Just for an hour or so I have the house to myself and it is bliss.
All I can hear is the oven fan whirring around starting off the joint of beef that is in there cooking.
Andy has gone out to get some more parsnips and potatoes and DD has gone out to spend the vouchers she has from work at Christmas.
She uses them to buy her toiletries for the next six months which is very useful.
I am going to have a lovely fruity few months as I use some of the toiletries I got for Christmas.....Orange and Neroli bathroom goodies and Cranberry and Pomegranate handwash and lotion. There will also be lots of dancing around the kitchen to my new First Aid Kit cd's and probably an inch or two going on my hips as I eat the gorgeous chocolate chip shortbread biscuits made by Ruby and Mummy that were in the beautiful new biscuit tin they gave me.
For the first time in about twenty five years I have had no crafting gifts as there was nothing I really wanted to be honest and that did make me a little sad as crafts have been such a huge part of my life for so long.
After the year Andy has had I wanted something special for him to look forward to so he has had an experience day where he gets to drive an Aston Martin and then be a passenger in a high speed drive in an Atom. He loves it and can't wait to book his day for when the weather is nice enough for us to make a day of it and take a picnic out.
DS and DDIL got him a book printed called The Book Of Andrew full of facts and funny things about him.....it's brilliant.
DD is all about gardening, books and dvd's so she got garden centre and Amazon gift cards and a gardeners handcare set in a beautiful red watering can plus the most brilliant pack of socks from her friends. Every sock is different so I don't have to bother about matching them up when they are laundered....fantastic.
Some of the decorations will be coming down today....probably everything but the tree which stays up until DD's birthday on January 3rd.
The dining room needs to be put back as it was so that will get done today too. I am so ready to get back to normal.
Do you take your decorations down as soon as Christmas is over or do you keep them up until Twelfth Night?
Rightio.....I shall go and get on with this dinner prep.
Thanks for dropping by today.
Sheila-x-
We don't have decorations up, just the cards on the mantelpiece and shelves, and they come down the day after Boxing Day. Same with birthday cards, a day or 2 later and they're down. Can't stand seeing them all around afterwards, we like to get back to normal asap. I use the cards for shopping lists or scribble notes, unless they're really special, in which case they get put in a card keepsake box.
ReplyDeleteWhen the kids were little we kept them up longer but I can't be doing with that now.
ReplyDeleteI cut cards up to use as bookmarks but I won't be cutting up the ones Ruby made-x-
My tree and decs will stay up till Fran goes back. I predict that as soon as I get back from seeing her off I will start to dismantle everything. There will be roast lamb for tomorrow's dinner, tonight is meatballs with pasta.
ReplyDeleteAaaah....that's better. Dining room is back to normal. It feels good.
DeleteMeatballs and pasta....yummy....enjoy-x-
I get a bit twitchy and want to start taking decs down, so I just thin things out a little. The wreath on the front door came down for two reasons. The first being the roses were finally looking past it, and secondly, I like to store it and let everything dry out, so the following year I can see exactly how it looked! then I remove the dusty,dried out and crusty foliage and flowers, and start afresh.
ReplyDeleteBut I'm like you, I have to leave them up for a birthday. Bill's birthday is on the 2nd, and I always feel sorry for him. Everyone else is over Christmas and New Year, taking down decorations, getting back to work. And there he is, trying to enjoy his birthday when no one wants to celebrate. I usually forget, or leave it late (have got cards, sparklers for a cake, but no present and no cake as yet!), but Violet and I try to make it happy for him. As we didn't go out to lunch on Christmas Eve, we're going to the pub we like on his bd instead.
Your peace and quiet sounds gorgeous. And you've inspired me. I'm off to peel some parsnips and get some roast spuds sorted for later on. Enough of scoffing cheese and pickled onions, it's time I did some proper cooking again!
x
What a fabulous idea to let your wreath dry out and use it for ideas for next year.
DeleteNo present for the birthday girl here either and cake will be courtesy of T***o as I hate making birthday cakes unless it's for Ruby....and Marlowe in the future.
The roast dinner was well worth the effort but I am all roast dinnered out for a good while now.
Hugs-x-
If it were up to me, I'd have the tree down on the 26th! It always seems sad not to have the beautiful presents under the tree. But my husband likes to keep it up until after New Years!!
ReplyDeleteI'm definitely getting the itch to take our tree down too now Amy.
DeleteHugs-x-
Our Christmas decorations will stay till twelfth night...though they could stay till candlemas really...I have some things which I deem to be winter rather than Christmas hijacking everything...that will stay until the light returns and I realise how much dust they are harbouring! I am alone for much of today and am getting things done...washing and more cooking...we have had quite a cottage full!! x
ReplyDeleteI am thinking that I might look out for more rustic/country/winter type decorations for next year and maybe fetch in some ivy for the top of the dresser. This year was just a case of use what I had.
DeleteA nearly whole day to yourself....gawd I am jealous....lol.
Hugs-x-
I can't wait to take them down I always look forward to the new year, Jack will be going away for a week on Friday so I will probably keep them up until then.
ReplyDeleteI'm definitely ready to kick 2016 into the past Marlene and have a fresh new start in 2017. A lot of my preparations were done in a rush with Andy going into hospital and his recovery and I just want to get the house de-Christmassed and get tidied up.
DeleteHugs-x-
I think we were one up on everybody here we didn't put any decorations up. Neither of are are fussed and we don't really celebrate Christmas.
ReplyDeleteBefore we had the grandchildren we didn't bother so much...just a tree was more than enough but the look on both of their little faces this year was just so great that I was glad we decorated more than normal.
DeleteHugs-x-
TWELFTH NIGHT AND NOT A MINUTE SOONER!! I'm having palpitations about taking them down already and I do mourn the passing of my tree. It's so beautiful!!!
ReplyDeleteI usually leave mine til New Years Day but this year, after enjoying our festive days, I just felt it was time to take them down and move on. Apart from the tree that is which will stay up til New Years Day.
ReplyDeleteAndy's presents sound amazing, the driving is just the sort of thing Mark would love to do. And the book is brilliants. What a clever and personal idea.
No crafting or jigsaws for me this year. Don't know why, but there you go. I was missing sitting down to something to do though so bought myself a little cross stitch with my voucher from The Works. Feeling happier now! xx