Marks Grans Blog

It still amazes me that it is 2022 (or at least it will be tonight!)  I remember so clearly going from 1999 to 2000 when everyone thought all the computers would turn up their toes and die, in fact I have a Disney beanie from that year called Millenium Bug!  Time flies as they say! My New Year goals have already been tweeked.  My plan had been to get the plasterer in to do the dining room walls, then we'd decorate the room (just painting the walls) then get the carpet, however hubby pointed out a flaw with my plan.  Our kitchen is off the dining room and when doing the kitchen, all the stuff from the cupboards etc, plus the kettle and toaster etc will probably have to move to the dining room for a while plus hubby will need room to build any new base units we need and where better than the dining room!  So, as he said we don't want to be trailing all that over our new carpet.  He's got a point.  The trouble is, I can see the dining room in my minds eye...

I hope everybody had a lovely Christmas.  We did, we enjoyed having our children and their families on Christmas Eve for dinner and we had dinner at my mums with my brother and his wife on Christmas day.  On Christmas eve I cooked the meal and made crackers without the crack!  Our dog is terrified of the cracker snaps but I know everyone loves a silly hat and a silly joke at Christmas.  As I always give everyone a silly present on Christmas eve I decided to incorporate it all together and created paper bags with a crown made from some card I had, decorated with glitter and hubby printed out some silly cracker jokes and it was all tied together in the little bags with names on them so they acted as place mats too!  Everybody loved them and the children all went home with their crowns still firmly on!  That's a tradition I'll likely carry on with.   On Christmas day my mum was determined dinner should be at her house but we feel it's too much for he...

I'll probably not be doing any more blogging till after Christmas.  There's nothing much happening here to blog about anyway.   The new variant is running amok and I've a mind to just lock ourselves indoors and stay that way till New Year.  I've done all I'm doing regarding present buying, I've bought and made some cards which are now waiting to be delivered, I'm going off to Costco tomorrow to buy some food, mainly for our Christmas Eve meal with the family and thats that.  I've some presents to wrap but other than that I feel very organised and ready to curl up with my book and forget the world! This picture is of one of the three advent calendars I made for our three children in about 1990!  I had had a major operation and wasn't allowed to do anything much for a few weeks after it.  My children were about 10, 9 and 6 at the time and the pattern was in the Prima magazine.  I managed to finish it just in time for December 1st and that year they ...

This is going to be a rare photo heavy post.  I've enjoyed having the break away from the computer and to be honest for the next few weeks anyway I expect I'll be away again but I thought it would be nice to document what we've been up to the past few weeks. This photograph was taken by my grandson on our way to the Christmas tree farm this weekend.  It is in the Campsie Hills which are on the other side of the city from us, about a 50 minute drive and isn't it wonderful.  We usually wait a bit longer to get our tree but when I saw the forecast was for clear, cold but dry and sunny weather for Sunday I decided we should go for it and we had a wonderful time. Hubby held tight to the tree while our son in law cut it down!  My daughter and I were the main tree pickers and the men went along with our choices, even though they were convinced the trees would be too short/long/bushy etc etc.  They will be just perfect! My daughter and her family brought their new addit...

As christmas draws nearer I'm spending less and less time on the computer.  Normally at this time of year I'd be spending more time on here but something has shifted and I don't quite know what it is.  I used to love sitting in the late afternoon while dark outside, watching a film or a You Tube video while I crafted something or made masks etc, however my creative juices have totally run dry.  I actually bought a birthday card for someone recently as I couldn't be bothered to make one.  My days are meandering by and I find I'm not getting as much done as I feel I should.  I'm only just keeping on top of enough housework to keep us from 'catching' anything!  I don't feel down or depressed but I just can't be bothered to do much just now.  I'm spending way too much scrolling on my phone or reading books and magazines and in between that I've to visit my mum a bit more than I used to for the moment.  Today I woke up at 6am and got up before...

 I've been doing a lot of reading again.  I go through phases when I read all the time, then I read nothing for ages.  I sat till midnight last night reading my Karen Swan book - Midnight In The Snow.  I got too tired to finish it and woke at 6.45am to finish it!  It was that good.  I absolutely loved this book.  Although it's written as a christmas story there's really not much mention of Christmas in the book, it's not smaltzy, it's just a really good story.   One of my favourite authors Jenny Colgan has a new book out and I'm dying to buy it to read it however as hubby and I are just getting 'little' and useful items for each other this christmas I asked him to either buy me the kindle version or the actual book.  It's called The Christmas Bookshop and I expect it to be as good a read as her previous books.  Now all I have to do is wait the 6 weeks till Christmas to read it!  I have plenty more I can read in the meantime....

 I hesistate to say it but normality has returned!  Mum is home and is slowly doing better every day.  She's complaining about how tired she feels but I've told her everyone feels tired when they come home from hospital.  I don't think she fully believes me however, I'm sure she'll feel better every day. The funeral for my son in laws grandfather is on Wednesday and that will draw a line under that.  I know that sounds a bit harsh but its been a long drawn out death for the poor man and the whole family have suffered watching it.  I think they will all be glad to get some normality back too. My son in law also had some very good luck this week.  He won a radio competition and got a nice amount of money!  Enough for them to go and visit his brother in Texas.  His brother and his wife had a baby during lockdown and of course no one has been able to go and visit them to meet her yet so he's going to use the money he got to take them to visit....