And relax...

Biscuits (shortbread) and tarts (coconut) are baked, presents wrapped, cards written, shopping done.... hurrah!

I still have GS's stocking to complete but not much now to do, phew!

The baking was very therapeutic, although I did try to make some fruit pastilles that went very wrong (the mixture just never set *sniff* but nevermind making a jam sponge pudding with it instead lol)

I do hope my homemade gifts are enjoyed, I have heard from a friend this week whose beautifully crafted frosted cupcakes were not received well by her friend for her birthday, it's left me baffled really why anyone would not appreciate the effort and skill involved in what she made, i just don't get it. Maybe she is on a diet or something, still, I can't help but feel that her true colours have been revealed upon turning her nose up at my friends efforts, it seems to some it's only about how much you have spent or how fashionable the item is, not what thought and care has gone in to it, very sad really.

It has been beautifully snowy on the hill, everywhere looks very Christmassy and bright, much better than the usual rain/wind combination we usually have for Christmas week, it's so nice to have the white stuff come earlier than normal (lately it's been more February before snow falls). GS has been captivated by watching the giant flakes fall and then being able to dash around outside and go sledging! My garden birds seem to be struggling though, I have never seen so many in the garden fighting over the feeders and scraps i put out, i gave in and chopped them some cheese up yesterday, i just felt so sorry for them out there.

Made with love

Thank you so much for your caring comments about our Charlie, we are coming to terms with it all now although still try and do a head count for 4 instead of 3, and miss his presence so much, poor little dude.

I am turning my attentions to all the handmade items I need to do for Christmas. Some are already done (jams, chutneys etc), some are half done (stockings for my son and niece- as what one has the other has to as well lol), and some i have to wait for so they stay fresh (biscuits, sweets and cheese straws). I am hoping that if i pace myself they will all get done in time, that's the hope anyway! I really need to stop procrastinating though (a nasty habit i have gotten in to over the years and really need to shake!) and get things done.

Another project I completed this week was for my friend who has now had her two twin boys (who are absolutely adorable by the way!) I finished the bibs for them;

I chose 100% cotton fabric for the fronts and a white towel for the back for extra absorbency. GS kindly modelled them although being 2 years old they were very small on him but look huge on the boys, it's so amazing how fast they grow!

Losing a pet

Rest in peace Charlie boy

It has been a sad time on the hill this past week, our beloved cat Charlie was hit by a car and killed outside our house, it was awful and very upsetting to witness him gone like that, and so suddenly, he was such a cheekly little chap, always up to mischief, boisterous and fun but loved nothing better than a cuddle and to steal bread from the bird table when he thought we weren't looking! For all that to be ended so suddenly, and in a violent way, just wasn't fair for his young years, he was only 3. It's the danger we have always been aware of with a busy road outside our house, but the fact we have acres of open countryside and farm land behind our house we just thought they wouldn't venture off over the road, we were wrong, but he was too much of a free spirit and loves his outdoor wanderings for us to have done him any favours by keeping him couped up inside, he needed the wander and roam, it's just sad it meant this happened to him.


GN has been devasted, technically Charlie was her little baby as she adopted him and Daisy as kittens from the same litter before we moved in together, and on top of all other things this was hard, hard for her to see and lose. There have been too many tears shed in our house this year. I know to some people the fuss over pets seems weird and ridiculous, but to us he was a part of our family, loved and cared for, included in our every day activities like any other member of our family, and despite the fact we had 4 cats, to have now only 3 feels weird and strange, we miss him and his little character.


I am grateful we were able to find him, so we could bury him in the back field where he loved to roam so much. I am sure whoever hit him or at least saw him hit stopped and moved him and were probably very upset about what happened, they stopped a neighbour of ours to see if she knew where he had come from as Charlie could never keep a collar on (there must be a secret den somewhere with a hidden pile of them!) and had only lost his latest one a few days earlier so had no i.d as to where he came from, my neighbour remembered we had cats so knocked on our door to let us know what she had been told, we did a quick head count and realised Charlie was missing, i just knew then deep down it was him. It didn't take long before we found him, it was so awful to see him like that, it's haunted me, but we had a chance to say our goodbyes, give him a final stroke and know he hadn't suffered he just wouldn't have known what happened. To be able to say good bye, bury him and start the closure was comforting, better than not knowing where he had gone or what had happened to him, for him to be out somewhere alone or worst still in pain. It's helped a lot, and I am eternally grateful for everyone who stopped to take care of him and help him get back home to us, it was truly kind.