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Where did the last ten days go?
Youngest’s birthday party and her annual god/grandparents’ birthday lunch.
The One Show featured Malmesbury but made a ridiculous meal of it and the school carol service was excellent despite a delayed start so the choir could sing for 2 seconds on the aforementioned show.
A Strictly Final supper party back to back with an evening drinks party - both thrown by friends in the village - were a treat.
Family lunch for thirteen with presents and tea, back to back with a drinks party with neighbours, was hectic but fun (yule log and gingerbread house courtesy of Eldest).
Christmas Eve brought final preparations while hosting in-laws, then the day itself: a packed church, champagne with more neighbours, lunch cooked by Husband (except bread sauce, cranberry sauce, Christmas pudding and brandy butter which I made in advance) and Dr. Who (in-laws took time out as they hadn't liked it last time they were here for Christmas) and lastly an evening of girly TV (Strictly, Call the Midwife and Downton in case you were in doubt).
Today there is a lull before we drive to London to see my parents and join another family lunch party, this time to celebrate Babybrother’s fiftieth birthday, and a trip to The Hobbit.
After all that I plan a very quiet new year.
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you and thank-you for reading!
There are eight teenagers, including Youngest, eating pizza and making a noise as I type. When invited, there was apparently a chorus of "Is there going to be a Barbie cake this year?" But of course! Luckily Eldest volunteered to ice it this year so I could enjoy cleaning....
Last weekend Youngest was spoilt lovingly by her grand and godparents. Today she’s being indulged by us and, once she’s been to school and taken a Physics test (“How unfair is that?”) , we will have a giggle of teenage girls to pizza and a movie at our house. She is 15 today.
Sunday’s cake was a large version of Delia’s Lemon Curd cake: melting, lemony and tasteful.
Tonight’s is Barbie dressed in a coffee flavoured confection and dripping in Smarties. I haven’t made a Barbie cake since they were small, and never before for Youngest – a fact which she clearly felt I should put right! She’s not seen it yet. Barbie is hiding in the (cold) spare room. I think she will go down well - despite Eldest helpfully remarking that "She looks like a pineapple".
My week started as usual with Pilates and helping in school. My boy has been reading during the holidays for the first time and as a result has not forgotten everything he learnt last year. We have been able to whiz through his reading and spelling and then share a chapter of Horrid Henry (which he loves, so I tolerate). My girl has not apparently done any 'work' at home so, as ever, we seem to be back at square one and she doesn’t really want to spend time with me. Persuading her to stay on task is fraught.
At upholstery I have now managed to get three more dining chairs redone; only two more to complete the set and I can play with something more interesting. I’ve got several pieces needing work...
I’ve been for a soul walk (rather than a dog walk you understand) around the village this morning, but not along the permissive footpath as the route was padlocked and the field full of horses doing trials. I don’t know anything about horses - or trials - but as we have new horsier neighbours at the farm I guess we’ll see more of this.
One night (Husband did the ballet run) I went to a Jamie (Oliver) at Home party in the village - in the olden days it would have been Tupperware. I went with Coffeeneighbour and we were the oldest people present, something we demonstrated by being the first to leave (and by knowing about Tupperware I expect). There was wine and beautiful nibbles, a DVD of Jamie welcoming us and thanking our lovely hostess, a quiz about Jamie and food (in which I did badly), and lots of chat. It was all very jolly. (I am a little cynical about this enterprise, but Jamie, like Delia and Nigella is, of course, a saint.)
I've also been to a Coffee Morning hosted by Gardeningneighbour. They are a circulating, weekly event which started life as a mothers' and toddlers' group, but is now firmly retired ladies of a certain age: there, I am young! It is not a club, you do not have to go, but it is a chatty, supportive forum. I was taken by Gardeningneighbour on only my third day in the village – the alternative, on a dark January day, was cleaning my cold, and, as yet unfurnished house. The ladies were extremely welcoming and full of useful information about the area. I met Brown Owl, the Gardening Club Chair, and the leader of the WI, found out whom to ask for an allotment, and what they thought about all matters village. It is not competitive coffee, the hostess supplies bought biscuits and instant coffee and we all contribute to a fund. This week however we were raising money for Macmillan so there was an exchange of cake. (Obviously I only ate some to show my support.)
Both outings were social occasions: with one group I am about 10 years too old, with the other 10 years too young… I suspect this means I should be doing something else at my stage of life, but, do you know, I like it just as it is!
The trouble with the computer not working properly is that I’ve got out of the habit of visiting. Perhaps Husband will sort it over his holiday?
I still have 35 cards to write (and must therefore make 10 more), and most of my relations have a present: the ones that haven’t are the brothers and father of Husband, so I’m laying the lack firmly at his door to sort out. Most of the presents are even wrapped!
This organisation is due to the fact that the family all break up from school on Friday so ‘my’ time is running out, and tomorrow is Youngest’s 14th birthday and always provides other complications – though this year we have agreed not to have a party.
Of course this doesn’t mean we’re not celebrating! On Sunday we had the Grandparents and Godparents to lunch and a birthday tea – roast chicken for 14, and a gluten-free cake. Tomorrow there will be various other presents that have arrived in the post, plus ours, and a light fruit cake (must sort that!). We have had to promise to get her friends together in the spring: she couldn’t possibly do something now.
Youngest is an enthusiastic participator in life. Last weekend we had one lot of Godparents staying on Saturday night, and one set of Grandparents on Sunday so we weren’t free to do a party, and Strictly is unmissable! Not to mention the job: Youngest gets up in time to be at her Saturday job by 8am where she spends a happy couple of hours variously mucking out, milking, grooming and feeding goats, a horse, sheep, chickens and (I think)pigs. She comes back cold and filthy but happy and richer! (She is saving for a Guide trip to Switzerland in the summer.) On Monday she helped fundraise for her house charity at a Parents’ Evening at school. Last night there was a house trip to Bristol to see a pantomime. Tonight she is singing at the school Carol Service. Friday there is a Guide night hike and sleepover, so the goats will have to wait ‘til Sunday… We have visitors from abroad staying on Saturday night, and the Strictly final. There’s no time for a party!
In case I don’t get back here: Happy Christmas!
