Sue's Blog - Some assembly required.

Hawkeye

The hawk is still around.
I do admit that it is beautiful but I wish he would go and sit in someone else's tree.
Christmas is approaching at a gallop.
I start so early and yet it seems to catch up with me faster and faster every year.

Cakes & puddings are made but I have to ice and marzipan the small ones early this year.
Philip takes them into work as gifts and this year he has managed to book some holiday starting at the end of the week before Christmas (Dec 19th) and going right through until after the New Year.
This is something of a first for him.
Plus, a couple of his team are going to be off the end of  his last week.
So, it looks like those cakes will have to be ready by about Monday 15th.
I shall have to get a wiggle on.

We sent two Christmas gifts into the school for the dreadfully poor kids.  One was for a specific child and then we bought an 'extra' in case any children were going to miss out.  Philip then phoned me a couple of days later to say he had had an email (not just him) to say that they were still short of gifts.  Short of 40 gifts to be precise.
40......that is awful.   Someone really made bloomer there.  How can you have 40 kids with no present from Father Christmas?
So, that evening we went out and bought another one.
The previous two had been girls presents so this time we bought for a boy.
I quickly wrapped it and labelled it for a boy and the age 6+, when we got home and Philip took it in the next day.
He tried to shame a couple of his friends into buying just one gift but they weren't interested.
The lady at work was thrilled when he arrived with another but I hope next year it is organized a bit better and I won't have to worry about children being left out.

One of my friends crocheted these snowflakes for me.
They arrived in the mail.  I am so happy with them.  I put them on the tree straight away.
She is so clever. They are so intricate.

Here is this year's Christmas Tree in all its glory.
I have just finished decorating the rest of the house (bathroom too) and it looks like Santa's Grotto.
Each year I think about not putting so much stuff out but it is only once a year and it does make the dark days of Winter a bit more bearable...........so I end up doing it anyway. I will post some more photos next time.

Today I am going to make some mince pies.  Well why not?   In England it is so very easy to get everything you need for Christmas......mince pies, Christmas Cake, Christmas Puddings, Yule logs and lovely things like selection boxes  etc.  The shops are full of wonderful Christmas treats, you can really buy everything you need so easily.  When I am there in October I trundle around buying as much as I can carry (in the suitcase to come home) but can never get all the things I really love.
Here, if we want it, I have to make it from scratch.  They do not have the same Christmas traditions and there are no Christmas cakes etc.
When I thought about it I realised that over there people are probably already buying and scoffing mince pies, so why shouldn't we?
I shall make the first batch today and then make more for Christmas.
Yummy.
I am also making an iced ginger cake in the shape of a Christmas tree for the week before Christmas.
If Alan behaves himself I might make one for Alanmas too!!!

posted by Sue Banks @ 10:40 AM