Tuesday 9 January 2018

Happy New Year!

Happy 2018, Everyone! Sorry that I'm a bit late with this post, but E only went back to uni on Sunday, so we have been a little busy. I hope that everyone had a wonderful Christmas. I can't tell you how relieved I was to be able to take down all the decorations. It feels as though the house can breathe again. We had a lovely festive season, with both girls home and L's boyfriend, J, joining us from the 27th. Lots of food was eaten, games played, walks taken and Hamish enjoyed having lots of attention and ear rubs. R bought me a painting course at our local college for Christmas - I was a little bemused initially but, having read the spec, it does actually sound rather fun. Lots of dancing around to music whilst throwing paint at a canvas! My birthday present was a trip to Antwerp, but that's not for a couple of months yet. He thought that it would be nicer when it's warmed up a bit.

Anyway, here are a few shots of the holidays:
Falafel King in Bristol where we went for lunch after collecting E:
 Everyone thought I was boring when I chose the soup, but it was delicious and everyone shared it!
R decided that he didn't want any presents for his birthday/Christmas. I cheated a little and bought him a bottle of Laphroaig and some concert tickets. Having frozen in Clifton Cathedral the week before, we togged up to the nines and then, of course, had to strip off as it was toasty warm!
Some of the minis from my Advent Calendar. Most have now been incorporated into a cushion for a dining chair. It is finished, but I forgot to take a photo!
 A bit of a last minute wreath:
 Joining Dani from Little Bobbins in a Christmas Eve cast on. This is a pair of socks in the 'I smell snow' colourway, cast on whilst listening to the 9 lessons and carols from King's.
 A rather poor photo of our small amount of snow:
 Photos from my birthday walk:







 Our finished Christmas jigsaw:
 Hamish enjoying having E home:
 !0 pin bowling. R won .......... he always wins!
 Finally, another Sock Head Hat in the Equinox colour from Elm Tree yarns:
Well, that's me all caught up. The girls have both gone back now and the house seems too quiet again; it always takes me a while to adjust. I have the decorating itch again and am planning to repaint our hall and landing - once I've decided on a colour that is. One upside of the girls being away is that I can dump everything in their rooms whilst I'm painting, so we don't have to keep tripping over all the c**p!

Anyway, best wishes for a happy and healthy 2018.
Toodle Pip for now. x

7 comments:

  1. A belated happy birthday to you. Sounds like you’ve had a lovely family Christmas. Love all the knits especially that sock wool hat. On my agenda to start hat knitting one of these days. Your birthday walk looked like you had a gorgeous day. We’ve only seen the sun once since new year:(. Look forward to hearing about Antwerp. B x

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  2. Happy birthday! Love all your knitting and Hamish, as always. I Like to think something of what you’re listening to makes it’s way into the sewing or knitting. Carols from Kings would be lovely. Concert tickets is a great present to give and receive, and no waste generated either- bonus! Xx

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  3. Happy birthday to you, belatedly! It looks like you packed a lot into Christmas. Your knitting looks great - I like the socks - and the icy puddle photos. You can't beat a crisp walk on a cold, bright day. I always have the urge to decorate at this time of year too. Must be something to do with taking the decorations down. Happy New Year to you!
    Cathy x

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  4. Happy New Year to you too! Envious of your Messiah concert, I love it! Please share a photo of your cushion made from the Advent calendar balls. I'd love to see it! x

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  5. All the very best to you and yours for 2018. Oh, I know what you mean about taking the decorations down, they do get old fast don't they? I've decided to mainly go with lights next year. Love all the pics of your Christmas and holiday walk, most jealous of your day of snow, still waiting for one here, having said that it may come tonight. Good luck with the decorating, our house is in dire need of it too.xxx

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  6. Happy Birthday! Sounds like you had a lovely holiday season.
    Amalia
    xo

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  7. It all sounds lovely! I adore the 'Ducks crossing' sign :)

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