By it's chilly !!!

Well Winter has arrived with an icy blast up here. Twiglet and I walked to school on Monday morning along icy pavements, blowing, checking out our smoky breath (as he calls it:) and we both had VERY rosy faces when we got home in the afternoon.

The hats and gloves are out and sockies are hung on the radiator in the morning!!So my thoughts are turning to keeping cosy, making and obviously FOOD.

My lovely mate came round to see me on Monday (remember the one I've know for 35 years and we bumped into each other by chance a few months ago). We had a good old gossip while I made a casserole in my slow cooker, not forgetting dumplings of course.Cherry buns for the boys and a rhubarb crumble with custard, just what's needed after a chilly walk home from school:)I've been doing a lot of making recently watching Miranda - yay!!, Sue & Giles in The Good Life, not forgetting Kirstie's Homemade Home and Turn Back Time - The High Street and of course, Strictly Come Dancing, are you watching too??? Anyhoo I have lots of works in progress, which I'll share later.

Oooo look more food, I had my first ever go at making lemon curd today, using Nana Twigs recipe. Oooo it's scrummy and will be prettified for Christmas gifts.Look at this more food, Mr Twigs is getting in on the theme too and purchased this pickling vinegar this weekend, can you guess what he's going to make?

Righto, I must go and do some more stitching, I am determined that our fairly frugal Christmas is going to be a homespun one and I'm really enjoying beavering away. After years of getting panicky over the bank account in January, I have saved during the year, done online surveys to earn Amazon vouchers and I'm in the process of making lots of little gifts. I always feel that although we need to be frugal up to a point, Twiglet must not suffer as both Mr Twigs and I had loving homes, with little money around at times but we never went without.

I was gobsmacked today when a Mum at school asked what Santa was buying Twiglet, his main pressie is a lego garage and no doubt he'll have other bits and bobs from us and I know his naughty Grandparents will be more than generous. She told me she had bought her daughter a computer - a real computer for £500, I nearly fainted, the child is 5!!!! different strokes for different folks and all that, but flippin heck. Twiglet uses my laptop to play games on CBeebies and CBBC now and again but we don't have DS Nintendos, Xbox or anything - we are total luddites :)

Mr Twigs and I are agreed that we don't remember what we had as children but what we did. We work hard to create happy memories for Twiglet rather than buying him stuff he doesn't need. I've used Tesco vouchers to buy us some tickets for Christmas Thomasland with his little cousin. We have also saved up to buy tickets to see Santa on the Twilight Express. We will make gingerbread men, hope to go sledging again and make decorations, this to me is what Christmas is all about.

love
Twiggy x