Time to relax.

 An unexpected early finish means my working week is now done and I am officially on leave until next  Thursday. Our Cornish friend and big B her dog arrive tomorrow and we have a lovely few days planned. 

 I have a few last minute bits to do in the morning and then I'll be done. Hubby has been a star this week and pretty much did all the pre Christmas stuff whilst I was working. I'm not quite feeling christmassy yet but am very much looking forward to a break. 

To those that pop by my blog from time to time, I thank you, I've been a bit of an erratic blogger this year and the content has not been great, mainly holidays. I'm hoping next year I will be more inspired !

i;m not sure I will blog now until the new year so I will take this opportunity to wish you all a very happy holiday/christmas.

Just living life!

 I can't believe it's almost Christmas. the year has sped by. I seem to have had hardly any time to update my poor neglected blog.  

The work/life balance this year has been a real struggle, temporary promotion and depleted teams mean I am working my socks off. By the end of the day I really don't feel like spending more time online.

I am hoping 2024 will be kinder and I can try and get back into some sort of flow, I really do love blogging!

For now i'll leave you with some pics from my life since my last post.

we met the brother and sister in law for a meal out

Boris came to stay , Rosie was very pleased.

we took Boris and Rosie out to Tyntesfield for a lovely frosty/foggy walk

We put the Christmas decorations up

I went to the tobacco factory to see Oliver twist, it was fab 

and another night out with friends

In amongst that Christmas socialising has also been ramped up with meals at friends houses and at ours. I am out again straight from work tonight, to say I am tired is an understatement, but as someone who is normally a hermit iv'e tried to say yes. I am so looking forward to a lie in and some quiet days!

A flying visit to Benidorm.

We did it, a quick family trip to Benidorm. I'm glad we went but am pretty sure I wont go back again There were some lovely parts but it is very much party central for young drunken brits!

The weather was glorious as was spending time as a family. We enjoyed good food, had good food and cocktails and did lots of walking. The cheap flight was also better than expected despite early starts on both outward and inward bound days.  Its certainly made me think about more weekend adventures abroad.

All in all a jolly good time was had by all.

An exciting weekend awaits.

 This weekend sees us venture afar for a weekend of family fun.

We are all off to sunny Spain for the weekend,  it was cheaper to get a 4* hotel, with breakfast and flights than it was to get a hotel for 4 of us in London!

Rosie dog's obviously not coming instead she will be will looked after by a lovely local lady who will spoil her and let her sleep on the bed.

I am very excited, I am looking forward to sun and people watching on the Benidorm stretch. It's not normally a place we would have picked but it was a very cheap get away and it actually looks lovely.  Today is the last day of all the Fiesta fun, so whilst we would have missed it all it will still be very busy . 

The sun is also shining and current temperatures are running at early 20's so will be a pleasant change from cold wet days!

This week's crafty project.

Crochet is my new challenge. I can do squares and straight lines but have not ventured any further than that. Well, until I tried to crochet a mini reindeer that was.  

It didn't go well, the leg is almost as big as its body! it has been put to one side whilst I try a simpler shape and get to know the techniques.

I've signed up for TOFTs conservationist club and no 2 in the series was this little fellow

Hortense the manatee, pic from their website. No fiddly legs here. So far i'm loving it.

I went down a hook size to try and get tension ,it's generally OK, as a knitter i'm still working out my crochet style and how to get tension, holding a hook is something my brain needs to adjust too, especially when learning how to interpret crochet patterns.

I am really excited about this new addition to my fibre skills and am looking forward to challenging my self with more complicated patterns, maybe I'll even finish the reindeer

Whizzing through the year,

 Almost a whole month since my last post, this year is certainly whizzing by. 

Since the promotion i've struggled to get into a routine, which is strange as i'm doing exactly the same hours. i'm thinking that my new role is more mentally taxing and more 'full on', add to that the shorter days and i'm left not doing a lot of anything.

As the winter comes in i've seen a shift towards more reading and getting cosy with a cuppa! Sweater knitting is back on and im trying to learn how to crochet animals.

This mini reindeer defeated me!

Its all a learning curve though and i'm starting to work it out, I moved onto a simpler project to get the basic's and will come back to this little fellow.

I also cast on the lovely orange yarn I bought in Scotland , I can never have too many projects on the go, although I really should start thinking about finishing some of them.

Since the Weymouth I did a solo trip down to see my lovely friend in Cornwall

we also managed to fit in a trip to the Flicka donkey sanctuary which was fab. I loved this one with the big ears, shes a Baudet de Poitou. 

i'm now settling into weekends at home and making the most of the days with blue skies before they disappear into the greyness of winter,

But if you,ve been around for a while you will know that I love a trip or 2 and I have a couple of trips planned to break up the long stretch before Spring starts to appear!