Sunday: Advent day five

 Good morning, everyone.  We had some beautiful weather yesterday.  This morning, however, it seems to be chucking it down pretty hard at the moment.  Oh, well, there's absolutely no need to go out so that's OK.

Yesterday was a really lovely day.

I spent the morning pottering, getting buffet food organised and doing a little 'top up' shop at Morrisons where I managed to get a couple of frozen things I've been looking for for weeks - a bag each of chunked sweet potato and butternut squash.  Living solo, I rarely need a whole unit of either so being able to grab a single portion is just so convenient and, I dare say, less wasteful in the longer term.
Actually, I really must look in Lathcoats - they have loads of frozen vegetables loose in big freezers and you can bring your own bags and scoop in what you want which is then weighted at the till.  Such a good way to do it, I think.

Anyway - Beth and Alex arrived and Alex kindly lifted the Christmas Tree bag into the house - it was just a bit heavy for me.
After coffee, we set to and worked at it.  It took a few hours and the latter half was accompanied by a bit of alcohol which went down a treat!
Then we had the buffet which all went down a treat - not many leftovers at all - followed by DVDs.  The Snowman and Father Christmas first as our tradition demands, then Miracle on 34th Street (the Mara Wilson version which we love) and finally Paddington 1.

By that time, I had crashed so I went up to bed.  Alex had already gone home and Beth followed me up at some point.  So that was Christmas Tree Day.

Here's a photo - I find that my camera doesn't really like the lighting but here's the best snap I was able to take of the whole tree thing plus a photo of the Guardians (the three teddies) and friends.
The gap in the middle is for my presents which are still upstairs.  I'll bring them down later today.

Beth is still fast asleep, I hope.  She is still not 100%.  When she emerges, she will have breakfast and then set off home in her own time.

The decoration things for today are to start using Christmas tablecloths (already on the table) and to put together the snow village.  This is a new thing using some snow blanket and some of the mini cottages, etc, I have inherited from Mum and Dad, plus some of my own, put together to make a little 'scene'.  It night work, it might not, we will see.  I'm hoping it will brighten up a darkish corner.

I have Strictly to catch up on before the results show as I didn't watch it yesterday and I'll probably strip Beth's bed and wash the sheets so it's nice and fresh for her at Christmas.

Have a lovely day, everyone.  Do you have your Christmas tree up or are you waiting until nearer Christmas day?

Today's Advent music is a bit different.  It's 'When children rule the world' from the Lloyd-Webber musical, Whistle Down the Wind.
I was asked to fill in as accompanist for the school choir for one of their choir practices, a few years before I retired and this is one of the things they were doing for the Barnardo's Christmas Concert at Westminster Cathedral or the Royal Albert Hall (I can't remember which) that our school always took part in.
Not being a brilliant pianist by any means, I found this extremely challenging, but loved the song.  So here it is  (not the one our choir sang, obviously).

I love how beautifully the children sing, how enthusiastic they are and how expressive their faces.