The baking should start soon.....

I am intending to do some Christmas baking soon. It was supposed to be today, but the kitchen is still orderly and untouched by the dusting of powder it will be decorated with once I start. We can pretend it is snow. I have been doing Other Things.

How many days till Christmas?

7?

Piece of cake. And speaking of cakes, cinnamon cake and carrot cake are on the list. And mince pies. And custies. And peanut butter biscuits. And maybe gingerbread. And......

Tomorrow. I will start tomorrow. The good news is that I already have all the ingredients. I am just waiting for the baking fairy to touch my shoulder with her wand and get me going. I could also make a crumble, couldn't I...... and Pioneer Woman's cinnamon rolls. Mind you, I would have to quarter her recipe, I think. Or not.

My blogging friends appear to have been baking up a storm all over the world, and their photos are mouth watering. Such clever ladies! And everything looks wonderful. I want all the recipes, and then I also want to try them all out. And then, my friends, I will be a close relation of the Goodyear Blimp. But it is Christmas, so we will ignore that possibility.

I am reading a new Chicken Soup book right now. (For any new readers, the reason I love these books is that I can actually read them. There is a slight problem with focus and an inability to concentrate and a 2 page story is absolutely perfect at the moment.) Where was I ......... my new book. Well, it is a Christmas Magic one, with stories re Christmas. Perfect. And one I read last night (and remember, please note!) was about a cookie party. I have never heard of cookie parties. Guests are invited to bring a batch of homemade cookies to the hostess's home, and then everyone samples them, and then everyone is handed a bag, and they go around the room, taking a few of each home with them.

Now.

I think this is wonderful. What a great idea. The story actually revolved around one guest - the author - whose skills were of the basic level, and in the end, she crept in with a batch of her mother's chocolate chip cookie recipe. And amidst all the fancy selections, someone asked who made them, and then said the magic words - how simple, and how wonderful. They remind me of home, and my mother.

I have mentioned before that my recipe book is full of recipes from friends. And I am absolutely sure that somewhere in all of our baking - each and every one of us - there is at least one recipe which we always make, which reminds us of home, and mothers and grannies, and friends.

I made gingerbread for years simply because my Dad's Mum - my Moregranny - made it. I made it first for him, to remind him of his mother, and then I kept making it, even though not many of my family wanted it, because of the memories the sight and smell of it triggered in my mind.

This is such a perfect time to remember, isn't it. There is a chain, and we are simply the links. And now, my children are baking cinnamon cakes or custies, and maybe one day, their children will too. It will remind them of home. Of growing up. Of me, I hope. Of the love and laughter and of licking the bowl.

That is one of life's great mysteries, you know.....how do children know exactly when the bowl will be ready for scooping out the last dregs of the mixture? Mine, even now, appear at exactly the right moment!

Ah well, enough rambling on. I am going to go and ponder what I am going to bake first.......

The quilt and burnt offerings......

Here is the quilt. It is folded neatly on my footstool, and I love it. Once it has been washed a few times, hopefully the very thick batting will compress a little, but it works fine. It keeps me warm!

This morning saw us up at my favourite garden centre, having coffee in my favourite restaurant, watching ice skaters on the real ice Ice Rink outside the glass house. Just wonderful on a cold grey winter day. The fruit scone was great too. Little children pushing penguin balancing things, and everyone laughing. It was good.

And so was the minted lamb I brought home to cook from their very classy butchery. This is no ordinary garden centre, people. When you come to visit, you will find out why, because it is one of the first places I will take you to. (Please note, Becky!)

And Glynis popped round this afternoon, and that was lovely too. We will ignore the multiple trips to the doctor to organise prescriptions, because they got it sorted in the end. And now the house smells of roasting lamb.

2 hours later.......

Scratch that last bit. The house now smells of burnt vegetables. A friend popped round and I forgot the dinner. Oops. I scraped the ok bits off and will live. The lamb was wonderful though. And now it is time to put the feet up and crawl under the quilt. Enjoy the rest of your day!

Slow down and savour.......

The Christmas quilt is finished at last, and in time for Christmas too, can you believe. I actually made the deadline this time. Pity about the Autumn quilt still pinned and waiting, but I will have it done early, won't I - for next Autumn. Well, that is the plan.

This afternoon saw my house filled with friends again, and the Christmas mugs were once again filled with fresh coffee, and the chocolate biscuits made an appearance too, so the energy levels for the chatter could be maintained. This is what I love best, when there is no racing about trying to shop and get things done. When we can sit and take as long as we like over coffee. Especially when it is a trifle nippy outside.

I was in the post office earlier, and I overheard the lady behind me talking to someone - the conversation revolved around the run up to Christmas, and she said " I can't wait for it to all be over". And it actually made me feel so sad. Now I don't know her or her circumstances, but we are 11 days from Christmas, and it could be such a wonderful time, whether we are alone, or coping with an overflowing house.

I happen to love preparing for Christmas, whether it be decorating my home, so it is warm and welcoming and festive, or baking so that I have gifts for my family and friends, making things for the people I love, preparing for visitors or returning children, wrapping gifts, planning surprises, hunting for the games and puzzles, lighting candles, and having my Christmas music playing. Going to concerts and carol services, reading the Christmas story, and doing simple things, like gathering pine cones, opening Christmas cards and sipping mulled wine, after braving the elements.

I am in no hurry for it to be over.

The smells of Christmas linger in my mind - the cinnamon and spice, the roasting turkey with bacon rolls, the gingerbread, fruit cakes and mince pies. The smell of warmth and cosiness, and love and family. And the laughter from decades of Christmases past echoes through that same mind. Little voices of the children when they were young, such excitement and delight on their faces. Nativity plays, Joseph with his crushed finger, the sweetest angel in town, the shepherd with his toy sheep. Little voices singing so sweetly - interesting versions of old carols.

How could anyone want it to be over already?

I want to linger here with those memories. My memories. So many which only I could possibly have because my children will not remember things from so far back. Special Mummy memories. Letters to Father Christmas, which they all still write when they come home, and the letters written back by Father Christmas too. Kenny singing Oh Holy Night.... the kids groan, but hey, they miss him too when he is not warbling away as they open their presents. (The only recording I could find of Oh Holy Night, my favourite carol - was by Kenny Rogers 30 years ago or so. So Kenny has now made himself at home with the family on Christmas mornings.)

Ah... I miss my kids, you know. It was so much simpler when they were small and all home with me. They grew up and flew away in 3 different directions. And that is the way of life. Complicated. There is just one of me. Remember I mentioned being cloned? Now would be convenient. Because I want to be in 4 places at once. And I can't be in 4 places at once, can I.

But I can dream. And remember. And plan. And bake. And put Kenny on. And I can do so many things. And I will. It is Christmas time.

And I am in no hurry for it to be over.

Wonderful weekend.......

It is Sunday night already and the weekend is gone. How swiftly the days are galloping by! My friends from the Frozen North (aka Scotland) were down for the weekend, and they came round last night, together with other mutual friends from the village - all very last minute, of course, but just great. I tossed some canapes onto the table with bread and cheeses, and called it supper. And mince pies and cream too.

But the cream, oh my heavens what a mess I made of it. I have whipped cream 49937236272894847558 times in my life. At least. But I have never used my whizzer thingy to do it before. People, I made butter. In 10.4 seconds. My whizzer is powerful. So I wailed, and Ros came to the kitchen and after wiping the tears of laughter from our eyes, we popped in some random capfuls of brandy and sprinkled in icing sugar, and called it brandy cream. You can buy this at the supermarket, of course, and brandy butter, both of which you serve with mince pies or Christmas pudding, which is a steamed fruit pudding. Me? I unintentionally made the home-made version. And it is even more delicious today after sitting in the fridge for 24 hours.

So it was a fun evening catching up in person. Phone calls are wonderful, but real life is even more wonderful. Time just goes by too fast though. I want to stretch it out some more. And today I have been finishing off some embroidery for my friends, and pottering, delivering parcels to other friends, and making coffee.

That sounds blissful. However, my embroidery machine has been working too hard in recent months, and today, on the last 2 pieces I needed to do, it sort of went on strike, and after much muttering, changing of needles, re threading, changing bobbins, and varying the weight of the fabric, I managed to finish off the labels. Not perfect, but passable, and I am very fussy when I make things. Sigh. I think it needs a service maybe. I wish I knew how to do it myself.

Yesterday afternoon, another friend popped in for coffee and a catch up too, and together, we managed to put the obscure film on the window in the front door. A little more privacy was the aim. And it was most certainly a 2 person job. That was not quite as simple as it looks either, but it is up, so that can be crossed off the list. The list I deleted.

Sometimes, having lists just reminds me of my failures - what I have not managed to achieve. Not managed to do. Targets I have failed to meet. And sometimes, as I said in my last post, it is wiser to just delete the list and start again, possibly with something more reasonable. I set high targets for myself. That is why I am such a dismal failure at pacing myself.

But this has been a lovely weekend. My Christmas quilt will be finished either tonight or tomorrow, and I am so thrilled it will be ready for Christmas. However, the most beautiful part of the weekend has been the people who populated it. And the memories made. Christmas is drawing near, and I will not get into a stew about anything. I have decided. What gets done is done and will be more than sufficient. And there is going to be time to rest and keep the essence of Christmas at the forefront of my mind.

The greatest gift of all is celebrating His birthday, after all.

Why some lists should be deleted....

Ah, people, the spirit is willing but the body is on strike. I have this list, you see, and it is not getting done. Why? Because it has things like "move all the grow-bags of soil from last summer to the front of the house to toss the soil onto the beds there" on it. And I want it done NOW and it is absolutely not going to get done. A) they weigh a ton, and B) they are frozen and C) I can't lift them. So therein lies the frustration. Never mind that really, this is not important in the greater scheme of things, and that even when I was at my physical prime many moons ago, I don't think I could have lifted frozen bags of soil.

Oh well. This is where the absence of mega strong sons from the premises is sorely felt. So the list stays. And the pacing of the wrong kind continues. And the list just grows longer.

You would grin if you could see me here right now. I have an iPod. This is a wonderful invention and I love it. However, my son put my music on it, and then left for uni. And I have no idea how to buy any music, nor did I have a clue how to put my CDs onto it. So I thought, right. I can do this. I am not an idiot. And I popped a CD in the slot and wow! It downloaded. Only it did it a few times, so I had to phone a friend who is under 30 and ask for idiot-proof instructions. Oh the success! So I am sitting here so proud of myself with a stack of CDs next to me, popping them in and out and hoping for the best. I have no idea how many will fit on the iPod. Maybe sirens will go off when it is full. It is the little things which amuse me......

And speaking of things which amuse me.....

1. The Christmas quilt is coming alone slowly.
2. The autumn quilt is re-pinned with thinner batting.
3. The flowers have their button centres.
4. The chicken is roasted.
5. The snowflakes are dangling in the window.
6. I have a basket full of new ideas to make. One day. Some time.

And then there is the other list.......

1. This list has been deleted. because I don't want to think of things that don't make me grin this evening.

Sorted.

You need armour.....

Everyone should sit at their computer wearing a fleece blanket with a hole cut in the middle - a poncho over their clothes - a thick woollen hat and wrist warmers. I am a trend setter. If the doorbell rings, it may take a while to get there.

The TV is on, and I am listening to reports of the student protests outside Westminster re the tuition fee vote, and the parsnips and sweet potatoes are roasting in the oven. This is a great improvement on the meat pies of last night. I had the oven whirring merrily away, counting down the cooking time, and then discovered the meat pies on the counter. I had forgotten to put them into the oven. Sigh. Dinner was late.

Today has been cold yet again, and we popped in to town early to do a few last bits of shopping. It started off so quiet that we were lulled into a false sense of security and went to have a leisurely cup of coffee and scone. Then started shopping. The world had arrived while we were having coffee, and I cannot tell you how many RUDE old people (and it pains me to say that) there were in M&S. Just shove your trolley into people, especially those walking with sticks, why don't you. Over and over again. In the end, I started actually snarling, and decided that it was definitely time to leave and never return.

People seem to have lost the art of kindness and consideration. Me first, no matter what the cost. After paying for my small basket of things, I tried to get out of the food hall. To do this, I needed to cross the long queues which had formed at the tills. Not my fault - the shop design is not stunningly sensible. I was following the signs. No-one would let me, or anyone else through, even with a stick. They refused to budge. And I felt homicidal urges stirring. No-one smiled. They all looked the other way even when I asked them politely to let me pass. Screech.

But enough of that. In the midst of the chaos, I had a call from the lawyer to say things were still poddling along slowly, and that the medical expert is still working on his report. I am starting to feel the fury about the whole case escalating again. It is SO long since he died. I want it all over. But what I want doesn't count.

And then my order from a food place arrived this afternoon, minus some of the crucial things I pre-ordered ages ago. I was less than thrilled. I suspect that he delivery man wished he was wearing armour.

And now I am cold, and ticked off. And cooking supper. Did I say COLD?? Hmmm.

I need chocolate. I am going to rip open a wrapped present. My mental health is more important than wrapped presents.

I will be back when I am all sweetness and light. Don't hold your breath.

Oh, what a beautiful morning.......

Way below freezing.....

Waking to a frozen world.....

Just SO beautiful.....

You stop to catch your breath, and really look......

How can you not smile?

If I could, I would have been skipping down the road in delight......

Leaves on my rose bush.....

Oh wow. Just such a stunning morning.

And such a delight to get back inside and warm up with a steaming mug of coffee. And 47 layers of clothes, which one forgot to layer on before one shot out the door clutching one's camera. Oooh! Look at that tree..... then OOOH... Look at THAT tree, and the next thing one knew, one was round the corner and down the lane. No hat. No gloves. No scarf. No coat. Wearing pink striped socks and gardening shoes. (And jeans and jumper.)

What a prefect start to the day.

Second candle lit.......

Well, thanks for all the other suggestions, people. Today we have had news people calling Haifa "hah - eee - fa". I rest my case. Oh, and "sekatry", "Janury" and "Febury". Screech. We could compile a list here.

I must send my audition tape to the GOW team. Immediately.

So. I have now got holes in the tip of the middle finger of my right hand. Quilting. Holes are not good. They hurt. So I went in search of the thimble I remember being given for my 40th birthday, which, as you may remember, was 16 years ago.

Hahahaha. (Insert cackle.)

I found it. Unfortunately, as my finger is now swollen, it perches on the very top and looks ridiculous. More to the point, it was pitch black. So I had to postpone any quilting and go and hunt for the silver cleaner under the sink, which resembles the Black Hole of Calcutta. The foam was rock hard, but I scraped enough off to soften with water and clean it. Sort of. And now I have lost the will to live. So I abandoned the quilt and came to chat instead.

As you can see, my Sunday is barrelling along merrily here.

The diversions continue to be many and plentiful today.

We popped in to a local Garden Centre earlier, at approximately the same time as the rest of the world chose to do exactly the same thing. I am just so glad that any shopping expedition is not essential this month. The presents are done, wrapped. I spend most of the year working on small gifts, or hunting for them, and I love not having to enter the shopping frenzy. December and Advent take on totally different meanings. I love the quieter times. And soon the baking will start. The scents of Christmas in the kitchen, and memories of grandmothers long gone. Family traditions. Old stained recipe books and mince pie tins. Christmas music playing, and Christmas lights flickering. Ginger and spice and chocolate and cinnamon. And more memories to smile about, and yet more to make.......

My Advent candles are lit, and it is time to curl up and relax. Enjoy your Sunday, everyone, wherever you may be.

The Grumpy Old Woman is alive and well.....

I am officially sick of the snow here. And the ice. And the slush. And trying to keep cars going in the direction I ask them to go. I expect obedience from my car. And after promising us a thaw this weekend, it snowed again last night, and now they are saying that next week we go back to freezing, and that it may last till the New Year.

And now for something completely different, although still in the Grumpy Old Woman department...... I am reduced to yelling at the TV set. Every newsreader (and they are all under 40) says "particuly", or heaven help us - "pertikaly" instead of "PARTICULARLY". And it is driving me crackers. DON'T THEY KNOW HOW TO SPEAK PLAIN ENGLISH??????? And "reguly" instead of "regularly". The BBC is actually one of the worst for this. The BBC!!!!!!! They need me to go and give them an English lesson. I have become my mother-in-law, who used to talk to the TV set. Only I am prone to yelling.

I was reduced to sending a text one morning to ask the female newsreader to STOP TALKING (I may have used caps) for 5 seconds so that her guest could utter a word. Somehow, the newsreaders of today appear to think that the news is all about them, and not the actual news. I don't give a hoot what they think, I want un-biased reporting of facts. And I am hearing way to much about what these imbeciles think.

The trouble is that most of them are too young, and too obsessed with career advancement. All about "me".

I am a real grumpy old woman this morning, aren't I?

Moaning is good for the soul. At least it is not festering inside.

On a more cheerful note, I am quilting the Christmas thing I made. It may be a wall hanging. It may be a runner. It may just be a Christmas thing. It could be a door mat. However, I am using the wadding a friend gave me. She dropped off a gigantic roll of thick wadding, probably used for upholstery, and because I had it, and it was free, I decided to use it.

Well.

My quilt thingy stays rigid. It is too thick. It makes quilting a hideous process and I am falling out of love with it by the second. And I have 2 more quilts pinned and ready to go and I am too lazy to unpin and re-pin with the new thin stuff I found I had. Sigh. It all fits in with the GOW thing, doesn't it. I need to pull myself together and go and unpin, don't I. And stop whining.

Shuffle. Moan. Snarl. Oh all right then.........

Bunting and bits.......

December - can you believe it is already December? The bunting is up in the kitchen / family room, and the red stuff is definitely out. Christmas is not far away.....

Look at my stars! I am so thrilled with them. They look perfect......

That is Mum down there in the kitchen.....

One of the corners of the lounge. Marge gave me the "Sisters" and I love them..... I saw the idea to stack the blocks in a shop. Excellent idea - it frees up space!

Piles of bunting....... Well, strips of 18 triangles, all sewn together.

So there you have some of my sewing or crafting on display. I was going to hang up the garland of snowflakes today but time ran off somewhere. I have no idea where. Tonight I will carry on quilting.

The momentous news is that I have a new letter box. In the front door. So I no longer have to go outside to get the mail and freeze to death. It is posted into the warmth of my porch each day. It rather confused my post lady this morning, who is used to battling with the old one on the wall. And yes, I realise that this does not in any way class as momentous to any other living soul, but it has been on the "to do" list for months, and I didn't realise just how cheap it would be, or how quick it would be sorted. 10 minutes and the man had departed. Unfortunately, before I actually finished making him his coffee. I was almost tempted to call his head office and apologise, but decided that maybe that would be a bit over the top.

Next on the list is putting an obscure film on the front door. The window part. That may take some doing, but I have every intention of getting it on straight. Apparently one can use a hair drier to sort out any wrinkles. I am a fount of knowledge.

I am not actually sure what else I managed to do today. But I do know that there is a list for tomorrow. Wool to collect for mother, out to the patchwork shop with Jean and then off to hear her junior school children singing at Waitrose. Waitrose means coffee and civilised browsing too. I can do that. Snowflakes to hang too.

The weather continues to be diabolical, and my son only got as far as his in-laws last night. trains, roads...all chaos. The UK is not prepared for this. You may remember I said the same last year when the "once in a decade big freeze " happened. Hmmm. 10 months later......... and if it happens again next year, it will be just the same. Maybe I should invest in a snow plough. I could make a fortune!