I hardly dare wonder what December has in store for us this year, fingers crossed that this year our Christmas will go ahead as planned but last year taught us that you should never assume. Let's see shall we?
Day 1 Had Max here for the day he is very 'into' Paw Patrol and PJ Masks and luckily his cousin Leo has given me a lot of his toys that he doesn't play with any more - Max is one happy little boy!
Day 2 Zumba! Paul went into London to meet up with some old work colleagues but said that it felt very different there since all the covid restrictions were put in place, a few of his old 'haunts' have closed now.
Day 3 Lunch out with our friends at a pub close to where Jon lives, we didn't realise but he and Sophie were there too with their friends but in a different part of the pub, he noticed us just as they were leaving!
Day 4 Put up our decorations, Jon and Max came to visit in the afternoon, then we baby sat Daisy while Rachel took Leo and Rosie to Leo's drama class show
Day 6 A productive day - overseas mail sent, postage stamps bought and ticked a few more presents of the 'to buy' list - all from local shops (I am trying really hard to shop local this year and avoid Amazon at all costs!)
Day 7 Had Rosie here for the day, she kindly posted the few cards that I have written into the post box for me - which made the people sitting outside the little cafe opposite the post box smile as she insisted on doing them one at a time!
Day 8 Max came for the day, we went into town to buy him some winter boots and instead of us taking him home, his mum came and collected him in the afternoon which meant I got an unexpected cuddle with Olive.
Day 9 A bit of a 'self care' day today, Zumba in the morning and a hair cut and colour in the afternoon
Day 10 Went to my favourite Thai restaurant, The Giggling Squid, for lunch with two ex-work colleagues - delicious!
Day 11 Busy day prepping food for Paul's birthday meal tomorrow then an evening out to celebrate the 30th birthday of a friend's daughter - I was a bit hesitant about going but decided to go a little late and leave early to try and minimise any risk. They had asked everyone to take tests before they went so hopefully they did, we tried to keep our distance from people as best we could!
Day 12 Paul's birthday - 64! Had an absolutely lovely day with all the family here, it felt like the Christmas we were denied last year
Day 14 Rosie was here for the day, she was in an artistic frame of mind today and we have got through many sheets of drawing paper
Day 15 Max's turn to be here today - our last childminding day for him of the year as he has big plans to see Santa next Wednesday
Day 16 Last Zumba of the year - was good fun and nice to dress up with a bit of Christmas colour and sparkle to get in a party mood
Day 17 Tackled some Christmas wrapping - every year I say I will do a little at a time and every year I don't!
Day 18 Wrapping is done! What a sense of achievement - babysat Leo and Rosie in the evening while Rachel and James went out for a meal.
Day 19 Rachel and Jon both got to have their booster vaccinations! Looked after Daisy while Rachel and family went to visit Santa in his grotto.
Day 20 I've been saying for ages that Paul's hearing is deteriorating and today he had a hearing test. Started constructing a gingerbread house for the children to decorate tomorrow.
Day 21 Leo and Rosie were here today in happy pre-Christmas spirits - we decorated a gingerbread house, played Christmas bingo, and watched Shrek, it's so lovely to see how excited they are
Day 22 My sister and brother in law came over this morning - none of us are great Christmas fruit cake lovers but my mum always used to make a cherry and almond ring cake at Christmastime so I decided to make that as a substitute to have with our coffee.
Day 23 Popped over to Jon's to deliver our Christmas gifts - Max's excitement level is growing by the minute.
Day 24 Collected turkey in the morning, started a jigsaw in the afternoon and went to Rachel's for Christmas Eve supper
Day 25 Christmas Day at Rachel's - what a lovely day we had! It more than made up for the disappointment of last year.
Day 26 Boxing Day - ended up being a walk in the woods with Jon and family (after negative tests) rather than a family get together in their house as Rachel and Rosie tested positive for Covid in the morning
Day 27 What a difference a day makes - Paul tested positive this morning, but I am still negative, he'll be sleeping in the spare room tonight!
Day 28 James and Leo tested positive today, it's not looking good for me is it? Still negative at the moment.
Day 29 Went into town to have a quick look in the shops to see if I could find any bargains - came home with a new sweater :-) Still negative!
Day 30 Realised that we do not have enough lateral flow tests for me to test for another 6 days and also for Paul to test from his day 6 onwards - managed to track down a pharmacy that had some, seems there is a bit of a shortage locally! Still negative.
Day 31 Still negative! Jon and Max came over to help take Coco out for a walk in the afternoon - I think it may have been a little bit of an excuse to give Mummy and Olive a bit of peace and quiet!
So, not only another month over, but another year! It's been quite an eventful one and we could dwell on the bad bits but I'll concentrate on the happy times. Birthday celebrations, a holiday, Jon's house move, the arrival of baby Olive and family get togethers. We have much to look back and be thankful for! But oh, wouldn't it be lovely if 2022 was a little bit more 'normal' than 2021 was?
Ready for the 1 Second a Day video clip?
So not only the end of another month but another year!
Wishing everyone health and happiness in 2022 - Happy New Year!
Oh what a month. Let's hope you continue to stay well. Happy 2022.
ReplyDeleteWhat a month! Let's hope that you continue to test negative and that none of the family suffer too many symptoms.
ReplyDeleteHappy New Year and here's to a brighter 2022!
Happy New Year! Kevin likes fruitcake, I try to remember to get one every year during Christmastime. I got one this year & shared at with the bingo folks. Oh gosh, sounds like Covid is all around you starting into the new year. Karen
ReplyDeleteYou always manage to fit a bit of fun in every month, and this one had more than its share. So glad you enjoyed your December. Happy New Year!
ReplyDeleteWhat a shame you had so many Covid cases but thankfully you were spared and the latest variant seems mild for most.
ReplyDeleteThe ring cake sounds delicious.
You're lucky Paul agreed to have his hearing tested. John's hearing has definitely deteriorated but he refuses to go!
Wishing you a happy and healthy 2022.
It sounds like all in all, you had a really nice month. Hope you are still negative and that everyone else is recovering nicely. Hope 2022 will be better for all of us!
ReplyDeleteOh my. I so hope that you remain negative and that everyone else recovers well. I'm glad you got to have Christmas though. This year really did make up for last year's holidays, didn't it?
ReplyDeleteAlso, I love the name The Giggling Squid!!!