Done and dusted...

The Christmas decorations are down, and waiting to go into boxes and up into the loft for another year. Lots of gold baubles this time, and the slightly full of herself angel for the top of the tree (just have to pick her up and she gets a bit flouncy with her hair), as well as the old favourites, like the 'icicle' garlands for the tree.

We always put up the home-made ones from friends, and the one that reminds me of my mum. She'd have enjoyed Christmas in this house, I'm sure. Then there are the matryoshka dolls my brother brought over from Russia (I now have the ones he gave my mum, too).

The stairs, in particular, look very dowdy without the lights - Mr Drookit is always up and about before I am, so I'd got used to getting up and being guided down the stairs by the lights, and into the kitchen past the tree, this last few weeks. It was very dull, in both senses of the word, when I got up this morning... Ah well!

Christmas past...

On Monday, we headed off to friends for a few drinks and Christmassy nibbles - they have the sort of properly characterful house that looks perfect all togged out with tree and tinsel.

Stockings round the fireplace.

Even the lamp got in on the act!

On Christmas Eve, we did the usual last minute shopping,  put the presents under our tree, and the Drookit neighbours came round for yet more festive cheer - you can never have too much of that!

Our new Christmas Day tradition is to go to the pub for a lunch time drink - it gets us out of the house for a little while even if the weather is too horrible for a decent walk and, since it's only open from noon until 2pm, it's short and sweet before everyone heads home to start cooking Christmas dinner.

...and you never know who you'll bump into!

It seemed that every dog around town (and these are only a few) sported some sort of festive neck wear!

Boxing Day, and Mr Drookit went off to pick up the Gorgeous Girl to bring her here for a few days - the joy of going on the back of the motorbike might have been slightly tarnished for her, as they got home utterly frozen. Wood burner glowing, and a blanket wrapped around her, helped thaw her out!

One particular Christmas gift helped her work up a sweat later... Sadly, I wasn't quite so good, but Mr Drookit was completely hopeless!

Friday had us entertaining family with a makeshift lunch (the carrot sticks and cucumber disappeared in double quick time - I think everyone was feeling a bit overloaded with carbs!) and then some games. Bananagram is good fun, except when Mr Drookit is playing - he beats everyone, and it all gets a bit mad and frantic! Still, a good end to the week. Even if we all got thoroughly trounced!

Festive London...

We had a day in London just before Christmas, to meet up with family, share some champagne and celebrate an engagement! En route we passed a few interesting looking places, like this one. Café society? In London? In December? Brrrr!

For some folk, it looked as if Christmas had been and gone and happened already...

Luckily, there was plenty of Christmas spirit at my nephew and his girlfriend's place - as well as home-made biscuits, sweets, and the most delicious chocolate eclairs ever...

Champagne was drunk, toasts made, and glasses raised - to Christmas, to loved ones, and to the newly engaged couple! Lovely stuff!

*****

We took advantage of being in London to head off and do a little bit of Christmas shopping and to see the lights. Sloane Square was impressive - if only marginally more sparkly than it always is - and Peter Jones with its vertiginous drop was a tiny bit terrifying!

I was reminded just how much I loathe and detest noisy cars...

Peter Jones polar bear made of computery/gamey (technical term) things.

Harvey Nichols windows were, as usual, full of all things bright and beautiful, and unaffordable.

 

 A lovely day, with lovely food and lovely people. Grand!

Catching up, as the year ends....

A few weeks ago there were butterflies and bugs taking shelter indoors, like this Small Tortoiseshell. I left it there for a couple of days, and then thought it perhaps needed to overwinter somewhere a bit more sensible - like the shed - so out it went. Poor thing looks a little raggedy round the edges...

Low golden light in the afternoon followed by some beautiful sunsets, made for some lovely yellow highlights on the trees.

This was taken on a walk with my niece who also, lucky thing, got to wear the jumper I knitted (since it looked dreadful on me...)

I was so pleased with myself at having finally knitted a garment (hats and scarves don't count) and in the process learning how to follow a pattern, shape raglan sleeves, do increases and decreases, and to use mattress stitch to join it all together, and so on... But the yarn was quite a heavy one, and the neckline, which should have been a loose roll neck as can be seen by the middle picture, got wider and wider as the days went on, until it was hanging off her shoulders, while the sleeves drooped longer and longer... It was all so promising, but it didn't quite live up to expectations, and it has now been unravelled ready to be made into something less challenging!

I did, however, make my niece a hat while she was here. That I can manage! In fact, if my other niece should want one, she only has to say the word!

We decorated the tree, and the hall, ready for all the festivities - with my niece's help. The Gorgeous Girl didn't manage to visit before Christmas, and since the tree is one of those things she and her dad always do together - while I go around harrumphing and being a bit Scrinchy (a Scrooge/Grinch composite) - tree decorating was a slightly melancholy experience this year! It did (and still does) look rather lovely tho'.

The weather wasn't particularly festive in the lead up to Christmas, although there was one chilly morning, when I walked down to the meadows to take some photographs of the swans - the grass crackled with frost, and the leaves looked as if they were dusted over with icing sugar.