Project 52 week 52 ( and a little bit left over)

I always enjoy Christmas week.  I light lots of candles, invite friends round for coffee, and curl up by the fire with a good book.

Monday 22nd December

 We have two modern chandeliers in our house, but the one in the sitting room, with 5 lights, is never switched on as it gives off a cold light. We usual use the one in the dining room, which has 7 lights, as it is right over the table. Otherwise we use uplighters in the corners. At this time of the year it is nicer to use candlelight. I spent a lot of the day on the phone trying to trace a missing gift which was looking increasingly like it wouldn't arrive in time for the big day.

Tuesday

Cathy came to visit today and she brought me a basket made-up of her jams and chutneys. She makes wonderful things with fruit from her garden, and herbs from mine. She brought me the cutest plant pot in the shape of a cat. As she has the mother cat of my two, she is instrumental in making sure my cat collection continues to grow. I put my poinsettia in it and tucked it up on the top of the TV cupboard, away from the cats.

Wednesday

Christmas eve. The first good thing happened when the parcel, which had gone missing without trace, turned up. Cairis was at work, as was her father, so I wrapped it quickly and put it behind the sofa. We always give each other a gift at midnight before we go to bed, and mine was really special. M bought me a replacement wedding ring for my silver wedding anniversary. I thought he had forgotten. It was exactly the same Celtic knot design as the original, and also came from Skye Silver. The only difference was the width. The first one was too deep for my short fingers and I rarely wore it- and of course it got mislaid. The new one is perfect.

Christmas Day

I set the table for lunch and lit the fire and the candles before the others woke up. It was our turn to host the morning (drop in for a drink and exchange gifts) session. We take turns with our friends each year. We were eating venison, which needs very little cooking time, so I wasn't stressed. Father Christmas brought me a table-top hostess trolley, which I'd had my eye on for a while. It was well used during the day. Miles bought me a lemon tree for the garden. I shall have fun deciding where to plant it when the weather warms up.

Friday, Boxing day

Boxing Day is big in the Morris calender so M was up with the larks, ready to dance in town. Cairis decided to go down too, so that she could try out her new camera. I woke up with a tickly cough, and, thinking I was brewing a cold,opted for staying by the fire. I had a very peaceful day, with the cats for company and a good book on my kindle. I decided to tidy up my paperwork, which was starting to look like a mountain. I thought that I could just scan it all and throw away the paper, but I had help- or hindrance, from my little black furry friend. She has taken to using her paws to scoop paper up which is not funny when there is work to be done.

Saturday

The tree has been up for over a week now, and the cats hadn't shown any interest in it until today. I wonder if it was because I hadn't yet switched the lights on. Ebony climbed right into the middle of the tree, and Maisie had a tentative go- and deciding she was too heavy, erred on the side of caution.
 My cold is now at the sneezing and streaming stage, so I have been upstairs in the office by myself for most of the day. I did go down to watch  Inspector Montalbano  for a while though.
There are still a few days to go to the end of the year, so there will be another week's worth to come.
I'm looking forward to what 2015 will bring.