Christmas Came and Went (Part 2) ...

... The "Christmas Came and Went" post I did earlier was lengthy, amusing (at least I thought so), and was to give you an insight into the frenetic few days before Christmas and the calmer post-Christmas relaxation. But no, Blogger knew best and deleted it. Actually, it was my fault and I should have known better ... but thereby hangs another tale.

Anyway, the briefer version follows:

Friday: brought tree in its bright red pot in from the garden (too small for these high ceilings as it was bought for the festivities in our old cottage last year) looking half dead from 12 months' neglect. Decided it should go in the hall. Decorated it to within an inch of its life at about 1.00am - mutton dressed as lamb methinks! Faffed around with some decorations on the mantlepiece to make the sitting room look a bit festive at approx 2.00am.

Saturday: did the Father Christmas thing, collected turkey, got back 10 mins before Mum arrived, had lunch, did food shopping, had a stiff gin!

Christmas Eve: Moved decorated tree, lights and all to sitting room which meant the hall looked very unfestive. Day passed in a haze of going to the neighbours for coffee (Mum's new home to be) and wrapping parcels. After our evening meal I decided something had to be done with the hall, so down came the boxes of decorations once again and a couple of hours later I had achieved. Not the most artistic arrangements but they detract from the swirly patterned carpet that "came with the house" and the redundant coat hooks. Cards were bluetacked to the staircase and voila! Had another stiff gin!

Christmas Day: Turkey in, house looks festive, lots of parcels under the tree, Hannah arrived, had lunch (turkey cooked to perfection I might add), unwrapped prezzies (everyone was VERY lucky!). Look what Hannah gave Paul. She obviously knows how keen he is to get out on the veggie patch! Talked wedding plans and house moving.

Now there's a thought! The wedding! Only 4 months and 5 days to transform into a sylph-like mother-of-the-bride. Those of you who know me or have seen the dreadful photos on other blogs (no names mentioned!) will know that a slender m-o-b I won't be, but I can dream ... and starve myself!

(It was somewhere around here that I pressed a couple of wrong keys last time. I shall be extra careful from now on ...)

And thoughts of the wedding reminds me ... I need to tell you about my toe! My little toe on my right foot. The one that according to the nursery rhyme cried all the way home.

What have wedding plans got to do with my toe?

THIS ...

This is the link. This is where we're putting all our loose change for "The Wedding Fund". Luckily it was empty as I'd used it for the Remembrance Sunday window at the Antiques Centre and we hadn't started filling it again.

And it's what landed on my little toe about a fortnight ago. I caught it with my jacket and it fell off its perch. See that bottom front right corner? That pointy bit? THAT is what landed on my little toe, right where it joins my foot. Clare (Vintage Home) thinks I might have broken it (my toe, not the box). I think she might be right. The bruise has gone but I can only wear one pair of shoes comfortably, and it's quite painful if I stand on it too much and I've noticed I'm limping a bit. Not too keen on going up and down stairs either. Woops! I won't be including walking in my getting thin routine just yet.

Anyway, Christmas is over for another year and during the occasional resting my foot moment I've been planning the garden transformation. I won't be working from a completely blank canvas, but I have big plans. Roses, roses, more roses, clematis and herbs for starters. There's a greenhouse in Mum's new garden so I'm hoping I'll be allowed to use it. I do so miss the one I had 2 houses ago where I propagated and grew a gardenful of plants. When I can find the CD with the photos of that garden I'll show you some of my favourites.

I think this is probably enough for you to cope with today, so I'll leave you with the thought that there may be more tomorrow!