Fifteenth Day - Advent Blog

Today is the second of the Birthdays that our family celebrate in December, Happy Birthday Matt.

The bathroom is fully complete now, the blind was installed today.  I can have a shower with the light on! That'll be good, I'm fed up on these dark mornings when I get up early to go to the gym. Our bathroom is at the front of the house and I've been told by Dave and Rachel that no one can see but.........

The mincemeat pies were a great sucess, Dave took a few to work and I had a phone call to ask how did I make the topping, one of the girls wants to make some. I think I may cancel the ones on order and make more of these.  If I do I'll have to book in extra visits to the gym in the new year.

This afternoon I posted the remaining Christmas cards and a parcel, fingers crossed they get delivered before the big day. I'm waiting for a parcel from Amazon to be delivered it should have been here on the 9th,  I'm not holding much hope. I'm waiting to hear from Amazon, I've emailed them but not heard back as yet,  it may be too late for Christmas, one of the downfalls of internet shopping I suppose.

Fourteenth Day- Advent Blog

This morning I went to get weighed lost 1lb which is a miracle  and better than I deserve, considering quite a few meals out this week and of course the fish and chips on the move day!!!!!!! I decided not to stay for the meeting but dash across to the super market and pick up a few supplies to make the frangipane mince pies from Gina's blog.  I cant say that they were a 100% success but they do taste great, (ssh! don't tell anyone I've eaten two), some look fine and some will be ok with custard over them to hide the defects. I forgot to add the flaked almonds on two batches, and maybe I overfilled the cases with the mincemeat, but at least I tried. I'm going to put some of them in the freezer so there will be some left for Christmas. Glad I have a ordered a couple of boxes as a standby from Waitrose.

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Rejects below - overfilled and I managed to slice the top off a couple!!!!!!!

Bet you cant wait for the blog where I decorate the Christmas cake...............

Thirteenth Day- Advent Blog

It's hard to believe that today is 13th December, Christmas is certainly coming at a pace! All my gifts are bought, not wrapped as yet. But, I have those two huge bags of ironing done, phew!!! If I ever offer to do that again shoot me please!  It was for a good cause and I love them (not the ironing, James and Becky) and that's what Mums do isn't it? Anyone else do things like that for their children?

Anyway going back to the nuts, fat balls etc. While I was resting my back from all the ironing, I sat by the window with my camera poised. I caught these on camera, Gold Finches I think, I should have asked for a bird book from Santa. At one point there were five on the feeder or waiting their turn. The Robin was hanging around and was swooping in from time to time trying  to scare them away but was so quick I couldn't get it in shot a bit out numbered today though.  I'll keep trying............

Yesterday we put the tree up, not a real one, I cant be doing with all the mess, but I do miss the smell. I must say it does look better in the flesh. I've pictured a few of the decorations that we have bought while on holiday in America over the years.

Twelth Day- Advent Blog

Taken on 1st December 2010

Decided to try and attract more birds to the garden by not only putting nuts and seeds into the feeders but fat balls too, it seems to be working. Great Tits and Blue Tits as well as the Robins are visiting the fat balls as well as finches........ especially during the snow.

Eleventh Day- Advent Blog

Well it was up with the lark this morning, a bit of a house clean here, while Dave took Rachel home and  visited his Dad. By 2 o'clock  we were back at James and Becky's to carry on with helping them get straight. Becky's parents were there too, after a lovely lunch of butternut risotto, I decided to clean the oven, if I was moving house and leaving my oven I would clean it!!!!! After a couple of hours the oven and hob were shining like new, (well not new, but a lot better than before I started). By the time we all left  there were Christmas lights decorating the outside of their house and indoors the Christmas tree is decorated, a sorted kitchen, bedrooms, living room all sorted. They have quite a lot of boxes still to unpack, I stupidly offered to do their ironing so I now have two huge bags of shirts etc. I must be mad.......

Sorry no pictures today either, must do better tomorrow.

Tenth Day- Advent Blog

Today is the first of the family birthdays - Happy Birthday Dave. Next year it's a really big birthday for him so I'm planning to do something really special for him! This year he had a busy and tiring birthday, James and Becky moved house today! We were on the moving and cleaning team, with Rachel Becky's Mum, Dad and Granddad, her sister and brother in law joined once they finished work,  everything went to plan. They got the keys at twelve o'clock so we spent all afternoon getting cupboards wiped out I cleaned three bathrooms!
Tonight we all celebrated the move and Dave's birthday with fish and chips, champagne and birthday cake.

No photographs today sorry, promise there will be one tomorrow.

Ninth Day - Advent Blog

Today I met my daughter Rachel at the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) we visited the Diaghilev and the Golden Age of the Ballets Russes and the Imperial Chinese Robes from the Forbidden City exhibitions.  We have been planning to go to see the Diaghilev exhibition for ages, we both really enjoyed both exhibitions. No photos I'm afraid but I took these  of a red shoe and a patchwork dress.

This has a lot of reflection but you get the idea!

We then went to Oxford Street for a quick bit of retail therapy and left before the student protesters arrived thankfully! All this before lunch.........

For lunch I took a journey down memory lane, the Barclays Bank branch  that I worked in 29 years ago, 9 Gracechurch Street, is now a restaurant  bar! The building was listed so the interior is still the same, dark wood paneling and marble columns.  It's the first time I've been back since I took James, when he was about 3 months old.

My desk was by the window just behind where the two men are sitting! We then walked back to Fenchurch Street Station after a walk through Leadenhall Market, it wasn't quite so glamorous when I worked there it had a couple of pubs, a fish shop, cheese shop and fruit and vegetable shops. Now there are expensive clothes shops, how I would have loved that, I remember being over the moon when a Chelsea Girl ( I think that was what it was called) opened in Fenchurch Street. Well that's enough of my nostalgia.