2013 New Year Resolutions

Out with the old and in with the new

I confess I am not a big fan of New Year's Eve. Parties scare the hell out of me and, even staying in, there is a temptation to mull over regrets and failures. This year's seasonal break has been particularly testing - a cough and cold combined with the year ending as wet and grey as it seems to have been all year (the second wettest year since records began apparently). I wanted to get out and about and feel cold, fresh air on my face and soak up gentle Winter sun, but instead going outside meant getting wet and muddy. The news has been full of poor people fighting to keep the elements out of their houses - and often failing to do so and facing a new year of clearing flood water out of their houses. After walking around Bailbrook on the first not quite so rainy day, Mark and I decided to carry on and walk down to Bathampton and along by the canal. The river looked wild and scary - and even the canal looked ominously full - it feels as though Nature is turning on its human squatters. Of course, the feeling is not helped by watching "2012" and "The Day After Tomorrow" on consecutive days!!

the rainy view with which we have become so familiar

River Avon at Bathampton

River Avon reclaims fields and trees

New Year Resolutions

While I find New Year's Eve somewhat testing, I really enjoy New Year's Day. Even though the cough/cold was deteriorating fast and Mark had to do most of the clearing of decorations, there is something liberating about putting the Christmas tree and decorations away and of having finished the rich foods of Christmas. It feels like a fresh start and I like to look forward to the coming year and the opportunities ahead. New year resolutions feel less like a straight-jacket than embracing the chances a new year brings. Particularly this year; the year I leave the job I have had for 16 years and set out on my own...well not really on my own, as I have a great support network.


Where to start with the resolutions? Well, firstly I will do my upmost to keep things in perspective! So when I get a cough and cold and miss my seasonal visit with my stepmother in London and she has to go to the ballet without me, and to "Matilda" with my sister's family, but with my seat left empty, I will not wallow in self-pity (well not very much). Mostly though I want to focus on positive intents - what I want to do, rather than not do:

• I want to keep up my FitnessPal log every day and stick to my planned calories;
• I want to take positive action where I can - for instance, the dark dreary days are a bit of a struggle, so I have bought myself a SAD (seasonal affective disorder) light box and will make sure I use it, and I will take my multivitamins and do the exercises to improve the movement in my left shoulder and not eat melted cheese or MSG or drink the sort of red wine I like but that gives me bad headaches. A lot of things are within my control if I choose to make them so!
• I want to make sure I add a photo every day to the my365 app (Six days in and I already have followers...but had not realised it is principally a Japanese (I think) app; how strange to think of people so far away looking to see what photo I add every day!);
• I want to keep a sketchbook...and use it. I love notebooks and sketchbooks and have a very silly reluctance to sully the lovely white (or black) pages with my words or drawings, but that is what they are for! At least once a week I will add to a sketch book; whether it be a drawing/painting for its own sake or inspiration for some craft item or other;
• I want to finish decorating the house. We have half-stripped 1980s wallpaper in most rooms and, when I finish work, I will allow myself a couple of weeks to focus on the decorating and finish all the rooms we have started;
• I want to make the garden both beautiful and productive, planning what I plant (for a garden with lots of clay and not a huge amount of sun), build raised vegetable/fruit beds in the areas with most sun, clear the once-shrubbery-now-jungle, fill my little grow-house with seedlings, plant up the hanging baskets with strawberries and tumbler tomatoes, replace the rotting wooden slats in the seat beneath the wisteria, etc;
• I want to go out to dinner or even a party (yeah, you know what I'm like at avoiding parties!) without trying on everything in my wardrobe and getting anxious and miserable because I don't like the way I look. I do want to lose more weight, but more than that I want to learn to like the way I look now!;
• I want to finish my 'sampler' quilt;
• I want to perfect my Bryony Bunny design and make up a few models for the real life Bryony's approval;
• I want to get my head round wordpress and put together a website for the business I want to start in April;
• I want to transfer my recipe notebook to a website/blog. I will probably make it open for others to see, but mainly it will be to get rid of the pile of scraps of paper with recipes that have not yet made it in to the notebook and to record how I get on with them; and
• I will keep my to do lists to a manageable length and I will pat myself on the back for the things I do and cross off, rather than beat myself up about the ones I do not complete!

2013: the first few days

As I have already whinged about mentioned, with the exception of New Year's Day (when I was too poorly to do anything but lie on the sofa feeling sorry for myself), the weather has been very gloomy. I like to put away the Christmas lights, but do miss the candles and twinkling lights, but this year I have not had to go cold turkey on the lights as my friend Tracey sent me a lovely lantern, made by punching holes in to a tin can to make images (in this case of cats). It is not really a Christmas thing, so I can use it even when the rest have been packed away...and I love it!

Tracey's tin can lantern

Another bonus has been Mark's new coffee maker. I suggested I got him one of these a couple of years ago and, not one to rush a decision, this year he decided actually it would be a good idea. The little blue and white mugs Irene gave me for my birthday are the perfect size for hot chocolate, cafe crema and cappuccinos and we bought a couple of the larger size ones from our local Scandinavian shop (Shannon on Walcot Street) for the lattes and I had also bought Mark a couple of latte glasses which show off the layers of frothy milk and coffee. It is a bit decadent - and I have to record the calories every time - but we are really enjoying these treats.

first latte from Mark's new Tassimo

Finally, I suspect our two cats, Max and Rio, have made a resolution to be brotherly as they have been inseparable all week. Even though it has not been very cold, they have chosen to snuggle up together.

Max and Rio: brotherly love

Of course it could just be they are competing to sleep on the old clothes (too big now!) I had left on the dining table before cutting them up to make things from!

Max and Rio cats

awww, cute cats!

Max is almost as big a fan of Amazon as I am...he loves the boxes, even when they are a bit on the small size!

Max the cat in an Amazon box

This must have been Boxing Day! (sorry...)

Max proves he can fit in the box

Christmas Celebrations

Nothing to report on crafting or cooking - I have had a week off and been very lazy. Mark and I did walk in to Bath yesterday and popped in to Fabric Mills on the way. At the end of last year we bought new sofas and, although we have managed reasonably well to keep Rio from scratching the arms, there are a few small pulled threads, so we bought some hard-wearing grey fabric, to match the sofas, and I am going to make covers for the arms, so the sofas should not be permanently damaged by cat claws.

Christmas Day Celebrations

On Christmas morning Mark and I had coffee and panettone and opened our presents before heading over to Mark's parents' house, the other side of Bath. Amongst many very nice things, I was given a lovely pair of earrings from Skånekraft. This is one of my favourite shops in Lund, and not only was it a lovely present for me...Rio really liked the ribbons used to decorate the wrapping too!

Rio enjoys posh Swedish gift wrapping

We usually alternate Christmas Day between Mark's family and mine, and this year it was Mark's family's turn. His brother comes up from London to join the fun and this year he brought his friend and her two young daughters with him. Two lovely little girls who really added to the Christmas spirit.

Solveig keeps her mum company (and avoids the scary strangers!)

Mark's brother took a seat in the 'circle' as we watched Disney's Robin Hood - it's only a wee small house.

Elias sitting in the 'circle'

 Little Elise set the table with her homemade napkin rings...a woman after my own heart (and only 6 years old).

Elise's table decorations

After lunch we sang 'the twelve days of Christmas' and Elise taught us all the actions!

five G O L D rings!

...three French hens...

Elise's main present was a party dress; a perfect little princess!

Elise's party dress

And the present opening carried on. As well as my new work chair and lamp, Mark surprised me with a bottle of Marc Jacob's 'Daisy' eau de parfum! My favourite!

Alice, Solveig and Elise opening presents

Mark's mum

Then it was time for party games - pin the tail on the donkey (there was pin the nose on the reindeer on the other side!)

Elise pins the tail on the donkey

Mark is blind-folded for his turn to pin the tail on the donkey

Elise spins round her mother

Solveig's turn

Elise cheers on her mum

even Mark's dad doesn't escape

After pin the tail on the donkey we had pass the parcel and a lucky dip - I won a spinning top! - and all too soon it was time to go home and feed the cats. It's almost all over now for another year - just a quiet New Year's Eve with Mark, me and a Chinese take-away left to come.

Final cakes of 2012

I just have to add my final batch of cakes of the year:

Christmas tree cupcakes

I love cooking and baking, but have done so much over the last few weeks, I will be happy to live on sandwiches for just a few days (after tomorrow, that is).

Christmas Eve

Christmas Decorations

I enjoy Christmas. I like the decorations and the preparations...and the cooking. I do find, however, that it goes on too long. If I put up the tree at the beginning of December, I would be fed up with it by Christmas, so I refuse to put up the tree and decorations more than a week before Christmas - and even then I am more than likely to want to take it all down again on New Year's Day.

Mark gets very grumpy putting up decorations - particularly the lights - so this year I put everything up on my day off, while he was at work!

Christmas tree decoration

Every year I fill Mark's wooden advent train with chocolates and one or two gifts. This year I bought him this gorgeous hand-felted cat in a Christmas stocking. I am a big fan of Etsy and found this little fella from Felt In Devon - it's so soft and very cute. I think Mark likes it too (he's such a big softie) as he's been pointing it out to anyone who comes to visit.

felt cat tree decoration

Talking of cats and trees, Max has adopted his usual Christmas snoozing place...on top of the gifts! This big box is his favourite this year.

Max under the Christmas tree

Westonbirt Arboretum: Enchanted Christmas

It has become a Christmas tradition for us to go to Westonbirt Arboretum's Enchanted Christmas. The trees are illuminated in lots of ways - there are disco balls and bubble machines, things that project images of visitors' faces on to the trees, machines blowing smoke rings, lights that are triggered by the sound visitors make, lights that look like fire and fireworks, delicate fairy lights, festive stalls and snow machines. it was a bit wet and muddy so I didn't take a tripod and the photos are not great, but hopefully they will give you an idea.

visitor's face projected on a tree

lights and smoke

fairy lights

multi-coloured tree

archway of lights

We are friends of Westonbirt and, as well as frequent walks there, we have been to a number of events and concerts and have never lost the car in the dark...until Friday! I felt so foolish as we traipsed through the mud looking for our car. The other downside was that Friday was the only day we (and Mark's parents) could make it to the arboretum, which meant that we missed both the annual Christmas street party and the final Bristol Audit Commission Christmas party. So many people left last week and the week before as they came to the end of their redundancy notice, it will be very strange and quiet when I go back in the New Year. The saving grace is that I will have a lot to do before I also leave at Easter, and I suspect the next three months will fly by.

 Christmas Cooking

 Well, the cooking goes on. Two friends at work each asked me to make them yule logs...and I had already said yes before I remembered I hadn't actually made one before. I had made swiss rolls and roulades, so was confident it wouldn't be a problem. I went through my many cookery books and googled a bit and found that Nigella's yule log recipe was well reviewed and very similar to the Hairy Bikers' recipe, so it seemed like a safe bet. Not only did the yule logs give me the chance to try making meringue mushrooms (another first), but I tasted the bits I trimmed off to roll up the cake and it was so yummy I made us one too, for when Mark's parents came over.

yule log with meringue mushrooms

Another Nigella recipe I like to make is her fir tree cake - the tin was pricey but friends and family have borrowed it over the years, so it has been worth it. This year I added cinnamon essence and ground cinnamon and some lovely red and white polka dot candles and teacup crackers.

cinnamon fir tree cake

We lit the candles and then served it yesterday with a warm berry compote and double cream. As we are spending Christmas Day with Mark's family, we had my family over yesterday for a Swedish-ish Christmas celebration. I had intended to make rice pudding with a warm cherry sauce (which the Scandinavian Christmas book says is Danish), but there was just going to be too much food, so I skipped the rice pudding and used a mix of fruit rather than just cherries. Note the lovely Scandinavian mugs in the background (a birthday present when I was in Sweden earlier in the year).

fir tree cake with candles

Some of the the Scandinavian food was great - the gravadlax and herring in mustard crispbreads to start, the gammon joint with quince syrup, the spiced red cabbage and Annika's recipe for mandelmusslorna (little almond cakes baked in little individual pretty shaped tins - Annika sent me a selection of the tins). However, I was not keen on the sherry-cream sauce for the meatballs (I prefer a tomato sauce) and the jury is out on the Jansson's Temptation. My family seemed to like the creamy things more than I did - perhaps I have just lost the taste for cream.

meatballs with a sherry and cream sauce

I made a selection of little cakes and gingerbread (and cheated with some punschrulle and chokladboll from Ocado's Swedish Shop). I had intended to make the gingerbread horses more like Dala horses, but ran out of time and energy.

Scandinavian-ish cake and biscuit selection

Homemade Christmas Gifts

I like to give homemade gifts as much as I can, so made rocky road, gingerbread and stollen. Of course, gingerbread is just not gingerbread without edible glitter!

glittery gingerbread baubles

 This year Mark's brother is bringing his friend and her two daughters for Christmas. I haven't met them before and wanted to be able to give the two girls a little something. Hopefully these fairy peg-dolls will be well-received. They were certainly good fun to make!

Merry Christmas

Whether you are celebrating today or tomorrow (or not celebrating at all and just making the most of some quiet time), I hope everyone enjoys a happy and peaceful Christmas! Mark and I have a quiet day planned today...just a little baking for tomorrow's Christmas lunch with Mark's family.

Gingerbread houses and Christmas singing

Nearly the final Christmas cakes

This week I finished the last two fruit Christmas cakes (there are still two yule logs to make). My sister had said that the Christmas cakes I gave her in previous years were too big, as her husband and son are not overly keen on fruit cake. I thought the way around the dilemma could be to combine fruit cake and gingerbread, so  I made a ring of house fronts - aiming for the style of the tall houses you see in Amsterdam and Bruges - with a candle in the centre so the light shines out of the house windows. Hopefully this will give everyone something they like. I liked the design so made another one for Mark's parents.

gingerbread Christmas cake

Gingerbread houses

I often make gingerbread houses and churches and a friend at work saw the photos and asked me to make one for her and one for her mum. I just love everything about making gingerbread - the smell (and taste!), the chance to get creative with sweets and icing and the overall effect. I put crushed boiled sweets in the holes for the windows so they melt to form 'glass', and have provided battery powered tea lights so light flickers through the coloured edible glass.

gingerbread house

The trees are iced ice-cream cones and the snowmen are three Whittard marshmallow snowballs (marshmallows covered in desiccated coconut) stuck together with royal icing and held with a cocktail stick, with orange flavoured matchmaker chocolate sticks as arms and a fondant nose and scarf.

decorated gingerbread house with marshmallow snowman

 For the second gingerbread house I covered the roof with matchmaker chocolate sticks, and liberally dusted the whole thing with icing sugar and edible glitter.

gingerbread house with chocolate roof

ice-cream cone tree

Cats

Max the cat was very pleased with the box Mark's Christmas present came in...until my new work chair (gift from Mark) arrived! He has hardly moved off the chair since it arrived. I even found it swivelled round so he could look out at the garden!

On Friday it rained all day. The cats refused to go out...just sat by the cat flap, watching disapprovingly. It's a hard life being a cat (yeah, right!)

cats watching the rain through the catflap

"when will the rain stop???"

Max and Rio

Bath Minerva Choir, Light and Gold concert

Quite a few years ago I used to sing in an amateur musical theatre group. The group folded and I stopped singing. At the beginning of the year I decided to start again. I had a few singing lessons and went along to a Bath Minerva Choir rehearsal to see what I thought. I totally loved it - particularly the people - and kept going. The music is quite a challenge for me as my music reading/understanding/knowledge is not all it could be, but I have enjoyed learning this very different type of music, much of which I had not heard before - and as an alto, so no more tune. It is also good that I am not required to dance any more! I was a very, very bad dancer.

I was away for the first concert, at Bath Abbey in April, and the Summer term was spent working towards a two day workshop rather than a formal concert, so yesterday's concert was the first of its type I have taken part in for 27 years!! I was quite anxious - not least about wearing my new, fitted red top, rather than my usual baggy stuff - but I had a great time! I got to stand next to Christina who has a beautiful and strong voice. I sing so much better when I stand next to Christina; just knowing I am singing the same notes as someone else gives me confidence (she is also very lovely and great to chat to). I had some very nice comments from other choristers about the sound coming from Christina and me in the back row (where the naughty choristers stand!) and, much as I know the lion's share of that came from Christina, I am still pretty chuffed. My biggest singing challenge is a lack of confidence, so kind words are always welcome...even if people are just being kind.

We rehearsed much of Saturday afternoon, with the Bath Philharmonia and soloists, and then had the concert in the evening. I was quite tired. I normally wake up between 5 and 6 on a Sunday, no matter how much I would like a lie-in, but today slept until almost 9...unheard of! The music from the concert is still going through my head, my knees hurt from wearing high heels in order to be able to see Gavin the conductor and my tinnitus is a bit rubbish, but I still keep grinning. It was a lot of fun and I am really looking forward to starting rehearsals again in the new year.

I almost forgot...hyacinth cam!