Busy Doing Nothing

These first few days after Christmas are some of my very favourite of the whole year. I do love that holiday rush to fit in friends and relations before the Big Day; but once it's gone, I relish the thought of the four of us closing the door and rediscovering just how much we enjoy each others company. We have plenty of food, and more than enough new entertainment, to keep us going for the rest of the week. We've been feasting and laughing and relaxing. And we hope that you have too. Later today, we'll venture out for a walk by the river. But no further than that. The Sales hold no attraction just yet, when we are still so delighted with our gifts. I'm going to finish up the final few pages of my Christmas Journal, too, and catch up on some blogs. I'm looking forward to reading about your festivities. And then, I think, I'll stretch out on the sofa and enjoy a film. Pass the remote, please, and let's open the chocolates..

It Could Almost Be Christmas!

Oh, I'm getting that "we're nearly there!" feeling. Are you excited yet? I am. I had a marathon wrapping spree this morning and I think I won. It's always a bit hard to tell, because I'm really not very good. For someone who spends her every spare moment cutting pieces of paper apart and glueing them back together again, I put in a pretty poor showing in the gift wrapping department. I can make little tiny scraps do exactly what I want them to do - but big sheets? They just won't behave. And when they get together with the sticky tape? Mmm. The less said, the better. It's the thought that counts, though. Am I right?

I've got a few more December pages finished too - not in any order. I'm just going with the flow. Starting to love this 8x8 size. It's compact and bijou, as the estate agents round here would say. Cute, too. I think I'll do more in the New Year. I hope your plans are moving along nicely. Are we going to be ready in time? I think we are!

Today I'm Loving...Girls who don't keep all the good ideas to themselves. This gift pouch tutorial by Petrina McDonald is a fabulous example. Happy Week Before Christmas!

Lemsip And Lassitude

On Friday morning a couple of our merry band woke up feeling Not Quite Right. School was out. Staying in bed was in. A change of plan I should have predicted the night before, really, as I sat making a careful list of places to go and people to see. But that's the way life is, especially in December. My Christmas Countdown just wouldn't be complete without a day or two of lemsipping and lasstitude. So, as we sat huddled on the sofa (one of us hoping the snooker would be on soon and one of us wishing for a major televisual incident which would prevent the snooker ever being on again), I thought about other Christmasses and the bits we look out for every year. I came up with a bit of a list, looking something like this. Call them traditions if you like. This is Christmas

• Every year my brother arrives off the LA plane and the second thing he says after "Cor, Sian, lend us another sweater, it's a bit cold here isn't it?" is "Have you made my zippies yet?" And then he watches me taking a batch of mince pies out of the oven and nods with satisfaction. "I see you have." I quite like making mince pies and I really like eating them; but I never have cracked the art of sticking them together. They unzip themselves in the oven. That's why they are zippies. Side note: I need to remember that this year he probably won't do the sweater thing. Given that he's moved to Connecticut.
• Every year I bring out the wooden nativity set we've had since our first married Christmas, and every year I set out the figures and set aside the 200 lolly sticks which make up the stable. So The Accountant (who loves Ikea possibly more than life itself) finds himself with a nice little flat pack challenge when he comes in. I like to think of it as an extra present.
• Every year one of my friends from school - a dear, good friend, Godmother to The Small One - drops by with some presents. And every year we exchange news before slipping into our well rehearsed routine. She starts with " Remember that school dance when we were in sixth form?" She follows with "But you weren't up on the stage singing the Frog Chorus, were you? Someone saw you heading out the door with a giant branch of mistletoe." And I counter with, "But you know how it was with those school dances. Sometimes you had to make your own entertainment." And then we both smile happily and know that it's Christmas

Still going with my December Album:

December Continued

I'm still going with my December Album and I have three more pages to show you today. I've been asked about the misting..it's Maya Mist and I have four bottles - orange, blue, brown and green - which, handily enough, happen to be the colours I've chosen for my album. My technique might still be a bit hit-and-miss (although not so much miss since I discovered the spray-your-page-inside-a-cardboard-box trick); but what I love is the speed. It's easy to create a bit of interest on the page. Fast. And you know I like fast. I also like a bit of sewing and these are the first two canvas pages I've done. One has a rubon border and the other has proper cross stitch. It wasn't fast and I'm not sure I'd do it again; but it was fun to experiment. What do you think?

Today I'm Loving...The most unusual cross stitch kits I've come across in a long time. It's Banksy as you've never seen him before. Here