2025 Round up - 1/1/26

Before I look forward to  2026 I ought to recap the last week or so of 2025.

Our eldest son Matthew, wife Amy and Grandsons Noah and Miles arrived here on 20th December and stayed until last Monday (29th).  It was lovely to have such a long visit with them.  And of course our daughter and her family were here for Christmas Day and Boxing Day.  Then we all went to an extended family get together hosted by one of our nephews on the 27th.

They went to a Nativity at a church near our daughter's house

Lots of games were played!

Ella, Miles, Nathan & Noah

We managed to get them to pose - just!

Christmas lunch

We walked to the lake and fed the ducks and swans.

Grandpa joined in the fun too.

That was the only slight disappointment of the holiday - Nick was unwell for most of the time - he started feeling unwell the Friday before Christmas and is only now feeling more like himself.  He has coughed and coughed and coughed!  And had soooo much congestion.  Not sure if it was flu or even Covid - who knows these days but he was really not well.  Thankfully he seemed to keep his germs to himself as the rest of us were fine.

And of course it's hard when part of the family are so far away (in Vermont USA) but we did Face time them and of course we got pictures:

This is outside their Daddy's office which faces the state building in Montpelier.  They've had plenty of snow and a night of freezing rain gave my son an extra day at home on the 26th as the offices remained closed.

After our eldest son and his crew went home it was nice to enjoy the quiet and get out for a walk on my own.  It was just as the sun was setting when I left the lake.

I did the final day's puzzle.  I have done this puzzle showing every day of the year.  It was gifted to me by my youngest son and his wife last Christmas.  I'd like to say I'd done the puzzle ON each day but there were times when I was playing catch up - particularly when we went away but I have a photo of all the dates of 2025.

I also completed the 52 book club challenge of reading 52 books according to a set of prompts.

2025 has been a good year overall.  3 of our nieces and nephews got married - we attended 2 of the weddings.  We welcomed 2 more babies to the family - there are now 21 littles ones in the grandchildren generation in Hubbie's family.  We visited our son and family in Vermont for Thanksgiving.  We made 2 trips to Hubbie's sister and family in France and we had a few days away with 3 of my cousins and their husbands.

So many blessings.

Here's to a happy and healthy 2026.  Happy New Year all.

Christmas period recap 31/12/24

It feels an age since I posted a blog.  The few days leading up to Christmas were busy trying to get the last bits of shopping done and the house ready.  

I also participated in the Food Bank Christmas Hamper project which involved helping set out the church hall on the Saturday, packing hampers on the Sunday and then delivering them on the Monday before Christmas.  People had been incredibly generous and all the users of the Food Bank had lots of nice treats as well as the makings of a Christmas dinner.

On Christmas Day we had our daughter and her family here so it was fairly quiet for us, although of course a 7 year old Grandson and 4 year old Granddaughter can make a lot of noise between them!

Cooking the dinner was a bit of a military operation to try and make sure everything came together on time.  Turkey and beef plus all the trimmings.  And of course pudding to follow - after quite a break as we were so full.

They stayed over and spent most of Boxing Day with us too.

The day after (27th) our eldest son and his family came down from Nottingham and stayed until yesterday.  Of course we all got together a couple of times and I did remember to take some photos.

(Well I remembered to get my daughter to take some!)

The children love seeing one another but of course we missed Rory and Vinny (and their parents) although we did Facetime them and they were having a lovely time with their American cousins.

The weather wasn't great over Christmas but yesterday it was dry so we got the kids out for a walk.

And of course Ness.

Ella joined us back at our house after the walk as she'd been to have some routine jabs in the morning.

Today has been a much quieter day with no family here but it was nice to just relax and enjoy some leftovers!  As usual I bought too much food.

And now I'm watching Jools Holland's Annual Hootenanny show on TV and it's already past midnight so.....

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO YOU!

Friday's Fave Five - 29/12/23

And it's Friday again!  Time to look back on the blessings of the past week and share them here.  Thanks to our host Susanne for reminding us each week.  We often do need to take a step back and realise how fortunate we are.

1)  Christmas hampers all packed and delivered to the beneficiaries of the Food bank.  I helped out last Saturday with packing the final items into hampers then Hubby and I delivered 3 of them.  I was really pleased to see the amount of food that we were able to provide to people but saddened to see how many people were going to be on their own for Christmas dinner - opting for a Ready Meal rather that any sort of joint.  The hampers also had a lot of treats in them as well though so hopefully they will have given some enjoyment to all our beneficiaries.  It was a lovely atmosphere amongst the volunteers while we were preparing the hampers and I'm glad to have been a part of it.

2)  Christmas with all the family here.  Our eldest son and his family had been here since Thursday 21st but our other son and our daughter and all their families were here for Christmas Day.  14 of us in total.

I was up to midnight the night before getting everything prepped.  And once I'd worked out my timetable I was able to go to bed not feeling stressed.

They all laughed at how detailed my list was - even down to reminders about putting condiments on the table but knowing I'd left nothing to chance made me feel a lot more in control!

We didn't get a decent photo of all of us at the table - and it was hard getting all the grandchildren to sit still for a photo - these were probably the best of a bad lot:

Ella, Rory, Nathan, Noah, Vinny & Miles

3)  Good weather on Boxing Day so that they were able to take the children to the park for some fresh air and to run off some of their energy.  

4) Quiet time today.  My son and his family left for their home in Nottingham this morning and, although I loved having the whole family here for Christmas it was nice to just be able to sit and relax.

5)  I'm thankful that we made the move to this house when we did.  It is a bit crowded when we're all together but there is room for us all to be together and for everyone to sleep over as they did Christmas night.  The layout in our previous house wouldn't have made it possible for us to do that.  Of course as the children get older and bigger it won't be so easy but hopefully we're making lots of happy memories for them to be able to look back on.

And now the New Year approaches.  Hubby and I will probably celebrate it quietly as we usually do.

Happy New Year to you all.

Goodbye 2020 & here's to 2021!

When I posted my last Friday's Fave Five we were still on course for a family Christmas.  We were all so looking forward to getting together as a family.  It would have been the first time the new babies met each other - and the first time all the aunties and uncles would have met all of them.  It was going to be wonderful.  I had the house prepared, tables borrowed and so on.  It was so exciting.

But Covid numbers were rising and there were rumours of the 5 day Christmas break being reduced and we were being asked to be sensible and use our common sense.

Then on 19th December London was locked down, again, due to rising Covid cases.  Christmas was cancelled.  We had gone from Tier 2 to Tier 4 in just a couple of weeks.  We were (and still are) on a Stay at Home order. 

This of course meant my son and his family would have to stay in Nottingham.  Thankfully they were able to see his in-laws who live nearby and who they are in a support bubble with so their Christmas wasn't totally ruined.

We then had a dilemma.  We had formed a support bubble with my daughter and her family so we could still see them but that would mean excluding my younger son and his family.

After much debate and soul searching and, given that we have all been really careful during the whole pandemic but particularly in the week or so leading up to Christmas, we settled on spending Christmas Eve at my daughter's house, doing presents, big dinner etc and then my son and his family came here on Christmas day and stayed until the next day.  We all agreed we were using common sense.

It was wonderful having them here after hardly seeing them but it was heartbreaking when they went home, not knowing when we will be able to see them properly again.   We did get out for a walk while they were here:

 

As you can see we still needed our wellies and poor Rory kept saying "I don't like it" when he was sinking in the mud lol.  He only fell over once bless him but we were glad of the foresight of taking wipes to clean up his hands and the all in one waterproof suit!

We managed to use the large turkey I'd ordered in anticipation of there being 8 adults for dinner and couldn't subsequently cancel.  Nick's turkey broth was excellent as usual although it never tastes the same twice as there is no recipe to be followed.  His turkey curry went down well too.

I don't think we've finished all the parsnips though.  I ordered 2 packs of the honey roasting parsnips as on the left in the picture.  I intended using one with our meal at our daughter's and one at home with our son and family.

 

Unfortunately the supermarket only supplied 1 of the ready prepared pack.  So they substituted with ordinary parsnips as on the right.  6 bags of them!  Just one bag was probably more than the prepared version but 6!  The good thing is that I've grown to like parsnips over the last couple of years but not by that much lol.

But now Christmas is done and we're about to see in the new year.  My decorations are still up and will probably come down at the weekend.  

2020 has been the strangest year of my life and it's been hard not being able to see family and friends as we would like but, we have all stayed well and although those who work may have found that working from home isn't all they thought it might be they do still have jobs.

We have moved house and gained 3 grandchildren.  That's how I'm going to remember this year and hope that 2021 is even better.

Wishing you all a better, and healthy year to come.

Friday's Fave Five - 18/12/20

Well when I sat down to prepare this post it was still Friday but the clock has since ticked over into Saturday.  A gap of 2 weeks again since I posted.  Days are flying by at the moment but that's why it's good to just stop for a moment and think about the good things going on (especially during these difficult times) and join in with Susanne at Living to tell the Story (and others) and share.

1)  Despite an absence of 2 weeks this post will bring my total posts this year to 241 - the same as in 2019 so that's a positive for me.  2019 was my best blogging year for a while so to equal that feels like an achievement and maybe, just maybe, I might get a couple more posts done before we welcome in 2021.

2)  Being part of the blogging community.  I was looking back over my last couple of posts just now and it was lovely to see lots of comments on them.  I haven't had much time lately to respond to them or leave comments elsewhere but I definitely appreciate knowing that I'm not alone!  

3)  Stamina.  We're still spending quite a bit of time at our daughter's house helping out with the new baby, the toddler and a Mummy who is still recovering, especially now our daughter is back at work.  At work being in the top floor bedroom and therefore in reach of the toddler who actually has been quite good about that, at least while Grandpa is there anyway.  With the travelling there and back these have been quite long days so I'm glad that I've been coping with it all but it is very tiring and I sit down in the evening having good intentions about posting a blog or at least visiting blogs but usually find myself falling asleep in front of the TV or just going to bed early.  Things are improving though and Ella is still being quite a good baby.  And of course it's lovely having time with her while she's so little. (Although she's gaining weight really well and seems heavier every time we go!)

4)  Covid restrictions are still being relaxed here in the UK for a short period over Christmas (23rd to 27th December) so we will still be able to get together as a family.  There has been a lot of debate about the wisdom of this, I could/should probably write a whole post about it.  However, we can get together with all our kids within the rules and it will give us the first opportunity for all the grandchildren, especially the new ones, to be together since I can't even remember when.  (Possibly back in February!)

5)  Plans coming together for Christmas - such as we now have a new fridge and freezer.  Hubby's hifi system is now set up and our TV is on the wall.  We have a new bed frame and the mattress is due to arrive on Sunday.  This will help with sleeping arrangements.  Online shopping making things easier.  My Christmas decorations are up!  My cards have been posted.  My to do list doesn't seem to get any shorter but I'm definitely ticking things off!

We even have lights outside.  Not a huge display but I felt the need to do something.  Our new area has lots and lots of houses that are decorated.  One road has even set up this:

We'll enjoy taking the little ones for a walk next week to see some of the displays.

Well, definitely time I was off to bed.

In case I don't get back here again before next week I wish you all a safe and happy Christmas, hopefully with those you love.

Christmas Round Up 2019

Phew it's been a busy few days.  Monday was spent going over to my daughter's house and collecting the chairs they'd hired for Christmas dinner.  I also had to sort out a puncture which was annoying but done fairly quickly.

Tuesday we got everything together to take with us.

Things like extra plates, bowls, large cooking pots etc.  Basically anything that was going to be needed for the Christmas dinner that the girls didn't have!

It took a while, but eventually we set off.

Nathan was so excited to see his Grandpa.  He also thought it was hilarious that we all had the same PJs for Christmas.

The Doctors set we bought him was a definite hit.

After present opening on Christmas morning it was full steam ahead with dinner prep.

Catering for 12 takes a lot of work but it was definitely worth it:

Everyone seemed to enjoy the food and I think Vicky was pleased with how it all turned out.

Boxing day was definitely quieter and yesterday, after returning the hire chairs we headed home.

We managed to video time Noah and his parents.  Noah clearly had a good time with his other Nanny and Granddad - they wore him out lol

 

And Rory seems to have got over the jet lag that had him waking in the early hours of the morning!

So we all had a good time.  I hope you did too!

Home for a rest! 27/12/18

I'm back from a wonderful Christmas break with all my family.  We all stayed together in this lovely house just outside Broadstairs in Kent.  (11 of us in total, Hubby, me, our 3 kids, their wives and the 3 Grandsons.)

 
I took these photos yesterday and regretted not taking them on Christmas Eve when the weather was better.

 This is us all sitting down for Christmas dinner, only Rory is missing - I guess he must have been sleeping! (And Vicky who took the photo!)

 We had such fun with these 3 this year.  Can only imagine what chaos they will cause when they're all running around.  It was hard enough work just keeping track of what Nathan was up to!  The other 2 mainly stay put at the moment although Rory has worked out how to roll over and over so he also needs to be closely watched.)

This was taken on Christmas Eve when most of us managed to get out for a walk.  The weather was so mild for this time of year although it did get a bit chilly once the sun went down so we headed back before it got dark.

We arrived on Sunday and came home today (Thursday) so we had 4 nights together and it was lovely.  We didn't do a great deal apart from plenty of eating, drinking and playing games.  We did get out for a walk one afternoon but it was just good to enjoy being all together and relax.

Yes I did relax, especially once Christmas dinner was cooked and ready to eat.  Organising that was a little bit stressful, especially working in a strange kitchen but I had a good team of helpers and I was able to mainly sit and delegate tasks.  I'm getting better at bossing people about delegating!

Fortunately the kitchen was well equipped and also had 2 ovens and a five ring hob so we were able to get everything cooked reasonably smoothly and we weren't too late sitting down to dinner.

Unfortunately the time flew by and it was time to pack up and return home.  In time for the engineer to fix our heating, again!  It broke down the morning we left so the house was very cold when we got back but nice and toasty now.

Tomorrow we're meeting up with members of Nick's extended family so that will be fun.  Then I think it will be a few quiet days to recharge our batteries.