Joy in the Everyday Ordinary - December, 1-10

Hi there everyone 😀

The autumn has passed at a rate of absolute knots and I can't quite believe that in less than two weeks it will be Christmas Day.

Martin finishes work today until the New Year so we will be spending the next week finishing off those last jobs that need doing ... the extractor still needs fitting in the kitchen ... fetching the tiny Christmas tree in from the garden, putting up some decorations and finishing off the Christmas wrapping.

That should leave us with a few days to breathe before starting the round of visits and social engagements ... and then ... it will all be over for another year.

I do love Christmas, though sometimes it feels like I live with The Grinch, but I always look forward to the start of another year and thinking about what it will bring. As yet we have no big plans for 2019 but I am sure things will start to unfold as we tip over the end of the year.

For now, here's what's been making me smile so far this December ...

Day 1 - Today was the loveliest of days. I spent the morning at my monthly craft meeting at the church at the top of the road, where I did some work on these little birdies and cathedral window Christmas decorations and I spent the afternoon trying out a new afternoon tea venue with my good friend Jackie and her daughter, also my goddaughter, Rachel. It has become an annual event as a girlie treat to celebrate our birthdays and is something that we all always look forward to.

Day 2 - Sunday and I pretty much spent the whole day just messing about on the craft table. More work on the Christmas decorations, a taggy blanket for my hair dresser who is leaving to have a baby and making a start on some Christmas gifts.

Day 3 - I love getting post in December and today I received the first Christmas cards ... it's always a real treat to open a card that someone has taken the thought and time to write and post.

Day 4 - These were definitely not on the agenda for today, but I couldn't resist spending a day at the sewing machine making these drawstring bags up ready for a Victorian Christmas evening we were visiting with the craft stall later in the week. The evening was a real treat too ... spent catching up over a nice meal with old work friends that try to meet up three or four times a year.

Day 5 - Today was spent getting ready for tomorrow's Victorian Christmas evening ... including putting the final touches to these little birdies.

Day 6 - I know I've cheated a bit, going with a collage. This evening we attended a Victorian Christmas evening with the craft stall. We'd both really been looking forward to it and we weren't disappointed. We had a really good night, the stall looked fab, we sold a reasonable amount, we met and chatted to some lovely people and the atmosphere was really festive. It was hard work and a late night ... on a school night for Martin ... but definitely worth it. I will be putting the date for next year's on the calendar pretty soon.

Day 7 - After a late and busy evening yesterday Martin overslept and dashed out for work in the blinking of an eye ... poor lad. I, on the other hand, spent a nice steady day trying to sort out boxes of stock and paperwork from the night before. I managed to find a home for this little chap that I couldn't resist treating us too. I just love him to bits 💜

Day 8 - I spent a good chunk of the day at the hair dressers getting my Christmas colour and cut. I was sad to say good bye to the lady who has been cutting my hair for more years than I can remember as she is leaving to have a baby. I  finally had a reason to cut into this gorgeous woodland fabric and made her a taggy blanket as a leaving gift, which she loved to bits.

Day 9 - I'm afraid I've had to cheat again! We took a ride over to Lichfield this afternoon to have a wander round the food festival. We had never been before and had no idea what to expect, but it was really good. There were loads of stalls and the food all looked amazing. We did succumb at the flapjack stall and bought six different sticky gooey flapjacks. It was pretty chilly and we ended up heading into our favourite cafe for lunch, though I think Martin would happily have eaten from at least half a dozen stalls whilst walking. We also got to have a look in the new zero waste food shop to see what they had and how their prices looked, compared to the supermarket.

Day 10 - Remember this? The blanket I made a week or so ago as an order for a lady I'd met at a craft fair earlier in the year. Well, I had a text from her today saying that it had arrived and she absolutely loved it. In fact, she loved it so much that she ordered another one for her sister who is expecting a baby boy next year. I was chuffed to bits. Just need to find some pretty baby blue fabric that doesn't cost the earth now 😀

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