Quick catch up

[curiouswombat]

The past week has been busy, apologies for not being around much!

Christmas Day - started the day with carols at church, home to open our presents to each other; I got a gift set of my favourite perfume, and a small, very portable, blue-tooth speaker to use with the laptop when I listen to books or, even more useful, music

Comments

[one_raido]

With all of your involvements, no wonder you'd been busy. Happy New Year.

[curiouswombat]

It has been a really nice busy time - I think I will need January to recover. And Happy New Year to you, too.

[spikesgirl58]

Sounds like you celebrated in style! Well done and here's wishing you a safe and healthy new year

PS Thanks for the card! :DD

[curiouswombat]

We have had a lovely couple of weeks - and my pleasure!

[noadvertising]

Oh sweet Merlin- that name! But I must say that the presentation of The Festive Chicken is very stylish!

[curiouswombat]

Emmy and D-d together can be an absolute comedy act (there is only a week of age between them), and so it was nice to see Emmy being silly (she is the niece whose husband died this year.)

They do package the candles very nicely for us to take home :)

[wiseheart]

Candle-making is such a delight! I used to do it with the kids when I worked for our parish church; and then I made them in Linz (Austria), where they had a workshop on the pre-Christmas fair. Only that those weren't poured but dipped. Mine looked like a depressed carrot (they were made of beeswax, so the colour fit). *g*

[curiouswombat]

I have always rather fancied having a go at dipping them - I don't know if there is anywhere here where I could give it a try.

[pondhopper]

I am catching up a bit finally as it's been busy and my brain has felt disconnected these days.
It was so good to read about your holidays and it all sounds lovely. I'm glad Emmy was happily participating...if it's hard for us older people to find ourselves suddenly alone, a younger person who had looked to the future with hope and happiness must feel bereft with a very special kind of intensity.

The festive chicken made me laugh out loud.
Your trifle looks wonderful! I love trifles.

[curiouswombat]

I am not surprised that you felt disconnected.

Emmy does find it hard - so many things that they would have done together and he isn't there to do them. She retreats into her home and has a good cry when things are too much, but family and friends have provided a sort of framework of 'things we do'; metal detecting with her Dad on Sunday mornings, an outing with Lizzy and Edie most weekends, a regular evening with her long time best friend... and she is now back at work full time, where everyone knows of her loss, and knew Norman Daniel well as well. And when she wants to be her old self, funny and silly, none of us think 'what a way to behave when you are so recently widowed'.

The trifle was good - I must say that I do make a good trifle; in my mother's family trifle making was almost a competitive sport and we all have our own variation on the family recipe :)