Domesticali

Looking backwards

This part of the year often seems to give rise to gentle reflection of the year gone by. Highlights, achievements, changes. But oddly, when I look back through my archive of 365 photos for this year, they show none of those things. They are full of the minutiae of life and all the more valuable for that.

I did toy with loftier goals for the year to come - a photo a day based on The Daily Shoot's photo prompts.  But on reflection, I rather like the random nature of what I captured each day. 

2011 will mark the fourth year of taking on the challenge (with varying degrees of success) but seems to still have value. 

We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit. (Aristotole)

And if you want to fall in love with the way photographs capture life, you need to visit Pummelvision and make a movie of your entire photostream. In their words, it's like watching your life flash in front of your eyes. Bizarrely captivating.

Christmas Eve

It is possible that we have peaked too soon. Everything is ready. Cranberry sauce simmering on the stove with its smells of orange zest, cinnamon and cloves infusing the whole house with the scent of Christmas. Fridge log-jammed with provisions, cookies baked and ready. Really, for me, the foods of Christmas just might be the very best bit.

Not that I don't adore the rest too - the wreath is on the (back) door and the family are in position and ready for the off.

Presents are wrapped and labelled and squirrelled away safely from those tempted to indulge in preliminary feelies and smellies.

All is calm and bright.

Merry Christmas!

Travelling

Cannot tell you how relieved I was to make it back through the snow to Oxfordshire from Northumberland on Sunday. I had listened to the dire warnings from the AA and agonized about whether returning home counted as a sufficiently compelling reason for ignoring the advice to stay off the roads of at all possible. But we made it, even if the last 30 miles had me digging my fingernails into my somewhat sweaty palms in fear. 

But it seems that eventful travel stories are the norm at the moment.

Heading towards Bethlehem, some rather perilously placed Wise Men, on swift running camels (and one hapless Ox). I love asking the kids to set up the nativity scene.

And those of you on the move - take care.

The not-for-us card

Oh happy day - it arrived! My favourite christmas card of the year, the one I anticipate more than any other and the one which makes me grin from ear to ear. What's so special about it?
Well, it isn't for us. It arrives at our address, with a perfectly neat and legible envelope bearing our correct house number, street and postcode. The only thing is, we are not called Jules and Harvey. Jules and Harvey have never lived in this house, or on this street, for that matter.

The only thing I know about Jules and Harvey is that they have chums called Graham and Olwyn. Not close chums, because Olwyn apologizes that they haven't managed to meet up again this year, but they are clearly tenacious, because their card has arrived with us for the last 3 (possibly 4) years.

I do love the perkiness of Olwyn, though her habit of using capital letters in the middle of words is slightly bizarre. I also note that she has selected the religious option for her stamp rather than the secular but cheery Wallace and Gromit - though of course, it is possible that Graham was in charge of the stamping and posting of cards. 

Each year, I am fearful that Graham and Olwyn will have pruned their Christmas card list and we (or rather Jules and Harvey) will have been crossed off, but thankfully, not this year! Now, to assign it pride of place on the mantlepiece.

Tea towels

Inspired by Purl Bee and Monica, I finally got round to sewing some little trimmed tea-towels for teacher gifts this weekend. To go with our cinnamon biscuits. After all, who doesn't love a nice new tea towel?

My personal favourite in use was a gift last Christmas and it makes me smile.

But there is one very special one I own which will never, find itself on dish duty. I bought a beautiful Caren Garfen limited edition tea towel with hand embroidered label at Origin earlier this year and when life calms down a teeny bit I am going to frame it and put it on my wall. It is unique.

Paper pinecones

There seems no end to my love of things made from upcycled books -  can't resist the urge to chop them up. And also to read snippets of sentences as I use them, which is sometimes a truly bizarre experience. 

See, I just couldn't get the image of these out of my head. They were speaking to me of pinecones. So I punched a load of small circles out of a hapless book and used sewing pins to fasten them onto a polystyrene ball. And my paper pinecone itch was scratched. I may try a few more (right after I buy another tub of pins).

 

Making whoopie

Hooray for frozen ground and cancelled Rugby fixtures - we got to have a much more fun weekend than the one in the diary. Coffee with an old friend on a brief visit from Switzerland, heading off to Christmas Common to choose our tree, lunch in the pub and then returning in the tail end of the beautiful day which had been hiding behind the freezing fog.

And while the boys manfully tackled putting up the outdoor lights in the increasing gloom, I set about my own project in the kitchen.

Whoopie pies! I'd not tasted one before, but Monica had given me a copy of the most enticing looking book, so I just had to give them a go. And let me tell you, based on the chocolate with salty peanut butter filling option we went for, these are incredible. Move over, cupcakes - I may have found a new baking passion. 

There's a great review of the book (complete with a teaser recipe) over at Bakerella. Though if you're hoping to squeeze into some slinky party dress over the festive season, it may be better not to look. Me? I'm embracing the santa belly look. Ho ho ho.