New Year’s Eve

Lots of people are finishing their 365 project today.  WOOHOO! and well done for finishing!

 

But I started my 365 project on my 50th birthday, so I still have 3 months to go!

Maurice and I are just chilling tonight on our own, so no special celebrations.  I am going to cook a really nice Indian meal and we may well have our last bottle of champagne, while we watch Jools Holland on tv.

And I guess we will eat some of these!  (I don’t think I have ever had such a big box of chocolates – and they are all nutty, which I love!)

30th December

I managed to persuade Maurice to take me and Mum to RHS Wisley for the lumiere show:

The laboratory and pond were lit up with different colour lights.

 

Unfortunately it was raining, so my photos are not brilliant, because I didn’t want to keep my camera out in the rain for too long.  I took my tripod, but I really need to practise more with it, I am useless!

But inside the big new greenhouse was spectacular, and really rather spooky!  I love the ‘fairy grotto’ look to this photo!

 

And this path looks like it might lead to a fairy glen!

I have to say that the rain did spoil it for us, and it was really cold.

29th December

Still got Nicholas’s friends here!  Here they are just before Fran and Susie left.  Greg and Philip stayed all afternoon and caught a train to London at about 5.30pm.  Now we just have Nicholas and Freya.

28th December

I bought a jigsaw that I thought my Mum and I would do on Christmas Day, but it was just too hard!  We only managed to get the edge pieces and a few other bits in.  It obviously takes very clever people like university students, because Nicholas and his friends have finished it today!  It is a lovely snowy Christmas scene, but that’s what makes it hard, because all the colours are the same!  I can see this becoming a new tradition though – I love doing jigsaw puzzles!

 

And here is how you can tell we have students here:

My lounge has been taken over!  But they have gone out now to Chichester to see a film and have a meal, so we can relax a bit!

 

Finally for today I have tried and failed miserably to take some nice pictures of the Christmas tree, but this one I took just now isn’t too bad:

We decided to go for bronze and gold on the tree, and it does look very nice.  The trouble with the tree is that we put it up too early (it’s a real tree) and it has wilted!  It is looking very dry now.  Next year I must remember to put the tree up a bit later!

Nicholas is 21!

I can’t believe that my little boy is 21 today!!!  Good grief, where has the time gone????

2 of his university friends turned up today plus his girlfriend Freya:

From l-r, Nicholas, Freya, Susie and Greg!

Boxing day

We have had a really lovely day with Maurice’s brother, 2 sons and their girlfriends.  But my photos were rubbish!  All seriously out of focus!  How could that happen?  Must have been all that red wine consumed :):)

 

But these two photos came out well.  Tom and Lucy wearing the drinking glasses that I bought them as a ‘table’ present!  So funny!

Christmas Day Morning

We opened our presents in bed this year cos we were due at Mum’s for breakfast by 9.30am!

 

Here’s Nicholas and Maurice looking like Morecombe and Wise!

Lucy with new gloves and scarf.  Yes that’s my toe in the bottom of the picture!

It always annoys me that Maurice never buys his own wrapping paper.  This year I thought I had him stumped, there was hardly any left.  Aha!  He will have to buy his own wrapping paper!  But, sadly as you can see, he didn’t.  He just cobbled together enough small bits to cover my present!  (This was a posh new cycle helmet with flowers on it!)

Breakfast over, it’s time to open more presents!

Here’s my pile, a calendar (flat coated retrievers!) , a book (Chris Evans) and wellies (with stars and stripes on them!)

My brother Andrew with daughters Izzy and Michelle

Izzy opening a present containing new jeans.

Izzy showing SIL Lynda how to use her new iPOd touch!

Michelle and Andrew:

Christmas Eve

Been really busy today, last minute shopping, cooking etc, then spending a bit of time this afternoon with my brother and Mum up at the church where Dad’s ashes lie.  So no time for photos!  So here’s one I took on Christmas Day before the kids opened their presents:

I quilted their stockings for them when they were babies, and they get filled every year!  Nicholas’s main present is a netbook computer (very small laptop!) and Lucy has had clothes this year. 

Tuesday and Wednesday

oooooh so near Christmas now!  Panic panic!

I’ve done most of my food shopping now, here’s my list:

I went to my local Waitrose (love that shop!) about 7.30pm, and it was quiet!  The shelves were full too – I got everything I wanted!

Today I took some pictures of the cards I have received.  I love getting cards at Christmas time.  I love the pictures on the cards.  I prefer a proper picture to a ‘design’ ifykwim!  I like a Chrismtas scene, and quite like religious scenes too.  I actually love the salvation army card (top right).  I think it came in a donation envelope but I put it up cos I love it so much!LOL  I like the cute snowman card bottom left too.

21st December

Here’s a rather dark forboding scene!  This was where I was this morning at about 7.30am!  It is Ferring Beach, looking all snowy and dark.  There are usually loads of dog walkers along this greensward, but I was the only one today!  The car park was literally thick ice!

 

The ice is beginning to melt albeit slowly.  Councils locally are being heavily criticised for not grittting enough.  No pavements have been gritted at all!

Sunday 20th December

OMG!  There was a little bit of rain during the night and perhaps a little thaw, followed by freezing temperatures again.  Consequently our pavements and side roads are absolutely treacherous!

 

Merlin has really enjoyed the ice and snow, trouble is he pulls like mad on the lead and nearly has us over!

 

 

Poor Nicholas slipped on some ice walking home from church this morning.  Some silly b***** was trying to get rid of the ice on the pavement with warm water!!!  Nicholas got up, felt faint, so sat on a wall, then passed out and hit his face on the ground!  He is in a right mess!  They sent him to A&E, where they thought he may have broken his wrist and nose!  6 Hours later, we found out no broken bones PHEW!  (I have got a picture of him, but it’s a bit gruesome for here!)

Saturday 19th December

Maurice drove to Bath to fetch Nicholas home from university for Christmas YAY!  Glad he could go because the weather was looking bad.  He decided not to go too early, and luckily didn’t get held up – and the snow disappeared after Chichester PHEW!

 

Picture taken out of little bedroom window of Maurice scraping snow off the car.  It took him about half an hour to get rid of the thick ice on the windscreen!

Nearly a White Christmas!

It has snowed!

Photos taken early this morning across the park with Merlin.  Look at that sky, still heavy with snow!  But shortly after this the sun came out and now we have a lot of muddy slush!

 

Here’s my favourite photo, taken just now in the garden.

16th December

I have been on another training day today!!!  This one was ‘Creating a newsletter using publisher’.  Not in London this time, but just along the coast in the beautiful cathedral city of Chichester:

15th December

I have been trying to photograph my poinsettia plant:

I would like ti use a really good photo to put on cards for our Mums!  This is the best so far. 

Sunday 13th and Monday 14th December

Here are some of Lucy’s birthday cards.  It is alwasy difficult at this time of year to know where to put them!  They are on the dresser in the hall at the moment.  We all felt a bit jaded today after the excesses of Lucy’s party!  I cuddled up in my blanket on the settee and watched Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye in ‘White Christmas’ in the afternoon. MMMMMMM!  Lovely!

  

I am so loving opening all my little presents from Burnice.  Thanks so much!  Here is what I have opened so far (plus my lovely poinsettia plant which was day number 1.

Lucy’s birthday party

I am cheating here!  I didn’t take any of these photos!!  But here’s a little taste of Lucy’s birthday party:

‘The theme was ‘dress as a popstar’.  The village people dropped by to sing us YMCA!  (That’s Tom – Lucy’s boyfriend - 3rd from the left)  They had been practising LOL!

Freddie Mercury dropped by to say happy birthday to Lucy (who sort of dressed up to be Lady Gaga!)

Brittney Spears and Meatloaf came together!  What a suprise!!! (Tom’s Mum and partner)

Here’s the mottley crew from college.  I think Posh Spice is in there with her trademark sunglasses on!

Here’s a cute photo of Lucy with Tom’s stepbrothers.

Tom’s brother, Dad and Lucy

And finally, here we are with our gorgeous daughter!

HAPPY 18th BIRTHDAY LUCY!!!!

Wednesday, Thursday, Friday

On Wednesday I spent the day in London on a training day at Family Action HQ.

I hate going to London!  The training was OK, but the best bit was meeting people from other projects.  I met some fab people from the adult mental health project in Balham, they were great fun! 

 

ON Thursday Mum adn I went to Old Barn Nurseries – our favourite local (ish) garden centre.  They had such a lot of Christmas stuff!  Here’s my favourite, Santa on his sleigh being pulled by his reindeer, complete with falling snow!

Today I have been into work again to help put up the Christmas decorations:

Lucy’s 18th birthday

OMG!  Is it really 18 years since we had Lucy!  It has whizzed by!Well. we had a really great day – Lucy woke up early (6am!) and went round to Tom’s for her pressies from him before coming home to us.  Then we went for a dog walk:

 

followed by hot chocolate with whipped cream:

Then we came home and pottered about –clearing the dining room etc.  In the afternoon we drove into Brighton with Mum and met Maurice at the Grand Hotel for a very posh (and expensive) afternoon tea: (not a terribly flattering photo of Maurice!)

In the evening, my borther and his family came round and Tom for a take away Chinese:

and she blew out the candles:

Afterwards she went out for a drink with her cousin Michelle and  boyfriend James.   What a great day!