My Busy Week 

I am so sorry for being absent this week! I have had such a busy week and now am collapsed in my bed! I spent last night being sick – my body saying enough I think. But I did have a lovely week.

My week began with a mammoth cooking session - this photo is cranberry chutney.  Such beautiful colours and the smell filled the house for days.    

 Chloe and I then made the biggest Christmas Cake ever! I think it will feed the family for months - shame they don't all like it! We now have to marzipan and ice it! And of course decorate it! 

 The tree went up last weekend. We have a lovely little tree which we have had for the last 3 years - it is slowly growing and is now in a larger pot. It is crammed full of home made decorations and ones bought in special places - I love it. In the decorations box there was a note I wrote last year to myself (or whoever would be decorating the tree if not me) saying how excited I was about the new year and all that we had planned. I shall make this a tradition now to write a note for myself for the year ahead. 

 During the week I went to Basildon Park - a National Trust house which had been decorated and set up as if it was Christmas Eve and you were arriving for the Christmas period. It was delightful! My friend D and I imagined we had arrived at the doors of the house on Christmas Eve in our finery and our horse drawn carriage. It was very peaceful and not busy. Each room had little touches of Christmas - down to the coat thrown over the bed and the shopping bags in the corner with the suitcases and the table set for a wonderful meal.  The walkway up from the car park was lit with fairy lights. It helped that it was a cold, crisp, sunny day and the house looked very stately. A really beautiful day. 

Tuesday evening we went to Ben's concert. I was a very proud Mummy! He played his trombone  in the concert band - lovely to see him playing after a long gap. And then he sang the solo in a barber shop style group - which included him jumping from the stage - whilst singing! The whole standard of the evening was amazing. The boys are so talented. 

 My hospital appointment went well (see previous post). I also spent a morning buying flowers etc... for the table decorations we demonstrated on Saturday at our church ladies breakfast. 

House-group meal was lovely. Great to spend time just chatting and eating lovely food. We do food well at church! 

On Thursday Paul and I went up to London to St Paul's cathedral for The Messiah. I hadn't ever been inside the cathedral - despite living down the road for 2 years! It is very beautiful with the most amazing mosaic ceiling covered in sparkle. A great building for a great God. 

 The singing, as you can imagine, was brilliant - such brave little choristers. Many times I would have liked to join in - not that I can sing anymore - not enough puff! 

Friday was a mammoth table decoration day  - we made 8 for the tables at the breakfast and prepared the talk. They did look very lovely in the hall. Well worth all the effort! 

 The breakfast was scrummy and included Bucks Fizz and Nigella's breakfast muffins. No Christmas breakfast should be without them. At the tables we had the most lovely reindeer or Christmas pudding cake pops made by A (who certainly fits the description of 'if you want something done ask a busy woman'). L's talk was just right for the audience and had us all thinking about the perfect invitation we have been given by God. She reminded us that Christmas is not about preparing a perfect Christmas but preparing our hearts for Jesus. 

I need to remember this in all the business of this time and ask myself - what is my heart like? How easy it is to loose sight of that amongst the trimmings, presents and business. 

 Saturday afternoon was wreath and fireplace decorating while everyone was out being busy else where. 

Sunday was my last bookstall until January - now just need to sort the books and put them away. I so need a bigger house for all my projects! Or a room to hide them in! 

In the afternoon we had a mammoth cooking/icing/making session. Chloe, Ed and I made cakes for Cameo this afternoon and decorated them with poinsettias. I then had a sleep and Chloe and Ed made cake pops (much harder than you think) and chocolate spoons. The kitchen looked like a bomb site once they had finished but we have lovely wrapped items. 

Paul and I left them to clear up and went to The Town Hall in Reading to hear The Sixteen (a choir) singing very beautifully, just their voices. You can hear them here 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pjuZL6v2H9A . So many parts singing perfectly together - it was very beautiful. However by the time we came home (after over  half hour wait for the train) I was exhausted. 

So today I have taken to my bed! Exhausted but very happy having had such a full week. I think even a 'normal' person would be tired after that week! It has reminded me that although it is great to say yes to most things I MUST put in rest times otherwise my body enforces it! And then I let people down. So this week will be a more gentle week of preparing, hospital appointments, finished off with a day of church flowers to decorate the church for Christmas.