Christmas day plus two

Well, that’s Christmas over for another year. This year, for the first time ever (as far as I can remember) John and I spent most of Christmas day on our own. We were very civilised and sat down to a full blown Christmas dinner which we then slept off while we waited for David & Amanda to come around, with her Mum & brother, for tea. I don’t usually do much in way of tea at Christmas but this year I thought I ought to  make an effort – not surprisingly a lot of it went uneaten!

Yesterday morning we talked to Matt on Skype – the first time we’ve been able to since he left in September – he gave us a guided tour of the house he’s living in and introduced us to his housemates! I often wonder how families managed when their loved ones went overseas as recently as 20 years ago – it must have been awful not being able to make the instant contact we do now.

As I’m writing this I’m watching a trashy movie on Christmas 24, it’s all about a mail man and a lonely lady who meet up at Christmas – what a lovely idea , it has a slightly familiar ring to it…..

So what now? Well for the immediate I’m expecting Janet and her Mum for coffee at any time and I’m back to work tomorrow. I think I’ll make the most of the rest of my time off and do some hexie piecing because I can! Relatively pain free now, but just need to be sensible as I don’t want to undo the good that’s been done before my holiday next week – yep, I hear you ‘another one’. Doesn’t seem real at the moment what with Christmas and everything but I think after the New Year I’ll start to get excited about it!

I’ve only gone and done it!!

Now that caught your eye didn’t it! What have I done? I’ve listed some of my bags on Etsy – you can find me here at Handmade by Heather. I’m not sure if they will sell but if I don’t try I will never know will I? The pricing looks a little strange ‘cos you have to put the price in US dollars and I suppose depending which exchange rate the site uses the rate will vary. I really struggled to come up with a price that reflects my expenses and that will appeal to the buyer, I’ve had a good look around Etsy and at the various craft fairs I’ve been to and the prices vary widely - £10 - £45 for very similar items. I thought if I offered free UK post and packing it might seem a good deal.

Now just have to sit back and see what happens – gulp!!

In other news, we head towards Christmas wondering where the year has disappeared to. Matt seems to be settled in Brisbane now for a couple of months at least. He has a job working for a meat supplier – he works nights loading orders for supermarkets. Working nights should suit him as he has always been a nit of a night owl anyway and the money is good. It’s going to be very strange mot having him around at Christmas this year although we will talk on the phone.

And that’s probably all I can think of – oh, nearly forgot – the shoulder business. It’s getting better I think and I’ve finished the acupuncture – can’t say it’s made any difference really but it was worth a try, I’m still taking the medication because when I don’t take it the symptoms all come right back! But the good news is that the Physio suggested I try some hand stitching or crochet – almost like getting back on the bike when you’ve fallen off I suppose. I tried some on Thursday to no ill effect so hope that I can carry on. I’ve packed up the sewing machine as I don’t think I’ll have any time leading up to Christmas but a spot of hand stitching might just fill the gap!