End of the Week

 

Here's another photograph from last weekend when the weather situation looked far more festive and the temperature felt a lot cooler. 

Thank you for the comments on my previous post. I'm glad it isn't just me who finds Christmas shopping so stressful. Although I've cut back hugely on the amount of people I buy for (and that made a massive difference), I would be quite happy to forget about presents altogether. There is just so much pressure and expectation about the giving and receiving of gifts, which is why I try and prioritise experiences instead. I don't particularly remember any of last year's Christmas gifts, but I do remember our visit to the Christmas lights, drinking mulled wine at the markets in Edinburgh, and chilly walks through the woods followed by a delicious hot chocolate. Although I try not to think about the ice-skating ;)

Gosh, it's felt like a long week, especially considering I didn't go into work on Monday. Today has been particularly stressful and an incident at work, although nothing I was involved with, left me feeling a little flat. My colleagues, however were incredible, and dealt with the situation brilliantly. I realise how lucky I am to work with some amazing people. 

The Mincemeat Shortbread  was very popular. I tried some myself and I have to agree, it was delicious. The recipe never fails but it might also have had something to do with the extra brandy I always add to the mincemeat :) This was all that was left when I went into the staff room at lunchtime.

I think that next I will go and get my pyjamas on, enjoy a quiet night, and hopefully I can catch up with some blog reading. I've an early start tomorrow, as I'm going to be delivering those presents.

J. X

Presents

 

I was chatting with a friend earlier today, and I was saying how I'd forgotten just how busy work can be at this time of year. It often feels exhausting, but it's a lot of fun at the same time. Today was Christmas jumper day. Mine has a large Christmas pudding on the front, which is quite appropriate, seeing as that's how I'm feeling at the moment. 

I've hardly stopped this week and any spare moments I've had have been spent trying to source Christmas presents. This has always been something I have found rather stressful, given that I'm not a huge fan of shopping. And I tend to put far too much pressure on myself to get the perfect gift for everyone, which of course is never going to happen. Unrealistic expectations. 

It can also be incredibly time consuming. Whether shopping online or on the High Street, these things invariably take much longer than I anticipate. Is it just me? That said, I don't think I'm doing too badly this year. Most of my present shopping is now complete, with just a few more items left to buy. Then I can relax.

This evening I have been busy baking some Mincemeat Shortbread, as tomorrow it's my turn to provide the festive treats for the staffroom. The coffee table is already hidden beneath several tubs of chocolates, and these are only going to increase as we get closer to Christmas. 

J. X

Frosty Morning

It had been freezing cold during the night. This morning the garden was iced over, so I ventured out very carefully to replenish the water in the bird feeder. Snowy was still standing, complete with his hat and scarf, although he was looking much slimmer than when we'd first built him. 

After I'd dropped Lily off at school, I came home and ate breakfast - delicious hot porridge, drizzled with syrup, a ideal warmer for such a cold morning. It may have been chilly, but it was a gorgeous, sunny start to the day, so I decided to walk into work. The frosty landscape was sparkling and the ground crisp beneath my feet. It was the sort of cold that made your ears and fingers tingle, and I was very grateful for my woolly hat and gloves. 

It's been an funny sort of day. At work we've almost reached a stage of anything goes, and there's so much going on just now that I can hardly keep up. It's Christmas Jumper Day tomorrow, so I really mustn't forget that.

This evening I was able to collect two more Christmas gifts that I'd ordered. It sounds simple enough but the traffic was so busy that it took ages just to drive to the store and back. I'm glad I've got them though, as there's one, which I need to deliver this weekend and the other, well, I wasn't confident it would actually turn up. 

J. X

Tree Decorating

 

Thankfully, I woke this morning to find that most of the snow had thawed overnight, leaving the roads clear once again. The garden is still looking rather white, however, and as the temperatures are forecast to drop below freezing tonight, I expect there will be some patches of ice to contend with tomorrow. 

It has been a beautiful day. The sun shone and the sky was blue. I managed to find time to hand deliver several of my Christmas cards this morning, and I took another handful to the Post Office, feeling quite pleased with myself for being much more organised this year. 

At work this afternoon , myself and a colleague were given the wonderful task of decorating the tree. It was a lot of fun to do, especially as it is a real tree, and this year it is a respectable size. I spent a lot of time up a ladder in order to reach the higher branches, but even then I still struggled to get the star on the very top. Luckily I have fairly long arms and a blatant disregard  for my own personal safety :)

I'm looking forward to decorating our own tree, although I'm undecided as to whether it should be done before the weekend or early next week, by which time we should have a new ornament for it. The small kitchen tree is already looking lovely, decorated with bells and stars.

Oh, and I promised an updated photograph of the wreath with the holly added. I definitely prefer it with the red berries.

J. X