Rocking Your World 2021: Week 51

Well another week has passed and this is a few of the things that I have done. We got a little bit 'Christmassy' on Monday by going to the campsite next to our village for the Carols for Remembrance meeting. We sat socially distanced around the large restaurant and sang all the familiar carols with a local singing group helping us. Then we each lit a candle and processed out around the building with it. 

Two helpers stood at the top of a few steps and took our candles, carefully placing them all around a low wall that surrounds the Tree of Remembrance in the campsite grounds.

It looked very pretty and the candles were left to burn out in their own time. Fortunately although the night was chilly there was no wind so they burned steadily. 

Last time we went to this service there was only a small group of people there, but this year there were many more. Sadly I guess most people have lost a friend or family in the past couple of years and they all came to light a candle for them. We went back indoors for mulled wine and mince pies. An excellent way to close proceedings.

The weather has taken a turn for the worse, but it was still lovely earlier in the week and Chris decided it was time to prune the roses around the front garden. They have flowered really well and a few late blooms were still clinging on so Chris cut them for me and I put them in a vase under the Christmas tree. They looked so pretty and surprisingly they have survived for the whole week, but I think they will drop over the weekend.

Last week I showed a couple of cut and layered card decorations I have made, and this week I did one more. This Nutcracker character is very well known and it has featured in the decorations of several shops out here. I bought the cutting file and used my Silhouette cameo to cut out the layers. Then I glued the layers together and fixed him to the wall. I'd like to try and make a larger one next time. I can only cut up to 12" x 12" on my Cameo so I would have to adapt the file to have some joins where they would be hidden under the next layer, but I think it could be done.

We went to the supermarkets together on Tuesday to do my main shopping for the month. It was fairly quiet and we managed to get almost everything on my list, and hurried home again. Once again we are being very careful, as the Omicron variant reaches our area. There are currently eight cases in Los Gallardos which is quite a few for our little village, and numbers throughout the province are rising rapidly. It looks as though Christmas will be another quiet one for a lot of folk. It was going to be for us anyway, but we will, of course, have a good video chat with each of the boys on Christmas or Boxing Day.

I was a bit worried that Tolly would destroy our tree this year but he has been really good with it. He does like to jump up onto any shelf so we do have to watch him, but the other night he was sitting under the tree like one of the ornaments.

I had to smile at the expression on his face, because he knew he shouldn't be there, and is daring me to do something about it. But as soon as he hears me press the button that lowers my recliner chair, he jumps down and walks away, tail in the air, a picture of innocence!

I had a morning in the kitchen today (Thursday). For the first year I have not made my usual marathon of mince pies, but today I made one lot of my special pastry which is enough for three dozen pies. That is more than sufficient for the two of us. 

On a Thursday evening we like watching Mary Berry's program on the BBC, because she uses mostly easily obtainable ingredients, and her dishes are not too 'way out'. If I like the look of something I go on the website and get the recipe, and this morning I made a batch of her ginger cookies, and I must say they look and taste really good.

And on that note I will close and go and feed the animals. They all have an internal clock that takes them to their feeding stations on time every day. And they soon let me know if I am late!

So I will link up with Annie's Friday Smiles. I am sure no-one will be posting next week so I will wish you all a Happy Christmas. I hope you all get to spend time with your families, and really enjoy the celebrations. Stay safe and healthy everyone.