The rest of Yule & Christmas 2023

I got these Christmas cards after posting the other ones, so here they are:

 

 

*~*

 

Among my gifts was this plush Santa Clause…

 

 

This decorative bell…

 

 

And a Lego advent calendar.  The calendar is Harry Potter themed, and we haven't put all the little kits from it together anyhow, but here are the holiday themed festive little kits from among them:

 

 

I also got more Lego, some new pyjamas, and a Harry Potter blanket.

 

*~*

 

It was a pretty good Christmas.  Hope yours was too.

Of Blog Posts, Cards, Cuddly Toys, And The Clock

I’m sorry I’ve not been around the blogs lately.  Between struggling with energy levels, health issues being a constant thing I have to deal with, and dealing with the mental/emotional aspects of the past couple of months, I’ve not been very productive.  And our recent heatwave didn't help matters.  I’m trying to get back in to doing things – reading blogs being one of those things – but I’m having a rough time adjusting to how things are now.  I’ve popped by and read posts from time to time, but not commented, and I know I missed several posts.  So… Sorry.  And if there’s anything you spacifically hoped I wouldn’t miss, please tell me about it – or direct me to the post where I can read about it – in the comments section of this post.  Thanks.

 

*~*

 

I got a couple of nice cards from Deanna from Life WithDee.  One after she learned I’d been in hospital, and the other after she learned about my Mam’s death.  Here they are:

 

Thanks, Deanna.

 

*~*

 

Kelly got me a glittery pink unicorn cuddly toy as a get well present when I was in hospital.  Here I am holding it:

 

 

And my Mam brought me this bear holding a heart:

 

It turned out to be the last thing she ever brought any of us, since it was right after that she went in to hospital for the last time.  When we were sorting her stuff after she died, I grabbed the little pink teddy bear that was the last thing I ever brought her (which I got her during one of her recent hospital stays) and the two teddy bears are now sat together on one of the shelves that my cuddly toys are stored on.

 

*~*

 

 

Mam got this clock when I was really young – Maybe about five years old or so? She’s hung in my Mam’s home ever since.  I made it known years ago that when she died I wanted the clock, so now she’s mine.  I thought I’d share  her with you, and let you hear her chime the hour.

 

Yes, I did mean to say “she” and “her” in the previous paragraph.  Mam said she was a Grandmother clock, because she’s a small Grandfather clock, so she’s always been a “she” to us.

 

Anyway, here’s the video of her chiming the hour:

 

The Inspection + #MothersDay And #SpringEquinox Celebrations

Sunday (March 19^th) was Mother’s Day here in the UK.

 

I’d made this scarf with a stitch pattern we did in loom knitting earlier in the month, and I thought my Mam would like it, so I planned to give it to her.  I literally only just finished it in time because of putting almost everything on hold to focus on the de-cluttering and organizing.  When I say, “literally” I mean it.  I was just weaving in the ends when she called to say she was on her way over.  Anyway, I don’t know how well you can see the ripple pattern in it because of the kind of wool I used, but here’s a photo of the finished scarf, which I had her take for me before she left with it, because I wanted to be able to post a photo to share with you.  LOL!

 

 

And here’s a photo of me holding the cuddly toy Kelly got me from the petkids.  It’s a cuddly nut that’s holding a heart that says, “nuts about you,” on it.  He thought it was cute, and I agree.  Anyway, here’s the photo:

 

 

 

*~*

 

Monday was the home inspection.

 

We moved things along as much as we could with the de-cluttering and organizing, and put what couldn’t be sorted as nicely as possible.  Clearly it was enough, since the woman from the rental agency had no issues, and left happy with how we’re taking care of the place.  There are some maintenance issues she’s going to report for us, but none of those are our fault or responsibility to deal with, so all she’s doing is saving us the trouble of getting in touch with the relevant people ourselves, which is totally fine by me.

 

Since our original plan of me taking Lilie and Logan for a playdate with Izi and Cai ended up turning in to Mam taking us for a ride-along to run some errands, the rental agency woman did briefly meet Lilie and Logan through the car window when we arrived back just as she was about to leave.  They were still strapped in the doggy carseats, but she said, “Hi,” to them, and told them they were adorable, much to Lilie’s delight (Logan seemed glad he was on the other side of the car to her, so she didn’t come too close to him).

 

Oh, and she was very glad to discover that Artemis was a tortoise and not a snake.  LOL!She’d assumed, on seeing the vivarium, that we had a snake, and was incredibly relieved to learn otherwise.  Kelly told me about it afterwards, and I have to admit I found it amusing, even while being glad for her sake that it was a tortoise and not a snake, since she clearly has a fear of them.

 

*~*

 

The actual astronomical event known as the Spring Equinox fell on Monday March 20^th 2023 at 9:24PM UK time.  However, for consistancy’s sake, Kelly and I always celebrate Ostara on March 21^st, whether the event itself occurs on the 20^th, 21^st, or 22^nd (or, as it does on very rare occasions, the 19^th) even though we do pay attention to when it actually is.  It’s just easier when none of the rest of the family celebrate it.  Besides, traditionally celebrations lasted at least from one sunset to the next, sometimes lasting for a couple of days, which some people still observe.  So, even though we do the main things on the 21st, that didn't stop me acknowledging the Equinox the on the 20th, and technically kicking off our celebrations the evening before.

 

I mean, not that we do much to celebrate anything, since quiet celebrations suit us best – me especially.  But we like to try and do something to acknowledge the Pagan holidays.  Even if it’s just something small like exchanging a gift, having a themed meal, etc.  Basically, just finding some way to do something with the day in mind, even if only something very small.

 

In this case, we exchanged some chocolate eggs (vegan-friendly Moo Free ones for me, of course) and made the meal I was making on the cooking call tie in to a Spring-themed menu as much as possible by adding some cheese (dairy-free for me, obviously) and greens to our dinner of spaghetti and sauce.

 

And, no.  I didn't end up making the Welsh cakes.

 

Anyway, even the petkids got in on it, of course, as they always do.  We can’t leave them out, can we? So, Artemis got to share some of the greens, and we got a package of dried sausage treats for Lilie and Logan (which aren't Spring-themed in any way, but we thought they'd enjoy having those to eat while we had our chocolate eggs).

A Festive #Pet Photoshoot & Celebrating The #Holidays - #Dogs #Westie #Cavapoo #Cavatzu #ShihTzu #Tortoise #WinterSolstice #Christmas

This year my holiday celebrations kicked off with the ACB Crafters holiday party on December 17th.  There was crafting, a few doorprizes, fun questions, and a chance to share what we got for the holiday gift exchange (which we signed up for if we wanted to be a part of back in October).

 

My gift exchange partner got me some great stuff.  I got a needle knitting size Gage, a crochet hook size Gage, a selection box of some of my favourite brand of vegan chocolate, and this bamboo wind chime:

*~*

 

On December 19^th we did a puppy holiday photo shoot.  Since it wasn't just our dogs but also my Mam’s, and all of them were excited by the attention (though perhaps not entirely enthusiastic about the outfits) it ended up being a team effort between me, Kelly, and Mam.  I was in charge of dressing dogs in outfits and attempting to persuade them to stay where we wanted them for the shots, while Mam and Kelly tried to get the photos before they got bored of staying still and ran off to play with the others.  It was fun but challenging, and we didn't get all the shots we'd hoped for (like group shots) but they did well, and we did get most of the shots we'd hoped for, so I'd call it a successful puppy holiday photo shoot.

~

 

There were four dogs, since my Mam got an early Christmas gift for herself in the form of a Shih Tzu puppy she’s named Brynncai.  At the time these photos were taken Cai was somewhere between 11 and 12 weeks old.  And here he is, complete with a festive bow around his neck:

 

And, just because Kelly took it, here's a shot of me cuddling him:

~

 

For anyone not familiar with the furry members of the family: the other three dogs were our almost six year old Westie, Lilie, my almost four year old Cavapoo, Logan, and Mam’s four year old Cavatzu, Isabel.

 

~

 

I made all four dogs matching festive collars.  I needle knitted red collars, crocheted three little green holly leaves to sew to each, and then added three little red bells as the holly berries on each collar.  So we got photos of each of the dogs in their matching collars and a Santa hat.  And here they are, from oldest to youngest…

 

Lilie:

 

Isabel:

 

Logan:

 

Cai:

 

~

 

We also had outfits for the three oldest dogs.  Again, I’ll share them from oldest to youngest.

 

Lilie had an elf outfit.  She wore this one last year too, but this year she’s wearing the festive collar I made her with it instead of one of her holiday bandanas, has little clips with tiny Christmas trees on them in her fur near her ears, and isn’t wearing the snowflake doggy legwarmers she wore with it last year.  Anyway, here’s our little Westie elf:

Izi had an angel outfit.  It has a little tutu, a pair of angel wings, and a little halo that rests on top of her head.  She’s also wearing her festive collar.  Anyway, here’s Isabel the angel:

 

Logan had a reindeer outfit this year.  It goes over him like a doggy coat to make it look like he’s a reindeer in harness.  There’s even a hood with antlers on it.  He’s also wearing the festive collar I made him.  Anyway, here’s Logan the black-nosed reindeer:

 

~

 

We didn't have a doggy outfit small enough to fit Cai, so instead we turned him in to the early Christmas gift he is for my Mam, and put him in a stocking.  So, here he is:

 

~

Artemis had dug in for a nap by the time we were done with the dogs' photos, so the tortoise's holiday photo had to wait.  Kelly and I ended up taking it the following day.  So, here's Artemis' holiday photo, which shows the tortoise among some tinsel (you may be able to see bits and pieces of some other holiday decorations in the shot, but it's mostly just the tortoise and the tinsel).

*~*

If you’ve been following my blog for some time, you may already know that Kelly and I celebrate the Winter Solstice.

 

    So, on Solstice Eve we made our holiday meal: honey mustard ham with roast potatoes and carrots for Kelly, herby orange tofu with cranberry sauce, roast potatoes, carrots, and sprouts, for me.  Even the dogs got in on it, with some ham for their dinner (no, not honey mustard… Just plain ham).  We all had leftovers for the following day.

 

~

 

Solstice Eve is even when the Yule Elf (AKA Santa, Father Christmas, Kris Kringle, or whatever name you might know him by) comes to visit at our house, and fills our stockings, which had been set out on the sofa along with the gift bags I made last year, which contained a small gift we’d brought for each other…

 

 

Lilie knows who “Santa Paws” is meant to be.  At least, she knows Santa Paws means new toys and treats, and that me getting out the stockings means she’ll soon get those toys and treats, which is all she really cares about anyhow.  LOL! So she was eager to go see what he’d brought this year, and here’s a video clip to prove it:

 

 

I’m pretty sure Logan wasn’t even sure what everyone was excited about.  He seemed more confused than anything to me.  He soon caught on when I started handing out toys and treats though…

 

 

The dogs got a squeaky sprout toy each, a goose toy that’s part squeaky and crackly plush toy and part rope tuggy each, a whole lot of treats and a  jar of doggy peanut butter to share, and they also each got a Kong treat toy that’s slightly different to the ones we already have for them.  You can hopefully see me giving them the sprout and goose in some of the above photos, but I didn’t get a photo of them with the Kong treat toys.

 

And my Mam brought them a new blanket each, so here are photos of them sat on their new blankets:

 

 

Logan’s photo is a bit blurry.  A combination of artificial lighting and a dog who wasn’t feeling like sitting still.  But I figured I’d share it anyhow, since it’s the only one we got of him sat on his new blanket.

 

~

 

Artemis got a big box of raisins.  Well, big to a Hermman’s Tortoise… It’s really just a little box like you might have in your lunchbox or as a snack on the go.  We didn’t get a photo, but I can tell you for a fact that Artemis is very happy with what Santa Paws brought, and has been enjoying the raisins very much.

 

~

 

As for me… I got more of my favourite kind of vegan chocolate, some mini candy canes, a pink bear wearing a red scarf and Santa hat, which I’m holding up in this next photo:

 

 

I also got a new kind of puzzle toy that’s like a rubix cube with extra sides, and a set of large purple dice from my Dad, the latter of which I can kind of feel the numbers on…

 

 

…Plus some i12 TWS Airpods, and money.

 

~

 

We also got a couple of cards.  Most people didn't do cards this year - me among them, to be honest.  But we did get one from Rita, and another from my Dad.  And here they are:

 

 

*~*

 

My Mam didn’t make it over for her planned visit with us on Christmas Day, so we did a doorstep gift exchange  (to open later in our own homes) Christmas Eve instead.

 

But we had my Dad over for a couple of hours for some nibbles, a chat, and to exchange gifts on Boxing Day.  My brother, Wayne, was meant to be coming with him, but didn’t end up doing so.

 

Kelly and I are still eating the leftovers from the nibbles we had for company to share with us, since we’d made and brought a few things, and then my Dad brought over some stuff he’d made too.  The savoury stuff went pretty quickly.  It’s the shortbread and sugar cookies I made, and the cookies we’d brought to make those go further.  That’s what we’re still eating.  I suppose it’s good though that it was the savory stuff we all went for first, right?

 

*~*

 

So, how about you? How did you celebrate the holidays? Get anything nice? More importantly, did you enjoy?

Oh, by the way: if you usually get something from me for Christmas – a card, or something more – and didn’t.  It’s nothing personal.  Apart from the ACB Crafters gift exchange I participated in, I only really worried about my immediate family this year.  I’m no longer sending cards even to family members, and the list of people I’m sending gifts or giving money to now is incredibly short.