Trimmed tree

And the colour scheme for this year is indeed red, white and silver!

Trimming the tree

Christmas is a big deal in our house. You think that your kids' excitement will wane as they get older but there seems to be no sign of that with our daughter (aged 23). Traditions have to be maintained and she likes everything to be just so.
So when she asked if she could buy a few new bits for the tree, who was I to decline her offer? Now I don't know where she has been, or what she has bought but I just looked in her room and the bed is full of baubles and stars and goodness knows what else. We have a different colour scheme each year and I think that this year it may be deep burgundy, plum, silver and white!
The tree is up and in position, ready to be decorated within an inch of its life. I am on 'loft duty' being the nominated person to brave the outer reaches of the loft space to bring down the lights and decorations. A fair proportion of which will no doubt be rejected as 'too old' 'too tatty' 'not the right colour' or just not part of the vision that she has! I hope she wasn't watching Kirstie Allsop's homemade Christmas programme last night or else we will be searching for glass blowing places to make our own baubles and scavenging in the woodland near us for foliage to make staircase garlands and fireplace displays.
We both have a day off work today, so the plan is shopping this morning and decorating and wrapping this afternoon. Watch this space .....

17 revisited

Oh no, after my weekend away I have become late with posting this:
Obviously since my 17th birthday I have become forgetful and unpunctual ;-)
But here are my updated details:

Hair colour - Still auburn in places but more than 50% artificially so nowadays :-(
My hair style is short and wedged at the back and longer in the front
My favourite brand of make up is Mac
My fashionable item is a deep purple tunic dress worn over leggings
My favourite outfit is a blue and turquoise floaty summer dress
I drive a silver Mini
On Saturday I go shopping - not anywhere in particular, Cambridge is a favourite!
On Saturday night I go out with my husband either with friends or have people over to our house for dinner
On Sunday I relax, once a month I go to a scrapbook crop in Welwyn Garden City
Mon - Fri I work at a Secondary school in the Secretaries Office
My best friend is - actually I don't really have a best friend nowadays, my best friend from way back in Denise, I am still friends with Jill who was my best friend when I was 17 and I guess my best friend from the couples that we go out with is Mandy
My favourite place to go is to my sister's holiday home in Praia da Luz in Portugal
My favourite subject is craft work
When I grow up, I'm not sure what I want to be ....
My favourite drink is Champagne or Prosecco
My favourite food is Lamb in any shape or form
My favourite shop is - not sure I have a favourite, John Lewis is great for browsing and has many franchises in it so maybe that
David Essex never proposed to me, but I am happily married to my dear husband - 29 years together!
My favourite actor - Brad Pitt
Favourite Band - changes frequently, I'm listening to The Script a lot at the moment
Favourite TV - Gavin and Stacey
One thing I want to do but cant is conquer my fear of lifts
Most used form of transport is driving
If I had all the money in the world I would buy homes for my children and a couple of nice places abroad for my husband and I to flit from place to place
I wish I could worry about things less and take more time to enjoy the moment rather than trying to be ready for what lies ahead
Still don't play sport!
This fall/Autumn I went to the Italian Lakes
Still don't dress up for Halloween!
I recently saw - haven't been to the cinema for ages, can't remember the last thing!
Reading Santa Montefiori books at the moment, but I love Marian Keyes and Jeffrey Deaver too
Big newspaper story today is another soldier killed in Afghanistan and the imprisonment of 'Foxy Knoxy' in Italy for killing a British girl
Phew! I'm done, sorry I'm late ... be sure to visit Christy . Tell her it's my fault you've been delayed ......

Brussels Christmas Market

We started off here :

The champagne bar at St Pancras station in London - what a way to start off a weekend

We tried the local food and drink

And saw St Nicholas in the Chocolate shops

It was the day before St Nicholas visits the children to give them Christmas Chocolate, so there was a parade

And the stilt walker had to negotiate the street signs!

The famous statue of the Mannaken Pis was wearing his special St Nicholas outfit

At night the tree in the Grand Place was lit up

and when we woke in the morning, St Nicholas had left chocolates in our shoes

All too soon it was time to get back on the train to London

And finish the weekend by having a kir royale with our lunch in a restaurant overlooking the River Thames

A fab weekend, a chocolate lover's paradise (that was my kind of a place to live!) and over 200 beers to sample (we have to return, I'm not sure my husband managed to try them all!)

Absent friends

Well I have posted this in advance so by the time you read this I should be across the channel visiting friends who moved away to Belgium. They moved here in September and we planned this visit with another couple before they left the UK. The weather report isn't good and I suspect that we are currently sheltering from the rain somewhere, possibly eating chocolate or Frites with mayonnaise and I guess the men will be sampling the beer!
There is a Christmas Market going on in Brussels and hopefully I am taking plenty of photos to do some layouts on our return.
It's just a very short visit so I'll be back properly tomorrow - Au revoir!

another train journey

Well, earlier this week I went back in time to 1975 on Shimelle's train and this weekend I am going on another rail journey.
This one starts here and I figure that any trip that starts in a place like that has got to be good! Apparently, if it gets a bit chilly there, the seats are heated and blankets are available. I may never get on the train!

December

Ah - December.
The taste of Advent calendar chocolate before breakfast
The whistling of Christmas songs while preparing dinner (apparently that can be quite annoying, I don't know what they mean!)
Rehearsals at work for staff entertainment for pupils' last assembly
Trying hard to find dates that everyone can make to have Christmas dinners with all different friendship groups
Then finding somewhere that caters for meat eaters/vegetarians/teetotallers/people who enjoy a drink/people who want traditional Christmas menu/people who prefer Indian food/people who hate Indian food
The stress of trying to find time to go and brave the Christmas shopping crowds
The stress of 'Will that internet order be delivered in time?'
Blaming the husband for daring to have a birthday on December 12th (I ask you, how silly is that?)
The finals of Strictly Come Dancing and X Factor
Yup - it's that time of year again. How did that happen? Where has this year gone?