Wednesday 29 December 2010

A change is as good as a rest.....

As the title says, this Christmas was such a change for us and of course we missed all of our family, but we didn't realise just how good our friends were.  We were invited into their beautiful home for Christmas and we stayed the night so that we could have a little tipple without worrying about the drive home.  Below are just a few pictures of our stay with them, I'm sure there will be more Christmas photos to follow on another day.

Table set and ready for the feast
A beautiful hand-made gift waiting on my pillow
A gift for Richard and me - a Christmas cross-stitched picture

For me - hand knitted socks in amazing bamboo yarn
Richard also received some hand knitted socks, (not in the bamboo, but wool) but they are in the wash so I couldn't take a photo of them, but they are so warm and snuggly.  The bamboo yarn is amazing, it feels almost like velvet.

The beginning of the most amazing meal
I have to say that this Christmas Helen has been an inspiration to me because the hand-made gifts were so special I really do need to do more myself.  New Years Resolution is to try and make some during the year, although I'm sure I have said this before, but really, can it be so hard???  Watch this space.......

The next photo is just to make you smile because our little Sophie climbs onto the window sill in the kitchen to try and get closer to the birds that feed on the bird feeder attached to the window.  One day she will learn that they are the other side of the glass!!  Now, our Sophie wears a collar with a magnet attached so that she can get in and out of the cat flap and no other cats can.  We have had a problem with the neighbour's cat, and seeing we have been away for a long time, we wanted her to feel safe in her own home.  Well on this particular bird watching day, she managed to pick up the lid of a Haywards pickled onions jar and she wore it proudly for a while - my little medalion cat.

I think she was quite proud of this!!
I hope you have all had a very happy Christmas and I look forward to catching up with everyone in the new year.

2 comments:

Clare said...

Glad that, whilst it was a little odd this year, you managed to have a nice friendly and relaxed break. The cross stitch is cute and I am sure will be bought out year after year!
Love you both
C
xx

apple tree quilter said...

The cat picture is a hoot! Got to love the critters, they have a way of making you smile when you least expect it.

Glad you had a wonderful celebration. We are having a small dinner party for New Years.

Lovely gifts and great inspiration for you. I, too, have made a resolution to complete at least three projects I have. One will be a wedding present for Hannah one of these days from pieces my grandmother hand stitched. Wish me luck on that one because it looks like a real challenge.