And so begins the new year...

I know I should have written this particular bit ages ago but alas - I caught another flu (or maybe a recurrence of the same one?) and it truly put me out of action again, and out of energy and enthusiasm for anything... So here we go with a very overdue report of Christmas and the New Year!

Not that there is so much to say about Christmas, as Sean and I do not really celebrate the occasion. We did go to the Midnight Mass, ringing the bells and joining in for the service, but apart from the Museum Carol Service (followed by yummy mulled wine and mince pies at the Museum) that was the only Christmas service we observed. Christmas Day passed as a non-event - although it was nice taking some time out with Sean to discuss what we are intending to do with the garden this year - and Boxing Day was the usual evening family-get-together at Woodlands. Everybody was there, enjoying the bring-and-share buffet, the obligatory rounds of Scattergories and the world's strangest jigsaw puzzle, and of course the exchanging of presents. We have finally given up giving presents from everybody to everybody - only for the kids and our closest relations. I received a pair of funny thick bed socks (everybody knows I'm always cold...), a set of scented candles, a basket full of lavender-scented toiletries and a pocket notebook with pen.

The week "between the years" was quiet, too - I spent most time sorting out my crafts stash and deciding what to sell and what to keep as I'll definitely need to make room on those shelves this year, and studying Joomla to put together the website for the Deanery. I'm still very much enjoying my new job but admit that I had a break over Christmas for nearly two weeks, except for the studying. New Year's Eve again was quiet until we went to church around 11:30pm for the traditional ringing out of the old and ringing in of the new year. Almost the whole band was there, which is more people than the eight bells in the ring, so I was in the group ringing out the old year and watching later while the new year was being rung in. And after that we got the usual glass of sparklies and nibbles while exchanging hugs and kisses and new year's wishes - even Tim the Vicar came round to the church (not everybody gets a new year's hug from her boss...!).

The bellringing band at New Year - Sean and I smack in the middle,
next to my father-in-law

I'm not a great one for New Year's Resolutions normally, but decided on some this year:
1. to see myself through a year of the anti-candidiasis diet, beginning after my return from the Pitlochry holiday in early March (and that will be a real bind, I know!)
2. to be stricter about continuous exercise of the type that's good for my back (i.e. Yoga, Pilates...)
3. to finally make a real effort to clear out my crafts stash except for the things I might really conceivably use up
4. to sort out my various involvements in church, clubs etc to bring them down to a manageable schedule and a number of things that I actually enjoy doing
5. to get deeper into the permaculture lifestyle by growing our own veg in the garden and the shared allotment with Emily (which means actually learning something about gardening first!)

So considering resolution #1, Eve and I decided that it was time to put into action our long-hedged plan to have a totally posh High Tea at the famous Ritz Hotel now before I will be on a diet excluding anything with the remotest amount of sugar or yeast in it, and as a result we were booked for London on Monday 5th of January. I was supposed to drive over to Eve's from where we would go into town by train, all nicely dressed and done up - and couldn't believe it when I woke up, on that day of all days, to see snow outside! This is only the 2nd time ever since I came to England twelve years ago that there has been any decent amount of snow in this area - and I really did not enjoy it! Luckily, in London it was marginally warmer and no snow, but we still decided to only have our tea and go back home. The tea was somthing to behold - the Ritz Palm Court is beautiful, amazing! All gilt and mirrors and period, with stunning fresh flower arrangements, lovely piano music in the background, and waiters in full livery, really friendly too. The food was excellent - 5 types of sandwiches, plus scones with clotted cream and jam, chocolate cake, and a selection of the most extraordinary petit fours - all that at 11:30am - and the etagère was being refilled as soon as you cleared a layer! We never truly got round to eating the cake or the petit fours even though I felt I wouldn't want another bite in a lifetime!

The place was actually packed but they book in "sessions" of an hour and a half,
and the photo was taken just before we left, which is why it looks empty.

Eve looking at me "through the food" - the middle layer was still waiting
for the scones which were served fresh and warm
once you decided that you'd had enough of the sandwiches

After this lovely start-of-the-year event, unfortunately, things went rapidly downhill: it went so cold that I had serious problems feeling warm at any time outside my bed, and unsurprisingly, got the flu soon after which put me into bed fairly solid for a week and a half. Which meant I missed most of the frosted beauty outside - it would have been lovely to go for a proper walk somewhere like Chobham Common perhaps. As I said, I've never seen it so cold here: for nearly two weeks it was frozen all through the nights and days. The water in the garden water butt had about 1" worth of ice crust several times (Sean had to break it daily as Chiefie drinks from it...).

Frosted spiderwebs in the eaves

Holly in the garden

Hedge overhanging the wall

Branch in the garden with the most peculiar frost spikes