The first weekend in December feels like a long time ago now. I spent the Saturday relaxing and knitting, watching Strictly Come Dancing in the evening. On the Sunday I helped my Mum at a small craft fayre held in a wool shop in Felixstowe. She goes to a Knit and Natter group every week and they decided to put on a fayre to raise money for charity.

Being so close to the sea meant I couldn't resist a walk on the beach. Nothing beats a bit of vitamin sea.

Even though it was a Sunday the charity shops were open for the Christmas period, so I had a poke about and found a lovely pink scarf. We didn't sell much on our stall but we weren't too worried as we had a nice time drinking tea, and chatting with the other stall holders. And I have to admit I came home with some lovely wool for my stash. One of which was a furry wool that I've already knitted into an infinity scarf.

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The following weekend we had another stall at a craft sale, this time for a local homeless charity that my Mum's husband helps with. We took even less money this time as it wasn't well attended but we had a nice day anyway. Mum and I sat drinking tea, eating mince pies and knitting. We had entertainment from a middle aged duo in shiny grey suits, singing Christmas hits in earnest. I kept getting the giggles, especially when they belted out East 17's Stay Now and produced a tambourine. I shouldn't laugh, it's unkind, but it tickled me no end.


On the Sunday we got our Christmas tree and I spent several hours decorating it and trimming the house. I love tree day, getting out all of the decorations from past years is very nostalgic and signals the start of the festive season for me.

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The next Saturday was Photo An Hour day which consisted of breakfast in bed, chopping wood and drag queens.


The Sunday was when our second, smaller, Christmas tree came home, and we made some Frangipane Mince Pies.

They didn't come out quite as expected or hoped but, once we'd prised them out of the cake tin, they were delicious.

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The fourth weekend of the month was all about preparing for Christmas. We cleaned the house, made and decorated the Christmas cake, wrapped gifts, made two cheesecakes, went shopping...

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The final weekend was all about family. On the Saturday we was saw a gaggle of Andy's family at his parents house. We played games and ate too much. On the Sunday we went to my Mum's for a roast lunch. All of which was absolutely lovely, but I did arrive home feeling relieved that we had no more plans, and normality could resume. I went shopping and bought lots of non Christmas food, plenty of fruit and veg, and looked forward to a few days of relaxing and healthy eating before getting back to work.

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It was my wish at the beginning of the year to avoid that Sunday night feeling of a weekend wasted. My goal was to have a plan in place for the coming weekend by each Friday evening. December seemed to go by in a flash with lots in the calendar. I'm now looking forward to a relaxed and less hectic January.

Which just leaves me to say I hope you had a lovely Christmas and to wish you happiness and health for the new year ahead.