So, Friday is here again, and it’s been a pretty quiet week – not that that is a bad thing! Here’s a little round up of it:

1. Eventually the rain, and therefore the field, dried up enough by the end of last week for me to be able to let the dogs off their leads to run around like crazy things! It had been a complete quagmire for the past few weeks, so it was a real treat for them – and so nice to see them having so much fun together!
2. Christmas may be well and truly over (four weeks ago already – what?!?) but fairy lights and candles are still being lit just about every night in our house – simply because they are so pretty. Love them!

3. Obviously a big highlight of the weekend was the snow! I do love it, but not when it disrupts work and school, so it was great that it came on Saturday night so that we woke up to these lovely scenes on Sunday morning – and then was all gone by the start of the working week – perfect!

4. The cold snap in the weather has meant that the woodburner has been put to very good use this week, as we have lit fires every evening. Installing this is definitely one of the best things we have done to the house – by far!

5. I started my volunteer training at the hospice last week, and I’m really enjoying it. The first session was the foundation course, in which we were given lots of information about all different aspects of the hospice by the CEO and the directors in charge of the various areas – operations, clinical, retail, marketing, finance, etc. So interesting. This week’s session was the first of the actual volunteers course, and it gave us a better chance to get to know each other a little more whilst discussing various questions and topics.

6. I believe that I have mentioned this one previously, but I am so grateful that my job allows me so much flexibility, as came into play on Wednesday when G was unwell at school and I had to collect her at 11am. An afternoon of sleeping on the sofa in front of the fire made her feel much better fortunately, but I was so grateful that I could collect her and carry on working at home without any difficulty.

7. There have been some stunning sunrises this week, especially on Tuesday. The photo really doesn’t do it justice – it was possibly the brightest pink sky I have ever seen, which certainly helps to start the day off nicely!

8. We may still be two months away from Easter, but I couldn’t resist the hot cross buns on my way home from work on Thursday! A truly delicious lunchtime treat!

9. Tilly was trimmed yesterday, which always seems to put a real spring in her step for some reason, which is so lovely to see (as she is often a bit of a crotchety old woman!). It will mean she dries far quicker after our walks too, which is definitely a good thing.

10. Last one for this week – it’s Friday and I’m going up to fetch B home for the weekend! Hurrah! We are all really looking forward to having some full family time together, so are very excited.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Well, that’s the first complete week back in the work/school routine done, so my first Happy Friday post of the year. It’s been a pretty good week, all in all, despite being a little worried about B having his first cough and cold whilst away at school, but I’m sure that the matrons are keeping an eye on him for us.

So, here are the highlights of my week:

1. D came home on Friday night armed with the most beautiful bouquet of flowers and bottle of Prosecco – what a fabulous start to the weekend!

2. I discovered a lovely new tea at the weekend – Three Ginger from Pukka. I love all things ginger and this is definitely no exception.

3. I had bought some new bedding for our room just after Christmas and so I put it on at the weekend, and I absolutely love it. It’s pale grey, with a delicate white floral design, so looks perfect with our grey and white walls.

4. We used some lovely little mugs which we had been given for Christmas for the first time at the weekend. They aren’t large enough for tea, but are just perfect for coffee, and are the most lovely pastel colours.

5. D and I had a good planning session whilst G was climbing on Saturday morning, making plans for all different aspects of life, such as health and fitness, home and finances, family, etc. It felt really good to have some proper plans in place which we can review regularly and will hopefully keep us on track to achieve what we’d like to this year.

6. We had a very successful trip to Dunelm Mill, with the aim of buying some new mugs and bedside lamps for our room. Not only did we come away with some beautiful, simple white China mugs with an embossed daisy (!) design and a couple of lovely white bedside lamps, but we also happened to purchase a slow cooker in the sale! We’ve never used one before, but are very much looking forward to trying it out at the weekend.

7. We had a lovely trip to Trentham Gardens on Sunday, which I described in more detail in my mid-week post.

8. I had tried to get some new pyjamas after Christmas but couldn’t find any that I liked, but then stumbled across some lovely, cosy ones whilst shopping last Friday. I absolutely love them – so much so that I have been in them by 8 o’clock every night this week!

9. We received a pastoral report about B this week, which was great. It wasn’t too lengthy but had sections completed by his form tutor, housemaster and head of year, and was so positive. It referred to how well he has settled into boarding life, how conscientiously he is working and just what an all round superstar he is (okay, that last bit was my interpretation of it, but it was lovely!).

10. “Death in Paradise”!! We all absolutely adore this programme and so were thrilled when it returned to BBC1 last week. We can’t watch it on the actual day it is on, as G is at cadets then, but it is becoming our family ritual to all sit down and watch it together on a Friday night, as an “end of the week” treat. Can’t wait for tonight!

We are hopefully (dependent on G’s homework load) going to venture to Stratford-upon-Avon this weekend, to visit Shakespeare’s Birthplace, which should be really interesting. I hope that you have a fabulous weekend, whatever your plans are.

Only one week to go until the big “ho ho ho”! Hurrah! (Have I mentioned just how much I love Christmas??) Anyway, consequently this has been a pretty busy week but with some lovely moments. Here are the highlights:

1. Friday evening saw us heading off to Derby cathedral ( a building which I absolutely love) for a Christmas brass band concert performed by Derwent Brass and the Derby Central Salvation Army Band. As you would expect, it was a truly lovely evening – plenty of rousing festive music with the opportunity to join in with some of the carols – sooo Christmassy!
2. I eventually got around to writing our Christmas cards on Saturday – not my favourite festive activity but certainly helped this year by listening to Christmas music and drinking mulled wine at the same time.
3. On Sunday, D, G and I went to the local Christingle service, which was really nice (G particularly enjoyed the fact that the Christingles were decorated with just sweets rather than raisins!) – and we even managed to come away with a spare Christingle for B.
4. I seem to have had some lovely, but very wet, walks with the dogs this week. Honey seems to have had lots of energy recently, so I’ve given her plenty of time off her lead running crazily around in the water-logged field.
5. Catching up with friends has been a real highlight this week. Christmas gives us the great opportunity to meet up to swap gifts, which I did with different friends on Tuesday and Thursday this week – a real treat to spend time with them.
6. Honey has been particularly cute this week! I bought her a new Christmas toy which I just happened to see in passing on Tuesday, and she absolutely loves it! Whenever D comes home from work or downstairs in the morning, she rushes to get it and run around him with it, as if she is showing it to him – adorable!
7. A quick trip into TK Maxx on Tuesday proved very fruitful – I came away with a very large, red, Christmas bowl – exactly what I had been looking for to put chocolates into – and two fabulous-looking candlesticks for the table. These will be lovely adorned with some holly and ivy for next week, but also are pretty stunning on their own all year round, so I was very happy with my purchases.
8. Christmas baking! I love this time of year for providing an excuse for baking – not that I normally need one! So this week I have made shortbread and cinnamon shortbread Christmas biscuits and marzipan crumble-topped mince pies – yum!
9. Yesterday marked the beginning of the Christmas holidays for us, as I went up to collect B from school. The day worked out really well – I was able to take a Christmas posy up to my parents’ grave, see a friend for tea and a chat, and then drive to Lancaster with time to walk the dogs before picking up B. We had a great return journey and were home by 4.30pm – lovely to have him back home!
10. So today holds the final highlight of the week – G finishing school for Christmas! Then we can really start getting festive together, as we have lots of lovely things planned for the next week.

I hope that you all have a lovely, and not too hectic, final weekend before Christmas!

Well, this week has been a busy one, mainly due to work and Christmas preparations, so I’m definitely ready for the weekend. Here are some of the highlights of the past few days:

1.We had our work Christmas Party on Saturday night, which was a great evening! We went to a new venue this year – Alton Towers Hotel – and everything was fabulous, from the stunning Christmas decorations to the delicious food to the great atmosphere, with lots of eating, drinking and dancing going on until the early hours. A great time was had by all!

2. Compared with certain areas of the country, we were very lucky here in Derbyshire that we didn’t suffer any adverse weather conditions, but things weren’t so rosy up in Lancashire, where B is at school. They were without power for two days, and the day school was closed on Monday and Tuesday, but the boys seemed to treat it as a great adventure – encouraged by the fantastic staff. Brunch was cooked over a fire on Sunday and pool was played by torchlight; day staff came in on Monday to give the boarders a morning of sports activities; and they were then taken on a shopping trip to the Trafford Centre for a change of scenery on Tuesday. Apparently the boys were all brilliant during these trying circumstances but a very special “thank you” goes to the staff, who looked after them absolutely fantastically.

3. This week has seen plenty of deliveries coming my way, so I have spent a lot of time wrapping presents – which I absolutely love to do! This year’s wrapping theme is tartan paper with red or green ribbons, which looks very festive.

4. Due to the fact that it is now only two weeks until Christmas, some of my festive attire has made an appearance – Christmas socks, jumper and earrings have all been worn this week!

5. One of my favourite purchases of the week has to be the new Christmas star decoration which I bought on Wednesday. Isn’t it great? And only £5 from Primark!

6. We got the good news this week that G has passed her grade 7 piano exam, which she took a couple of weeks ago. Well done, G!!

7. It has been a pretty wet week on and off yet again, but I managed to get a lovely sunny walk in early on Wednesday morning, which was beautiful.

8. Crumpets! I spotted some crumpets when I was on my way into the Co-op during the week and was suddenly struck with a craving for them! We haven’t had them since we introduced our French exchange friends to them in the summer – delicious!

9. It is looking as though G’s knees are on the mend at last, which is great news. She has been suffering with them since about March this year and we have been having regular trips to the physiotherapist for them, but she now only needs to go back if they get worse again. They aren’t completely right at all, but are much better than they have been so hopefully they will be back to normal soon.

10. Christmas fiction! I love the fact that you can get Christmas novels at the library or on special offers for the Kindle at this time of year, and I love to read this kind of thing throughout December, so I’ve been loving getting into the Christmassy spirit this way too!

We are off to a Christmas Brass Band concert tonight at the cathedral, which I am so looking forward to – you can’t get much more festive than that, can you?

Thank you for reading and I hope that you all have a lovely weekend.

All together now – “It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas!” Hurrah for December – probably my favourite month of the year – so this has been a good week!

1.One definite highlight of the week happened last Friday, on my way to collect B from school. I had made an arrangement to pop in to visit a lovely lady called Eileen, who was the Brown Owl when I helped at the village Brownie Pack for several years, as well a being a good friend of my parents. I haven’t seen her for over eight years, but I’d spoken to her on the phone the previous week, and she sounded exactly the same, so I was really looking forward to seeing her. However, when I arrived, not only was it lovely to see her, but she had also arranged for the two others who ran the Pack at the same time, Margaret and Linda, to be there too. What a great surprise! And none of them had changed a bit! It honestly made me so happy to spend that time with them, and reminisce and catch up on what they, and their children, are now up to. So much time had passed, but it could have been only yesterday that I had last seen them. What a fabulous start to the weekend!

2. This was followed by collecting B, who was home for three days, as his school had an inset day on Monday, so, as always, it was absolutely lovely to have him back with us.

3. The only downside to the weekend was that G was away from Friday until Sunday afternoon at cadet camp, so we didn’t have the whole weekend as a family, but I was so proud of the fact that G was so keen to go, not really knowing many of the other cadets that well and it being her first camp. She had a fantastic weekend and loved every minute – well, apart from the disco on the Saturday night, of course!

4. D and B went out for the afternoon on Saturday, having a “boys trip”, which gave me the opportunity to have a really long catch-up on the phone with one of my closest friends. It’s always so good to have a proper chat.

5. Sunday was Christmas Tree Day –  despite the fact that it was by far the earliest we have ever put our tree up, but it had to be done, as B is now not home until the end of term. Plus it was the first Sunday of Advent, so most definitely allowed! I love to have a real tree, and decorating it, with the mulled wine flowing and the Christmas music playing, has to be one of the highlights of the festive season.

6. Sunday also saw me and D going to church. I had been looking for a church in which I thought that I would feel comfortable for a little while, and we came across a possibility when we were in Mickleover for Remembrance Sunday, so decided to go to one of the services. It was exactly what I had hoped for – very traditional, so we knew the format of the service and “what to do”, and everyone was really friendly, so we will definitely go back.

7. So December began on Tuesday, so out came the advent candle, which I have had waiting for the past few weeks. A definite sign of Christmas – lovely!

8. We had G’s Parents Evening on Wednesday, which, as usual, was lovely. Even though she always seems to do very well, it is still reassuring to hear directly from all of her teachers that she is working hard and has made a fantastic start to her GCSE courses. A complete star!

9. Similarly, we received B’s school report on Thursday, which was great – with him being away, we don’t get to see his school books, to see teachers’ marks and comments, so it was really helpful to get this update on his progress. It was very positive indeed, especially pleasing to see that he seems to be trying hard in almost every lesson, and with some useful tips and targets to work on.

10. My new car arrived on Thursday, which is very exciting! Although I am really sad to see my old car go, as I absolutely loved it, I’m really happy with my new one – and am currently loving that new car smell!

We have a bit of a mixed weekend ahead, as it is D’s grandma’s funeral today, which will obviously be a poignant occasion, but this is then followed by our work Christmas Party on Saturday night – what a contrast. I hope that you have a good weekend, whatever you are up to.

This week has certainly been much better than the last, thank goodness! I hope that you’ve all had a good one. Here are some of the highlights of mine:

1. Last weekend got off to a fabulous start with an early morning walk at Calke Abbey. G was out early at a cadets training morning, so D and I set off with the dogs for a lovely wintry ramble – the sprinkling of snow on the ground, along with the bright blue sky and brilliant sunshine made it a very beautiful morning, so we had a wonderful walk, followed by a bacon cob and pot of Earl Grey from the tearooms at the end – perfect!
2. It might not be everyone’s cup of tea, but I love “I’m a Celebrity” so am enjoying unwinding at the end of each day with an hour of this at the moment – I just love Ant and Dec! It always reminds me that Christmas isn’t far away too, which is always a good thing.
3. I’m not sure how I have never heard this Christmas song previously, but I’ve come across it a couple of times this week, and absolutely love it! It is “The Man with the Bag” and it’s great – I’ve even downloaded the music so that I can learn to play it on the piano.
4. Following our attempted break-in the other week, we had to have new patio doors fitted, as the mechanism was broken and was actually obsolete due to the age of the doors, so the replacements were completed this week. They are great – such an improvement on the old wooden ones we had, and they finish the all white dining room off perfectly now.
5. Tuesday was the day of G’s grade 7 piano exam, and fortunately she came out smiling! It is such a relief for us all when these exams are over, as they require so much hard work, and seeing her coming out happy was definitely a good sign.
6. Wednesday was one of my favourite days of the year – Christmas shopping day!  We went to Intu in Derby this year, and had a pretty productive day – considering the amount of time we spend shopping compared to the time spent on coffee, lunch and chocolate stops. And the Prosecco with lunch was particularly good!
7. Due to the drop in the temperature over the past week or so, we have lit the woodburner several times, which we still love – it’s so cosy to snuggle up in front of a real fire, you just can’t beat it.
8. The flexibility of my work this week has been priceless, as it has been a crazy few days, with having the patio doors replaced, G’s piano exam right in the middle of the day, Christmas shopping, then G off school for two days for Founders’ and inset days – I am incredibly grateful that I can fit my work in around all these things by working from home when I need to.
9. I made my first batch of sugar-free biscuits this week -and they’re really good! You can’t tell that they don’t have sugar in at all, as the honey and spices make up for it completely, so I was really pleased with them.
10. My final one hasn’t happened yet, but B is home this weekend, as it is exeat weekend, so we are all really looking forward to seeing him. G won’t spend too much time with him, as she is away on cadet camp, but we will try to make the most of our family time, which will be lovely.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Well, that was another rather wet and windy week! But how warm? I know that I shouldn’t complain, but I am now more than ready for it to turn a bit colder – we are almost halfway through November and have been having temperatures of 16 degrees, which is just not right.

Anyway, enough of the weather, here are the highlights of my week:

1. Number one has to be the John Lewis Christmas advert which came out last Friday. As always, I think it’s lovely, and, although I haven’t seen much TV this week, it definitely feels like Christmas is coming when the adverts start appearing.

2. I made a start on my Christmas shopping last week when I came across some perfect presents, just by chance, for the younger children on my list. They are all just a little bit different, so hopefully they will be well-received – and it feels good to have made a start.

3. I mentioned last week how much G is enjoying army cadets, so we were very proud of her giving up her Saturday last week to sell poppies in a nearby supermarket for seven hours.

4. This was followed by the Remembrance Day parade and service, which was so lovely and very well-attended. I do find Remembrance Sunday very difficult, for personal reasons, so I am always very emotional on the day anyway, but to see G marching with her fellow cadets at the front of the large parade was very poignant and moving, as was the service at the memorial.

5.G being so tied up with cadets for so much of the weekend meant that D and I had a very quiet, relaxing couple of days, which made a very welcome change from the usual rushing around and busyness.

6. Even though it wasn’t really cold enough to justify it, we lit a fire on Sunday night, which was so lovely – a very cosy evening to watch the final episode of Downton!

7. B eventually made the decision to go on his school trip to Normandy next summer, after being very undecided for weeks. He first said that he would go, then changed his mind when he thought that none of his friends were going, then discovered they were but was then worried about speaking French! But he has made what we think is the right decision, and we’re sure he will have a fantastic time.

8. I had a nice evening on Wednesday, when it was my turn to host book club. I had managed to finish the book the evening before (I just can’t read it too long before we meet otherwise I completely forget everything that I have read – I can really love books and films, but very quickly forget what happens in them!), but our chats about the books are never too lengthy, as we always find plenty of other things to talk about as well, so it was a great evening.

9. You know you’re getting old when you get excited by gardening equipment, so I obviously am, as I was thrilled when my leaf blower arrived this week! To be honest, it wasn’t quite as satisfying to use as I’d hoped, but it still does a pretty good job and is an awful lot more efficient than raking and then picking them up by hand – and I do like a tidy garden!

10. Last but certainly not least is the meal out that D and I had last night. We took advantage of the fact that G was at the theatre with school until late to go to Turtle Bay for a delicious meal, which was a real treat! And the Reggae Rum Punch was very authentic!

We have a crazily busy day tomorrow, with a trip up to Lancashire to see B (with a very early visit to my parents’ grave en route) for his school speech day, followed by lunch out, then a tour of Lancaster Castle, ending with a cinema trip – hopefully!

I hope that you have a great weekend, whatever you are up to.