Saturday 24 December 2016

All is Calm


On the build up to Christmas this year I have been mainly focused on creating some precious memories for Lily. She is at that wonderful age when she is beginning to understand what it is all about, so excitement levels have been reaching pretty high.
The last week of Pre-School was such a joy. A Christmas dinner, a party, Carol singing at a nearby care home and even a bus ride into the local town to see the big man himself. It could have been very easy to get carried away in a flurry of tinsel, so all the more reason to take some time out from the festivities to enjoy one of our favourite walks.


The air has been still and damp and the ground so muddy we had to wear our wellingtons instead of our walking boots. Of course, that also meant we were able go splashing in the puddles.


Today has been a lovely, family day. We treated ourselves to a delicious lunch out beside the fire at one of our favourite 'proper old style' pubs, listened to Christmas music and watched The Snowman all the way through for the first time ever. While this evening, Lily has been excitedly looking out of the window for a glimpse of Santa's sleigh before leaving out mincemeat shortbread, Whisky and, of course, a carrot for Rudolph.



The next few days we will be spending our time at home, with family and relaxing. Possibly enjoying a glass or two of wine.
However you are spending it, I wish you and yours a very Merry Christmas.
J. X

46 comments:

  1. Our boys at 16 and 18 no longer 'keep a look out for santa ' but we still indulge in stockings for them, complete with chocolate coins, oranges and little gifts. One year we decided that they were to 'grown up' to get a stocking and there was almost a mutiny -all done in tongue and cheek but we got the message! Now it has become a family tradition x

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    1. This did make me laugh. My friend had to continue with stockings until her daughters were 25! It is a lovely tradition though. X

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  2. Your preparations sound wonderful and making lovely memorie for Lily is priceless :)

    Hope your day, and all of the holidays, bring you everything you want (and help with the washing up too!). Blessings from our home to yours. J. x

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    1. Thank you Jayne. We had a lovely time. It sounds like you did too. X

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  3. Merry Christmas, enjoy you special time with your family xx

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  4. Now our offspring are 27, 24, and 21...Odin has become the bringer of stocking gifts...still fun...but not as magical as peeking out the window to see if Father Christmas is flying by! Make yourselves some wonderful memories. Xxx

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    1. We did Jackie. It's a shame they have to grow up. X

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  5. Merry Christmas wishes to you, I hope it was magical x

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    1. Thank you, it was. Relaxing and magical. X

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  6. beautiful photos. Your pictures always radiate elegance and calm. I hope you had a wonderful Christmas.
    xx

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    1. Thank you Sadie. My life is far from elegant and calm but if that's what the pictures show then I'll go with it ;-). We had a lovely Christmas and it looked like you all did too. X

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  7. Hi I hope you have had a lovely time. I love the picture with the wellies!

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    1. Thanks Sol, we did. The girl loves puddles, especially the big ones! X

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  8. Lovely pictures that definitely convey the spirit of Christmas. Oh, your Santa gets spoilt! Santa gets a glass of milk over here! :D Hope you had a lovely Christmas and may you and your family have a very blessed New Year.

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    1. Thank you Bless. We all had a lovely time. Santa does enjoy his Whisky!

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  9. I hope you had a wonderful Christmas. These times with young children are the best, savour every minute.

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    1. Thank you Jo. They are pretty great and yes, we do enjoy every minute. It goes far too fast. X

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  10. Happy New Year Jules! Best wishes for a fab 2017!!!

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    1. Thank you Sol. The same to you and yours. X

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  11. Happy New Year to you Jules, hope you have a wonderful 2017. xxx

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    1. Thank you Sadie. A very Happy New Year to all four of you. X

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  12. hello Jules
    beautiful photos!I hope you had a wonderful Christmas.
    A Happy New Year to you and your family!
    I wish you the best for 2017.
    Greetings from Germany,
    Regina

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    1. Thank you Regina. A very Happy New Year to you and yours. X

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  13. Thank you for your new year wishes, happy new year to you and your family too.
    Lisa x

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  14. What a lovely post Jules. The photo of Lily looking out for Santa brought a lump to my throat because those days are gone for us now, but they are so precious.

    Wishing you and your lovely family a Very Happy New Year. Hope it is a good one for all of you. With Love. xxx

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    1. Hopefully you can experience those days again with Sienna. Even better as you can get her all excited and hand her back to mum and dad! In all seriousness though, they are precious times.
      A very Happy New Year to you and your family Suzanne. X

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  15. Hello Jules and thanks you so much for popping over to mine and leaving your lovely comment. I hope you will return! Happy New Year to You and Yours.

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    1. Thank you. And thank you for stopping by. It is so nice to find you. X

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  17. Ah, how lovely. I remember how special those early Christmasses are, when they're just starting to get caught up in the excitement of it all. I hope you had a wonderful Christmas and Happy New Year to you. xx

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    1. Thank you Gillian. It is such an exciting age. Apparently, she did see him too! A very Happy New Year to you and your lovely family. X

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  18. thank you for your sweet words Jules, I'm sorry you've had sadness in this year already. Sending you lots of love. xxx

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  19. Stunning photographs and it makes me long for it to be Christmas again! Feels so very long ago now x

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    1. Thank you Rachel. Doesn't it!? It seemed to go by so fast. X

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  20. Hi Jules, thanks for stopping by my blog, I've followed you back and I look forward to reading your blog :)

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    1. Thank you Tania. I'm looking forward to reading more. X

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  21. Found you!!! Lovely photos of the Christmas period. Jx

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