That time of year...

...when we celebrate the birth of our first child.  15 years old..wow!!  We celebrated as he wanted..with the extended family enjoying spaghetti and meatballs.  We are very lucky too, in that this boy is still happy with Lego for his main gift :)  I made a wintry birthday cake for a change...many of us nearly lost teeth to those silver balls!  Having a birthday 5 days before Christmas must be hard going but we try and keep everything separate.

This is also the time of year when today marks another year gone since my lovely Mum died.  This evening will be the 7th year without her here...although I still feel her with me, so she not really gone.  The thing I do miss though, is being able to just pick up the phone and talk to her, tell her those silly things/happenings, that don't really mean much, but are great to share.  I'm quite sure she's been checking  in on the progress of my Hut and would have loved to have done some crafting with me there. 

I'm actually feeling very positive today.  I've been to the Christingle service at school this morning, then dropped off an order.  This afternoon my sister and I are going to see the Book of Remembrance at the Crematorium.  Neither of us have seen it yet as we usually go to the cemetery where we scattered her ashes, so this year will be different.  Then this evening I've got the last order to finish and the marzipan to put on the cake (which I only managed to make yesterday!).

I would like to thank you all for sticking with me through this up and down, busy busy, year.  I shall try very hard to post more regularly in this lovely online world next year.

Solistice blessings for today, Yuletide greetings/Christmas wishes for the 25th and lots of love and happiness for the New Year.

The week

The van went to it's new owner.

My eldest asked me to.......

...cut his hair.

We had to have our eldest cat (the black and white one) put to sleep. That now leaves two. We also lost a chicken the next morning.

I bought more hand spun wool.

I prepped strawberries for jam.

I also had my first driving lesson, but ssshhhh, it's a secret.

Not sure all these ups and downs are good!

Downhill

Blimey, how can so much change in the space of a week! The bank rang...they're not renewing the overdraft so can we please bring the account back in credit!! Today, the car f***ed up after we have sold the van (it goes Monday but is not insured now)!! Money from van already going to pay off bills/cc!! I'm fed up of having no cash, of not being able to afford things, or scrimping to buy food...I just want a holiday. I know I shouldn't winge as there are people far worse off than me but it's just never ending. On a brighter note....


...I still have a dilly child :o).

PS..don't forget to take a peak at my other blog. Oh, Pippa...you can put handmade things in the shoeboxes but NOTHING with stuffing in as it's a fire hazard!

Eek...a teenager!

Yes..we have a teenager in the house! Here he is opening some pressies with us this morning already a teenager as he was born at 7.20am. He's currently at the pictures with his friend watching harry potter while I make this cake ready for him coming home. Hubby and I did actually manage to get some housework done before any guests started arriving yesterday. We've had a busy morning with them too, but now it's all quiet. Aaron doesn't really like much fuss so it's been perfect.

I went out to put some scraps in the compost pot outside the back door and look what greeted me. My camera doesn't capture the beauty of it at all but it looked so huge in the growing dusk, and with the hoar frost still on the trees from the day (-9 here). Solstice tomorrow, and 5 years since my wonderful Mum died. 5 years to come to terms with her death. 5 years to appreciate that she lived rather than that she died and left me. 5 years to realise that she is not in the things that were hers but that she lives in me. 5 years is a long time.

Solstice blessings to everyone for tomorrow - and if you're lucky enough to see the lunar eclipse then enjoy :o).