Happy Christmas!

 

This sweet little decoration was behind door 24 on the Bonne Maman jam advent, and it seemed very appropriate as the picture for the Christmas Eve post.  

I am aware I have been a bit remiss in relating the jam adventures, having not written anything about them since Day 9. Since then we have had three non-jams i.e. two hazelnut and chocolate spreads plus a milk caramel and vanilla spread. This gave a total of three hazelnut chocolate spreads and two caramel ones overall, which I think is a bit cheat-y for an advent, despite the fact that I like chocolate and hazelnut spread. Although nothing with chocolate in it seems to like me very much just now. 

The stand out jam for me was day 14; Plum and Pear with Star Anise and if they made it in big jars I would be queuing up to buy it. Also  worthy of mention are the Mango and Ginger, and Cherry with Pink Peppercorn. There was nothing wrong with any of the others , although as often happens with this advent a lot of them taste of little other than a generalised sweetness. This was our third year for this and we won't be getting it again. Nothing against it, we've enjoyed it, but three is enough.I would say we might try a tea advent next year as they seem popular but as we only drink black tea it would probably be  a bit of a waste. Who knows, we may be totally radical next year and not get any advents at all - it has certainly seemed to be beyond me this year to keep up to date with them on here, although not IRL.  

The good thing about being so behind is the reason for it; I have so much else to write about these days that things that  used to loom large on the blog just fall into the background now. And let's be honest, I'm not sorry about that. 

What hasn't changed is that I want to take the time on this Christmas Eve, as on all the others, to wish all my readers a very Happy Christmas. Whatever you're doing for Christmas, I hope you enjoy it and I'll see you all on the other side. 

Pre-Christmas faffing, Two Lovely Lunches and a bit of an advent catch up

I honestly don't know where time has gone these last couple of weeks but anyway - 

Last Monday I had my hair done

I put this picture on Facebook. It got lots of likes and nice comments, but also a 'What the hell, Anne' from a friend in Oz. While I appreciate that a blue stripe in the hair isn't to everyone's taste I would have thought those that didn't like it could just have kept quiet on the grounds that it wasn't their hair and anyway does it really matter enough to risk upsetting someone by being rude? 

I should also say it  took the OH quite a long time to even notice the stripe. He says this is because I had the side with it turned away from him but this is not true as I several times placed myself on the side  where it would be visible to him. 

Then on Tuesday  I had my nails sparkled up

On Wednesday I headed back to Edinburgh for a pre-Christmas  lunch with my friends V and D. We went to Valvona and Crolla, an inspired choice as the lunch portions are manageable and they also do a cocktail called a V and C Spritz which has elderflower in it. Not just elderflower, obvs, but the elderflower is why I had it and it was delicious. 

Thursday I made some cards, wrote some cards, did some wrapping and on Friday we braved the pouring rain to go into Stirling and post them all. Happily there was no queue in the Post Office at all, which I couldn't quite believe so close to Christmas, but I wasn't grumbling. Felt great after that was done because that was the last Christmas stuff off my hands. That's always a good feeling. 

Yesterday we went over to Glasgow and lunched at the extremely nice Restaurant Pieno with the singer we supported for several years recently through the SO Emerging Artists Program. We hadn't seen her for  a while so it was lovely to catch up with all her news and give her ours. Hers was exciting and career oriented, ours was mostly about the New Cat. The food was wonderful as it always is there, even this close to Christmas and even though it was very busy. After saying our goodbyes we went back to the flat and picked up son no 2 and brought him over to Alloa for Christmas and the New Year. 

There is now nothing on the calendar for three whole weeks which is either a yawning chasm of nothingness or blessed and peaceful space to do nice things like make more cards, knit, read, watch rubbish tv etc. I'm thinking the latter really. 

Finally a yarn advent catch up

days 9 - 14 

and 15 - 20

It strikes me its better to put them in blocks of a few days at a time as the colour progression is easier to see than with photos of single skeins. 

Non Advent Catch up

 well I did say there wouldn't be another post before last Thursday, so to that extent I was right....

We've been really busy recently, so here's a quick whistle stop tour.

First up was our trip to North Yorkshire to celebrate our friend C's 90th birthday. C is a member of the group of Dorothy Dunnett readers who used to meet regularly in Leeds, or Lincoln. Amazing to think we have known one another for over 40 years. Doesn't seem possible. I am the baby of the group, but I was pleased to see that the others were all hale and hearty despite being older, and in some cases, considerably older than me. We have all slowed down but they are all still lively minded and engaged with life which is heartening. 

Because of the distance involved, we had opted to drive down the day before, stay overnight in the hotel where the celebration lunch was being held and then drive back after that in the late afternoon. This worked well, certainly better than it would had we not moved, as the weather was so bad that the ferries were all disrupted. So glad we don't have to factor that sort of thing into our plans anymore. 

We arrived in the late afternoon and had a lovely room which was cosy-warm and the bed was extremely comfortable. 

It was a very nice place altogether and the food was lovely. I won't post pictures of the event as a) readers won't know anyone on them except me and b) it would be an invasion of the others privacy ( although I don't think they'd care, although you never know) but we all had a good time. We get together so seldom that it was so nice just for us all, bar one, who was poorly, to be together. Lots to catch up on. C had asked for no presents but we had organised a collection and donated the money to a charity in her name which she was pleased about. 

So down to Yorkshire on Tuesday, back to Alloa on Wednesday. I had had Thursday free but just before we left for our trip south a friend had asked if I would like to go to a Society of Arts talk in Stirling  with her ( on Charles Dickens and his evolving ideas about/influence on Christmas celebrations) and then have lunch with her and two friends. The talk was very interesting, four of her friends came in the end and we all went for lunch at the Smith Gallery in Stirling. This was about as satisfactory as it ever is, which means really not very. Despite saying twice that I did not want my sandwich toasted, once quite firmly in response to the woman's assertion that 'we usually do it, I do recommend it' when it arrived it was toasted. I didn't want to make a fuss so I ate it, but I did say something to her on the way out. Every time I go there I think, never again and this time , unless it's just a for coffee,  I shall stick to that. 

On Friday I went up to Edinburgh University for a symposium on female Scottish and Irish women writers of  children's books. It looked good, and indeed it was, it was very enjoyable, but as it started at 9.30 I had a very early start, which my constitution is no longer as amenable to as it was when I was in my twenties. Never mind, I made it. I cut the last session because had I stayed I would have been very late home, Saw a couple of people I already knew, chatted to one or two others who I didn't. I know I keep saying I have drawn a line under my involvement with academia, but every so often something pops up and I think, that looks interesting, and go. 

And then we entered a quiet time which has lasted until today. I have a hair appointment, after which we are going off for yet another try to by a tree topper for the new tree. Tomorrow I get sparkly nails and then life looks to be busy again until Saturday - at which point it's almost Christmas.

Advent catch up incoming - possibly tomorrow, no promises. 

Giant Lanterns at Edinburgh Zoo and Advents 6,7 & 8.

 Jams, before I forget were raspberry and redcurrant (runny but delicious), pear and cinnamon,(also very nice but a bit on the sweet side) and todays was salted butter caramel so the OH will be eating that one on his own because my views on salted caramel, are well known. Possibly not on the blog, but I shall confine myself to saying that I'm not a fan. 

Stickers

6  Sortof Oriental

7 Landscape? Travel? who knows? 

8 Fairy tales

Yarn 

It's really not apparent on the photos but they are getting lighter and brighter. I have decided on pattern to use them in but I will need a contrast. There was a complementary skein  but it's too dark for what I have in mind so I am havering between undyed or light charcoal, both with the silver sparkle. OH says undyed, I prefer the light charcoal, because grey is one of my favourite colours, so the jury is out on that one. 

On Friday evening we went up to the zoo in Edinburgh to see their giant lanterns, themed on the sea. It wasn't quite what I had expected, I was thinking something more like the light installation that we saw in Skansen a couple of years ago but this wasn't quite the same. That said, it was spectacular. Naturally I took a shed load of photographs; here are a few 

We really enjoyed it. It was dark and cold and the lanterns were beautiful and we were surrounded by lots of people all having a great pre-Christmas treat. The only thing that spoiled it was that we couldn't quite bring ourselves to pay £6 a pop for hot chocolate. It would have been welcome as it was definitely a -hot chocolate sort of experience but not at that price. 

The OH and I are going away tomorrow for  a lightning trip to North Yorkshire; we are importing Son no 2 to look after The Cat Cosimo. So there will be no blog posts until at least Thursday and possibly not until Friday depending on how tired I am. It's for a nice thing and we're looking forward to it. I note that had we still been living in Orkney we would have spent the last 3 days constantly checking the weather forecast and worrying that we wouldn't make it to North Yorkshire as the Northern Isles have been plagued with very high winds and, of necessity, ferry cancellations. I'm glad I don't have to suffer that sort of uncertainty any more. 

Advent Days 4 and 5, plus Tree the First

 The jams were cherry and violet leaf yesterday and  pineapple vanilla and rum today. Couldn't really taste the rum, not that it's a favourite, but if they promise me rum I'd like to know it's actually there! 

Stickers day 4 

Woodland themes. When I do the autumn page in my journal (accent very much on the when with a light lifting in tone that maybe implies 'if') they will be very useful. 

And day 5

Gardening. I should perhaps say that the stickers come with a choice of - aesthetic? possibly too posh a word, but you can opt for vintage, cute or pop anyway. Mine are vintage. And that's the 5th and final envelope design which I'm quite relieved about really. 

And the yarn

Day 4 - 

- and day 5

Since we are still very much in a blue zone, I am wondering if this is  a series of short fades within a few different colours rather an overall 24 day one. Time will tell. 

Our trees and most of our decorations are up. Much earlier than normal but neighbours have had outside lights and garden decorations installed since before the end of last month and we were certainly not the first people to have their trees up. I'm not saying we felt under peer pressure but the OH was keen, as always, to put the tree up early so we did. In fact it's trees, as we have a second one now - honestly, who do we think we are - royalty? More on that another day. The second tree isn't quite ready to be photographed because it has yet to get something for the top, two places have already let me down badly in this regard 😀 but we'll try the Christmas shop in Stirling on Monday. 

Anyway here is tree 1 

you will see our Scandi village has had to be placed on a tabletop this year as we don't; have the wide window sills we enjoyed in Orkney. Here's  a close up. There's a new tree in the forest this year as well, the collage type one in Harris tweed. 

I did that yesterday and today the OH is trying to find space for all the hanging up things we have - again there seems to be a  a lack of wall space, although that is largely to do with picture placement and needing to leave room for the cards. 

We are going out later this afternoon to something which I hope will be really enjoyable - report in due course. 

Advent days 2 and 3 and the November Wool Stats

So, starting with the not so good news which is the wool stats. These would have looked better had I not gone to East Neuk Knits, but there you go, I went. Wool in 450, wool out 326, net decrease for the year down to 5214 . On the upside I finished three projects;

Christmas socks for the OH and Son No 2 

the top ones are the West Yorkshire Spinners Christmas colour for 2025, and I got that skein and used it more or less straight away. The green and white ones are from a sock set I bought at the Lay Family Yarn retreat back in June. There's only one skein left of the ones I purchased there,  so that's heartening ( although there is also the skein I dyed and the 16 miniskeins pack, one form each attendee ... oh well) 

I also finished the new Christmas bunting

on the previous one I did I followed the instructions and added well over 230 beads to the tie. The tie then curled over so that you can't ever see the beads which is a massive waste of effort really. This time, in an attempt to stop that happening  I abandoned the idea of adding beads and just knitted tithe tie, adding a row of alternating white and festive red stitches. I then gave the whole thing a very ferocious block but sadly the curling problem persists. Oh well, at least I didn't waste time and effort on putting in what would become invisible beads and once it's up on the wall the curling won't matter. I don't see me ever doing bunting again but I suppose if I did, I might do the tie in all garter stitch which would be firmer. Live and learn. 

Jams

Day 2 was chocolate hazelnut spread and day 3 was apple caramel and cinnamon spread. (I think I might be eating the latter one on my own.) It occurs to me that 24 pictures of small jars of jam don't really add anything to anyone's life since they are all the same except for the colour of the lid so I'll content myself with simply recording the flavour. 

Stickers

Day 2 

and day 3 

There are only 5 different envelopes which get repeated in sequence so not too many more pictures to be taken of those. The photo of the sticker sheet from today is a bit over exposed, I must do better tomorrow, but anyway it's old letters, very much my thing. More so than yesterday's food ones anyway. 

And finally the yarn. This is obviously going to be a fade so I shall enjoy watching it develop. 

Day 2

Day 3 

although I have to say on the monitor yesterday's and today's aren't; looking that different! 

Right, I am off to help the OH  with the trees - yes, trees plural, of which more anon. 

Advent Day 1

 So, here we go. 

Jam - apricot with honey

Stickers

front of envelope

back of envelope

sticker sheet

Week 1 of my weekly advent from Beth at Beehive Yarns. The overall theme for this collection is La Vie en Rose and this skein is called Vintage Bouquet. It's beautiful. 

And the main event. This is the 'special for early orders' box from Yarn Unique, more or less closed ...

...and this is it open showing all the little boxes inside

Todays yarn - an inky blue. And there were extras today in the form of a set of three stitch markers

I was going to do my November wool stats today too, but I've got something that I need to weigh, so that will be another day.