14 days and counting -

14 - fourteen, 2 weeks, fortnight.

I looked up the word 'fourteen' and found that it originated from middle English and was written as - fourtene or feowertene and and in Anglo-Saxon it was written feowertyne or feowetene. This reminded me that the ancients measured time by nights and winters, so a fortnight came from  fourteen nights - two weeks.

Only one more week to winter solstice, the longest night and then the earth begins to tilt and gently gently we will start getting our days back. Woo hoo getting closer to spring, and as I sit here, feeling cold, that thought is so positive!

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I have already mentioned that I will be running through the 12 days of Christmas, starting from the 25th December but I thought I would just post here Youngest's most recent homework. His task was to reply to 'His True Love' and thank them for all the gifts they had given him and explain to them what he had done with them..........So, below, for your delight and guffaws I have copied out his reply - classic!

Dear friend

The presents that you gave me were delightful but…

I could not catch the partridge in time so it flew away, 

but I planted the pear tree in my garden.

I set the turtle doves and the calling birds free, did you know that they are colly birds- which is the old fashioned name for blackbirds. 

The French hens I have added them to my other six chickens. 

I found out that the rings are chocolate not gold I ate 2 and sold the rest. 

I have bought an allotment for the geese. 

For the milk maids I rang up the dairy factory in Settle and they have got part time jobs. 

The disco divas have gone to see a friend of mine’s mum who is a dance teacher. 

Those lords, well I sent them to train for the Olympics for the long jump, triple jump, high jump, hurdling jump, trampolining, pole vaulting, ski jumping, horse jumping, snowboarding and gymnastics.

For the pipers I sent them to plumbing school to learn about all types of pipes. 

And the drummers they have gone to the coldstream guards military band. 

But I will report you for theft and violation to her majesty herself for stealing seven swans.

from xxxx

     

                           

I laugh out loud every time I read his reply ! What goes on in that little head of his is amazing! 

Counting again - 13 and talk about chuffed to bits!!

13, thirteen, unlucky for some, and as someone who was an incredibly superstitious teenager I still feel the heebie jeebies when I write or say that number.

I am not as bad as I was but thank goodness it's a Monday and not a Friday.....!

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I have finished my apple green basket weave scarf and I am all happy happy about it! It so-so warm and brightens up my day. I put it on this morning and haven't taken it off yet, I love it (but you may have guessed that in my last post about my yummy scarf) love it, love it.

So, I took a few pictures..... I couldn't help it!

Oops, another picture.....

Did I mention it's warm and it's a yummy apple green colour?......... oh may be once or twice!!

12 and counting And a seasonal 'How-To'

Today's number has brought to you by a well known cooking product which has been around since 1840.

A combination of chores and homework has kept us at home today.  Besides it's rather cold and damp outside.

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'How to' - make sparkly tree decorations

1. Feel creative......and indignant at the cost of purchasing similar decorations

2. You will need some chunky pine cones, glue gun,  glitter, wire and  PVA glue

Cut the wire into short lengths and bend at either end - one side will be glued to the pine cone and the other will be used to hook the cone on to the tree.

3. I used a glue gun to spot-glue the end of the wire in between the scales

4. All the cones now with their hooks, ready for a bit of slap and glitter!

(optional step - stop to make lunch for the three ravenous males in the household)

5. Daub the ends of each scale with PVA glue 

6. Now for the best part - sprinkle, sprinkle, sprinkle away!

7. Tap off any excess glitter

8. Some of the sparkle-cones drying before the final step.

9. Hang the cones on the tree, stand back and admire your handiwork.

Ta daaaaaa!

Counting - 11

The snow has all gone, suddenly overnight on Thursday and now it is damp and cold rather than icy cold - not sure which is better.......


The house is filled with the smells of baking, Eldest has been baking mince pies, and apart from my help when I took them out of the oven for him, he has done himself - Well done!  Himself is suitably impressed and has sampled quite a few already.




I, with the help of the boys, have made our sun cake. We have used this recipe from a certain television programme we've been watching. The smell of the orangey-lemon scented fruit cake is gorgeous, so so delicious...yum. The amount it made was far too much for our largest cake tin (what a shame) so I have put the excess in a loaf tin - to sample you understand erhem.   As usual I have adapted the recipe to suit our tastes and what was in the baking cupboard! (this will be another of my 52 things not cooked before)







I started soaking the fruit with all the spices last night. The boys thought we were going to start the cake, and when I explained that it had to soak first they were disappointed until I promised a bit of tree decorating - the excitement was incredible!! I thought that as they grew older, the delight would be lessen, but this year they (particularly Youngest) have almost reached fever pitch and we still have nearly two weeks to go!!

As I type, I can smell the cake. It is ready, and looking good. And once tipped out of it's tin it looks quite dark and fruity......yum.  Tomorrow I will decorate it.

Also on my to-do list for tomorrow:
finish writing cards
deliver cards around the village
go to a 'living advent' hosted by a friend
start wrapping gifts
Get on with gifts I am crocheting/sewing/making

Counting still...10. This self imposed count down - not as easy as it looks!

Yesterday I searched urgently whilst I was driving. My eyes darting across the road and up lanes as I  carefully manoeuvred through the still snowy streets.  I was on my way to collect the boys from school and I had two critical deadlines. Firstly I had to get to the school in good time to find parking and more importantly (I jest) I had to find a number 10!

I looked at road signs, I looked for speed signs, I looked at road way numbering, I even contemplated looking at house numbers but knew that it would be frowned on if I suddenly stopped outside a house and grabbed my camera and started taking photographs of somebody's front door.

In exasperation and completely '10-less' I  slotted the car into what appeared to be the last parking space at the school. I turned off the engine, released the seatbelt, glanced at the dashboard clock and saw I had about 10 (ha - the irony) minutes to spare, so decided to do a bit of in-car-entertainment (that's crochet to you and me.....) while I waited for the boys.

A little while later, 

I casually looked up 

and saw 

this....

I.was.parked.right.alongside.the.

previously.scarlet.pimpernel.like.

number.10. 

?Quirk of fate?

Counting again .... 9

Spotted by my eagle eyed boys - today's number 9 is a creation of snow embedded into a telegraph pole registration number.




When I typed the words 'eagle eyed' I was instantly taken back to when Youngest was a lot lot younger, and in innocence, said something to a teacher which made us curl up in parental horror!


He was only 4 ½ - 5 years old and had lost a book and his rather stern and unforgiving teacher said to him something on the lines of.... 

'you have to have the eyes of an eagle like me'

to which our dearest and sweetest and most precious  (lil monster....) Youngest replied....

Yes, you have the eyes of an eagle

legs of a chicken

breath of a buzzard

Apparently there was a deathly hush and a rather pained expression on said teacher, who with pursed lips sent him back to his seat.

Where, you might ask, did he get such pretty little ditty.....

.......Ask his father.....

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It must be something to do with the weather. All this coldness, whiteness, snowiness and total lack of verdant colour has made me yearn for things green.

My basket weave apple green scarf

Did I mention it's a deliciously appley green?

I love it

love it

love

green

I love the way it drapes, 

I love its spring-like green apple colour

One more, promise last one today......... 

...... Although I will probably post more pictures when it is finished!!

Counting down .... 8 (well -8.1°c!!)

Today's number is sponsored by the weather...............

-8.1°c,    

-8.1°c - yes, it really said that this morning, on our little thermometer in the kitchen.

It has a outdoor sensor which tell us how cold it is out there, we know it is cold but this little thing confirms with my feet and my nose that it really is that cold!  

Have.I.made.myself.clear.that I am and it is cold today! ....... Got that little rant out of my system.

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I have always credited my chaotic journey through life as partially self-created and partially inherited...... I now have proof that it is all inherited.........courtesy of my mad family. 

I have below a slightly edited*** transcript of my Mom's last email to me, I shall let you decide for yourself.........

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All the best laid plans of mice and men get messed up by the weather.

 

1. Outlet pipe of  kitchen sink frozen.(they live on second floor of block of flats with no easy access to side of their building)
2. Fetch hose pipe - hose pipe frozen. (hosepipe lives in the shed, was last seen in active duty during the height of summer)
3. Thaw out hose pipe in bath.  Connect to bath tap and Dad spends about 10 minutes spraying pipe bend outside under kitchen window while in freezing cold.
4. Finally clear.
5. Problem caused by ice forming on  an old satellite dish (not ours) then dripping down again onto the pipe.  Ice originally forms because the gutters are neither cleaned nor repaired in spite of reporting to the landlord -   again and again.
6. Brother comes over for a completely different reason and offers to lean out of the window and cut off the old satellite dish.
7. Which he does, successfully, and lets it crash down into the ditch. (a good thirty feet below)
8. Before my eyes, the inside waste pipe under the sink, (disconnected from outlet pipe) swings from the upright position to about ten past!!
9. The falling satellite dish has hit the pipe and cut it clean in two!
10. Now have outlet pipe hanging down outside, so water just pours down wall...............
11. Phone Landlord's wife and report the above numbers 1 to 5 (leaving out numbers 6 - 9!!!..........) then No. 10.!!!

 Ahem, clearing throat noises.  The truth, the almost whole truth and nothing, well almost nothing but the truth!!

 

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So, you see your honour, my apparent lack of any intelligent behaviour 

is not of my making, 

it is, I put to you - 

as a result of my family

I rest my case

*** edited so to remove any names of parties involved to help some way in preventing total shame!