All Christmassed Out (Already)

Aren’t we all? A non stop whirlwind from dawn until dusk. How do we all cope? And then there’s more ‘chores’ for tomorrow, isn’t there? Well my day started with the children’s breakfast and once on the school run with Sindy, I completed the bauble explosion with the tree. All those memories of the little red glitter balls and spiney, glitter stars brought for John and my first Christmas together, all those years ago. But what did we accumulate along the way. China ones with the children’s hand prints. Baked glitter stars from the girls first year at big school. Papier mache bells and hand painted animal globes, a mass of felt baubles and little rabbits from Nepal. Little Thai Elephants on a string, sea shell wreaths from Hawaii. Each one a memory of a time in our lives. Christmas is such a manic time.

Wreath making this morning with Sindy. This year I don’t have time to collect foliage from the woods to make garlands. At least not at the moment. But we used the lower branches from the tree that actually touches the ceiling to make the two conifer wreaths this morning. Sindy took hers home for her front door and mine is now adorning ours. I might ‘camp it up’ at the weekend, but for now, austerely reigns. That is until you enter the living room. I guess I should attach pics, though it’s a bit late to photograph the home made wreath on the front door.

The sausage (duxelle) stuffing for Christmas Day and New Year’s Day was cooked and is now frozen, to be defrosted as needed. Beef fore ribs were slow cooked in stock and frozen for an ‘easy meal option’, plus I cooked Moroccan chicken and cous cous for the grown ups dinner tonight. The children had a pasta salad with steak sandwiches. Cooked burgers from Saturday, just sliced thinly and refried, served with salad, Dadda’s home made tomato chutney and mayonnaise. I packed up four trios of Dadda’s Jam for the girls teachers presents earlier and the Head mistress has a hand made chocolate box containing twelve chocolate dipped orangettes, as she requested a few freebies when she purchased the Xrated Xmas Jams at the Christmas Fayre. Sitting down now with a glass of rose wine thinking about bed. Memories of Provence coming back, as all we drank was rose, as they do in the south of France. A few stories I might reminisce on at a later date, but for now, just bed as I am shattered.