Christmas past ........................

Well Christmas has been and is past for another year. Strange one this year as there were only the three of us, no tree (the decorations are packed away) and no dining room table to eat a 'together' meal. Did the turkey thing 'tho as could not face chicken for Christmas dinner.
We really are relegated to the floor. Sold the second couch today so have starting using odd chairs from various rooms. None very comfortable and the kitties are now totally furious. First the day bed in the sun room went, then the small couch and now the second one. No more places to curl up in comfort so they have become resigned to sleeping on cushions with their favourite blankets on the floor!
Have almost completed the big clean up, only the kitchen and bathroom to do. More boxes of stuff for the animal rescue people, more bags of paper scrap and more boxes around the house. Starting to feel quite good that I am uncluttering my life a little but still have to keep all the working stuff. We have a huge amount of vintage long pile fabric which is one of our favourite mediums for mini bears. Have made a selection to take with me to France so that I can continue making bears but the rest will have to go into storage with all the other beads, ribbons and other makings that we have accumulated over the years. Hopefully it will only be six months then I will have everything to hand again. It is hard putting together sufficient supplies for several months as I am not a creature of habit with my bear making and each creation is totally unique. I do not plan months in advance what I will be making, usually a spur of the moment idea.
Planning a sale of 'older' bears on our website over the next few days as we do not want to pack these away. Will have to get busy as I will not have ADSL internet connection from 1st January until I am settled in France.
My special children got together and bought a combined present of a laptop. Very smart and new and totally scarey. A whole new learning curve for me. Will have time in Pringle Bay to experiment and learn how it works so then I can find an internet cafe to catch up with mail.
I also acquired another charm for my troll bead bracelet, the circus elephant which I have been wanting for some time. My bracelet is now quite full and also rather heavy. Most of my beads are e-bay purchases with some genuine troll beads but it is quite unique to me and therefore something special.
The weather this Christmas has been a little kinder, 'tho hot there has been a pleasant cool wind which has made it quite bearable. Would happen this year when the family Christmas dinner was so much quieter! Remember many years when I have slaved in the kitchen thinking that we were totally insane to have Christmas dinner in the middle of summer in the southern hemisphere.
Well just a few more items of furniture to sell then just a case of collecting the last boxes from the storage unit and waiting for the professional packers to come and do their thing...................

Never worry about the size of your Christmas tree. In the eyes of children, they are all 30 feet tall. ~Larry Wilde, The Merry Book of Christmas~