Glad it's all over?

I cannot believe that it is now 2011 and that two weeks of holiday have sped by...

 

The week before Christmas was hectic with snow and ice continuing. The children's piano concert was the only event that was not cancelled; there was no end of term carol service or party. My husband thought it might be fun to take his lowered Golf GTi for a drive in the snow one evening but then could not get back up our track. Even the Landy couldn't pull it out on solid ice so it had to stay there until the farmer arrived the next morning. He has been terrific at clearing our track of snow as usual so I left a few bottles and chocolate on his doorstep on one of the festive supermarket runs. I made an effort to buy plenty of local produce from a farm shop this year despite it being more expensive.

Mo, Tania and I exchanged gifts with Christmas cake, truffles, salmon pate, champagne and coffee. We had chosen each other exactly what we would have picked ourselves, such as scented candles, home-made cushions, incense and in my case, a ceramic book that actually hides a secret gin stash! The children were delighted with their haul of presents that included a violin, camera, Xbox, Lego and hair gadgets. We spent a lot more time than usual preparing, cooking, eating and washing up. We ploughed our way steadily through gammon, turkey, smoked salmon, pate, cheese, nuts, cake, chocolate, relishes and other tasty treats until I began to dream of enjoying a more frugal diet.

I was amazed to be offered a vintage fur coat that had previously belonged to a friend's Great Aunt. It is very heavy but incredibly warm, ideal for watching a Hogmanay firework display. I think it will be well used this winter. I had to splint one of the garden Yurt roof spars that snapped due to the weight of wet snow. I lit the wood stove to dry the canvas out but the damp logs just spluttered – I need to get some peat to get it to burn hotter.

Every now and then I thought about clearing out some junk and old clothes before deciding it could turn into a much bigger chore. I deliberately put off making any To Do lists for the coming year as I didn't want to start worrying during the holidays. I can wait until the children return to school, then panic. I hope to make an everyday bed quilt in frivolous fabrics while working on mundane January tasks like book-keeping. Instead of using up leftover Yurt fabrics or existing stash fabrics, I ordered a Heather Bailey selection just for fun. I have made a few New Year resolutions that I hope to keep... I will try to be better organised, waste less time on the computer, make more use of the gadgets and software that I thought would be so useful, eat less chocolate and dress smartly on occasion – hmm, Good Luck for 2011!!