Monday 28 December 2020

Twixmas

 Merry Christmas everyone! I hope you've all had a lovely few days.


Here we are in Twixmas - that strange in-limbo week between Christmas Day and New Year, when noone knows what day it is , what to eat when, what to wear or who they even are! Its Monday (though I had to double check that !!) the 28th, so 3 days after the Big Day. How was yours ???? Ours was pretty fabulously relaxing I have to say. I was awake with excitement (I'm such a big kid) at about 5am but held off actually getting up until about 8am, and then I had to waken the Not So Little People at 9. This was the first year that we didn't leave out a mince pie for Santa (sob!) but he came all the same and left a stocking for each of them, each of which was opened with gusto. We then exchanged our other presents and everyone seemed very happy with their little haul. I didn't take many photos at all on Christmas Day - just didn't think - but oh well, I've taken lots since.

Mr EC and the Little Peeps gave me lots of sausage dog gifts - including a hat and scarf - which I wore on Christmas morning on a beautifully crisp and festive dog walk. 


They also gave me an oven-glove, tea towel and apron - the latter of which I wore to cook Christmas lunch - with a glass of bubby of course - cheers!


I also got some new slippers from my mother-in-law, they have barely left my feet since, they are so cosy ...


 ..... and a lovely new vanilla candle, here it is next to the card she gave us - isn't it brilliant :)


One of my other favourite gifts was this little heart from my friend - I had assumed she'd made it, but she 'fessed up that she didn't - she did make me something but apparently it went wrong so she didn't want to give it to me, I'm dying to know what it was though! Anyway the heart has pride of place above the fireplace.



Another dear friend gave me this wonderfully personalised picture frame ....

All the little peg-words are things that are meaningful to us both and have kept us going and connected through lockdown and its various forms.... zoom calls, drinks in the garden, coffees, walking and so on. Such a thoughtful gift. :)

Speaking of walking, I am nearing the end of  my 200km North Pole Virtual Challenge, I've currently got 12 km to go! In my last post I mentioned I was going to walk the 9 mile round trip for a new crochet hook - well I did it - 16km in total, took me nearly 3 and a half hours and I was dead on my feet when I got home, but such a sense of achievement. Here are some pictures I took along the way ....







.... and I've since done a few more massive dog walks as well. Poor little Pixie doesn't know what to think ...



We saw Santa and Mrs Claus walking their dog ....


And sometimes we ended up at Costa for a cheeky takeaway ....

I saw a penny, picked it up and all day long I had good luck ....


So as I say, only 12km to go, and I'm hoping at most two more walks should do it :)

In crafty news I am still working on a Christmas sampler I started earlier in December ....


I'd like to try and finish it this week whilst its technically still Christmas time, but I fear it may be a bit of a tall order. I'm also doing a winter stitch-along with Stitchonomy. Free sign-ups are closed but you can join Alyssa's Pattern Club if you want to take part. She releases a new piece of the pattern every 3 days. Here's what I've done so far ...


As you can see it's stitched on turquoise aida. I've been cross-stitching for about 35 years but this is the first time I've ever used non-white aida. I love how it looks!


I'm also soooooo neeeeeearly finished my Attic24 cottage blanket ...... I've been working away every evening on it ....



... and have finished the main body and sewn in the ends .Oh the ends. There were sooooo many. Why don't I learn and do them as I go along ??


So now I'm working on the border ....


I can't wait to get it done, I think its going to be used to snuggle under on the sofa, its been years in the making as I've fallen in and out of love with it a few times. The man reason I want it done is that I have a new blanket kit all ready to begin - more on that in my next post :) 

And in between crochet and cross -stitch I've been reading "Little Fires Everywhere" by Celeste Ng, it was a great read, very interesting exploring all the different mother-child relationships. It's also been made into a TV series which I then obviously had to watch too!


And so I've been putting in these days with lots of gentle crocheting, cross-stitching and reading ... and thoroughly enjoying every minute of it. It's so lovely to slow down and not have the usual frenzy of the school days and the bazilion emails that I seem to get every day. And we still have another week to go - hurrah!

Hope you are all having a lovely Twixmas week, see you next time, 

Jillxxxxx

29 comments:

  1. Such a lovely post! Thanks for sharing your holiday with us. We just got back from the empty parking lot we walk the dog in where we found several families exchanging gifts out of the back of their cars dressed up like they were about to do surgery. What a time we live in. It made me tear up. It's been so hard here for so many.
    Stay safe.

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    1. So hard, for so many, you are so right. Hopefully 2021 will be better for us all xx

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  2. I loved that book. It sounds like you've had a great Christmas and your walking is really impressive, so many miles! Fantastic. x

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  3. Sounds like you had a quite lovely Christmas. Your little sausage dog is ADORABLE.

    We used to take in dogs and cats when our friends went on vacation. Jake was our friend, Betty's, mini dachshund. He was such a character. We had him for six weeks while his mom recovered from surgery. Full of spirit and loved to snuggle.

    Hope you have a very happy New Year.

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    1. Yes Pixie is a snuggler too - she is very cute but also very naughty! But how can I be cross with her ?!

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  4. Well done you on a wonderful Christmas and all that walking! You ae amazing. Stay safe and well.

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    1. Thanks Meredith, the walking has been really enjoyable, I may sign up for another challenge!

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  5. Hi Jill--hopped on over for a visit; lovely post--great photos...
    What a lovely crochet blanket you have in progress...

    Congratulations on all your walking...during lockdown here i have been mostly walking on our treadmill...I do miss the fresh air--but it has been quite cold here ....

    Hugs, from SE CT, USA Julierose
    (P.S. Pixie is SO cute....);)))

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    1. Thankyou for dropping by, and your lovely comments :)
      Jillxo

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  6. you are the second person to mention the book "Little Fires Everywhere" I will need to look for it. I see you to do Attic 24 blankets - I made two of hers in the strips and then the current one is one of her patterns but not her colors and doing it up in a heavier weight yarn. I love all that you showed on your blog today and thanks so much for stopping by mine and leaving your blog address so I could check out yours!

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  7. Thanks for the comment on my blog! I am very envious of your green grass! You are a very busy gal! :) I hate ends too...I am working on a granny square join as you go...a WIP for a long time. :)

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  8. Congratulations on your walking! 16km is a lot of miles! Thanks for your comment on my blog. Your cross stitch is lovely!

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  9. Hi,
    Thank you for visiting my blog, The River.
    I enjoyed all your photos.
    I liked seeing Santa and Mrs. Santa walking their dog.
    I also pick up pennies for luck. :-)
    Happy New Year,
    Carla

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  10. How lovely to find you. Thank you for visiting and commenting on my blog. Nice walk you had even if it was long. And I love your little dog. What a sweet heart. I am also working on a blanket - knitted! But I have a crochet blanket waiting to be started in 2021 so I am also trying to get this one finished.

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  11. Dear Jill, thank you so much for stopping by my blog. Goodness, there's a lot of loveliness here in this one post, from cross-stitch to crochet and walking which is my favorite thing to do. Seeing the Clauses dog walking made me giggle. Sounds like you had a wonderful Christmas. Twixmas is a nice way to describe this in between time. Enjoy your holiday.

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  12. I love these days in between Christmas and New Year, a time to just relax after the hustle and bustle of Christmas Day. I really enjoyed Little Fires Everywhere, Celeste Ng has also wrote Everything I Never Told You which I also enjoyed.

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  13. You are exactly right about Twixmas! And all those containers of fattening foods that need be finished while waiting for the new year! Your posts are fun and interesting. How neat to see Mr.& Mrs. Santa out walking their dog.

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  14. Hello and thanks for introducing yourself over at my blog!

    First of all, I love the term "Twixmas" - it fits the time exactly. Your tree is so very pretty, and I love seeing the gifts.

    From your photos, it looks like you live in a very pretty area, and I am impressed by your walking project. I hope to catch up with you more regularly. Happy Twixmas to you and yours!

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  15. Happy Twixmas, Jill, and thanks for visiting my blog (The Marmelade Gypsy). It led me to yours and I am now following on bloglovin. Your holiday looked wonderful. I loved your tree -- every time I see another tree with photos on it, I know it's "my kind of people!" And your mother in law sounds wonderful,with a card like that. I loved seeing your Christmas (lovely gifts, all!) and your walking region. All good wishes for a wonderful new year. I know I will be visiting!

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  16. Looks like a wonderful holiday! I am also quite jealous of your scenery for your walking! I try to do about 4 miles a day, but it's always the same route through my neighborhood.

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  17. "Little Fires Everywhere" was written by a woman who lives not so very far away from where I live in Northeastern Ohio. It takes place in that same town.

    Congratulations on your long walk! Our Christmas snow has just been melted by rain and warmer temps, so I can finally get out today for a jaunt. But it will not be as long as yours, I can tell you.

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  18. What a great post! I like seeing your views while on your walks!

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  19. I like your word "Twixmas"- it sounds like you had a great time on Christmas and are enjoying the quieter days between the years. Your walks look lovely and bright.

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  20. looks like you had a wonderful holiday! I like the lull in between Christmas and new Years!! Happy New Year!

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  21. Congratulations on your North Pole Challenge! What a great idea. Your friend’s gift to you with the little notes is so thoughtful. Love the photos of your sweet pup! And the Santa’s out for a walk. This is such a nice post. Thank you for visiting my blog:) Happy New Year, Jill!

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  22. The Christmas card made me laugh, so cute. Happy New Year.
    Amalia
    xo

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  23. What a fun packed post full of all sorts of lovely things. All the very best for 2021.

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Thankyou so much for visiting, and for taking the time to leave me a comment :) I really really love getting little messages, I read and value every single one, so thankyou again, and have a great day :)
Jillxxxxx