All is well....

Hi everyone,
Just a short message to let you all know that Lorraine (aka Mama) is now out of the hospital and doing well: very sore, obviously, but certainly on the mend. We are looking after her and insisting she put her feet up: she is hating every minute!

Thank you for all of your warm thoughts and kind wishes, which were well received, and which mum loved reading (as she always loves reading your comments)

We are hoping she will be up and about, and posting again, in the New Year. Merry Christmas!

Victoria (Lorraine's eldest daughter)

Merry Christmas

Bertie's Mummy and Daddy are back from their honeymoon after a rather turbulent flight.  Consequently Bertie is on his way home excited to see them and share all his adventures.  It has been wonderful to have this special time with him, to love and spoil him.  Some very special memories have been made and lots of photos taken ready for some scrapbooking in the wintery days ahead.

 

I have already made a good start on the cleaning and clearing away of the toys.  The beds are changed and preparations are in full swing for the next lot of visitors who arrive on Saturday.  The freezer is bulging with goodies that I have already made.

 

I may not be around for a short while as I am going into hospital for surgery tomorrow.  I have been in some pain and uncomfortable for awhile so it will be a relief to get it done.  I am having a cholecystectomy (gall bladder removed), hopefully it will be keyhole surgery I suppose time will tell with that one.

 

I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone for their wonderful comments and to wish you all a very merry Christmas or greetings for the season.  I will catch up with all your blogs as soon as I can.

 

See you soon.

Its Beginning To Sound Like Christmas...

Everywhere you go the sound of Christmas can be heard, the happy chit chat of young children and the Christmas music wherever you go.  I have had two excited little girls telling me all about there adventure ice-skating at the weekend.  Bertie, Grandad and I are enjoying a variety of sounds of the season including some old LPs.  We have even had a couple of hours playing on the musical instruments along to some of the Christmas songs, its certainly a musical, magical time.

 

A wonderful time of year.  Are you enjoying the sounds of the season?

 

See you soon.

Holiday Highlight

Our time with Bertie is coming to an end, its his last day with us tomorrow before heading back to his Mummy and Daddy Tuesday.  We have had a ball, enjoying the preparations for Christmas through the eyes of a child again has been a real delight.  Baking, crafting, dancing and listening to Christmas music is amazing with a three year old, not quite what I had planned but amazing none the less.

One of the highlights of the holiday was a trip to meet our daughter and grandson for a trip on the narrow gauge steam train from Wroxham to Aylsham to meet up with Santa Claus.  The photographs say it all.

Exciting times for two very happy little boys.  Hope you have all had a happy weekend.

 

See you soon.

 

It's Begining To Smell Like Christmas...

 

I wish you could all smell my house right now...it is definitely beginning to smell like Christmas, with its mixture of aromatic spices and deliciousness its doesn't get any better.  I have started my Christmas baking for the freezer so I don't put myself under pressure later.  Mince pies were the order of the day for todays baking.



A nutty crumble top with peel and an avalanche of icing sugar.

 

Pastry topped decadence a thrill for the senses.  It wouldn't be Christmas without a mince pie.

 

A tin full ready to take down to Mum and Dad, ready for family visitors.

 

A fulfilling few hours with the lingering smell left to tease us.  Have you done any Christmas baking yet?

 

See you soon.

Deck the Halls...

I have had some great fun this year decking the halls ready for Christmas, I have had the pleasure of sharing some treasured decorations with my Grandson, Bertie.  I have been able to tell him stories about his Mummy and show him some of the baubles that she bought or made.  We had a tradition of going to London together and looking at the Harrods Christmas display where she always bought me a trinket, lovely memories.  I still have some of the beautiful German wooden decorations that make an appearance some years, as a family we used to love going to the German Christmas markets, we haven't been for some time.  We also have quite a collection of Disney ornaments bought in Florida from the Christmas store at Downtown Disney, so quite a mix.  A real mixture of styles that seem to work for us.

The tree in all its glory, it did need a few adjustments once Bertie went to bed.  He was very careful with the baubles and loved to hear some of the stories behind them.  He is missing his Mummy and Daddy a little, so some extra spoiling is needed.

The Disney mantel is starting to take shape, but still needs a few adjustments and some bows need to be added when I get a few moments.  The Thomas advent calendar has been a big hit, a great way for them to recognise numbers.

The coffee table started off well with some beautiful glass bowls for sweets and such but not a good idea with a three year old, so have been removed so that there is enough room for the cars.

The Royal Albert Christmas plates have taken pride of place on the window ledge in the lounge, they need some green behind them to make them pop, maybe later...

It wouldn't be Christmas without a Santa Claus to watch over the proceedings.

 

A start has been made and enjoyed.   My husband and I have had a ball with Bertie and we also had a little surprise visit this week from our eldest daughter and our beautiful Grandson Wilbur so lots of fun and catching up with each other.

 

How are your preparations coming along?

 

See you soon.

Christmas Card Swap

One of the nicest things about Christmas is Christmas cards.  I love getting them from friends and family, particularly ones I don't see very often and get notes and letters filling me in with all the news.  Technology has made it so much easier to keep in touch but I still love the old fashioned post, through the letter box picking it up from the door mat.  That is one of the reasons that I got involved with the Christmas card swap organized by the lovely Amy atlovemademyhome.blogspot.co.uk/.  I was lucky enough to be paired with Rachel atjaquesrhymeswithcakes.blogspot.co.uk/. 

This is the beautiful card that I received:

 

A beautifully crafted card, a crochet tree topped with a stunning red/white checked bow and gold lettering.  It really was a stunner and greatly appreciated.  Thank you so much Rachel and also  a big thanks to Amy for organizing the swap.

 

My tree and decorations are finally up and it is beginning to look a bit like Christmas around here, but I will save that for another post.  How are your preparations coming along?

 

See you soon.

Church Farm Museum

Thank you so much for all your wonderful comments about the wedding.  I have found the whole experience of sharing it with you quite uplifting.  Family and friends are still talking about it which I have found humbling.  The most popular photo on social media has been the vintage bike with the stencilled box full of flowers, one of my favourites too.

Bertie has been a joy to have, we have done some wonderful crafting projects together and read a Christmas themed book each evening.  A real joy.  Yesterday we took him for a visit to The Church Farm Museum in Skegness and spent some quality time visiting a bygone era.  Bertie loved the different crafting sheds particularly the wood turners, he loved the Victorian toys.

We had great fun looking at some of the machinery, the tractors were a real hit.

We had fun in the kitchen warming our hands near the range and icing gingerbread men.

 

The Christmas tree was a real delight to look at, we loved the paper chains and came home and made some for Bertie's bedroom and the craft room.  Great fun.

 

There was also a very special visitor in the farmhouse kitchen, warming himself by the range and eating mince pies.

 

Father Christmas...a truly wonderful experience.  I feel blessed that I was able to share this moment with my Grandson, they were chattering away like old friends.

 

There was also a delightful tearoom with Christmas Fayre and cakes on sale, Bertie and Grandad had a feast.

 

Well worth the visit, on the list to go back again when it is a little warmer so that we can enjoy the garden.

 

See you soon.

Wedding - Part 3

I won't bore you with any more of the wedding photos BUT,  there is always a but isn't there?  I thought you would like to share with me the end of the night, with only one little girl left standing.  The grandchildren were amazing and walked down the aisle at church perfectly, stood for photographs and were well behaved throughout the day.

Here's to them....

Good health...

 

See you soon.