I thought I'd document our Covid Christmas as it was markedly different to other years.

Christmas Eve started with Andy nipping out to work. I cleaned the downstairs loo (festive!) and then showered. I continued with some vacuuming and general tidying. Once Andy was home we had lunch (noodles if my memory serves) and then we embarked on a baking session. Whilst Andy made Scotch eggs (his best yet), I made some Yorkshire pudding batter and while it rested I baked some sausage rolls, and vol-au-vent cases ready for supper on Christmas Day.

Then I popped my Yorkshires into the oven and Andy set about peeling potatoes and parsnips ready to part roast and finish cooking for lunch the next day. This was my first attempt at Yorkshire puddings, as I usually cheat with Aunt Bessie's, I thought it was about time I put on my big girl pants and gave them a go. I FaceTimed my Mum so she could see them being taken out of the oven. She was impressed, they came out rather well, even if I do say so myself.

I cut a piece of our Christmas Cake to pop into my Dad's Christmas Day bag, which contained a gift, a Christmas cracker, some Celebrations chocolates and other festive treats. I'd dropped a bag off for my Mum the day before.

My Dad came over for the evening (we've formed a support bubble with him as he lives alone) and I cooked a not very festive but delicious lasagna which we followed with Christmas pudding and custard. Andy thinks we're weird for eating our pudding with custard but after 11 years together he's decided that it's actually rather tasty, if still weird, and has stopped insisting on Brandy butter (yuck!).

Naturally there were crackers pulled, terrible jokes told (when do astronauts eat lunch? At launch time!), and the paper crowns where (and always are) compulsory.

Following supper we played a card game, Newmarket, which has been played by Andy's family at Christmas for generations. Once we'd reminded ourselves of the rules we had great fun, Andy didn't win many games which is most unusual, and it was a close race between Dad and I but I won by the skin of my teeth.

Snacks littered the table and even though we'd eaten enough we still managed to munch our way through bowls of roasted peanuts, pretzels, crisps, and Celebrations.

BBC1 had been on in the background the whole time. Once the card game had been concluded Dad made his way home. After a quick tidy up it was time for bed.

Christmas Day started reasonably early. We opened a few presents whilst we drank our first cuppa of the day. Andy likes to spread the presents out over the course of the day, whereas I'd always opened everything in the morning after breakfast. We do it his way these days. We had scrambled egg and smoked salmon on toast for breakfast - a tradition from my childhood, we always enjoyed a cooked breakfast together, and in later years my brother and I did the cooking.

After breakfast I FaceTimed my Mum, we pulled crackers (paper crowns compulsory) and we opened a few presents together. For the passed few years we've done a Secret Santa in my family but I felt an extra present was necessary this year. I gave her some mushroom garden ornaments and a tiny 100 piece puzzle that required tweezers to handle the tiny pieces. She thought the piece of Christmas cake I'd wrapped for her was a hunk of Stilton cheese (which would've been an interesting choice as she's not a fan), but it caused a few giggles.

Next I FaceTimed my Dad and we repeated the pulling of crackers, opening of presents, and he successfully identified his cake as cake. He'd been in his shed that morning working on some screening for his garden and had a walk planned for the afternoon.

After popping the chicken in the oven, we opened some more presents, and watched King's College choir (I think). Neither of us really wanted anything this year, and neither of us had any truly inspired ideas of what to give each other. Andy received lots of clothes and some DVDs, along with a dustpan and brush to use when sweeping the ash from the hearth (a dull present as far as I'm concerned but he was grateful), and a joke present of three huge pots of Swarfega in an attempt to keep his grubby hands to a minimum.

Andy gave me a teabags in bulk as I've been unable to buy my favourite green tea recently (I've got no idea where he found them), some PJ bottoms, a selection of books, a water butt, a doorstop (both requested by me), and some popcorn in various flavours. And some slipper boots. 

Soon it was time to cook, and having prepped a lot the day before it was a pretty simple exercise. It was delicious and I have to admit I enjoyed our leisurely lunch more than the usual hectic affair with nieces and nephews. I'm never allowed to sit next to Andy as nieces claim their places next to me so it was nice to be able to chat and enjoy each others company uninterrupted. I did miss seeing everyone though.

After lunch we FaceTimed with Andy's family. We opened our Christmas decoration secret Santa gifts. It's the third year running we've exchanged tree decorations and it's probably my favourite part of the day. Everyone really enjoys it, especially the kids.

Soon after we drove to Andy's parents where we went for a walk. It was a bit soft and slippery underfoot and it was on the chilly side but it was nice to see them in person after not having done so for months. Feeling the cold on my skin and filling my lungs with crisp winter air felt wonderful.

At home we watched Eastenders, having had a conversation about never having seen a Christmas Day episode. We'd also wanted to watch the Queen's speech that afternoon but timings didn't allow, we watched at a later date on iPlayer instead.

We had a buffet supper - sausage rolls, scotch eggs, samosas, pakoras, prawn vol-au-vents, salad, dips, crisps - and had a bet as to whether or not we'd be able to eat half of the food we'd placed on the table. We did just about manage to eat half but forfeited pudding, which makes it the first Christmas ever that I haven't eaten anything sweet on Christmas Day!

I can't remember what time we went to bed but I was ready for it by the time my head hit the pillow.

Boxing day started with another FaceTime call to my Mum, we'd planned to go for a walk but the weather was horrid so we postponed. We had a lazy morning and after lunch, which was an equally delicious reheated roast dinner, we FaceTimed with Andy's family to open some presents whilst sipping tea from Santa mugs. I was given a lovely Magnolia plant, some bubble bath, books, and bubbly. Andy got some boy stuff (tools), socks, and a hamper full of local produce - mostly cheese.

We decided to FaceTime again later in the day and have supper 'together', which for us was a repeat of what we ate yesterday. Once again we were too full for pudding, making it two days in a row without any!

Overall it'd been a fun few days, very different to the years that preceded it but lovely none-the-less. It was nice to do something a little different, be at home more, keep traditions going in new ways, and celebrate with people remotely. I do hope next year is different, but this year has taught me that a little bit of time at home is every bit as nice and enjoyable as being surrounded by family and chaos. This year I got to spend so much more time with Andy which was really rather lovely.

I hope you enjoyed the festivities.

xx

I purchased just one item in October and then nothing in the final two months of 2020. I bought a mustard yellow cardigan, £7.50 with the original tags on, from a charity shop. It took me a tiny bit over my budget but I've reduced my spending so much this year I'm still really pleased with the final total.

LAST YEAR

I purchased a lot in October, November and December in 2019.

In December my first purchase was a new black jumper from Next, £15.00, which has been worn 30 times and is still going strong. A preloved blue long sleeve tee (not pictured), £2.00, was purchased to wear as a PJ top and shows little sign of wear so far.

On the same shopping trip I bought a preloved green jumper, £3.75, which hasn't been worn as much as I thought, but it remains in my wardrobe to be worn again.

There was just one purchase in November, an orange jumper, £2.50, bought during a charity shop rummage with Sophie and Kezzie. It's been worn 15 times so far and each time the bright cheery colour has made me smile.

October bought a bumper crop of preloved items my way.

A black M&S v neck top (not pictured) £3.50. Lace top £3.00. The closest thing I will ever get to a Christmas jumper, £5.99. Also purchased for the Christmas festivities was a stripe sequin top, £6.99, but this was worn in the summer too. Grey jumper £4.75, this one is a particular favourite of mine. It's been worn 42 times so far.

The Tu Premium check coat, £12.50, hasn't been worn much (I haven't been out much this autumn / winter) and I still need to replace it's ugly button, but I think it'll be around for a while.

A black twist front t-shirt (not pictured), £1.50, turned into a forgotten purchase. I think it's somewhere in the suitcase under my bed...  and a check shirt (which can be seen below), £1.90, that was a pig to iron was relegated to the donation pile, after being worn 15 times. I later saw it in my local charity shop with a £3.99 price tag!

I wasn't sure about these coated jeans, £4.99 from ebay, but I've grown to like them.

And finally two bras (not pictured) totaling £11.00.

Final total for 2020: £205.85

Total at this time last year: £400.10

Left of £200.00 budget: -£5.85

Items purchased: 20 (pre-loved: 16) (new: 4)

My aim had been to buy just one item per month this year but I didn't always succeed. The final tally was 20, but given that some years I've bought over 100 items it's still a big improvement.

For the fifth year running I'm keeping track of my spending on clothes, shoes, and accessories with A Buyer's Archive.

I'm not sure if I'll continue with A Buyer's Archive next year, 5 years seems like a nice number at which to draw things to a close. One of the aims was to keep track and reduce my spending and I've managed that so maybe I'll just keep a note throughout the year and write a round up post in December.

I hope you celebrate the New Year in style this evening, Happy New Year!

xx

How have you been? It's been ages since my last post. An entire month has passed, we've had the winter solstice (hurrah!), and Christmas, and we're heading towards another new year (please let it better than this one!!).

I just thought I'd pop my head above the parapet and say a quick 'hello!' All is well here, if a little busy. Which seems a weird thing to say given that Andy and I have just had our most relaxed Christmas since we met. But life is busy and there are Zoom quizzes to do, nieces and nephews to entertain on FaceTime and walks with relatives to catch up and blow away the cobwebs. Work continues, for both of us, to be busy. And then there's all that cheese that needs eating.

It's been very different but it's been really enjoyable. I don't feel in any way that Christmas was cancelled, it was just, understandably, different.

I hope you enjoyed the festivities, and found moments of joy in this unusual time. I'll be attempting to catch up on my blog reading over the next few days, but fear I may have fallen too far behind to catch up entirely, however I'm very much looking forward to reading about your festive goings on.

Which just leaves me to say Happy New Year!

Take care
xx

It wasn't until 10am that I realised November 21st was Photo An Hour. Already that morning I'd fed the cats, had breakfast (in that order), emptied the dishwasher, got showered and dressed, finished a book I was reading, and had a grocery delivery.

10am. The postman had just been and delivered some crafty bits I'd ordered to make some tree decorations. All I wanted to do was make them but I had work to do... but Sophie pointed out that work could wait and realising that she was absolutely right, I turned on the heater in my office, made myself a cuppa, and gathered together my crafting supplies.

11am. Work was being stubbornly ignored. As was the housework (who needs dust free surfaces anyway?). I had tea, my favourite iTunes playlist playing (my Latitude list which consists of mostly Ward Thomas, Years & Years, George Ezra, Oh Wonder, Freya Ridings, and Chvrches) and I was ready to get crafting.

12pm. Three beaded stars made. They’re crackle glaze beads which look marvelously twinkly with fairy lights. I just needed to decide on what ribbon to use, but first, I needed more tea.

I saw an Instagram post last year that showed how to make them step-by-step and made a number of them to sell at a Cake and Craft sale, they all sold so I had none left for my own tree.

1pm. Lunch had been consumed, Andy had popped home and we had soup with a cheese sandwich. I’d made good progress on the decorations but was a little hindered by Tinker demanding some attention.

2pm. Stars, bells, beads, and pom poms under construction.

3pm. I interrupted my day of crafting for some time outside. I'd realised that if I didn’t do it soon I’d run out of daylight. Andy came home from work and set about mowing the lawn. After a bit of a wander, I set about tidying the greenhouse a little.

4pm. Socks accompanied me on another little walk around the garden. I love this, although he rarely stays in his lane so I have to be careful not to trip over him.

5pm. Wanting to continue with my crafting, I found a free knitting pattern on Pinterest for a small toadstool. It looked easy enough and I had more than enough wool in my stash to give it a go. I used up a tiny ball of leftover cream wool, which I always enjoy, it feels really good to use up woollen leftovers.

6pm. I had the required parts knitted, and just needed to add some french knots and sew it together. I had to Google 'how to do french knots' as it'd been a while, but it all came flooding back.

7pm. Andy cooked supper - smoked salmon fillets, cous cous and tenderstem broccoli - and this is what the rest of my evening looked like. Watching Strictly Come Dancing, and whatever came on after that (it was only a few days ago but I can't remember what we watched!).

9pm. Bed. Book. Boy cat. 

I'm glad I ignored the boring adult stuff and spent the day doing lovely things instead. It was much needed. 

I've fallen into a blogging lull. I guess life all seems very samey at the moment, and now that we're in lockdown for a second time, the sameness will undoubtedly continue.

I'd intended to take part in Photo An Hour on 31st October, but it was such an uninteresting day that I didn't bother in the end. I caught up on some well overdue blog reading (I've now fallen behind again), I did a little work and spent the afternoon reading on the sofa, it was pleasant enough but doesn't make for very interesting photos.

Work has been keeping me occupied. I've had some of my busiest months since I started working for myself seven years ago, who knew a global pandemic would be good for business? I'm grateful for the work and the distraction, but I'm mindful that it won't last forever.

I've been reading a lot. It's been my escape first thing in the morning, last thing at night, and during the night when I wake up at 3am. I've been making an effort to make nice meals, go for a daily walk (weather permitting), and noticing all the lovely little parts of my day (which usually involve cats).

In all honesty I wasn't expecting a second lockdown, we had a low R rate in this area and whilst cases had risen a little, they hadn't risen by much. It was inevitable that the number of cases would rise when the first lockdown was over and we started mingling again. I remember feeling at the time that restrictions were being lifted too soon, with not enough time between one set of restrictions being lifted before the next, and now here we are again.

Some people seemed to revert back to their pre-lockdown lives within minutes of it ending, something which I will never understand, the virus hadn't gone anywhere.

The news of vaccines is encouraging but these won't really make a difference until well into 2021, with the logistics of getting an entire nation vaccinated being the biggest hindrance. It's good news never-the-less, next year will undoubtedly be better.

I think the loss of summer and the uncertainty of the current situation has caused me to feel drained by it all. I'm certainly lacking enthusiasm, hence my trying to focus on the little things - Tinker snuggling up in the early hours of the morning and purring loudly at me, Socks trying to steal my marmalade on toast, the sun coming out on my daily walk, long baths, good books, reading good books in the bath, nice meals shared with Andy, discussions on who should leave the Strictly Ballroom each week.

Life certainly has a slower pace, and it's something I've enjoyed this year. The pandemic will change life, and in some ways it'll be for the better.

Taking part in Kezzie's Bloggers Art Gallery back in July reminded me of how much I enjoy having art at home. I loved seeing what everyone shared and hearing the stories behind each piece.

I left a comment on Louise's blog about how much I needed some picture shelves like hers and I admired some prints by Jago Illustration. A few weeks later Louise thoughtfully got in touch to let me know Jago Illustration was having a sale on Etsy.

I'm now the proud owner of a two of his prints. I was going to wait to post about them until I'd framed them and got them on the walls but, given my track record, that might take a while, so here they are unframed and unhung.

The first print is We All Shine On. It was the crescent moon that drew me to this one, and the words 'And we all shine on like the moon and the stars and the sun' along the bottom of the print.

The second is a landscape print that reminds me of the big skies I see locally and the patchwork of golden fields at harvest time.

I also purchased a pack of his Christmas cards too (sorry for mentioning Christmas so early in November).  I'm going to have to be really disciplined and send them to people, rather than keeping them for myself, which is what I'd actually like to do.