first day

First day of December. The car windscreen is completely iced.  Freezing fog is lifting slowly from the fields and lake. I say to the boys perhaps we should have an adventure one morning and walk to the school bus. Back home I light the fire, put my porridge on the stove and decide to make a cake with the fresh eggs my friend gave me yesterday. Her chickens are still laying. I heat the water for coffee and use some of it to boil an egg. Egg and buttered toast - one of the most comforting foods. The advent calendar I made three years ago has been strung up in the dining room. The pouches are filled with gold foiled chocolate coins. One for each of the boys. William says homemade is best. Homemade is best. I nod.  In fact home is best.

beginning to look a lot like...

It's the beginning of December. A starry, Christmassy month scented with cinnamon, spices and tree sap. A month of preparations and tinsel, glitter and baking and yes, a certain amount of dashing around. We are certainly getting in the Christmas spirit. The Advent calendar is up (same as last year) and we'd a mammoth cake baking session at the weekend. Five cakes later we are feeling slightly sultanaed out. The sloe gin is nearly ready to be decanted and given as gifts and Santa lists have been written. Today the boys arrived home with their Christmas cards- drawn by them and then printed (as part of a school fund-raising project) they feature those well known festive characters - Wally walrus, Santa's er, lighthouse and camels, as well as a Christmas cat. Anyway I know it's easy to get frazzled by all the fuss and bother, but really this year I'm planning to enjoy every single second of it. The boys are at lovely ages where Christmas is so magical and I know that doesn't last forever. Happy Decembering!

'Adventus'

The Advent calendar is finished and strung along the stairs, wending its way up over prints and along the panelling of the dining room. Each pouch has a little treat tucked away inside and hopefully the boys will look forward to each day of Advent rather than just wishing it all away...

Wishing you and your loved ones a happy weekend, full of cheer!

Almost Advent

We are just at the end of one month and about to begin another. December is laden with the promise of winter festivities and celebration. But it very hard when you're young to get through all those other pesky days which are between you and the magical 25th of December...So this year we are making an Advent Calendar to count down to Christmas Day. Normally we buy a chocolate filled one but I have found them confusing for the boys-the numbers are scattered out of sequence across the calendar so there is no sense of time passing. You can't quickly glance at it and figure out how many days are left to go.

This one is much better. Made from festive paper, teeny pegs and twine it has little pockets all strung in a row, containing pieces of chocolate or jelly beans and sealed with a sticker. Still a work in progress but we're nearly done and just in time too.

If you want to have a go look here for all the details