How is everyone doing? Are you all ok? I'm definitely feeling very swan-like at the moment, seemingly coping very well on the surface and juggling all my balls but underneath there's a lot of frantic paddling, unsettled nights, endless to-do lists, hours and hours of wrapping presents and trying to make sure I haven't missed anything. I haven't properly sat and stitched or relaxed for what feels like weeks, my evenings being taken up with admin for end of term Guiding, writing risk assessments for cinema trips, writing cards, packing online orders, filling in forms and goodness knows what else.
I think it is perhaps worse this year because for the first time we have little nursery friends for Baby F to write cards for, teacher gifts to think up, extra Christmas parties and events that we're attending and our weekends haven't been free at all for us to take a breather. We've seen Santa in various places, just keeping bumping into him(!) and have attended Baby F's first ever Nativity! In which he was Rudolph...the Grinch was also present at the birth of Jesus which was very interesting.
The weather has sunk into a gloomy, wet and windy mood which probably doesn't help. We had a fantastic randomly sunny day at the weekend and managed to take advantage of it with a quick half an hour at Sheffield Park to feed the ducks, look at their Snowman trail and let the sproglet run off some steam. Since then it's just been dismal and doesn't ever seem to get light. We have to keep our lights on inside the whole day!
Baby F is absolutely loving nursery and has made several friends, including his main supervisor Jade (who he calls Lily??? Reason unknown.) who is brilliant. The other week he brought home the nursery dog, Frank, who has a diary that he likes you to fill in after your week together, showing all of the things that you've done and places you've been. Reading through Frank's previous diary entries, he spent 10 days in Egypt earlier in the year!! I'm not sure we can top that but he did come with us to the Uckfield Late Night Shopping event, and to the Festival of Christmas Trees at Holy Cross Church, and then to a party with a bouncy castle and scooter things. Baby F was super excited to have him stay and introduced him to all of his other teddy bears and stuffed toys the minute we got home - before settling down for a movie and popcorn night together which was very sweet.
The Christmas tree festival is always very popular and you have to get there quite early to avoid the queue. We didn't go last year because you could see the queue was enormously long but this year we thought Baby F would have the patience to sit and wait in it so took our place in the line.
It was lovely to see the church all lit up and to walk along a path lined with candles in jam jars, very festive. Inside was incredible - they have over 100 trees crammed in there. I had been during the week to decorate a tree for Girlguiding Uckfield District so I had an inkling of what it would look like, but to be there when it was all fully decorated and lit up was brilliant.
Frank had a nice time too.
My stitching time is mostly limited to my coffee mornings, but I did snatch 10 minutes on the bus the other weekend as it was daylight and I could see what colours I was using. We are nearly at the shortest day now, huzzah! The worst bit about catching the bus is when you get it in the dark at both ends of the day. There aren't even any fun sunrises or sunsets to inspire you this time of year. This hoop has been hanging around forever and really needs finishing off! I might get some time to do that this evening perhaps which would be nice.
We are definitely winding down for Christmas now. I keep thinking it is on a weekend this year but it's a week today to Christmas day!! Ours will be slightly different from our usual as some of Reece's family plans have changed and we are having a rather quiet Christmas day round my parent's house as just us five. Reece and I are cooking fish for Christmas dinner (crusted sea bass most likely), but then on Boxing Day my sister and brother and families are joining us for a belated 'traditional' Christmas dinner and present opening session.
Before then though we have most of Reece's family squeezing into our flat for a pre-Christmas, Christmas shindig in lieu of the actual day so the children can open their presents and we can celebrate together, then we have an uncle's birthday party on Christmas Eve, followed by a Christmas Eve evening at Bedgebury Pinetum to see the lights!! There's a lot to come in the next seven days. I'll have to see you on the other side!
I will hopefully have a few other blog posts coming out in the next couple of days as I can catch up with those this afternoon but they have more specific topics rather than a chatty catch up so, have a very Merry Christmas!! Just keep paddling.
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