Only two more  sleeps to go!  I cannot believe it is Christmas this week it has really appeared by magic this year for me! 

Over the last few weeks I have felt, for all of you who watch “Stranger Things”, I have been in the Upside down!  The days and weeks have flown by and although I have been getting things done from my usual To Do lists and ticking things off, they have never seemed to be reducing.  

One of the Games at the Fun Gala involved inflateable Antlers and Inflateable Characters!

The Swimmers waiting for the Results!

DH finished work on Thursday last and Friday, Saturday and Sunday we were moving the final things for Youngest & Fiancée out of their rented home an dinto storage or to our home.  It is all now done and the keys handed back which is great to get it all done before Christmas.  Sunday afternoon and into the evening it was the Swimming Club Fun Christmas Gala and the swimmers had a great event and Sue and I did not have to do anyting so we got to watch all the action.  Yesterday we had to take the rubbish to the tip from our home and Youngest’s home and DH helped Eldest with the last few jobs he needed to do before he finished for Christmas.

Today DH is out at the company we work with locally their Christmas dinner and I am doing the cleaning, again!  I also have a basket of washing and iroining to do and generally get our home ready for Christmas Day, with the two dogs and the cat under my feet!  

Our Stair Lights.

We have had to change the stair lights this year because of our new lodgers!  Last year DH and I bought new artifical berries which go on wth green garland and the lights.  Well Blaze and Coco decided to eat some of them. They did not swallow them just picked them off, gave them a chew and then left the bits everywhere.  So we decided to just put the garland and lights on.  Well Gordon decided it was a good idea to chew through the wires for the lights, which fortunately were not on at the time!  The new set of lights are now on the outisde of the stairs as you can see!!!  I always say Christmas is about adapting things!

The double issue of the magazine I have every week, Country Life.  I just love the cover.

Tomorrow DH and I are out visiting family over in Nottingham and running some other errands and I will be getting everything preppred for Christmas Day where there will be eight for dinner and festivities.  Boxing Day is a quiet and chill day and then Saturday Fiancée, Partner and I are going out for lunch as a little treat for Fiancée before the new arrival in January.  DH, the Boys and Little Man are all going out and hopefully going on the steam train. Sunday is also another chill day.  Next week will be DH and I getting back to the decluttering of our home and the garage as well as some other jobs which never get done in the normal work day.

New Year we have been invived out to some very good friends for dinner and to see the New Year in with them which will be lovely.  

Little Man went with Mummy & Daddy to have breakfast with Santa all together this morning.  Here he is seeing Santa although he does look a little worried!  They said he had a lovely time though.

Here he is the other day with his cars.

I know I am behind with things, one of which was to do a review of the Year with our Book Club but I will get it done over the holidays.  I did manage to achieve and surpass my Goodreads Reading Challenge this year, which along with my Aim of 2025 to read more I set the goal at 50 books!  I managed since January to read 55!  I am going to set next year’s Challenge at 100 and it will also be another of my 2026 Aims!  Look out for the Book Review.

This is Eldest & Partners very good friend, Tractor Ben, who also helps at the garage.  He, his father and their friend, dress their tractors up for Charity Drives in the Town of Ashbourne and then they have also done charity drives around Derbyshire as well.  This picture is coutesy of Jim Bell who got a great picture of Ben’s tractor.  Have a lovely Christmas Ben and we shall see you in the New Year.

Coco had all her beeding, towel and quilt washed in time for Santa Paws arriving and she just loves a fresh quilt cover!  She was happy and snuggled in her basket next to my desk

A picture of Gordon and Coco on our stairs watching me coming up one step at a time!

I am doing well with my hip and now walking about at home without the crutch but still take it with me when I am out in case I have to walk long distances or navigate a lot of stairs.  I will be able to, after Christmas, use our treadmill again which helped so much after I had my right hip done.  

Our weather over the last few weeks has been dank.  We have had quite a bit of fog too with the days not being bright at all and not getting light much, so we have had the lights on at home.  A lot of people hate this time of year but I love it, because the lights are on and it is very cosy.  We have, of course had the shortest day of the year now, so the nights will start to get a little lighter but I still like the dark cosy nights. Of course it means that I can spend more time reading which is always a bonus. 

Anyway If I don’t get chance to post again this side of Christmas, I do hope you lovely and wonderful lot have a great Christmas and New Year.  I would like to thank Sue & Suan for always leaving me a comment on my posts and to Judy who also comments and everyone else who follows me and reads my witterings, it makes it all worthwhile  

Hugs & my Love, Susie & Coco xx