New Year Thoughts and Eclectic Gifts

Hope you had a lovely New Years Day, we spent it with Mr Twigs family and had a really nice time.

Also enjoyed some top TV, Esio Trot, Miranda finale and Quartet, not forgetting of course University Challenge !!  (young fogey alert).

Well Mr T had to go into work today so the young man and I did our usual circuit up to the pond and fed the ducks.

Crikey it was cold and windy, but look the snow has all gone now.

He spent the rest of the day, with one of his neighbourhood friends, firstly round here and now round at theirs, so I caught up on domestic excitement - woo hoo ironing and cleaning!

Twiglet couldn't resist revisiting the icy puddle now it has melted, he enjoyed a paddle this time!!

I don't make resolutions but as per my previous posts I am just going to do stuff, I  have been given a gorgeous RHS diary for Christmas, so I can record my progress.

I am also joining in with lovely Ilona over at Life After Money but instead of choosing one word for the year, I will choose two.  The first one is `positive' as I do suffer from the black dog, usually when I don't keep myself busy and the other word is `make' which hopefully will help me on the busy front.

Now onto the eclectic gifts, I am always grateful for any gift I receive but must admit sometimes when people really give me a spot on gift, well I love it.  

They aren't expensive ones, they are often handmade or just exactly what I would buy for myself.

Mr Twigs favourite gift this Christmas was the giant festive box of Tayto crisps we gave him, to remind him of our lovely hols in Ireland :)

Here are a few of mine:-

Many from my good friend C, who just knows what I like.

Little Le Creuset jam pot - I eat a lot of jam and marmalade....

 

Some of her beautifully presented home made and homegrown  jam.

 A make your own zombie kit - you never know when you might need one ! 

My MIL bought me this gorgeous writing book, it is very shiny hence rubbish photo.

My Secret Santa gift a guineaa pig nativity book, the laughs this has given us over Christmas, it has been passed around at every family gathering. 

 I have been told by Mr Twigs I can't dress our guineas up as Herod or Angel Gabriel - big killjoy.

 Sewing machine cover made by the very talented Jo over at Solstice Days.

Lovely stuff indeed.

Twiglet has also made some terrific gifts at school, I will do a separate post for those as they are my very favourite things.

Remember the cake band I missed last Christmas with and finished off in January 2014? 

Well I took it out to wrap around my Chrimbo cake and after all that effort the chuffing thing  wasn't big enough.

I will have to make a smaller cake next year.

Finally, the house smells lush as I'm currently baking this bread and butter pudding for dinner.

I didn't have some of the ingredients so have added mixed spice and brown sugar, it smells like Christmas - yummy.

Righto, the young man has returned for his curfew and I need to make a main course for dinner.

Mr Twigs clan meeting is tomorrow - 28 of us now, so that should be nice.

We are back at school on Monday - ho hum.

Take care.

Twiggy x