A New Knitting Project

Day Twenty Seven.

I've been salivating over my Christmas book 'Stitch and Bitch' for a few days now, and my fingers are itching to start making something. I thought I'd start with something quick and easy, so when I found the pattern for 'Hot Head' - a lovely, ribbed hat - I knew I had found my project. My stash of wool is massive - I got pretty carried away last time I ordered from Kemps Wool Shop (a very cheap, online store, which I thoroughly recommend) as their clearance wools are so very beautiful, and so very affordable... I knew I wanted to use Wendy's Chameleon (Chunky) as it's quick to knit and holds together so well. But, I must be a very slow knitter, as this is how far I got, when the book promises it will only take two hours at the most:


So you see I have indeed started, which is something. I shall share the results with you when they are worth seeing! :)

Christmas Day

Day Twenty Two.

Yes, today I did an awful lot of de-cluttering, but none of it was anything more than clearing up after meals and cups of tea, as you would expect at a family Christmas. :)

Me, my parents, and my brother went for a morning walk around 'the loop' while Phil stayed in and cooked the roast. He's a bloody good man, that Phil, and a damned good cook.

Turned out to be a pretty pleasant day, all in all.
:)

Christmas Eve: Is it Nap-Time Yet?!

Day Twenty One.

We may have both been struck down by runny noses and bone-aching lethargy, but we have still somehow managed to complete the preparations for the family Christmas... Horray!

The bedrooms look lovely and cosy, and the downstairs kitchen/sitting room area is warm and inviting - decked with ivy and holly and fairy lights as you know - and topped off by the funny Christmas tree Phil pulled in from the garden (it turned out that a previous owner had planted their tree outside, after it had served its purpose, and over time it has grown tall enough for us to nip the top off without shocking it to death).

I have wrapped the few presents which arrived today via City Link. For some reason Amazon split my order into two and has promised that the other things will be coming by Royal Mail Special Delivery. They should have arrived by 1pm, so I've lost all hope by now. That'll teach me to think that last minute internet present shopping is a clever way to avoid the shops, the crowds, and preparation in general...!

My parents have just phoned to announce that they are on their way. I must now take a nap as I am completely drained. Merry Christmas to you; hope we all have a chance to put our feet up and open a bottle or two :)

The Food of Life

Day Twenty.

Ah! Now we are one fifth of the way through the 100 Days Project! I must admit that despite the one evil comment, I am feeling positive and somewhat changed for the better. I'm feeling a real sense of community with other 100 Days bloggers, and it's a opened up a whole new world for me. I spoke with my old friend Kellee of The Yellow Lamp today, and that was very lovely indeed. This blogging process is bringing us close again after some years of very little contact - she moved away and we've just been soooo busy, ya know? :) She reminded me that only horrible people make horrible comments on blogs. Still, I've left it there in case anyone feels like responding. I don't like to censor things too much, I like a dash of reality, so I'll leave it until its time comes.

Today worked out pretty well. It was market day in Machynlleth, so we collected our pre-ordered organic veg from the Treehouse stall, picked up the pre-ordered free-range chicken and local sausages from Will the butcher's, and bought some nice fresh sea bass from the fish man (there are two fish stalls on the market - one is right outside our house and leaves a rotten fish smell when he goes; the other is down by the Quarry cafe. We bought the fish from the one down by the cafe - partly because we have heard the nasty, racist jokes of the one outside our house). I spent the morning on Amazon, choosing self-sufficiency themed presents for my parents and surfing related gifts for my brother. Phil and I decided that after the huge expense of everything else we would not need presents ourselves. Still, I got a bit carried away and ordered a 'Stitch and Bitch' knitting book for myself and promised to get an Ikea magnetic knife holder for him (it's what he wanted, to be fair, and it might give us an excuse to get ourselves there sometime in the New Year).

Sorted out our room ready for my parents to stay in it, and got the lights and tinsel on the tree. Phil cleaned the pantry and the hall, and all we have left to do tomorrow is last minute floor-cleaning downstairs, and making beds. As soon as we realised that, Phil asked if he 'was allowed' (what?! There's a first time for everything, I suppose?!) to have a glass of wine, and so I suggested that he make up some mulled wine from scratch as he's been boasting that he'll be able to make it without touching the singular sachet in the cupboard. He rose to the challenge (a good chance to see if it'll work when my family arrives!) and I read the ingredients list from the back of the sachet, whilst pointing out cinnamon, cloves and the like in the dark and chaotic cupboard. It turned OK, though maybe he shouldn't have put the garlic (?!) in, but with a few spoons of sugar, I thought it tasted pretty good. :)

And so we relax again, job done :)

Getting the House Ready for the Family Visit

Day Nineteen.

Bought loads of food for Christmas and a couple of presents, cleared the landing of all the boxes and general crap which has accumulated, started sorting out the bedrooms where my parents and brother will be staying, had a lovely long bath...

Now waiting for Phil to make us some tasty pizzas, whilst watching some Derren Brown.
It's good to relax! :)

Making Christmas Less Stressful

Day Eighteen.

So it looks like my parents and brother will be coming to our house again this year. It will be too stressful for my parents if we descend upon them at the smallholding - I mean, they're only getting the keys tomorrow, and moving more stuff (tractors!) up on Wednesday, so it'll be a house full of boxes and chaos... Now what will they do with the cat?! :S

So, to reduce our own stress, Phil and I sat down this evening to write a list. There are so many things to be done. It has only just been decided that we will put Christmas on here. We had expected a low-key event at the smallholding, with Phil cooking and me being his assistant, but somehow it being in our house makes us feel that it will now need to be as good as it gets, rather than a case of making do...

Tomorrow will be the big day of tidying, cleaning, preparing rooms, buying plenty of food and drink, thinking about presents, decorating upstairs, buying 'eco' logs to ensure nice, hot fires (no one seems to sell dry wood anymore, have you noticed?), and all the rest. Oh man, we might even need to get a tree! It's all there on the list. And as we know, all good actions start with a bloody good list - check out Beth's blog if you haven't already - it's a Hundred Days blog, with the first day's task being 'Write a list' and the following ninety-nine days taken up with ticking one job off every day in no particular order...

I'm finding it very inspiring, but you know me, I love lists...
:)

Christmas Cards are GO!

Day Thirteen.

I've got to admit that I've jumped into this whole "Do Specific De-cluttering Task; Blog About It" thing rather naively, without any initial concept of the amount of time and effort required on a daily basis by what is, in reality, two tasks. I can only drop my jaw and gape in wonder at the wonderful work done by two of my favourite bloggers - Beth and Tammy - each of whom has a small child to deal with, as well as all the usual household tasks, as well as the daily blog and One Hundred Day Project. Argh! Much respect to you guys.

My boyfriend has started complaining that he never gets to spend any time with me. True, I am a workaholic, but this blog thing takes the biscuit, I reckon. I'm loving it though! Apart from the anguish it causes.

So today, I killed two - no wait! - fed two birds with one grain. As the washing machine is broken, I've been going to my mum's house to do it, but only once it has amassed itself into a giant pile of offensive sights and smells. While I was waiting for each load to finish, I wrote my Christmas cards, which will assuage my Christmas-themed guilt no end. I don't normally do Christmas cards. Or at least, if I do, I don't do very many. Raised with a strong work ethic, I usually feel that I should make them all by hand, deliver them by hand, accompanied by a home-made mince pie or somesuch. Then I run out of time, and quickly write out about half a dozen shop-bought cards. It takes a long time! I am not happy to send a card which has a pre-printed message, which is preceded by 'To Bob' and followed by 'From Joe' - what's the point in that?! So I like to write a little in each card, hardly a catch up, but something personal at least.


Here is my stash of ready cards - all that is needed is Phil's signature, and the envelopes have yet to be addressed. Getting there, getting there...

The Holly and the Ivy

Day Nine.

Horray! A sunny day! Crisp and bright, just as it should be at this time of year. Phil was desperate to go for a walk, and so the idea evolved that we would go out and look for some foliage with which to decorate the house. Last year we draped ivy around the window frames, along with some pretty plain fairy lights, and filled the rooms with holly and pine branches. We loved it so much that we left the ivy up until March (which was about the time when it started to disintegrate).

Personally, I find the plastic decorations tacky - often too gaudy and glittery - not to mention expensive. I'm not a big fan of fireworks either, so I guess you can make of that what you will! :)

As we were leaving the house equipped with a sharp knife and a pair of secateurs, our neighbours happened to be coming out from next door. They promptly went back into the house and returned with a Christmas card for us and a nice bottle of wine. We told them we were going to hunt down some nice foliage and they suggested we go to the park. They were right! Just fifty yards from our front door we gathered so much, it was escaping our arms as we walked back, overladen with leaves (and about five berries in total - but that's five more than last year).

Now our front room is like a scene from Narnia, and there's plenty more leafy sprigs left over to decorate upstairs too :)

Going to the park was not enough of a walk, so we 'did the loop' and walked around by the river. The air was fresh and bracing, and the views were beautifully lit by the setting sun.

I do have some nice pics, but Blogger is being awkward...