it's that time again...

when you suddenly realise that that Christmas thing which you thought was safely 6 months away if you thought about it at all, and yes, if it was 6 months to go you would have had plenty of time for the 400 seasonal and present-y projects in your mind... and of course it would all look just like it does in Country Living or whatever magazine takes your fancy and your house would be immaculate, clean, tidy and not a thing out of place... and beautifully and tastefully decorated  and your family would carol joyfully around the piano...but that actually it is now a mere 5 weeks away and there is daughter mine's birthday so conveniently just before (who made that happen!!)...and now all the lovely things you'd like to do sort of drift through your fingers like sand and your mind glazes over...and then...you wake up and it's Januay 5th and it's all over!

was it a dream, was it reality? 
who cares?

I LOVE Christmastime and all that goes with it and it fills me with love for all things creative...and if I just let go of all the impossible dreaming...it is a most pleasant time spent with my loved ones.

so I thought I'd share a little of our preparations and how we do things here...

take a bowl of boozy fruit well soaked...Christmas is all smells isn't it and this is one of the first! a-making and a-baking...



add my Granny's scales for the ritual weighing of ingredients...



and the essential ingredient...daughter mine...zest that orange...mmm smell that zingy aroma...

 

2 hours in the cake baker in the Aga..and there we have it...mmm such a gorgeous smell...and ta da! I don't want to boast...but WE HAVE MADE THE CHRISTMAS CAKE!! Many a year we have made it ooh about a week or even less before and iced it on Christmas or Boxing Day...so wow! here we are...let's hope we haven't peaked too early...

what's next?? who knows...but in fact the next big item on the horizon is....drum roll...The Knitting and Stitching Show in Harrogate...hands up who's going? might see you there...

it's Friday night and i'm loving....

that although it's ages since I did a Friday night loving post...it's a great way to remember that there's so much I have to love and to be grateful for in my life...

that it's been a strange week as a dear aunt, my Mum's sister, died last week and we all met for her funeral on Monday...this involved a trip to my brother's near Penrith and he drove us over to the north east..to Whitley Bay and to a coast full of memory...then to Morpeth for a lovely service ...and a lunch with all her friends and relatives...a room full of love! It was so funny being with all my cousins again...and realising how time has past since we last all met..and how grown up all their children are...some old enough to have their own. Suddenly, obviously... we are not the 'young ones' any more!

that my aunt was a delight to know...she was such a creative person always baking and making...her full to the brim sewing room and delicious smells from her Aga were testimony...and she always gave us interesting and useful presents(!)...and was a demon at quizes and games...she was always up for some fun... 

that I have so many happy childhood memories...of big family parties, of fun and games...of those family members 'gone before' but still loved and a part of us all...and now we are all scattered around the globe...but still the thread which joins us is strong and to be treasured

that my brother and I shared some precious time as we drove and found a new and better relationship and understanding

that I had a big loving family with my parents,sister and 2 brothers,  many cousins and aunts and uncles...and now my own precious family...and many dear friends...so many people to love and be loved by and with whom to share this life and journey...

that although this isn't my usual kind of post...I hope you will  understand that sometimes a blog offers the opportunity for a deeper kind of communication and sharing...as we all share the same things in life really, just at different levels and in different circumstances

that this post is for my Aunty June and my Mum Aileen...with love and thanks for your inspiration and showing me a way to be creative and to love baking and cooking and making and sewing... and the importance of family...

love

such a small word for such a big thing!

life is soo simple...

when you put into place a cunning plan to holiday in Lincolnshire with beloved Grandparents up from London...and no one has to drive too far and no-one's in charge or has to clean or plan meals...we all stay in a pleasant, warm, clean, well-equipped house in the autumn Lincolnshire countryside...we go birdwatching at the beautiful coast, walking in the woods and shopping in the attractive medieval town of Lincoln...and snuggle up every evening to play games, read and watch tv ...a lovely way to spend half term...just missing our Swiss cousins as their halfterm was last week...

I will say no more...here's a little taste...

 

 

 

mm...vintage in a charity shop...a whole roomful...isn't this a cracker? and there was a delightful little chair for a tenner...sadly no room in the car unless we leave someone behind...

and there has to be a tea shop somewhere...you should have seen the homemade cakes...and we found the very lovely CallyCo shop with a very nice lady serving us...so much temptation, fabrics, ribbons, kits, threads, buttons...all manner of deliciousness! Well it will soon be Christmas and there's no harm in getting a few little goodies for my present cupboard...not for me you understand...

hope you had a good half term too...