As it's New Year's Eve I thought I'd do round up of my gratefuls for the year...so...in no particular order....
My DS who is growing into a very nice and thoughtful young man and who still hugs me when he thinks I need a hug even though he's 21.
My OH who has supported me through some difficult times this year and who hugs me too. He also puts up with my having taken over the dining room as my craft area without moaning (well, not much!).
Max my bestest friend who makes me laugh and gets me out of the house (even when it's snowing) and who is a wonderful hot water bottle.
Friends who have kept me going this year with thoughtful gestures,emails and messages wherever they live - thank you - you know who you are.
I love all of these people to bits.
Facebook for letting me keep up to date with all of the above and my family in the NE.
Santa who brought me some wonderful pressies this year.
Amazon for not only keeping me supplied with books but for the Kindle...I can now read "on demand" and have just discovered it plays music too - I've finally learnt how to download and transfer music - yay!!
Ebay - for all the weird and wonderful things for sale (esp. vintage earrings).
Various craft websites for keeping me supplied with stash and inspiration.
A Maze of Memories for stash and inspiration too but also a wonderful space to "play" in.
And finally..the GPs, carers and the Hospice at Home volunteers who cared for my Dad and enabled him to die in his own home with dignity. For that I will be forever grateful.
I can't believe it's over!
We had a quiet but enjoyable family Christmas. The last of the presents were delivered on Christmas Eve, the cake was iced and mince pies made.
The Heston Blumenthal pudding was sensational - pleased I didn't sell it on ebay!
I had the odd low moment (missing Dad) but enjoyed myself on the whole.
DS has now gone back to Bristol for New Year - most of his friends from Thame are going to join him on New Year's Eve - wonder if Bristol knows what's going to hit it?
I've also managed some crafting time.
The LO was for a sketch challenge on WeScrap and was made with Basic Grey "Wassail" papers and embellishments.
I finished my Dec. daily journal too. I even found some book rings big enough to hold it together (last year's 52 Q & A are now floating around loose!).
Hope you all had a lovely Christmas. I'll be back on Friday with my gratefuls for the year.
Oops! A Friday post on a Saturday (again) but it is very early Saturday - I've been up since 04:30 - and not by choice I might say.
So...gratefuls for this week..
First has to be the marvel that is a steroid injection - directly into my right shoulder - that has seen me pain free for the first time in a couple of weeks and thus able to write again. Also my wonderful GP who made the actual process pain free - I'd heard some horror stories about injections into joints.
Next has to be Amazon for allowing me to make a wish list - it has obviously been read and acted upon as parcels that I'm not allowed to open have started to arrive. Got to admire DS too for the nous (cheek?) to order via my Amazon account and thus save his student pennies!
Said DS who is due home either today or tomorrow,depending upon the weather and who has offered all sorts of help over Christmas (including,hopefully,not bringing mountains of washing).
Man Utd. who regained their "rightful" position at the top of the premiership by beating Arsenal on Monday. Out of respect to the Gunners in the family (OH and DS) I didn't crow (well, not a lot).
The internet (again) for allowing us all to do our Christmas shopping - just hope the weather allows it to be delivered. Hoping the same for my food order which is due on Weds.
The weather has already caused one company to cancel a flower delivery I'd organised for a friend who's having a knee op on 21st. :(
The organisers of this year's Royal Variety Performance who made it watchable - I actually enjoyed it and had a good laugh (much needed).
On Thursday I would have been listing the England cricket team but then Friday happened....
Hope you've all had a good week and are full of Christmas spirit (Brandy would be my choice).
A short list this week as I'm in the grip of pre-Christmas depression...
OH for watching "Eclipse" on DVD with me - although he did nod off once or twice and said it was a bit long (lesser of two evils though as the alternative was Man. Utd. v Valencia).
DS who had a long chat to me and made me laugh and who will be home on 19th..with promises of help with the cooking on Christmas Day.
Ebay for helping me finish my Christmas gift shopping - just waiting for parcels to arrive now - I do love getting parcels even if they're not for me. I don't like parcels that get lost though...two have gone astray, both from Amazon...the UK one is esp. annoying as it's DVD's to watch over Christmas.
And finally my cyber friends who've been supporting me this week - you all know who you are and I love every single one of you.
Well it's Friday again and time to reflect on the week gone by.
Firstly, I'm grateful that we haven't had the bad weather (only a sprinkling of snow but lots of ice and a chill wind) that lots of people have had. Do feel sorry for Max though as he's missed out on playing in the snow. :(
Sky+ is next - due to modern technology I was able to record "The Good Witch's Wedding" on Monday- I was thus able to watch that rather than the second half of the Carling Cup football on Tuesday and did not ,therefore ,witness our first defeat in 30 games.
The internet has continued delivering Christmas, in the form of food goodies and presents this week (even a little bit of stash :)). OMG, that makes me sound just like Margot in "The Good Life"!
OH has had a frustrating week with his car - it was serviced on Monday and it hasn't worked properly since - this is not a joke! Finally, the car has gone to Aylesbury to be fixed....thank you to whoever arranged the replacement car ..we now have an Audi Q7 for the weekend...complete with tinted windows! I have to climb in (so not a good look!) and do feel that a people carrier is a bit excessive for two people and a dog ----but I'll make the best of it!
We took it for a little drive this afternoon and stopped in Waitrose to do some more bits of Christmas food type shopping . My heart was all aflutter when we left.....we bumped into Brendan Cole doing his shopping ..well we passed him in the coffee and confectionary aisle. That beats the time I saw "Pat Butcher" doing her shopping. :)
Hope you've all had a good week .
So far, so good - I'm keeping on top of my journal - made notes yesterday but didn't print the photos until today (waited until I had enough to fill a sheet of wallet size prints).
The bottom photo shows the front of days 1 and 2 with their acetate overlays where I've put the numbers.
The second photo is the reverse sides.
