sparkling glass of champagne before we had our treatments. I was booked in for a massage and a facial, and Pam had decided on a facial and a manicure.

We both enjoyed our luxurious treatments and felt relaxed, rejuvenated and totally de-stressed.

Alas though we had to wrap up warm again and brave the cold for our journey home. The gritter trucks were already salting and gritting the roads as we left Buxton.

We arrived home before dark and had really enjoyed our special day.

Talk soon x










Wednesday 12 December 2012

Going Home ...................


After my lovely few days in London it's time to go home. I've packed my case and I am about to head off for the tube, I am sad to be leaving Kate and Jake but I also miss the rest of my family at home. It's such an exciting time to be around my grandchildren, Jake keeps singing little bits of twinkle twinkle little star in preparation for his nursery Christmas concert on Thursday, Alex, Finn, Daisy, Zach and Noah have got Christmas concerts and parties coming up, they are all getting very excited.

Once home it will be all go as I have a growing list of things to do, after making sure the house is all in order I will start writing my Christmas cards which is always a bigger job than I think. 

Next I am planning to get my Christmas tree and  properly decorate the house as so far I have just got a little advent corner set up for my grandchildren.



hope my tree is as nice as this .....................
    Talk soon x


Tuesday 11 December 2012

crochet is such fun .......... yarn along


Today I am celebrating Kate's success in learning how to crochet.

We have been using Erika Knights "Crochet Workshop" it's an amazing book which provides inspiration for beginners and for the more advanced. The book is beautifully written and illustrated, a definite favourite on the book shelf.

Kate has mastered doubles, trebles and her very first granny square - she is now on the long journey of making her very first blanket.

I will keep you posted on Kate's progress.

Kate's first granny square - I'm so proud



talk soon x






Monday 10 December 2012

busy making acorns ....................



During my stay in London I have been trying to teach Kate how to crochet, she is finding it quite difficult to master which is infuriating her as she picked up knitting quite quickly. We have just progressed from double crochet to trebles I am hoping we can try a granny square later.

Kate has been teaching me how to make fimo acorns for Christmas decorations - what do you think?

Kate had a bag of empty acorn cups and we modelled acorns out of fimo, rolled them in metallic powder, then baked in the oven. When they were cool we glued the acorns into the little fairy cups. I think they are so cute.


silver and gold acorns ........


So  far I have managed to keep to my plan of writing a post a day until Christmas, lets hope I can continue.


Talk soon x

Sunday 9 December 2012

Christmas shopping ......


I decided to venture into London and visit my favourite shop - Liberty's of course! So wrapped up warm with lots of accessories, hat, scarf, gloves and boots [it's freezing out] I set off for the tube. After a very busy underground journey I arrived at Oxford Circus and amid all the frantic hustle and bustle I arrived at Liberty's. 

The store is always beautiful to behold but at Christmas time it has a special magical quality all of its own. I spent some time wandering around and imagining all the things I would buy if I wasn't shopping on a budget. Then it was up to floor 3 where I just love the kitchen shop, the children's area and of course the haberdashery and yarn area - such bliss.  I bought some amazing grey yarn with a silver thread running through it and some lovely creamy natural wool with a sparkle - not sure what I will be making but will let you know soon as I'm desperate to start something special.

The Christmas Shop was a delight and I love all of the different colour schemes, I seem to have fallen for a white and silver theme but alas most of my decorations are red and green so I don't think I can afford to abandon them all this year. Pink and aqua seem quite popular but I'm not sure they are quite me.

lovely Christmas reindeer ........
It was soon time to head back to Kate's and brave the cold and the crowds. It was already quite dark outside and the lights on Oxford Street were stunning but unfortunately my photo doesn't do them justice.



I'm off to get the tube talk soon x

Saturday 8 December 2012

Breakfast with a cute boy..........

I've just had a lovely breakfast with this very cute little boy. Can't think of a better way to start the day.

Early start with Jake ..............


Talk soon x


Friday 7 December 2012

I'm going visiting ................

I am just packing my bags ready to go to London - I can't wait, I'm going to spend a long weekend with Kate, Seb and Jake. It seems ages since I last spent time with Jake, I can't wait for a cuddle and I've got lots of hugs to pass on from his 5 cousins.

If every thing goes to plan I will arrive in good time to collect Jake from nursery school which will be lovely. We have got lots of nice things planned for the weekend, but if I don't get my skates on I will miss my train.

I hope this means I'm early ............it's very quiet

Talk soon x



Thursday 6 December 2012

My creative space ............pink birthday cake

Instead of my usual "my creative space" post about crafty projects on the go, I thought I would share with you a birthday cake I made yesterday.

It's not my most stylish birthday cake, but the cake and buns were iced with the help of my grandson Zachy who is only three, I think we did well ( Nicole was pleased too)

Talk soon x

Wednesday 5 December 2012

yarn along ..........wrist warmers

I have just got an order for some wrist warmers so I am busy knitting and clicking away. I'm using
Some beautiful Debbie Bliss Donegal luxury tweed chunky. It's a lovely mix of wool and angora.


Book wise I am dipping in and out of Christmas craft books. Today's book is "Mollie Makes Christmas" I'm having fun planning and preparing for the festivities.

Hope you take the time to pop over to Ginny's Blog.

Talk soon x