Brilliant weekend

 On Friday evening I went with daughter to a Halloween party hosted by our local Portsmouth Downs Syndrome charity at a local hotel, with a good disco, daddy was away working so I was happy to take his place. It was one of the best nights ever, families all dressed up, lots of happy youngsters from the youngest baby to adult. It was wonderful to see so many happy faces, everyone chatted to each other, plenty of support, each couple understanding the differences we face, as a grand parent I was so welcomed. For me it was wonderful to see so many older lads and girls, as a worrier I do often think of George growing up, with the right education and support just like any other child they blossom, I have never had so many cuddles before. I am not sure what baby Molly thought of the whole evening, she was wide eyes most of the time, Will is not in photo, he made new friends and was playing most of the evening. 

I have purchased some fat quarters, mainly for the small pink designs, these will be clothes for Luna Lapin rabbit. I have most of what I need to start, I am going to sit down later and trace all the pattern bits to make the rabbit. The bottom photo, I am hoping to make something for George, maybe a small bag, I love the 2 fabrics, the cats I got just because. I did get the silk for my friends Christmas cushion as well, in truth it was the only thing I required, our local shop is a dangerous place to be in. 

I blame Jo for this photo, from her Instagram feed she showed her 1st mince pie of the season, I saw these and got some, we popped into Iceland for a few bits, and got the rest of our Christmas treats, now all packed away. If you are reading this from outside the UK, they are rich spicy dried fruit pies, and they taste wonderful. 

Saturday was a busy day in our kitchen, hubby made a huge pot of minestrone soup in our slow cooker, it was brilliant, with 5 more portions for later in the week. Just a perfect lunch on a cold day

I got busy with Christmas cakes, I mixed and baked my 1st cake. I also weighed all the ingredients for a 2nd cake, I soaked the dried fruit in the juice from oranges and a lemon, also the zest. In the flour you can see the halved cherries, my mum always did it this way to stop the cherries sinking, it does work. 

Sunday daughter, Will, George and Molly came for the day, hubby cooked roast beef for lunch, Will helped pick the last raspberries from our garden, George played with toys we had here and we had loads of cuddles from Molly. The 2nd Christmas cake was baked, with a few small cakes, so we could have a early taste. Mummy took Will for his Covid test, he was really good, mummy had been worried, so a pizza treat for tea. 

Both evenings we lazy and quiet, which I needed, having 3 here under 5 can be hard work, lots of laughter and fun, but tiring. I have done more french knots on the cushion front, I find it very relaxing, I just wish I did not feel so tired all the time, I had a blood test on Friday morning, hopefully the results might give a clue as to why I feel like this, I have an idea what might be coming next. Hopefully my cold is shifting, its not easy to be out and about sniffing and coughing.

Today is a lazy morning, later I'm at daughters, so tomorrow they can take Will to London for his op, I will be caring for George and Molly for a couple of days.