Last look

 2025 was a mixed year here, as always I try and focus on the better side, my garden has been my haven, so many wonderful days sat outside in warmer weather, can't wait to be back outside. We have had a few brilliant trips, and loads of family fun.

Just a couple of my favourite photos from the year, I did have some from a visit to the local park, but decided on these two from our trip to the beach with fish and chip supper, everyone was so happy it was just before the new school year started.

Our lovely grandchildren, daughters three who we see often, Molly doing so well in her first year at school, George is settled and showing signs of progress, Will loving school and doing so well in his classes. Our older grandsons, whilst we don't see them often they are thriving, siblings like us are all getting older but mostly reasonable fit. Molly is now feeling much better, daughter is getting unbroken sleep at night, George and Will are both bug free. 

Hubby's health has been a concern, loads of test has been done, still unsure of the best path forward. I just wish I could get him to ease up and pace himself, I have noticed how tired he gets, needing an afternoon nap most days. I'm always tired, the past few months I have struggled, worried about family, I do wish I was not such a worrier, it does bring on the blues. 

I don't make new year resolutions, never have, I do have a few things I need to address, not necessarily in January.

So I am sending good wishes for a happy new year to everyone, hopefully as the days and weeks pass so quickly soon we will see signs of spring.

December round up

 December is always a good month, I am busy with other things, so stash spend is always super low, just 1 plant and 2 packs of reduced bulbs in my garden.

 Here are my full year figures, I had hoped to spend under £1000, I almost made it, my purchase of the second composter took me over my spend, this excise is purely for me to see how I spend on my crafts and garden and never to save money, my garden is a pleasure to both of us.

I did break my garden spend down again, I spent 51% on plants, seeds and bulbs, 10% on compost, grit and other soil improvers, 19% on helpful and pretty stuff, 20% was spent on one off larger items to enhance my garden.

This spread sheet shows my spending by craft, I am not crafting as much, and using stuff from my stash, slowly its shrinking. Here you can see a few years of spend, sorry if you are bored I am a queen of spreading sheets, I definitely have too much time on my hands.

I spent more on clothes which does not bother me, I needed to replace items which had worn out, I don't like to feel scruffy, next year should be a low spend, I do look after my clothes, so they last, my spend was still under £40 per month.

82 Books read this year, which is less than last year.

December is never an expensive month, we like to finish most of our Christmas shopping in November, so we avoid all the madness in retail, no huge household bills either. 

We have been very good on kitchen waste, we don't waste any cooked food, all the peelings, teabags and coffee granules go into the composters, we only bin onion and pepper bits. From March we will have food waste bins, our council has joined this worthwhile scheme, it won't change much here.

We did not get our wooden floors sorted this year, its top of the list for next year, along with a new sofa, no other planned outlays.

Don't know what to say about my weight I'm 5 pounds heavier than this time last year, overweight but not uncomfortable, I will have to figure something out in the new year.

In between

Christmas day, daughter did her table, normally my role, but this year I spent my time with the children, who had far too many gifts and loads of money, the meal was perfect and traditional, Molly and Will did not have vegetables, George ate everything including red cabbage. Children were happy all day, plenty to keep them entertained. 

This image taken off Facebook, they are on schedule for the work on M27 motorway, the carriage way was removed and a huge hole made ready and the box moved in place, this photo on 27th. Now they have to replace the soil around the box, build the sides and relay the surface, the tunnel will be a road for the new huge housing estate, which will link it to Fareham. They also have to sort the roundabouts out and make the road links into Fareham on the nearside. loads of people are walking to a good viewing spot to watch, the drive to daughters was good, not as bad as we feared, but the roads are very busy.

Another new author to me, not really a thriller, I almost gave up reading at one point, a young couple move into their first dream flat together, neighbours to get along with, what happens when things go wrong. I hoped for a twist, which was weak when it came. Book 82 read this year.

Christmas eve we walked to the village, just some fresh veg needed, it was market day, there were extra stalls, we just got what was on our list, our local bistro was packed so we did not stop. Daughter stayed at home with little ones, daddy promised to spend the day with them, instead of arriving at late morning as promised he arrived at 6pm, apparently unfit to drive before, after a night out, George put himself to bed, Molly would not go to bed as she wanted her dad, Christmas morning Daughter asked us to come earlier, they had not argued, but he was not helping with the children, all their presents had been opened, he left once we arrived. 

Hubby twisted his back and was in some pain, I have another cold, so we came home rather than sleeping over, we had a late start on Boxing day, just the two of us, resting and reading we did not go for a walk. Sadly no leftovers here, we had steak and chips for tea, watching some TV. Daughter spent the day with her older sister, walking along the beach, cousins together. Molly has a chest infection and is taking antibiotics, so no plans to see them in the next few days.

I have wonderful memories of Christmas as a child, full of families, cousins, laughter, never picture perfect, mum loving having everyone together. Things change, as does families, it just seams sad that our mixed family, our children are all from previous partners, whilst never argued are all drifting away. We don't mind being together, we are both happy with our daily lives, I just wish hubby's children would show just a bit more love and care for him. Maybe I'm just a bit cranky this year wishing for an era long gone.

Merry Christmas

Our Christmas tree has lit our sitting room again this year, always in the corner by the patio doors, plenty of room away from the children, both Molly and George had fun looking at the shiny colour baubles and chanting 'I can see me'. This tree and the decorations are years old, it's like having old friends to visit.  

This photo was taken on the last day at school, Will's school has always made holidays fun, the school where George and Molly attend take things to another level, both of the little ones had so much fun.

Soon we will be heading to daughters house with loads of gifts for them, we are staying the night, but not telling the younger two, hopefully a nice surprise for them the following morning. I hope your Christmas is all you wished for, healthy, happiness and family.

Exciting times

 I have had a sleepover at daughters house on Monday no reason other than to spend time together, loads of laughter, for all their excitement, they are not too manic. Molly was awake by 6.50am, which is later than in previous stays, so a more normal time, I had forgot the joys of waking up with a tiny person stood at the bottom of your bed, we had an enjoyable time together before her brothers woke up. AI at its best she loves this image.

I'm back reading, this book was different a new author to me, I read it on my Kindle apt, how quickly life can change, it starts with a murder? in a quiet family area, the police think they have it all sorted. Book 81 read this year. I am reading the Billy Connolly a bit at a time, savouring his words.

Sunday was a dull day spent at home, we were invited to a neighbour for coffee and homemade shortbread, I took a cauliflower stalk with me, for her chickens, later we caught up on missed TV.

Monday I was at daughters by 9am, so plenty of play time, the children are keeping their bedrooms and toy room tidy, so it was a day of playing, they had McDonald's for a treat for lunch.

Tuesday morning  we drove to ours to give little ones a different place to play, they both have colds again, Will spent the day at his best mates house, hubby made a marmalade cake which we shared, later I relaxed, hubby was out in early evening so I caught up with a couple programs I like to watch.

Today we will walk to the village, if there is room we will stop for coffee and cake, if not home for hubby's homemade treats, all my homemade mincemeat is gone, we did enjoy it. Spending time with the children has made me feel very festive, chasing away the blues.

At home

 If you drive along M27 near junction 10, you will see this huge concrete box, they have been building it for months, the plan is to turn the limited junction into a full working junction to support the huge housing development planned.

Everywhere there are warning notices, from 8pm on Christmas eve until 4th January the motorway will be closed, from J9 to J11, where a huge hole will be dug across the lanes the box will be moved into place and the motorway restored around it.

It's going to impact on us, if we travel to town or daughters house we have to join traffic from J9, daughters house is near J11. Even the bus route will be effected, as it has to negotiate a huge roundabout near J9, the traffic lights will be reconfigured to help the increase in traffic along the A27. We are planning a stay at home throughout, if we should want to go out, we could head towards Portsmouth, which will not be impacted.

My final gift arrived on Friday, everything is wrapped, the gifts we have here will be taken on Christmas morning, everything is going to plan.

I worked in my greenhouse on Friday afternoon, I put the plastic cover on my tiny greenhouse, which sits in the centre of my glass house, in here are tender plants, I checked my various flowering plants, all are doing well, just a bit of a tidy around and dead head some summer plants. The garden is looking after itself, hellebores are in bud, my dark red almost black bloom has no sign of life, I will be sad if it has died, I did look for another the same colour, without finding any.

Saturday was a busy day, we walked to village, my sister sent me money to get gifts for daughter and her family, I really did not want to go to town, so we got a bottle of wine for daughter and small gifts for George and Molly and money to Will. Later we watched the Strickly final with a neighbour, glass of wine and party food, it was fun, a much later night than intended, felt very festive. 

Read, new, done

 This is a brilliant book, english couple living in USA, difficult to say much about the plot, it could have made a great slap stick film in places, I really could not put this book down, I do like this author. Book 80 read this year.

I ordered a silk cyclamen, it was a toss up between red or white, I settled for white as it will blend in with my other Christmas silk plants, and still look good against our green walls. It won't arrive until after the holidays, my real plants are full of tiny flies which is driving us mad.

I got my pottery back, I'm so pleased with this plant pot, I tried to blend the leaves and add a colour wash blend on the main body. It will live on my kitchen window sill. 

Daughters plate is stunning, loads of lovely colours,

 should bring loads of pleasure in years to come.

I have been to town 3 times this week, Monday for our normal wander, Wednesday to get the camera lens cover replaced on my phone, today to get our pottery, each time I took the bus, we are extremely lucky to have a great service, which runs from Portsmouth to Southampton, and calling in at our small village and on to town, the buses are new electric models as both cities have emission charges.

Thursday was dire, heavy rain for most of the day, it did not stop, so I cleaned the house, making sure both bathrooms are shining, hubby was bored enough to help. We both were tired by early evening, happy to have it all done. We did pop to Lidl for a few bits, just the fresh veg to get next week.

Thank you for your understanding of my comments regarding my brother, he has changed he does not go many places and stays home alone. He does not see the need to interact with other people, he is lonely, but won't admit it, I worry for him, its the same path as our older brother, who is now in secure home unable to care for himself. I try speak to him a few times each week on a video call, we text most days, getting older is no fun. I don't want to inflict our lifestyle on him, that's not my role, but I do wish more for him.

I am feeling a bit better, these past few grey dull days have not helped, today is blue skies, sunny and mild. Daughter and the little ones are busy in their last few days at school, her cousin from Somerset on her dad's side is visiting her, so we won't see much of them, I am sleeping over on Monday, no reason, just time together.

In a dip

 As part of my Christmas gift daughter got me a plant, I chose this white hellebore, daughter told me to plant it now, so its here under the acer in the slate, I think it will stand out more here and be in shade in summer.

The spring pots have loads of shoots, its always the same at this time of year, I'm not worried, they will die back and reappear next year in the correct season.

I've started reading this book it is truly funny, just loads of his stories, he is a clever comedian, he takes what we know and expands on it, life growing up in the slum's of Glasgow created this fine mind, even today he can hold a audience, pure genius.

I have loads to read, I've not read much this month, my last book I abandoned, just too boring, I also have a couple on my Kindle including Rob Rinders 3rd novel, so plenty of relaxing ahead.  

My brother is safely back at his home, its almost a 3 hour journey, he did say its probably his last visit here, he is two years older than me, apparently its up to us to visit him and wider family from now on, my sister is unable to travel, she hardly ever leaves her home, hubby is 76 and oldest driver. I adore my brother and having him stay, sadly his attitude has slipped so much, he often says he just doesn't care.

I'm feeling flat, the spare room is clean and ready for our next visitor, probably Will on a sleepover before going back school. I expect after a few days with hubby I will bounce back, the children are very excited, which cheers me up. We have very little to do, just last minute perishable foods for the fridge, just the two of us from Boxing day, so not huge amounts.

Thank you for your recent comments, Will is tall, almost as tall as me, he has shot up this summer, he is very caring towards George, sadly he and Molly are often arguing, nothing huge, they just are not good at sharing the same space, Molly is still too young to understand her older brothers needs, so the photo is special.

Finished

 This is my brothers cake, I cheated and used simple purchased decorations, along side are my individual cakes they are a bit deep, the balance works well, I have a marzipan top with a icing star, mine are without the marzipan.  They taste great, I will make smaller ones again next year. I have left the top of ours bare, same as daughters, I have no desire to create any decorations and daughter has her own reusable one.

Daughter visited on Saturday with her three to see my brother, Will is feeling much better, he has bounced back quickly. The children played in the garden for a while, it was a dry day, I had planned to do some crafting but it was just too busy, so I sent this paint yourself nativity set home with them, Sunday they visited Santa so they can paint afterwards. 

Sunday the children went to see Santa, George and Molly were very excited, Will is now making commitments about him being fake, at 8 years old the bubble has burst. Daughter asked them to sit on the snowman seat together, I loves this scene, this seat has featured in many of our Christmas photos. 

Sunday my brother spent a few hours with his daughter and grandson, we walked to our local Co-op, did not need much, I got a nice selection of cheeses and patè, we got some fresh veg as well. Once again this year hubby received a £50 voucher, its a brilliant gift from his former employer, just to those who completed 20+years service. In previous years its taken a few trips to spend the whole amount, this year we spent over half on our first visit.

It's quiet here my brother does not want to go out much, he's OK walking to the village, no stopping for coffee and cake, does not want to walk to shore or castle. Hubby does get bored staying in every day, so I'm juggling two different men to keep everyone happy. My brother does not accept compromise, even at our house he likes things on his terms, which as I become older is hard work. I love him dearly but I wish he was just a little more accepting to our ways. 

I have wrapped all the childrens presents, and was surprised how many bits we have for the grandchildren, I lost track of my purchases, should have made a list, they will be happy. I managed to find daughter a gift, it should arrive by midweek, then I am completely done.

Hand made

 The knitting ladies have been busy again, these bollards are at the top end of the prescient, they are the first thing we see when walking to our shops. They have made all the decorations for our village Christmas tree, with very mixed reactions, many people are complaining it looks cheap, I love it.

Talking of handmade decorations, Lilly was caught in the act of vandalism, my needlefelted santa bauble, its the first item she has taken from the tree. I can put it back smooth easily, we shall keep an eye on her.

At our local garden centre they had bulbs at 75% off so I got a couple packs for just £3.50, they are already in pots. I also planted a small hellebore in my large pot at back of garden, the previous one has not returned this year. 

I recently saw this Hawkstone cider from Jeremy Clarkson's brewery, I got a bottle to try, shared with hubby and brother, we all agreed it was lovely, a proper cider flavour, I will get it again. We have no desire to visit his farm or pub, but can understand why his brewery is flourishing. 

Will is unwell, he has the flu, he's really poorly with it, fortunately he can wrap up warm in mums car for the little ones school run, she is able to park inside the school gates to keep George safe, so Will is safe whilst she collects them. The bugs are really bad in the schools, over half of Will's class is off sick, attendance has dropped, I'm sure most teachers and parents are praying for the Christmas break to start. We are hoping to avoid the worse of the bugs and hope our flu jabs will protect us.

Hubby had his cardiology appointment,  reasonable results, better than we hoped but still a slight decline, they monitor his kidneys as well, we know how we can keep him well, luckily they have not changed any medication which always gives him issues, getting older is no fun.

I've not been reading much, I started a book again couple of weeks ago which was boring, I finally decided to give up on it, its been a busy few weeks, I have just started another book as most of my items on my list is ticked off.

Having my brother here stops us going out so much, he is not a fan of shopping, we did pop into Fareham a couple of times, I got my new phone cover and sorted a loose fitting pair of glasses. I still need I gift for daughter, and I have no idea, I don't think she knows what she would like, I would rather not give her money. I have already got 3 small gifts to her from the children, they helped me wrap them.

Children's plays

 Hubby and I went to watch Will in the first of his school play on Tuesday afternoon, he had another later show in the evening and the following evening so parents could watch, brilliant idea, he had practiced for days ensuring he knew his lines. His year has 3 classes, so each class had a segment of the play, Will was confident he appeared with 3 other boys, we both enjoyed the show.

George recently has had time off school, so we did no know what to expect from him, his class production was Wednesday morning, he did not join the children on stage, he sat to the side with his 1to1, he joined in with some of the actions whilst singing. Mollys class show was in the afternoon, she was a star, very confident on stage. It's been pure joy to be able to watch all the children enjoy their shows, no photos as its impossible to get solo photos.

In-between shows we popped to our favourite garden centre, these couple of photos are from their many displays, all with seating for family photos, each year we have had photos on the outside snowman seat, it was sad walking past it this season.

Daughter and I enjoyed a couple hours of peaceful crafting on Monday morning, sat listening to Christmas music and pottery painting, mine is all plant pot, daughter did the Christmas plate, both should be back within a couple of weeks, before Christmas. 

I spent the day with daughter on Wednesday, it was warm and sunny, which was a great improvement, we had lunch together, in-between the two concerts, later I did the bedtime with George and Molly, whilst daughter watched Will. My brother arrived for a week longer visit, he's staying at his home for Christmas this year.

This week I cleaned the tops of my kitchen cabinets, washing the doors and the tile surrounds everything above my reach from the floor, I did the top of the fridge freezer and boiler. I will do the lower half next week, which is not too bad as I regularly wipe it down. Slowly things are getting done, I stood on a dining room chair, whilst hubby was out and avoiding any comments, I was surprised it was not as dodgy as I expected. 

Storm Bram was extremely kind to us, we missed most of the terrible weather, Tuesday was a wet breezy day. We are far enough from the spot where the containers lost overboard in the solent were washed up on shore, so no bananas, or packing or trays here, not too far away the beaches are a mess.

A December garden

I know I am blessed to have such a lovely garden space, through the winter we don't sit outside, but I am often outside doing bits, I need an outside space, it really does everything they say.

Along this fence is my grey tub which now has loads of pots on becoming a display area until next summer, the olive tree is loving this spot in the sheltered corner. I love the blooms in hubby's old motorbike boots, just a bit of fun.

The fake grass is best at this time of year when real grass starts to get messy in our clay soil, this area now drains well and looks good. I love the bare branches of the magnolia and acer trees. The fleabane daises should stay green all winter, softening the end of this section.  

Through the winter months this is the productive end of the garden, I have broad beans, leeks and some carrots in one bed, the second bed has brassicas, Japanese onions and more carrots, I am very pleased with the hurdles around each bed, it's a shame they are plastic, I keep nets on the bed to stop cats and pigeons.

The greenhouse is working as well, on the top shelf I have 5 foxgloves, 4 aquilegias, 4 geums and some small violets. In the propagator I have daisy seeds hopefully for daughters garden. I have spare brassica plants and some gaura cuttings which need potting on. On the other side is all my tender plants.

It's been a quiet weekend, we did go out for a meal with hubby's petanque friends just a nice carvery, daughter slept over whilst ex had children for the night, she had a lazy evening in, we spent Sunday morning together, I do like these breaks she has, sadly in the new year her ex won't be staying at the house anymore as she starts to build her own life forward, it was cold and wet outside. As much as we loved our grandchildren having daughter to ourselves is brilliant. 

There were hardly any leaves to pick up, I am always glad once they have all dropped, my two packs of tulips are in pots, one at the back and the other in the hosta tub. The patio we have stopped cleaning and will wait until the spring before we give the whole space a scrub. The winter months are where you view the bones of your garden, this is the time I make plans, normally just little tweaks, this year I want to change nothing, I am very happy with this space, for me it is perfect. 

Saturday was bright after a night of heavy wind and rain, our village Christmas light festival had to be scaled back, we did not go, no point in getting wet before going out, it was nice to see the sun in the morning. Inside the smaller Christmas cakes are finished, and ours has its marzipan on, I will let it go hard before icing which makes it much easier for me to cut it away so I can eat some of the cake. 

Today I am meeting daughter and we are going pottery painting, this was her request, will be fun without the children we can concentrate on painting, later I will treat her to lunch. This week is school plays and my brother is visiting us for a week, he is home this Christmas, his daughter and grandson will be staying with him. 

Busy week

 Christmas by candlelight concert, a perfect start to the month, we have seen this act a few times before singing Elton John and Queen, they do not copy the acts, just sing their tunes their way. Both hubby and I enjoyed the show a very festive start to the month, singing loads of the huge hits from the 50's which I love.

I planted the red amaryllis bulb this week, I will plant the white one in a couple of weeks, I love these blooms, something beautiful to look forward to seeing on these dull days

I did get a new plant from the village, I love cyclamen and had loads of shades of reds to choose from, I thought this red was very festive, this is a houseplant in a lovely pot.

These tiny cyclamen in front of my pond are beautiful, they can't be seen from the house, only visible when walking in my veg area, so really just for me to enjoy. 

Daughter has rebooked our pottery painting morning, George had an upset tummy after all the antibiotics and therefore not able to go to school earlier this week, it's booked for next Monday, we have taken George before, it is going to be busy and George is not good with too many people in a strange place to him. 

Wednesday hubby had his dental appointment, just a check up, he has now booked both our next check-ups for the same day, I had my first ever shingles vaccination, it was a dry day so I spent an hour in the garden, hopefully I collected the last lot if leaves from our Magnolia, and used the last of my home made mulch, I still have 2 packs of tulips to plant.

I got my new glasses on Thursday, I'm pleased with them, it's the first time for me to wear varifocals, I have also a simple pair for my computer work, we had a wander around the shops, just for something to do. Later I went for our Christmas meal with WI in a nice hotel, a really lovely meal, I opted for salmon rather than turkey.

I managed to wash all my wooden floors, on my knees rather than using the mop, corners and skirting boards were done, I feel much better knowing they are sorted, I try and do them this way once a month, but recently I've been lazy.

Pagan

I love all the foliage at this time of year, mine is all silk and years old, I have always been Pagan in my decorations, add in candles to make brilliant displays, I also have my vase of poinsettia, seen here.  

Kitchen 

Shelves in  hall

Dining room

Sitting room, with my new Amaryllis. 

It's advent time again, it was my turn to full the tiny bags this year, I got a nice mixture, the unused chocolates will go into a bowl for over the holidays, these were made in 2022 always in first bag our favourite ones.

Daughter got her finger shut in a metal gate last week, nothing broken just badly brushed, I decided to slide down our stairs, jarred my back and a bruise on my bum and foot, we are walking wounded, told hubby to be very careful, its definitely not his turn.

Our quiet life was broken this week, we received a letter from Information Commission Office informing us how our CCTV should be set up, they received a complaint about our motion camera being able to record beyond our property, they state the letter will close the complaint. Firstly we only have static cameras, as checked by local council after next door complained about our rear camera, which she has previously stated she has seen moving towards her side. The cameras were set up years ago because of her unacceptable behaviour, we have filed the letter as another issue she refuses to believe the truth as proven by official's, more time wasting and silly allegations against us. 

I have a busy time until the middle of next week, all nice things, no doubt I will include them in future post, tonight we are out to our local live venue, we are both looking forward to it, hopefully the rain won't be so bad the car park is next to the venue.