Why I've been AWOL recently - Part Three. Last part. Honest.

So Monday came, and Mr G had an early start that day, bound for his appointment in Wrexham.  I got the kids off to school, and changed into my painting clothes.  When he phoned to say he'd arrived safely he asked me what I was doing.  'Oh, nothing much, just a bit of tidying, can't be bothered today.'   I pulled out the furniture and I made a start on the painting, then when it dried I gave the woodwork a lick of gloss.  He arrived home about 1.30pm, I met him at the door.

Me:  Don't shout at me...  (Not that he ever would.  But still...)
Mr G:  You're a little sod.
Me:  In a good way?
Mr G:  Yes.

So from when I started at 9 am on Monday morning, to putting the TV bracket up on Saturday evening, we totally transformed our living room.  Dad came to help Mr G put up the flowered wallpaper, and the fire in the photo below was our early Christmas present from Mum and Dad.   We had always felt that the room was lacking something, the coal fires had been taken out before we moved in, and a real fire was something that we missed, especially this time of year.  Nothing nicer than being sat down in front of the fire on a cold Winter evening, rain lashing and wind howling outside (and boy has it been windy here!).   We just have the display on, and whether it's psychological or not, we feel warmer!

We just need some floating shelves under the TV for our boxes, and some new flooring in the New Year and it will be properly finished.

The kids decorated the tree

That big box is for me!  Yippee!

And so is this one!  Yippee!

Naked Wines delivered my Christmas wines Friday instead of Monday, which is pretty brilliant service seeing as I'd only ordered them 19 hours before.  Whether they make Christmas is another matter.  But given how much back pain I've been in this last month, it's becoming a 'Daddy or Chips' choice for me of late.  In my case 'Wine or Painkillers'.  My Doctor is fantastic but 'Painkillers until you can't bear it and then surgery' isn't an option I want to consider.  I am going to look into alternatives in the New Year, because it's getting worse and worse lately.

This year my friend H made me this beautiful peg dolly for my tree, the picture doesn't do it justice, they're so cute! 

The children made home made crackers to put on the tree and I made loads of Christmas puddings!  We tried one and Mr G's opinion was that they were so awful that there was no way for shame we could possibly give them away to friends, so we'd have to keep them all.  And eat them all ourselves.  So, I think this year's batch of puddings is one of my best :-)

Ryan and Adam took part in the school concert, this year they performed their take on 'The Lion King'.  Mr G and I were completely shocked as usual, because my boys always play everything so close to their chests.  They never tell us what they're doing, never show us what they're doing beforehand.  Never practice at home.  All we knew was that Ryan was a 'giraffe' and Adam?  Well, this is how Adam went down.

Adam:  I know what I'm going to be in the Christmas concert.  A monkey.
Mr G:  Ah, a cheeky monkey eating a banana?
Adam:  Well, no, because I don't like bananas.  So I'm going to be a vegetarian monkey.

Don't ask.  Unless he has some idea that bananas are meat or something?  We sat down to watch the show, and both of my boys performed separately in wonderfully choreographed dance routines.  I was so proud of them both.  And glad, in a way, that they'd kept it quiet from us as it was a wonderful surprise.    

And there's also this.  A contender for 'Not Quite Right' photos, this one.  Now, I am sure that to many people who do not possess the level of filthy mind as I do, this phrase can seem quite innocent.  However.  I read it, and snorted.

Ouch?

'You will need a suitable screwdriver to fit your knob'.  Surely it's not just me who thinks B&Q could have phrased that a little differently?  To fit the enclosed screws onto the doorknob, perhaps? 

So, now all that's over and done with, I'd like to say I can relax but I'm nowhere near ready for Christmas, I still have so many people to buy for, not a clue what to get them.  I want to have a get together with my friends before Christmas, and decide what is happening on New Year's Eve.  Mr G finally had an appointment from Walton to see a Neurologist, and when he phoned to make the appointment and he repeated back to me 'New Year's Eve?' my face fell and I shook my head.  Liverpool on a New Year's Eve at 3.30pm?  Oh no!  Luckily the Consultant has a clinic in our local hospital that day so he should be there and back in time for anything we have planned.  Not sure if my parents will make it this year, we may have my sister in law and husband down if she can get the night off work.  So I'm a bit in limbo there too at the moment, my plans all depend on other people.  However, I know that there's no point in stressing, everything always comes good in the end.  Everyone knows the pressure our family has been under this last few months so I'm sure they can make allowances for a more frugal and unorganised Christmas than I normally manage to pull out of the bag.   I'm not doing too badly under the circumstances!

Are you all ready for Christmas?   Or could you do with a few more weeks?

M x