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.

The final Photo An Hour for 2018 was December 15th. The day had three distinct parts, a relaxed morning, an energetic afternoon, and a late night dressed up in my finest charity shop finds.
8am Enjoying tea and toast in bed with my current read December, kindly lent to me by Sophie to complete my year long reading challenge. I haven't finished it yet, and time is running out!

At 9am I was enjoying a bath.

10am A lazy morning of pottering, doing this and that, I discovered Socks enjoying a sunspot behind the dining room curtains. I left him undisturbed to enjoy the warmth.

11am Boring adulting stuff.

 12pm Waiting for Andy to come home for lunch.

1pm Andy and I went to the wood to gather more firewood, and lit a fire to warm us while we worked. We're clearing fallen branches and trees, a very satisfying job.

2pm It was a cold day but physical work and a bonfire kept us warm. I have to admit I lost several minutes mesmerised by the flames, whilst Andy worked on.

4pm I was home from the wood, Andy had returned for another load but I lit the fire and sat drinking a cuppa with two furry companions.

5pm I was in the shower.

By 6pm I was ready for a night out out. I was off to The Orwell Hotel in Felixstowe to see The Ladybirds Christmas Drag Spectacular!

At 7pm I'd picked up my sister-in-law and we were on our way to the venue.

8pm Waiting patiently for food to arrive (service was a little on the slow side).

9pm The main course was over (and sadly wasn't worth the wait) and I was beginning to feel that it was time for bed...

10pm I don't normally drink coffee but I needed this, I had no idea that the meal would take so long, and the entertainment would start so late. Luckily they started soon after this.

 11pm. Spice Girls Tribute from The Ladybirds, this is Miss Crystal giving Ginger Spice some welly.

At midnight The Ladybirds (l-r - Special K, Miss Crystal, and Leona) performed their final act of the evening, a rousing rendition of The Pogues Fairytale of New York. I sang along, and I sang it loud as it's my favourite Christmas song. I have to admit to being secretly pleased that this was the end of the evening and I could make my way home to my bed. The Ladybirds were very entertaining, but it was way past my bedtime.

The final photo, as I arrived home after dropping my sister in law at her door, shortly before I dropped into bed.

Thanks to Jane and Louisa for hosting #PhotoAnHour. 

The first Saturday of the month saw me go on a charity sop rummage with Sophie and Kezzie around Ipswich. It was a full day of shopping that included a coffee mid morning, lunch and then tea and cake late in the afternoon. I came home with some really lovely items, and as always it was a pleasure to spend a day in the company of two such lovely ladies.

The Sunday consisted of glossing the woodwork in the bedroom, which I really dislike doing. I find it so boring. Three windows, a door and an open built-in wardrobe make it a laborious task. But, now it's done, it does look lovely.

Later in the day I went field walking with Andy. We checked on several fields of oil seed rape, Andy talked me through the complexities of what to spray and when, the benefits, the disadvantages. The pests and what to look out for. The weather, the changing seasons. There's a lot to consider.

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The following Saturday saw me finally finish decorating our bedroom, namely glossing the radiators and staining the threshold step. We're still in a state of chaos though as the carpet has yet to be fitted, so our stuff is still strewn over the landing, spare room, and office. I can not wait for it to be finished and for normality to return!


On the Sunday Andy had very uncharacteristically asked if I wanted to go shopping with him to Bury St Edmunds. We had a good wander around and found some great gifts for family members. This year we're doing a Secret Santa on my side of the family, but the buying continues on Andy's side. I try to buy things that can be used e.g. craft stuff for the kids, or eaten e.g. homemade (not by me) jam for his Dad, in the hope of reducing 'stuff'. I love the festive period but the waste rattles my conscience.

We had a really lovely time, and I was allowed to run free in Waterstones to add to my book collection. I have to wait until Christmas Day before I can actually add them to my ever growing book pile though.

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The next Saturday was Photo An Hour.


On the Sunday I had a quiet morning, and then Andy and I went into the wood in the afternoon to chop wood for the woodpile. Andy does the hard work, I load the truck. We both really enjoy it. It's hard to get cold when you're chopping or loading wood, the wood is a lovely place to be and it's nice to be outside in the fresh air.

On this trip I was a bit accident prone. I trapped a finger between two bits of wood I'd picked up and promptly dropped one on my foot, then I stepped on a branch that flicked up and kneecapped me. That particular piece was snapped in half, brought home and immediately burned! Who says revenge isn't sweet?

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The final weekend of the month was dedicated to knitting and sale prep. On the following Thursday Mum, my friend and I were having a cake and crafts sale at our local hospital to raise money for the Radiotherapy dept. I needed to get several knitting projects finished. By lunchtime I'd stuffed and sewn together two rabbits, with a puppy following later in the afternoon. To round out the day I sat in front of the fire and finished my November book, The November Girl, before settling in for some Strictly Come Dancing.

The next day was all about baking for Christmas and gathering more wood. We made cheese straws and sausage rolls. And obviously sampled a few of each. We used some of the cheese straw pastry for the sausage rolls, which I can highly recommend.


We filled the truck with a load of wood in record time so had a little wander through the wood to a nearby field. The light was stunning, the air fresh and the temperature mild. I felt so lucky to live where we do, to be there in that moment.

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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. The month of November was lovely. Twenty years ago a whole month without going out to a pub or a club would've seemed entirely wasted. I'm still a party animal, as long as the party involves tea, wool and I can be at home and in bed by 9pm.

:)

November 17th was the chosen day for Photo An Hour this month. As with last month I didn't realise until I was scrolling through my Instagram feed at lunchtime but my morning was pretty standard.

Weekends don't really hold the same meaning for me as Andy always works and as a self employed person the working week doesn't really exist. I work as and when I need to.

So my day started as any other day does. Feed cats, make tea, empty or load the dishwasher, put some washing in the machine, sort out the litter tray. Breakfast, shower, make a to-do list for the day.

I had two things on my list for the day, to make progress with decorating the bedroom (possibly even get it finished!) and get some knitting done.
Fresh out of the shower I found Socks curled into a ball and had to fight the urge to climb back into bed and join in him in his snoozing.


Come lunchtime I'd managed to do one of the things on my list - knitting. It seems I'm incapable of finishing a project before I start another. At some point in the near future this pile of body parts will resemble three bunny rabbits.


By the time 1 o'clock rolled around Andy had been home for lunch - baked beans on toast - and he'd made me a cuppa before heading back out to work for the afternoon. I sat contemplating my next move.


By 2 o'clock I was upstairs in the bedroom. I'd sanded the threshold step so I could stain it, and I'd done some touching up on the skirting boards that I'd painted the day before. This isn't the carpet, it's the ancient underlay. We've been looking at carpet samples for weeks. They're all so similar - mid brown with a slight fleck - we couldn't tell the difference between them so we've just opted for the least expensive of the lot. I plan to buy a huge rug to cover most of it anyway (not that I've revealed this plan to Andy yet...).


At 3 o'clock I was waiting for the stain to dry and had grabbed my book hoping to finally finish it. I'd been reading this book since the beginning of the month and wanted to get it read. I'd been reading a few pages here and there and as a result the story felt fractured. I needed a good chunk of time to concentrate on it. Now that harvest is over Andy is home before bedtime I tend to read a lot less, but if I take too long over a book I often forget important plot points!


I light the fire everyday at around 4 o'clock before it gets dark. I can't believe that it's mid November and we haven't had to turn the central heating on yet. I know we will soon but this is unheard of (the temperature has dropped since and the heating went on for the first time November 20th).


Still on the sofa at 5 o'clock, still with a cat on my lap, and a book in hand, Andy came home and joined us. Which is where we stayed other than to cook and eat supper. I had hoped to nip up to the bedroom and give the step another coat of stain but I just didn't have the motivation. It was far nicer to stay on the sofa, in the warm, with my husband and the girl cat.

The evening was predictably spent watching Strictly Come Dancing.

Thanks to Jane and Louisa for hosting #PhotoAnHour. 

The first Saturday in October I went along to the Hemingstone Flower Show, but I've already talked about that here.

On the Sunday I made progress with decorating the bedroom. I did all of the cutting in, which isn't my favourite job. The room has three windows and an open built-in wardrobe to navigate, so it took a while. The evening followed a familiar pattern of watching Dr Who, and Strictly Come Dancing, accompanied by a huge helping of Maltesers.

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The following weekend started with me digging in the garden. I wanted to dig up a few plants and move another and I needed to get it done before the first frosts. I then visited our local Garden Centre - Roots and Shoots. I picked up some bark chippings to replenish what we had, but not before sitting for a while in their tea garden with a huge slice of Battenberg cake and a pot of Earl Grey.


Then I rushed into town for some last minute shopping I bought a dress and a pair of shoes to wear to a memorial service the following day, convinced that I didn't have anything to wear (which of course I did). Then I bought a second pair of shoes, fearing the first were too high. In the end I returned the dress and the second pair of heels. It was emotional shopping and I knew it.


I loitered in town for a while waiting for the light to fade. I wanted to see the Town Hall lit up with pink and blue to recognise Baby Loss Awareness Week. I have mixed feelings about the week, mostly to do with it being impossible to get away from should you need to. It might be that this year it's just too raw, but I felt bombarded by it. To get away from it I would've had to disconnect from life entirely. Part of me told myself not to hide, but there was a part of me that felt it was too much.


On the Sunday I went to a special Memorial Service for Remembering Precious Babies. I'd hoped that this would be helpful, soothing, or perhaps cathartic in some way. But it wasn't. The church was filled with small children, running around and making so much noise I couldn't hear what was being said. I'd been looking for quite contemplation, what I got was chaos. It left me feeling rather strange.

I left declining to take a white rose, only to be chased into the car park by a well meaning midwife, asking if I wanted one. 'It's only going to die isn't it?' I said. It was too much.

Back to reality, I enjoyed beans on toast in my PJs and watched Country File, Dr Who and Strictly Come Dancing, snuggled up to Andy on the sofa. I realised that that was all I really needed. Comfort in the familiar, and the knowledge that we lost something precious, went through something traumatic, and come out the other side stronger. I'd been looking for something and it turns out it was right under my nose all along.

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The following weekend I had to work on the Saturday as I knew I had a busy week coming up. It felt good to get ahead. The evening was spent in front of Strictly Come Dancing again.


The next day my DIY plans flew out of the window. Andy has been restoring his Grandad's Fordson Major and was ploughing with it. We met with his Dad, Sister and her family and spent a few hours watching Andy go up and down the field. The nieces and nephews all had a ride with Uncle Andrew and I had a go too. It wasn't hard to drive in a straight line but very enjoyable to be driving something with such history for the family. It was a beautiful day. I skipped with my eldest niece, helped my youngest niece look for worms and gratefully accepted the 'treasure' they dug up for me (two stones and a clod of earth).

We went back to Andy's parents for lunch - roast lamb and roast beef - and played cricket in the garden afterwards. Then we sat and watched Paddington 2, which I really enjoyed. I cried at the end.

We were home in time to watch Dr Who and Strictly Come Dancing. It was a near perfect day.

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The final weekend of the month saw me take Afternoon Tea with friends, more about my day is in my Photo An Hour post.


The next day I did some more decorating. I honestly think this might be the longest DIY project known to man, it certainly feels that way. I did procrastinate before getting stuck in by talking to, and messaging people about Christmas. I got it all organised. I know who will be where and when, what we're eating, and who's cooking. It feels good to have it sorted.

The evening was Country File, Dr Who, and Strictly Come Dancing. We really are creatures of habit.

The morning of October 27th went by in a flash and I hadn't realised that it was Photo An Hour until lunchtime. I'd spent the morning pottering, doing housework and bits and bobs so the photos wouldn't have been very exciting anyway.

1pm
I sat down for a pre Afternoon Tea snack. Knowing I was going to be eating lots of delicious sweet treats later on I went for a healthy option.


2pm
Pom poms in the making. It's the perfect thing to do when you've got an hour to spare.


3pm
Pom pom dust! I don't mind the fallout from pom pom making, at least it's pretty.


4pm
Afternoon tea. We went to Seckford Hall in Woodbridge, Suffolk. I can highly recommend it, the food is delicious, the service is good yet unobtrusive, and the location and venue are stunning.


5pm
It doesn't take long to demolish the dainty sandwiches and little sweet treats. I was the only one to eat all it, I'm not sure I should be proud of that fact for not...?


6pm
Home to tea by the fire (because I hadn’t drunk nearly enough tea that afternoon!). I got the fire going and sat with a satisfyingly full belly.


7pm
Neither cat was in the least bit interested Strictly Come Dancing, but it's become our Saturday night viewing.


8pm
Tink left her fireside spot to sit on my lap and then got annoyed when Socks nicked her spot by the fire!

By 9pm I was in bed with a book.

Thanks to Jane and Louisa for hosting #PhotoAnHour. 

The first weekend in September was lovely and warm. I started reading a new book called September by Rosamunde Pilcher (and birthday present from Andy), which would end up taking me the entire month to read. I did some garden pottering, pruning things here and there, tidying the container pots, and organising the greenhouse. I potted an oak tree sapling I found growing in the lawn, along with two walnut saplings. The walnuts have already wilted, but I think one might survive, I've tried several times to pot them up but they don't take kindly to it. The oak is doing well though. I stayed inside making pom poms during the hottest part of the day, and nipped to the supermarket for supplies.

On the Sunday I was forced to return to the supermarket when I realised I'd forgotten a vital ingredient, but the rest of the day was mine and I knitted a puppy and made a pom pom or two. Late afternoon I spent a lovely hour reading in the sunshine and drinking tea. In the early evening I joined Andy in his cab for a while, he was going to be home really late so it was nice to get some time with him, albeit brief.

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The second weekend of September I had a haircut - just a trim, but she didn't cut my fringe how I asked her to. It was not shaped correctly and was about a centimetre too short, and she didn't put any layers in the lengths. This is why I dislike getting my hair cut!

I started to make final preparations for decorating our bedroom. The day before I'd picked up some more colour swatches, and I returned to get tester pots of the three colours I'd narrowed it down to. And I purchased a Christmas magazine in a weak moment in the supermarket. It's not that far off...


I spent some time (probably more than necessary) deciding whether or not to keep a mustard coloured jumper I'd ordered from ASOS. I tried it with different scarves and accessories, and decided that despite believing that I couldn't wear yellow, it actually looked OK. It seems I'm being drawn to yellow at the moment, and it's revealed itself to be a pretty good neutral colour.

On the Sunday I went out for a meal with my Dad, and my brother and his family to celebrate my birthday (which was at the end of August). I wasn't feeling particularly hungry so I ordered a starter (bubble and squeak) as a main, which left plenty of room for a creme brulee - a dessert I didn't think I liked until a few months ago!

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The following weekend was all about decorating! Before starting on the bedroom I wanted to tick off a few little DIY jobs that had been on the to-do list for a while. It was gloss work mainly (which I really dislike, hence it being on the list for so long) but I also sanded and repainted the front door. And I made some pom poms, it wouldn't be a weekend unless pom poms were made!

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The following Saturday was #PhotoAnHour.

On the Sunday Andy had some time off, he did go to work for a few hours in the morning and again in the afternoon but spent the rest of the day with me. We visited his parents - he hadn't seen his Mum properly in months. We had lunch, and he snoozed on the sofa whilst I did some knitting. Later we watched TV, just chilling out. I always have the urge to go out when Andy is about, to make the most of the time together, but I have to remember that Andy hasn't had a chance to sit down and do nothing for a long time. It doesn't sound very exciting but just being together and having the chance to have a proper conversation is really, really lovely.

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On the final weekend of September I visited Marlsford Mill, an antique store. I was hoping to find a mirror and/or a chest of drawers for our lounge. They had lots of lovely items but nothing at quite the right size, I wasn't disappointed as it's a nice place to visit. I always enjoy seeing what's on offer, and I came home with a cutlery try and a walnut cracker from Hatfield House - one of my favourite sellers at Marlsford Mill.


Then I went to Hobby Craft to buy a birthday present for my oldest niece - I bought her an initial of her name and some iridescent paint, paintbrushes, and stick on gems so that she could decorate it. I quite fancied having a go myself. Then it was off to B&Q to finally buy the paint I'd finally chosen. In the evening Andy was home in time for us to watch Strictly Come Dancing and eat an obscene amount of Maltesers.

On the Sunday I started to empty the bedroom so I could start redecorating. Once it was empty I was able to vacuum and rid the corners of cobwebs, and then sand and prime the window frames. I always forget how long the preparation takes. A whole day's graft and I didn't get even a smidgen of paint on the walls.

And just like that September was over, and it feels as if October is disappearing even faster!

Saturday 22nd September was #PhotoAnHour. Thanks to Jane and Louisa for hosting.

My plans to get stuck into some DIY were thwarted when a few days earlier I woke up with incredibly stiff shoulders and limited movement. I had to shelve the DIY idea for a while.

8am - A soothing bubble bath was the first order of business for the day. I'm not sure it did anything to ease my shoulders but I never need much of an excuse to soak for a while.


9am - I booked a deep tissue massage - half an hour of being rubbed and soothed, wincing when she hit the really tight spots. I left feeling a little bit like I'd been beaten up.


10am - My shoulders did feel a bit better but still tight and a little uncomfortable. This didn't stop me having a wander around the charity shops though. I picked up some wool. Age Concern has a good selection of wool at only £1.69 a ball so I stocked up on Christmassy colours to make some (more) pom pom wreaths.


11am - Picking up essentials - milk, hummus and Voltarol! Seriously, what else does a person need to survive?


12pm - Knitting. I haven't knitted this pattern for years. It knits up really quickly and it was nice to start and finish a project in such a short space of time.


1pm Lunch. Totally obsessed with scrambled eggs and avocado on toast at the moment.


2pm - My fridge decided to stop working. I have no idea how old it was but it was here when we moved in seven years ago. It had been on it's last legs for a while and finally just silently stopped. I spent a few days freezing bottles of water to act as cool packs to try and keep the food fresh before the new one arrived, but we did have to chuck some in the bin, which I absolutely hate doing!

Anyway, I measured up for a new one, ordered it online and waited for it to be delivered. I had to pay for delivery, and an extra £20 for them to take the old one away, but I wasn't going to spend a further £20 for them to install it when installation was simply pushing it into a gap and plugging it in.

But the new fridge turned out to be wider than stated on the website and didn't fit, it was about 1mm too wide. It was repacked within 20 minutes of being delivered.

A new (narrower) fridge was ordered and when it arrived two days later (with free delivery this time thankfully) I pushed it into the gap with ease... but the power cord was too short to reach the plug! My frustration prevented me from coming up with the very sensible and easy solution of using an extension lead. Thank goodness for my husband.


3pm If there is one thing that can soothe me and a bad mood it's my cats and a whole bunch of wool. I was trying to sort my wool by colour so I could see what I'd got and decide what to knit next. Socks thought I was making him a little nest to sit in and made himself comfortable. It's impossible to get annoyed with him, look at that face.


4pm I'm not sure if Andy came home because he'd finished for the day, if the weather prevented him doing what he needed to do, or if it was just because he was so tired, but it was nice to see him in daylight! Even if he did just nod off on the sofa. I was happy to let him snooze but Tinker wanted him awake and making a fuss of her, and wasn't in the least bit impressed that he'd chosen to do otherwise.

This was when I stopped taking photos. We decided on fish n chips for supper whilst watching Strictly Come Dancing.

It felt as if autumn had well and truly arrived.