Rocking Your World 2021: Week 2

Hello again to all my friends and followers. Somehow this year didn't quite get started when it should, so "Week 1" of 2021 didn't happen.

Looking back at the last couple of weeks, very little happened anyway. Both Christmas and New Year's days passed as almost normal days. I did manage to make Christmas dinner a bit special, and both days I was able to video chat with all our boys so that was nice. Most of them had to cancel their plans though the oldest one, living in London,  suddenly found himself in tier 4 just days before Christmas. Two of his sons were away but were expected back for the big day, so after some frantic phone calls and hasty packing, their both got last minute trains and made it home minutes before the  lock-down came into force at mid-night, so their family was complete. The following week Ben managed to get down to his brother's place in Shropshire and arrived home the day before they too were both in tier 4. Now they are struggling to provide home schooling for their children, as well as trying to work from home, but they all have sufficient technology to do it, they all have a warm house to do it in, and so far they all remain in good health, so that is certainly something to be very grateful for.

We still have a certain amount of freedom of movement, but our numbers are rising again (37 in our village, up from the 2 we reached just before Christmas), so we are expecting more restrictions to be imposed soon. Fortunately I went to our 'English' freezer shop early this week, originally just to get my fresh milk, (because I don't like the boxed milk in tea), and I came home with three bags of shopping, as it struck me that we may not be able to get there again for a while, so I may as well do my monthly shop while  I was there. So we have full cupboards and freezer, and I have no intention of straying far from home now for quite a while. Another thing I am grateful for.

We have just had two days of continuous rain, and it is very cold, so home is the best place to be anyway. This week, some areas of Spain have recorded the lowest temperatures since records began.

It hasn't been all bad weather though. We have had some lovely sunny days when sitting outside with our morning cup of tea has been a real pleasure. On the Sunday between Christmas and New Year, we went to a concert by the Los Gallardos and Bédar band, on the plaza in front of the new village theatre. The band members were well spaced out as were the audience. We arrived at the last minute and all the chairs were taken, so we sat on a concrete bench at the side. (A heated cushion would have been nice!). The band are good and it was a nice change from being at home. Everyone was wearing a mask and we were in the fresh air so it felt very safe.

For their last piece, the band all put on red hats and played a Christmas medley. It included 'Jingle bells' and I heard a few lines of 'White Christmas', but most of it was Spanish songs. I did recognise one which our choir sang at a concert last year, and it seems to be included in everything to do with Christmas out here.

The Cabrera mountains made a lovey backdrop for the concert.

I can now share a little project I completed at the end of November but I couldn't show it until I was sure it had arrived at its destination safely. It involved some reminiscing and along the way I picked out these photos, that you might like to see. You are probably aware that I am the youngest of eight siblings, so here is a photo of my Mother with the six children who were born before the war.

Mum is at the back and Grace and Evelyn are both in front of her. Evelyn sadly died last year, just after her 92nd birthday and Grace a few years before that. Also both my brothers have passed away. The youngest in the photo is Dorothy who is now around 85 (I think), and the sister just to her left is Brenda who celebrated her 90th birthday at the beginning of December. It was for her that my little project was undertaken. She was always a gifted sewer, and her first job on leaving school was smocking baby dresses for a shop. 

This next photo was taken  in 1961 and I still find this amazing, it was the only day that mum had all of her eight children at home together!

Jean and I, the two 'post-war' babies, are at the end of the line. We are in age order, and Brenda is standing directly behind mum. When Jean and I were very small, Brenda would make 'crinoline ladies' for us using rose petals for their skirts. She would also embroider the ladies on the corner of hankies, or on tray clothes with crocheted lace for their skirts. 

When she got married, I guess I was about four or five, and Jean and I were her little bridesmaids. I think clothing was still on ration coupons so there was not the material for full crinoline dresses, but she made us each a bonnet that goes with the style. We also had adorable little angora boleros, and I can still remember that.

She has also always loved pansies, so whenever I am making a card for her birthday etc I try to incorporate a pansy in the picture. But for her special birthday - I think 90 is pretty special - I wanted to use a crinoline lady. It turns out that images of them are not in fashion at all, but I eventually found an embroidery pattern, such as she would have sewn many years ago, and adapted it to make a digi-image which I coloured and mounted for her card.

I also found an old pattern for a doily and I knew I had to make it for her. It was in finer cotton than I have used for a long time, worked with a very fine hook, and some was very fiddly to do. There were also a lot of ends to sew in which is not easy to do neatly on such fine work. But I was pleased with the end result, and when I had starched it a little so that it held its shape in transit, I parcelled it up and sent it to Brenda. I now know that it arrived safely and she loves it, so it was worth the effort.

Brenda has three daughters but not even they were allowed to travel to spend time with her on her birthday, so all of us, and wider family and friends, sent one of them photos, slide shows and videos, and they put together a 'family greetings' show. They put it on a DVD so it was easy for her to manage on her own, and she told me how much it meant to her, to watch us all. As you know, family is very important to me, and I am happy that we have managed to keep in touch with each other as our paths diverge, and occasionally cross one another again.

I have made good use of this time at home to continue sorting out my craft room, which I started before Christmas. I have a bad habit when new items arrive, to open them and put them in a basket at the side of my desk until I have tried them out, and then not doing it, so they just stay there. So I had quite a collection of stamps and dies that needed sorting, cataloguing and then filing away. I am almost done now, so I must really try to do better this year - probably not buying new stuff would be a good start. I think I've lost the plot a bit when owning a new stamp etc, outweighs the using of it!

However I did have one creative day when I produced my usual one-page calendar. I like to have a copy above my desk so when the boys ring me about planning a visit I have all the dates to see at a glance. Chris also likes to have a copy on his 'office' wall. Once again I have incorporated all our boys so they are smiling down on me as I sit here. (Have I mentioned, that family are important to me!). I have a flat bed printer so I am able to print these calendars out in A3 size, which makes them easier for me read.

Sadly there were no Three Kings celebrations here this year. We are the only village around here who has this play and fair so it was sadly missed. However my decorations still stayed up until twelfth night, as they always do, and the passed couple of days have been spent taking them down and packing them away. I used some empty plastic boxes to collect things in before finding their correct home, and someone thought they could help!

A couple of others thought it was too much work, and just laid there watching! Since the rain started two days ago, they have hardly moved from this spot!

So now we face another quiet, uneventful week. On the whole I am quite content with this slower pace of life, though sometimes it gets a bit boring. I really miss seeing all the family. It has never been this long without one or other of the boys visiting us, since we moved here nearly twelve years ago, and I have tried to get to visit them as well as my two sisters in Dorset most years. But I do hope and pray that the vaccinations will bring this virus under control, so that soon some semblance of our usual life can return.

Stay safe and sensible everyone, and here is a little message of hope for you all, that was posted on our church Facebook page today.

Now I will just link with Rocking Your World Friday, and Annie's Friday Smiles, before everyone thinks I have disappeared altogether.