Surviving Christmas

Thank you to everyone for the kind Andy-come-home wishes! He did return that night, to much rejoicing but had to work right up until the weekend. He had a miserly two days off at Christmas, then returned to the fray, because retail workers get little respite at this time of year. So we're glad it's all over and he won't be so tired. We are both thankful to see the back of 2010 which was quite tough in parts. Never festive at the best of times, I wasn't going to put decorations up, but weakened last thing on Christmas Eve and strung a line of cherry fairy lights up, hung with a few non-glass things. On Christmas Day we allowed ourselves to enjoy the snow and had a marvellous walk round the fields. This is the front of our cottage, a basic one-up-one-down matchbox, glittering with icicles.

Poor Andy was so tired that he forgot to buy his Christmas beer - but luckily his brother had made an inspired choice of present with a gift box of real ale. I admit to being a teeny bit jealous.

But my beer envy was short lived, because the same Andy's brother had managed to find me a whole box of vintage toymaking books and magazines! Some real gems in here and I've had a happy time browsing them.

Pumpkin had brown paper.

My cheese penny pot was a bit disappointing this year and I was going to forgo the Cerney Cheese we love. But thanks to the generosity of kind Janet, I arrived at the village deli to find a gift order of one Cerney Pyramid and a gammon ham, which I prepared with honey and mustard - this is a rare treat and we have been thanking her through mouthfuls of ham sandwiches.

Other blog friends had surprised me with gifts too - I admit to being hopeless at Christmas; if it were a school subject I would get a 'D' and 'could do better!' So I am humbled and a bit awed that anyone could find enough time to take the trouble to send me nice things like this beautiful lavender heart and needle book from Anne of 'Frayed at the Edge'.

Sooz, of 'Confessions of a Laundry Fairy' sent me this, by one of my favourite modern illustrators, Simon Bartram, who also happens to work for 'my' publishers, Templar as well, and who I briefly met a few years ago.

My dear *old* (in the nicest sense of the word) friend Tara, of 'Silver Apples' sent me one of her delightful treasuries of nice things -

And my even *older* friend (since college days, which was scarily almost two decades ago) Natasha, Queen of Cakes, sent us these little lovelies which I am not sure if we can bear to eat;

One mystery present was a copy of 'Daring Dos, by Mary Trasko, a book which has been lingering on my Amazon wishlist for a few years - full of amazing (and frankly bonkers) historical wigs, hair styles and fascinating info about how they were contructed and the history of bizarre hair fashion. I can see all kinds of new ideas sprouting from this kind of thing;

It came without a gift card, so I have no idea who was kind enough to buy this for me - but if they are reading this, then thank you ever so much, I have wanted this for a long time.

Now that my arm is just at the stiff and awkward stage, I decided to launch the New Year with a little pootle on Marjorie. It was a bit cold and we were both out of puff by the time we trundled home, but yet again I had forgotten how happy cycling makes me feel and how much I love January and the promise of an unwritten twelve months ahead.