THE WINNER IS.....

Hi , just a quick post to say the name drawn out of the hat by George was,drum roll,..............
FUNKYMONKEY!! Please e-mail me your details asap.
Now, I am going back to my sick bed, the girls have succumbed.xxxxxxxx

DECEMBER DAYS.......AND A CHRISTMAS GIVEAWAY

I love this time, Mid December when potentially, the ***t hits the fan. I find it quite exciting trying to juggle with various festive events,doing lists,food lists, gift lists, card lists , lists of lists etc. etc.You know where I'm coming from? oh good, I'm not alone. There is also a birthday list, our George is fourteen on the 17th December.

I have been trying to get some last bits of work done for the Christmas markets , my little wren house is soooo cold at the moment, I'm being a wimp, doing it in comfort in front of a roaring fire, but look at the conditions I have to work under.............Needle felting with a soporific cat firmly attached to my lap-he's nearly come a cropper on more than one occasion.

Our tree went up on Saturday evening , it was lovely to at last see the vintage baubles I bought a month ago in their rightful place, the pics do not do them justice, the tree looks lovely, looks like the trees of my childhood, I'm so pleased....

A night shot of the children's tree which sits on the piano

I shared a table at the Farmer's Market Christmas market with my friend Mandy on Saturday.It poured with rain until about 11am but I love doing this event each year, it feels festive and I love talking to the people. The time flew but my toes took an age to thaw out when I got home.

We have the cold and flu bug buzzing around here at the moment, and as I write this, my son is sat cuddling up, having a day off school, also, the man of the house has fallen by the wayside.Just us girls left standing, you watch, mine will come in time for the Saturday market, hey ho!!

This brings me appropriately to my Christmas giveaway, something to snuggle under a lovely warm blanket with, a Green and Blacks hot chocolate and a dvd of a great christmassy vintage movie,'The Bishops Wife' , Cary Grant, what more could a girl want? Sorry, the welsh tapestry blanket is not included, it's very much in use right now.

All you have to do is come say Hi, it's as simple as that, I will get birthday boy to pick a number out of the party hat on the evening of the 19th Dec at 6pm. I need to get it off to the winner asap so they can enjoy a pre-christmas evening with our Mr. Grant.

I'm off now to mop some brows. Do hope you are keeping well out there, Annie xxxx

DECEMBER DAYS........A BLOG CATCH UP.

WELL! doesn't the time fly? I honestly couldn't tell you where I've been all this time, maybe I have a bad case of amnesia, must have been from the fall I had the Monday after the VH fair but I wont go into too much detail other than to say it was VERY undignified and it bloody hurt. There have been a catalogue of mishaps lately, like the needle that went through my slipper and into my toe,oh yes and being bitten on the hands by something with teeth that would put jaws to shame.Anyway dear readers, this is starting to sound like some feeble excuses for why I have been such a shocking blogger. No excuses, I am a shocking blogger, but I do hope that I can, somehow make amends, for I can confidently say that I have reached that "christmassy" frame of mind and would love to share my excitement with people who understand how I feel, yes, YOU........

Firstly, it would be very rude of me not to mention that wonderful event on the 22nd November, it seems such a long time ago now, there were so many great posts about the day, so eloquently told with great photos. My photos are not so hot and are few in number.It was so lovely to meet and put faces to the blogs, alas, I didn't get round to having a chat with everyone but I hope I will next time.Jayne and Michele did a fantastic job in organising the event, I hope it wasn't too exhausting for you ladies.

This is a nice one of Mr. Snippets isn't it? Like my Man, he stayed all day, a jolly chap :)

didn't take any photos of my table so here is the quick dummy run on the kitchen table the day before.Again, not a brilliant photo but my website is up and running now (still being constructed),see my side bar, if you would like to take a closer look at my work.How grown up!

This photo was taken for Jayne(and the happy crow) I hope you can see your rabbit sat there, he's made himself very much at home. Thank you, it was a lovely giveaway and my first.

This was what greeted us this morning on the way to school, a lovely sprinkling of frost and a fresh bite in the air, oh how I love it! I still have high hopes of a snow fall on Christmas Eve, a girl can dream.......It was Stroud's 'Goodwill Evening' on Friday, and for us, this marks the start of the "Christmassey"feelings.

There were more people than I'd ever seen before, maybe this credit crunch business is making people more determined to have a good time, it has with me anyway. There were street performers ,

A lovely lantern procession with fire jugglers, stilt walkers, carol singers galore.....

Here they are again, entertaining everyone with their jolly banter, Poppy and George loved this. There were some lovely stalls in the farmers market, food, pottery, stalls selling exotic wares, the smell of incense punching the air, frankincense? myrrh?

I will be sharing a stall at the Christmas Farmer's Market on the 13th and 20th December, it was great fun last year so I am looking forward to it very much.

Lastly, I wanted to show you my piano. I find that the things that live on top of my piano changes with the seasons.

This is my piano in November, it shows some recent purchases, some vintage Russian dolls that I love, a vintage (70's) chocolate box bought from the rag market in October, and some vintage Christmas baubles bought for £5 on a bric-a-brac stall, can't wait to put them on the tree.
I have to say, my piano is no longer dressed for November, the children put their tree up on Saturday and this always lives on the piano.SO, dear readers, you will have to come back to see the festive changes that take place over the next few weeks.Phew!!! I hope you are still there?yes? oh good.... thought I'd over done it for a minute........Do come back soon, I have an award from the lovely Deanna (now there's a girl who loves Christmas) and a Christmas giveaway too- better get my skates on hadn't I, Eeeek!xxxxxxxxxxxx