Rattling On...

Another rock and roll Christmas...

This post comes to you after a Christmas Hardware Meltdown...

The Sky+ box stopped working on Christmas Eve, nothing recording, no signal. We had to watch ordinary television, so retro with no pause or rewind. A nice young (looked about 12) engineer came this morning and sorted out the mess. Wires held in by tinfoil at the back, done by the original installer, are now as they should be. We are also in possession of an HD+ box, so all the stuff that isn't worth watching may also be viewed in high definition.

The other Christmas casualty was my lovely laptop. I was just performing a defrag when it gave up the ghost. Kaput. Like losing an arm. Well, of course it isn't but one does get used to the access it provides. For instance... I wanted to call the computer repair shop, but all the details were on my computer. Catch 22. So I had to walk there.

This came after my fab Dad sat at home on his computer phoning and texting hints and tips for 'my computer isn't working' type searches. Despite having the back off the thing, removing the battery and so on, it remained dead as a Dickensian doornail.

The upshot is I have a new laptop. And therefore cannot spend anything at all for quite some time to come. The old one has gone off with the computer man, who also couldn't see what had gone wrong, but wants to poke around in the workings. A man thing I think.

All my Important Stuff was transferred over and I logged on to try to make new bookmarks and folders and all that jazz. And to post a little something. No joy. I had this problem on the old laptop and ended up having to download Safari, and guess what? Here I am having downloaded Safari and actually being able to type in the 'compose' window. Magic.

So, here we are, almost in a New Year. I'm not having a look back over the old one, thank you very much. It wasn't that good. 

Here's to 2012...!

Wishing you a ...

Stuff 'em...

When the girls saw the stocking I made for Heike they both wanted one. And they demanded a red and white theme, which they duly now have. Well, red and off-white... less stark and a bit more retro maybe.

To make sure they don't get mixed up they have different hangers, tags and a little ceramic square with an initial on. The tags are the ones with the woodcut prints I bought at a recent fair, and which prompted me to buy the spongy paper for papercutting...

I made these with chunky yarn so they're a little larger than the one I made last year. But that just means more room for presents! I have bought old-fashioned candy-canes to put in last for that all-important nostalgic look. Maybe I should also add a tangerine wrapped in foil and a few nuts.

These are lined with red and white gingham for a bit of extra stability, I love gingham. They will be out for Father Christmas tonight and hopefully the contents will not disappoint...

Kitchen frottage...

It suddenly occurred to me today that the mince pie is probably unknown to most of the world. Unless there are well-travelled and cosmopolitan people out there who've heard about this wondrous confection.

I made a load (that's the collective noun from now on) yesterday, braving the rubbing-in method to make my shortcrust. 

I tried very hard to make sure the edges were well sealed to prevent leakage. Only one required jemmying from the patty tin, which is a minor miracle. I'd be glad if someone could invent non-erupting mincemeat please.

I was also very good and oiled the tins after washing and drying them. The pies are now stashed in a large amaretti biscuit tin. I like this as it's tall rather than wide, a good space-saving technique at Christmas and it holds three dozen as well!

I had a mince pie and a hot chocolate at the airport the other night, from Greggs the bakers. I see from the website that the pies have won awards, and for £1.65 for a large drink and a tasty pie it was excellent value. But what I liked more was the fact that the pie came in a brown paper bag. Very retro, very eco. 

While sitting in arrivals, slurping away I also noticed a poster for Wrapid wraps that got me in a bit of a funk. It said 'Worlds best hot wraps made fresh for you'.

What about the punctuation you ignoramuses! And how does one freshen up a wrap? A quick flick with a duster, a touch of air freshener? Frankly I'd be happier thinking they were freshly made. I try to relax about these things, but really once they catch my eye I become incensed. I need to get out more.

I am, however, pleased to report that my shopping is complete except for a few essentials like bread and milk. Time now to sit back and eat it all...

PS... Just for now, and for a specific reason, comments will go via moderation. So don't think yours has disappeared if it doesn't show straight away!

Pimp your trees...

Or... Christmas tree festival at Christ Church, Burbage.

While out walking the dog the other day I noticed a small poster advertising a tree display/competition at my local church. Which makes it sound like a pub, My Local, and all that. But it's the church of the parish I live in.

Tuesday afternoon was gloomy and cold so I thought a bit of tree spotting would be a good idea so I trundled off.

It's a nice traditional building (built 1860/61) with a lych gate at each of the two entrances, I like them a lot.

So I go inside, camera in hand, and ask the man just inside the door if it was ok for me to take pictures. He said he wasn't an official but he'd ask the Lady in Charge for me. She turned out to be a friend from work and she was doing the afternoon 2-4 opening stint.

Can you just see the tea table peeping from behind the tree? Friend and I got settled down with a cup of tea and spent almost the whole two hour opening time jawing away. Her parents, daughter-in-law and tiny grandson were also there. Other people came and went, bought raffle tickets and shared baby stories.

The trees had been decorated by different community groups, including the pub over the road who host a carol service and auction each year. The WI, bellringers, guides, Mothers' Union, Brass Band and so on all have a tree with a pertinent theme in many cases.

After Tuesday's relative calmness, yesterday was all-go. I went to visit a cousin in the morning 'For an hour' which turned into three. So then I had to do present shopping, wash all the sofa covers and cushion covers and assorted throws (I like to be clean at Christmas), make the Christmas cake (I know...) and do an airport run at 9.30 in the evening. That took three hours.

The little pile of DVDs I bought myself to watch in my spare time remain untouched so far. I bought most of them for half-term in October. Maybe when I've wrapped the presents, iced the cake, done the food shopping...

Or maybe I'll just hit the bottle of port I treated myself to.

Lighting up my life...

I decided a while ago that teacup candles would make good gifts for some of the female family members and set about finding some suitable vintage cups. There were none to be had in the town's vast array of thrift shops, unless you were wanting one with 'Golden Wedding' or something similar on it. So I got four of these from Ebay, and a little Victorian off-white number that I decided to save and use for myself later!

It was also impossible to find anywhere local (as in within 20 miles) to buy candle-making essentials. So again I went on-line to this site. I didn't get a kit, just wax, wicks and the little wick securer thingies for the bottom. I see that there are thermometers and all manner of odds and ends one can buy, but I figured you need a wick and wax, when it's melted it's ready...

And so it was. Last night, while my baked potato was cooking, I set to. I used my old enamel double boiler (I didn't buy an electric one specially!!) and guestimated the amount of wax required, cutting it from the block supplied. 

I also made myself a couple for the dining table, these are old celery vases and are about 8" high. I think they will make a nice centrepiece. And they can be used again afterwards, which is always a good thing.

These were all so easy to make, I wondered why I hadn't had a go before. Probably all the faff over getting the stuff to do it with. Next time I'll order a lot bigger block of wax so I have more in stock. I'll also look out for interesting vessels when I'm out and about. I can see candles becoming my go-to last minute present standby from now on.

I may even venture into colours and perfumes, who knows...

Things to do with pastry cutters...

...other than actually cutting pastry or biscuits with them.

These decorations were uber quick to make, I used DAS clay from Rymans which is very cheap and goes a long way for your money. It is grey in the packet but dries white. (Or you can get traditional terracotta) I decided to leave them as they are and not paint them as I rather like the plainness. The clay has a unique smell, which I have to say I quite like! I poked the holes with a chopstick and the baker's twine is some I got on line a while ago and use for all kinds of things. 

I own a lot of cutters, a drawerful, in every shape and size and they do all get used. I took them to school when we made all the shortcakes and gingerbread and I use them at home as well. You could of course just tie string to them and use the cutters as decorations...

Baby, it's cold outside...

Coco and I went out for a walk at about four o'clock yesterday afternoon, it was several degrees below freezing and lovely to be out and about...

As you can see it was quite dark, but the snow seems to look nicer in the dusky light. It was very crisp and crunchy underfoot...

This is our road, which is solid ice at the moment. The plough and gritter never come down here, a lot of people don't bother getting their cars out as they are nervous of driving on it. Further down it is quite steep and you have to be very careful approaching the junction!

Now, a true story for you (it happened to someone my eldest knows). It's not very festive and it would come under the sub-heading of 'Black Humour' were it to actually have a sub-heading...

A young woman was house sitting while the owners were away for a few months, the elderly dog needed looking after.

A short time into the process, said dog died of natural causes. Young woman didn't know what to do with the body and phoned the owners. They asked her to take it to the vets where arrangements had been made previously regarding cremation.

She doesn't drive and didn't know how to get the body to the surgery, so she looked around and found a small suitcase. She then went to the bus stop, placing the case carefully by her side as she waited for the bus into town.

After only a few minutes she was mugged and the robbers hoofed it with the case...

If in doubt, add more fairy lights...

I took a taxi there and walked back... just so you know. It was a good Do, later on anyway, when a few people had imbibed a bit too much hard liquor. If you know what I mean. It's always interesting to see colleagues out of work, especially when you're sober yourself (not for lack of trying mind you).

The tree is up and the mantel almost done, except for some holly and flowers which will come later this week. I cleaned like a demon yesterday so that  next week I can concentrate on last minute present buying and making, cooking and possibly relaxing a little. But there's work tomorrow to get out of the way first.

I have also got to do rather a lot for the WI meeting on Tuesday. Weather permitting (it was cancelled last year) it will be the Christmas party, I have volunteered to make a pudding. I'll also be making a card for the competition and a little something for the secret Santa.

I have so many half finished projects at the moment it's scary. Most of them are gifts. I just can't seem to commit to finishing them in any sort of sequence, I feel a new list is required, listing the lists...

A winter's tale...

This is Bunty's thirteenth winter and each of those years has seen her moult in the most tatty way imaginable. She looks like no-one loves her, which is far from the case. I do brush her but these days she finds it uncomfortable rather than a big game, so I end up chasing fur balls round the house instead.

The continuing snow meant the students' last day of school (staff are in next Monday as well) was very festive. Meaning there was a lot of snowball throwing and wet bottoms at the end of year assemblies, where they have to sit on the floor of the gym.

Tonight is the staff Do, this will be somewhat less well attended than planned as out-of-towners have opted not to try to get in. Possibly a wise choice as the snow is still coming down.

I am still pondering whether to get my wellies on and walk to the venue, take a taxi there and walk back or taxi each way... dilemmas.

There has also been a bit of controversy over attire. I'm in the camp that believes if you've bought a ticket and it's for an Occasion, then reasonably smart is de rigueur. Quite a few people are reportedly going in jeans, which is just not on. Standards are dropping.

I will leave you today with a tale of L. L is a nervous boy who I've taken under my wing, he has break and lunch with us and is starting to relax a little. He is a worrier. Yesterday I gave him a selection box as a small present, he was very suspicious of my motives until he realised that all our 'form' get a small gift.

So, today he came in at break for his tea and toast as usual, it was snowing hard outside...

L: I'm very worried about driving in this weather.

Me: (Flippantly) Oh, did you drive in today, then?

L: No, I mean my parents.

Me: Ahh, do they have a long way to get to work.

L: No, they don't have a car.

Me: !!!!!!!!!

Smoke gets in your eyes...

Yesterday was school Christmas Lunch Day. What usually happens is that forms are allocated a table at one of the sittings, they decorate it and eat together. Usually. 

I work in the Inclusion Centre where all the displaced students are taught and take refuge. We put on our own lunch for the ones that decide they can manage to stay in school long enough to eat it. We cook it, serve it, put out crackers, play festive music and do entertainments afterwards. Our motley 'form' is made up of students from across the school, all ages and abilities.

I arrived first thing to be assailed by a terrible smell, like when a plug catches fire. Plastic... I went into the centre to find it full of thick smoke and M with his head in the cooker. Not trying to end it all but trying to clean it.

Mrs D had bought the turkey in to cook it and put it, in a foil tray, onto a baking sheet, oven on and off to the morning meeting. Back to find the smell, the smoke etc. and melted plastic all over the oven. The baking sheet had in fact been a refectory tray.

Perhaps insensitively I asked her 'Are you on drugs or something, if you thought that was metal?' 'Not yet...' was her reply. M had cleared most of the mess but had a residue of unpleasantness all over the oven bottom still to master. We watched him swiping at it with a tea towel and he suggested, not without sarcasm, that we may want to pull up some chairs.

He then wondered aloud how we were going to get rid of the last film of plastic, and I could help him with that one. A liberal dose of olive oil and a bit more elbow grease later and all was well. The shelf was easier to deal with but two wooden spatulas, a slotted spoon, two tea towels and a plate were all lost in the tragedy.

After that excitement all went as well as expected. The crackers (not cheap ones) were a bit of a disappointment but the kids loved the profiteroles, we didn't do a Christmas pudding as not one of them admitted to having a taste for it. Same with sprouts, shame, as I love them. They are a conservative lot.

Games afterwards included Battleships, some sort of table hockey thing, a DVD was on and M and I played Giant Sudoku on the board. We got a puzzle from on-line and drew it extra large on the board. We had a coloured marker each and went head to head over the numbers. We chose level 6 (out of 6) which we usually both find ok. Not yesterday, the fumes must have addled us. We spent a long time just staring at it. The Head Teacher looked it over, offered advice and scarpered. Mr B played table hockey and Mrs D wrote some notes up. M's missus kindly did the washing up and remains unaware that he knows how to clean an oven. We were sworn to secrecy...

Baubles...

These are very satisfying to make, and quick, which is always good at this time of year. I bought a couple of old music exam books from Oxfam which were nicely aged in appearance and had thick paper.

I just cut round things to hand in the kitchen, a sugar basin and a casserole lid and with a bog standard glue stick made these in no time. There are a few more small ones as well. I thought they'd make a really good mobile as well as decorations.

I got the students making them the other day. They used coloured  paper and a set of craft scissors that have lots of different edging effects (a bit like this set) and the results were really impressive and are now decorating the classroom tree. I liked these hanging outside, they whirled around and looked great, no good in the rain though.

I also bought a few other old books with good pages and have lots of ideas for using them, some will be decorations. I do feel a bit bad cutting up books, but they will be re-used and none of them are really important. I did get one old one that has a lot of typescript, fonts and such in, I like it so much I think that one will stay intact.

On a different note... I had my hair cut last night, and had booked to have an eyelash tint straight afterwards. I've been feeling like I look very washed out and thought this might help. Well, my stylist mentioned having my eyebrows done at the same time, so I did.

What a difference. I love the look, much stronger definition and maybe that was what was lacking, you could hardly see my brows before, and now... wow. This will become a regular appointment.

Deck the door...

If nothing else, the door is sorted. This year's wreath is a variation on last year's... and probably years to come as I rather like the chillies.

I put it up on Sunday after adding the decorations and ribbon, it was throwing it down and the ribbons flapped forlornly against the window. 

Later on I went to the door to check it was locked for the night. Out of the corner of my eye I saw the shape at the door and the ribbons flapping away in the wind. I'd quite forgotten about the wreath by this time and it gave me a real fright.

Which reminds me of the time we got a new lampshade and the dog didn't recognise the shape and must have thought someone was in the room. She went berserk! 

I have the tree but it still isn't trimmed, or even in a stand. I found our usual stand but all the fixings were missing. So I bought a new one, a different shape, and this won't fit on the table I always use. It's now a case of trying to re-arrange the room to accommodate the tree, or find a different table, or a different tree... 

This week's baking...

 
This is a fruit loaf made using the ancient recipe belonging to M's family. I work with M and he and I like to discuss baking and we bake with the students on a pretty regular basis. His wife is also a teacher at school and she is not a baker. She says it's like we're speaking a foreign language!

Anyway, he's been guarding the recipe most carefully and only hinting at the ingredients, this is because he knew I wanted it. Then, the other day we were baking with a group of CoPE (an ASDAN qualification) students for a Christmas fundraiser tomorrow. (The freezer is now full to bursting.)

M decided to make some of the fruit loaves and in a mad moment he left the recipe on the desk. Of course I stole it.

2 cups of self raising flour, 1 cup of sugar, 1 teaspoon of bicarb, 2oz of margarine, 3oz of dried fruit, 1 cup of water, 1 beaten egg

Put the fruit, water and marg in a pan and simmer for three minutes. Meanwhile put the flour, sugar and bicarb in a bowl and mix (I also added a bit of mixed spice to give it a festive edge)

Beat the egg and add it to the dry mix, then add the contents of the pan and beat quickly to combine. Put it all in a 1lb loaf tin and bake for about an hour at 150C.

I know M has made all manner of variations including nuts, chocolate chips and glace cherries. It's so quick to make you should really have a go. I'm glad he left that bit of paper lying around...

On a hill far away...

Over a year ago I wrote this post and I never gave an update on the situation. Well, this morning I was in the garden, feeding the birds and taking a few photos (as you do when you're in your pyjamas and there's snow on the ground) when the camera focussed on a very distant object, not visible from the garden when the leaves are on the trees. It's a couple of miles away, hilly miles...

The new cross was put up in the summer and the wood is still very new looking. It was quite a low key affair this time, no procession through the town or anything like that. But anyway, a local landmark is back.

It got me thinking about my cousin's funeral that was last Wednesday. One of the hymns, the family hymn I suppose, was The Old Rugged Cross. 

I don't think I've ever been to a funeral where absolutely everyone was so quiet and sad. I think I was just about the only one singing. Even the vicar (who knew her as well) was only mouthing. Vicars can usually be relied on to sing up in my experience. I like singing and I find it quite calming and the words just come out. I used to work with a man who went to a family funeral where one side were from Wales. All the men sang. He said it was one of the best things he'd ever heard.

It was a lovely service, lots of family reminiscing. Favourite music played (horribly moving) and nothing but good things to be said of her. The church was packed and the weather stayed dry, which sounds like a trivial thing but it meant people could mingle outside and give her a good send-off.

The strangest part for me was seeing the coffin at the front with the advent candle-wreath just by, one candle lit. 

I know it's not very festive to be writing about a funeral, but it was one of those days that will stay with me. In many ways it was cheerful and positive. She had a large and close family, who have gone for a holiday to Skegness, a place she loved, to remember and celebrate her.

The brief spell of sunlight that revealed the new cross has now been replaced by cloud and more snow blowing on the wind...