Goodbye 2010, it was nice knowing you

(Image courtesy of Google images!)

Oh my, it's almost here!  The end of another year.  It's funny how celebrating New Year changes as you get older and your circumstances change. 
Before we were married we would go to a party or a disco, then when we were newly weds we decided to do something different and booked in for a weekend at Langtry Manor in Bournemouth with our good friends Denise and Peter.  It was an amazing New Years Eve.  The hotel has such history, it was built in 1877 for King Edward VII for his mistress Lillie Langtry.
Then the children came along and we celebrated quietly at home, desperately trying to stay awake for Big Ben's chimes.  As the children got to school age I made friends with other mums and we gradually introduced the husbands and a new little social group evolved.  We would then take it in turns to host New Year's Eve and the adults would party downstairs and the kids would all be playing together upstairs - it worked well. 
Then the kids became teenagers and started making their own plans for NYE, one of the other couples separated, another had a late addition to their family and so for one reason or another - that routine stopped.
My husband was then introduced to the husband of another friend and he started playing badminton with him and another couple of guys and a new circle of friends evolved.  Fortunately, us wives already knew each other and got on well too.  We were invited to join them for their NYE and so another phase was entered!  We started actually going out for NYE again!  
My friend's daughter married a guy who manages a new Italian restaurant in town and although they are not offering an official 'party night' we are going there for a meal tonight.  They are designing a new menu for one night only and I have no idea what is on it, but I am sure it will be good. 
So - may I just wish everyone a Happy & Healthy New Year.  It's been great getting to know everyone in 2010 and I look forward to many more fascinating blog posts in 2011.
Cheers!!!

And there it was gone ...

Scrapbooking Photo Tinks by WiddlyTinks.comGot a lot of clearing up to do, got a lot of leftovers eating to do, got a lot of 'finding new places for new gifts' to do, got a lot of blog catching up to do ....
So in the mean time, a photo from Christmas Eve in Deb's World!

He's on his way!

And at the time of checking this website here he was in New Zealand!  Anyone with little children might like to log onto that website nearer bedtime because when he's on his way - you better get to sleep as soon as you can!
All is calm, peaceful and under control in Deb's World today, the kids are visiting my in laws with my husband and I am left alone to do finishing touches and prepare tables etc.  Later on we will have a carrot peeling frenzy and anything else that can be done in advance.  Tonight we are visiting friends, the husband of which has just returned from a climbing expedition to Everest base camp so I suspect there will be many tales to be told.  Not my idea of a holiday ie no beach, no sun, no gourmet meals cooked for me and more to the point, no proper toilets or en suite facilities! 
So I wish you all a very happy Christmas, however you celebrate it and whoever you celebrate it with.  Take lots of photos to post in the new year, there must surely be some project we can all join in to share them.  Anybody any suggestions?!

Sing-a-long

Dashing through the snow
In a silver Mini car
O'er the ice we go
Sainsbury's not too far

Finished buying food
and gifts are nicely wrapped
Just a bit more cooking to do
and then I can collapse

Oh

Jingle Bells
Batman smells
Robin's flown away
The batmobile has lost one wheel
and can't go on it's way .....

It's either hysteria, too much Christmas spirt {hic} or reliving my son's silly versions of carols when he was little.  You decide ....

A fine line

When you take your average mum at this time of year you will find that there is a very fine line between quiet busy-ness and silent hysteria.  We're up to our neck in cooking, preparing the house for guests, shopping, wrapping - not to mention the mundane washing, ironing, and feeding the family in the days leading up to the big event.

I was bordering on the latter yesterday but now my presents are wrapped and labelled, the cake is iced, there is sufficient food for Christmas Day and if I were to slip on the ice and be confined to the sofa being fed peeled grapes by Dr McDreamy (Patrick Dempsey) himself, Christmas would happen.

The husband's contribution to the festivities has consisted of 3 hours of shopping in Cambridge where he bought his parent's presents and a couple of little stocking fillers for the kids.  He has written 12 cards for his family members (after I had bought them, printed off the address labels and stuck on stamps).  That's it.  So this morning when he enquired as to my activities today - cook cherry ring cake, make chocolate biscuit cake, go to Sainsburys for last minute veggies, get all washing and ironing up to date, take my friend to her physio apt (she has trapped a nerve in her spine and is walking hobbling around like an 80 year old), pick her up, cook dinner, deliver gifts and cards to my nephew, then deliver gifts to my niece ........ he then said

"do you think you could wrap up Mum & Dad's presents for me - I'm running out of time"
If a middle aged wife should fall in a frenzied heap and no one is around to see, would it make a sound?

Yes it would, it would be a muffled growliness interspersed with hysterical laughter!

On a lighter note, I made a few of these gorgeous triangular boxes that Mel  recently showed in a tutorial - they are so cute - well worth the time making them!  If you look carefully you will see a tiny silver bell in amongst the ribbon, my signature note for all special presents this year!

Stress levels rising

I had plans for today.  Pop into town to get a bit more food shopping from Waitrose, 12 noon go to the salon for my Shellac manicure (the most amazing manicure ever, the last one lasted 4 weeks and had only just started to chip then) come home, ice cake and wrap presents.
However. 
The son asked if he could use a bit of paper and tags to wrap presents for his girlfriend's family.  I said yes.  So he has picked the nicest paper that I had, you know, the stuff I was saving for 'special' presents, used up all the co ordinating labels and left me with about 3" of sellotape.  I just looked out the window and it is snowing - again - and I don't think I can be bothered to put on boots, coat, gloves and get in the car just to get sellotape.  But I do want to get these gifts wrapped .....
I came home from Waitrose with an £80 bill, how did that happen?  The same way the food levels in the fridge are dropping since the son returned home.  I had forgotten how hungry boys can get and how often they need to eat! 
So, having typed this post and drunk a cup of tea and revived my sugar levels with a slice of birthday cake left from my nephew's wife's party on Sunday, I think I am going to brave the elements and get some more tape.  If I get these gifts wrapped that will be another tick on the list done and it's a time consuming job too.  Then tomorrow I can deliver them/hide them/put them in a santa sack {delete as appropriate} and move onto icing that cake. 
Seems that for every one item I cross off that list, another two take it's place.  Ho Ho Ho.

Christmas Club - The Chinese Bracelet

Forgive me, it's Christmas and I am running very behind schedule!  Firstly, thanks to all the kind comments about the book, I just wish we had touchy feely blog posts as you would have been able to feel how soft the leather was on that book spine .....  I digress ...

The Chinese Bracelet Christmas.

When my daughter was young, she was obsessed by people who had a foreign accent and loved to try and copy them.  There was a memorable phase in her life where she was equally obsessed with 'Neighbours' and 'Flying Doctors' (or Flying Gockers as she called them).  She would allocate everyone characters and we had to talk like that for a whole dinner time, my mum used to find this hysterical and was often pulled up on her impersonation of Helen Daniels 'It isn't that funny Nan, just talk like her, try it again'.  And of course The Husband was totally bemused and could only say 'G'day Auntie Madge'.
About this time, the daughter was at play school (about 4 years old) and came home one day totally excited about a new girl who had started.  The girl was called Sylvie-Ann and she was Chinese.  (You can see what is coming here can't you?)  Not only that, but she didn't know many English words, so we now had a whole new made up language to practise over dinner.  But best of all was Sylvie-Ann's bracelet.  The daughter was obsessed with all things Sylvie-Ann, and she had a lovely silver charm bracelet.  All I heard about was Sylvie-Ann's bracelet and how the daughter was going to ask Father Christmas for one exactly the same.  Now, F. C's chief elf was slightly concerned about this request and needed more details.  'I don't need to tell you what it looks like Mum, I've drawn a picture of it in the letter to Father Christmas that we made at play school today and Miss has sent them off for us'.  I considered the possibility of inviting Sylvie-Ann for tea but as her mum spoke even less English than she did, I didn't think this was an option.  It was getting closer to Christmas and I still hadn't seen this bracelet.  I tried scouring the crowds of 4 year olds coming out of playschool to catch sight of the bracelet, but it was winter and all arms and wrists were covered up with winter coats and gloves.
Then we had a morning where mums could go in and watch a little play and I realised this was my only chance.  I was dragged across the classroom to a rather bewildered little Chinese girl who had her wrist grabbed by the daughter and the bracelet in all it's glory was revealed.  It was lovely.  Clearly not from England.  Delicate silver links had wonderful chinese symbols hanging from them.  There were little animal charms including beautiful tiny elephants.
Now Santa's elf did her best and on Christmas morning, a little silver charm bracelet was unwrapped.  There were no chinese symbols and certainly no elephants but there was a ballerina, a ballet shoe, a rabbit, and a letter 'R' - all things appropriate to the daughter.  The husband and I held our breath ... she loved it!  It was not only as good as Sylvie-Ann's it was better - phew!  Every photo taken that Christmas day has the daughter proudly displaying her wrist - which has led to some strangely posed pictures.  I really must get round to scanning them into the computer!