Well the big day has been and gone and we did things a little differently around here with a few tweeks on traditions.
Whilst Folly 1 went off to see her friends (including the Boyfriend) the remaining five Follies still did a Christmas Eve walk, though we kept it more local. This decision split the family in half and I was in the half struggling with change. The local walk around the village although lovely just did not seem Christmassy enough - until we saw these beauties walking around the farmyard.
Mr Folly was adamant that nothing could epitomise Christmas more than this.
Another change was attending church on Christmas Eve - something we have not done since having children. There was a 7pm service with lots of carols, a sparkly tree and a nativity scene involving some of the children of the parish. Poor Mary did suffer a crisis with her head-dress at a vital moment but kept her presence of mind and clung on to Jesus!
The predominant theme of presents this year seems to have been scarves which is fine by me. The Christmas miss of the year was my idea to abandon the Stilton and try a different blue cheese. It seems some traditions just can't be changed!
Folly 3 has been busy creating with the written word. I think at school the children were given the task of writing a poem in the form of a recipe and so here is her recipe of our family life. I don't think anyone could describe families any better than this.
A family recipe
Add arguments and fights to strops and punishments.
Stir in some love and support.
Turn up the heat and add moods, tempers and leave for me time.
Then stir hard while adding laughter and fun.
Then leave to cool.
Note: Warning - if you leave for too long it will become boring and flavourless
I think it must be the drop in temperature but there's suddenly a demand amongst the Follies for baked treats and munchies.
Folly 3 is doing well responding to the daily demands of the household for mince pies and flapjacks. Each time she makes a batch of mince pies I take half away and put them in the freezer for those times when we feel like an afternoon snack and don't have the time or the inclination to bake. (Unusually organised for me)
I have been cracking on with the Christmas cooking (well yes strictly speaking mince pies are Christmas cooking too) which we won't eat until we have all begun our holidays. So far I have made a traditional fruit cake and have a couple of small Dundee cakes in the oven which might end up as gifts (depending how they turn out).
We have to pick our times of cooking carefully though as we have decorators painting the kitchen. As they pack up their paint brushes, rollers and drop cloths out come our pastry brushes, bun tins and aprons.
The pervading smell of home cooking certainly beats that of the paint fumes.
so whilst the rest of the country strategically places the sandbags and hopes the flood defences spring into action we follies join a boating group sailing across the solent for lunch!
This was the first time the family joined Mr Folly on a powerboat and let's just say the boy racer got the better of him!
We don't all have the wet weather gear as yet but by borrowing and using a tarpaulin we thought we might manage to keep dry. Not a bit!
We set off from Hamble just before 10am and arrived in Cowes an hour and 20 minutes later. It is the only time I have ever entered a pub to be asked whether I would like to have my clothes tumble dried. I can certainly recommend the service at The Folly Inn.
Unfortunately Folly 1 couldn't get the time off work and so was unable to join us, but the 3 Follies have been regaling her with tales of our adventure.
Based on the family response to a wet day on the water I think there will be many more days afloat for the Follies.
another month speeding by...
here at the follies we celebrated hallow'een with dressing up, pumpkins,decorations and a trick or treat village tour. It seems to be one of the few times when all the children of the village venture outside at the same time (the other being with the appearance of any snow). The girls gained a good haul of treats and i'm giving them the positive motivator of a little extra money if they can make the sweets last until the end of November. So far they are doing very well though I do have to hide their bags of goodies as they are convinced Mr Folly is dipping in!
Folly 1 has taken part in her guy fawkes celebrations in the nearby city. It sounded quite the event with the fireworks choreographed to music. The rest of us are off to an organised event tonight. The family is certainly growing up as for the first year no-one has requested sparklers.
We are all back into routine after the half term break and preparations for Christmas are apace:
- Folly 2 is superorganised and has much of her Christmas shopping done
- I have joined the school PTA Christmas Fayre committee
- Mr F has been requested to make an appearance as a much loved Christmas personage (and no I don't mean the Angel Gabriel)
- I am busy crafting for a WI stall at the village Christmas Fayre
- Christmas boxes for Operation Christmas Child have been assembled
- One Christmas cake is made though I am still unsure as to whether it is too 'well done'.
Sunday will see Folly 4 take part in a Remembrance Day ceremony. She will be joining in this year as a Girl Guideand has been asked to a reading. This is causing a little worry as she is hesitant when she reaches the word 'semaphore'. And how that fits into a Remembrance Service I will leave to the imagination.
.. the builders started work on the remodelling and extension of Yew Tree Cottage. Now I cannot say that we are actually finished, but for the most part the builders have left us and we are living in and enjoying our new space.
We have been asked now that we have been through all the stages of a large project whether, knowing what we know now, we would have undertaken such work. The answer from all of us is a big 'yes'!
We expected lots of dust and we got it, though much later on in the schuedule than I anticipated. There was copious amounts of mud and the loss of the use of the garden but it was during winter so that didn't seem so bad.
There were some positives too - always someone on hand to take in parcels, always someone competent available to undertake those little diy tasks that seem to crop up.
It is hard to remember now how we lived for 18 months before work started. Then how we squished together for 6 months with one folly sleeping downstairs and another in our bedroom. A good thing we have the photos to remind us.
I have the task of taking the dog on her first outing of the day and at this time of year we hear the sounds of geese coming our way. I love to watch their v-shaped formation and the way they continually re-shape behind a new leader. The goosey honking heralding the coming of winter.
There's a definite chill in the air once the sun has set and tonight for the first time since the summer we lit a fire. We didn't end up with the cosy evening I anticipated as local friends came over and enticed the girls outside to play in the last of the days light. I enjoyed my evening keeping the home fires burning!
