Wednesday - New Year's Day

Good morning and Happy New Year Morning to us all!  It's foggy out there, real fog, not just mist, but I've just been to look and it is clearing slowly and I can see to the top of the cul de sac.  It's also cold; it must be close to freezing.

Yesterday was a very pleasant day indeed.

I bustled about in the morning, getting things ready for my visitors.  John and Dad arrived, shortly followed by Beth and our little friend, L.  Dinner was lovely, albeit simple.  The turkey and leek pie was totally scrummy, definitely one to do again.  There was a bit left and Dad went home with it, together with a few sprouts and a little pot of gravy and that dealt with all the leftovers.

It was great to see John.  Because we stagger our visits to Dad and anyway, he lives in Scotland and still works so can't come right down here nearly as often as he would like, it's been quite a while since the last meeting.
Dad seems well enough, much better than he was in December.  I shall be seeing him again this weekend, health and fate permitting!

After John and Dad had gone, Beth took L home and then came back and we spent the afternoon/evening chatting, playing Scrabble, eating, drinking and watching telly.  I had recorded Calendar Girls so we watched that with great enjoyment.  I'd forgotten quite how funny it is, sometimes very understated and clever and sometimes great big belly laughs.

We were so tired, we went to bed without clearing anything up, but I set to earlier and it really didn't take long and now the dishwasher is earning its space yet again.

Today is really a day to get back to normal - or, at least, as normal as can be.

I will be bringing the three big Christmas boxes down once I've had my bath and got dressed and they will stack up in a corner so that each decoration I remove can go away in it's proper place.  I gave the boxes a good tidy up/clear out in January last year so as long as I make sure everything goes in the right place, they will remain nice and tidy.  I'm hoping to have everything away in the next couple of days so that on Monday all I have to do is the tree itself.

I've decided that, while I will put away the festive candle holders, I will brighten up January by burning down the red candles.  I don't want to keep half used candles for next Christmas but, equally, I don't want to waste them.  A happy compromise.

The poinsettias are still looking pretty good so I will keep nurturing them and cross my fingers.  I have five of them, three that I bought and then two that I was given (after I'd bought the three!)  They really do brighten up the corners of the living/dining room so well.

I'm right out of sprouts and broccoli; we can't have that, can we, so I'll take a stroll down to Morrisons.  I don't think there's anything else I need.  Oh, yes, I do - onions.  I think I'd better check the veg situation before I go out!

The other pretty urgent thing to do is ironing.  It's getting desperate as the basket is piled high now and it's got to the point where I can't really ignore it any longer.  It's things like tea towels (yes, I do iron them as space is limited and they take up less room ironed and anyway, they're nicer to use), sheets, hankies, tablecloths, napkins . . . slightly dull but at least I can watch telly or a DVD as I work.

But first my coffee mug is empty so that needs dealing with. 

Have a great first day of 2020, whatever you have planned.
xx