Monday 16th December - Looked Awful, Preparations and Beautiful

All things Christmas are gradually coming together in our home.  I started making our door wreath on Friday, finishing it on Saturday.  It took me a whole lot longer than I anticipated – a good four hours!  At one point I was thinking of giving up and consigning it to the bin.  The reason behind this was; the substrate.  The moss wreath I purchased was not moss fixed to a metal frame.  The inner part is a more solid material which made it impossible to just push wire right through.  If it wasn’t for the trussing needles, inherited from my Nana, I would not have been able to get the wires right through the wreath and then back to fix firmly.  At one point it looked awful and the mess on our conservatory floor had to be seen to be believed (in hindsight, I should have taken a photo!).  Anway, I persevered and adding a selection of dried fruits (oranges, limes and apples) greatly enhanced its appearance.  Eventually, I felt it was of a standard that I wouldn’t feel ashamed of, seeing it hanging on our door.  When I take it down, I will investigate and find out exactly what is in the centre of the wreath base.  It has certainly put me off ever ordering another from this supplier again.

Enough of the wreath saga and back to Christmas preparations.  As well as making our mincemeat, I have made a pudding and a Dundee cake.  The decorations went up yesterday and after this, I put some serious thought into what to eat from now until the New Year; resulting in some detailed shopping lists.  Between now and Christmas, we have a couple of friends to visit and I am particularly looking forward to seeing the Christmas trees in St Martins church.  On Boxing Day, I am hoping to have more success this year, filming the swim.  After this we have family visiting and before we know it; it will be 2025 and we’ll be reflecting back over 2024 and wondering why the year passed so quickly.

This is my last blog, until after Christmas.  I am going to leave you with a couple of photos of yesterday’s beautiful sunset.  Anyone who has watched my latest vlog will know I favour sunrises over sunsets, but this sunset was such a stunner, I just had to get my camera. 

No matter how you are spending the festive season, be it on your own, with family or in the company of friends; Peter and I wish you all,

A Happy and Contented Christmastime.