Friday Smiles 2025 # Week 51

Well here we are at the last post for this year. My son is arriving from Denmark for a long weekend on Boxing day so I know I will not be doing a post then.

I have so much to smile about  so here goes looking back at last week. I spent all day Saturday at my son's house, borrowing his oven to make six dozen mince pies. As you probably know it is part of my Christmas tradition to make lots of mince pies and as I give most of them away, I couldn't wait for my new oven to get baking, though I do hope to make a few more in my new kitchen over the weekend. My son, Mike also had two of his grandsons for the day, Alfie who is almost eleven and Reuben who is three, and it was lovely as I don't get to see them that often. I didn't know Mike had taken this photo of me while I was busy in the kitchen.

We arrived back in Oswestry in time to watch a Tractor Illuminati roll through the town. It was quite a spectacle. One hundred and five tractors with a few other farm machinery, mustered at the cattle market and drove slowly through the town and out to a few villages, each one dressed in many bright lights, plus reindeer, santas, snowmen etc. It was very noisy as along with the engine noises they all had blaring horns and several chose to play the 'baby shark' song as they rolled along. It is a reminder than we are again living in a semi-rural area. Oswestry is a lot bigger than Los Gallardos, but it is still surrounded by fields and farming.

During the evenings I have been doing the final edges to my crochet. This is not a good photo as it still needs to be blocked, so it doesn't hang properly yet, but it is the best I can do for now. 

Our son Ben came over for the day yesterday and he assembled the bed settee we have bought. It fitted nicely into the space I made in my room, even when it is extended to make a double bed. And it is somewhere for me to sit if I need a break from the computer or crafting, as well as somewhere for occasional visitors to sleep.

The kitchen is almost finished. I should have taken a photo this morning while it was relatively clear but I took these this afternoon. All the cupboards and work tops are in place. The oven, hob and microwave are installed and connected so I can use them. Under the window there is a sink fitted with a 'quooker' tap that delivers cold, hot or boiling water, so I can make a quick cup of tea without boiling the kettle! Today Dave, the builder, and Pete, the electrician, managed to move our big American style fridge/freezer out of the sitting room and into its housing next to the oven unit. Today is all about the tiling. It would have been done yesterday but they sent the wrong tiles, so we had to wait for new ones to arrive this morning. Dave will be back tomorrow to finish putting them up and he'll pop in on Monday to grout them.  My 'extra' that was a last minute idea is the splashback behind the hob. I sent my favourite photo of sunrise over the park, to a company that printed it onto glass. Their service was quick and efficient and I love it. You can sort of see it in the photo but the hob is covered with a protective layer while the tiles go up, and the splashback is partly hidden behind one of Dave's tools. The bare walls and ceiling will be painted after Christmas, when the utilty is done too. But I am very grateful to Dave who promised he would do his best to give me a working kitchen by Christmas, and he has done that.

One of my sisters who is 91 in February, is staying with her daughter in Wolverhampton for Christmas, and on Monday Jo is driving her over here for a day visit. I am really looking forward to seeing her again. I might even be able to bake a cake in my new oven for her.

And that is it for this week, and indeed for this year. I am sorry I didn't manage to do much visiting last week, but am grateful that you still popped over to my blog, and I will be able to do better this week I think. Though my weekend may be taken up with cleaning out the cupboards and moving things up from the cellar, and from my temporary kitchen in the utility, I am sure I will get here at some time.

So I will finish by wishing you all a Very Happy Christmas and a New Year full of Promise.

And of course, one more photo of a lovely sunrise over the park.

Firday Smiles 2025 # Week 50

Today my post is mostly about Christmas. And I love Christmas so there is plenty to smile about. 

When we were in Spain I often said how traditional their fiestas were, with everything staying much the same each year. But the last few years we saw some small elements disappear so the fiestas were slightly smaller. The old folk are getting older, and the young ones have too many other distractions, but I think their traditions will still continue for years to come. Here in Oswestry we have our own traditions, but here they are growing year on year, and what we saw last weekend was immense compared with what happened before we left.

The first Friday in December is always late shopping night. Lots of small business stay open well past the usual closing time here of 5.00-5.30, and they used to be brightened up by a band on the main square, and a few food stalls along the streets. Now however it is a full scale fairground in two big car-parks and along the main road. There were heart-stopping rides for those who love such things, (I feel anxious just seeing them!). The market street was full of stalls selling everything from burgers, to scotch eggs, to cakes and cookies, and even one with churros and chocolate - a must at any Spanish fiesta!

Sadly it rained fairly persistantly all evening but that didn't deter the crowds, and it was quite a challenge to get through them. But the atmosphere was happy, and everyone seemed to be having a good time.

This was followed on Saturday morning by the annual Christmas parade. Run by the local Rotary club, this had grown from a handful of lorries with excited children on them, to a proper carnival parade with floats reresenting local sports clubs, nursery schools, and trades. Again the crowds were out in force, eager to catch the candy thrown from the floats, and small wrapped portions of cheese from the Cheese Company float. The last float always carrys Santa.

Sunday was a red day as over 500 Santas mustered on the square ready for the 5K santa run. YTheir entry fee provided them with a running number and a santa suit. They ranged from serious runners, to dog walkers (joggers), to young folk pushing pushchairs. We saw them off and walked back home across the path, just in time to see the last few runners passing our house. 

One of the fastest runners is dressed as The Grinch and anyone who makes it to the finishing line before him gets a free breakfast. I haven't heard whether anyone managed it.

All in all it was a good start to Christmas for Oswestry.

Apart from that we have mainly stayed home, watching our kitchen slowly emerging and becoming a reality. On Monday the fixtures arrived. We do not have easy access to the house so most pieces were brought in along the back alley and through the utility area. But the last piece was huge and the alley wasn't an option so the builder and delivery man together managed to bring it up our not very easy front steps and through the narrow hallway.

The cupboards were all ready assembled at the factory, so they were piled up wherever there was a space. I am glad I wasn't the one to sort them out.

Now most are in place and by tomorrow they will be fixed. Next week the appliances will arrive. Work will finish next Friday for the holiday break, but Dave has promised to have it all in working order for us for Christmas. In the new year he will be back to do all the finishing touches, and make a start on the utility.

Amid the choas of kettle and mugs in the sitting room, later than usual dinners when the workmen have left for the day and I can get through to the back kitchen etc, I did manage to get all my cards and a Round Robin letter written and delivered or posted by Monday. 

And I have worked one side border on my crochet with the second one in progress. So maybe we will have a slightly easier week next week. Only one more post to go this year. I don't suppose many folk will be writing on Boxing Day. So see you all next week.

Friday Smiles 2025 # Week 49

So here we go again. I do declare the days are passing so fast I can't keep up with them. But I have a few 'smile worthy' things to write about  so let's have a quick look at the past week.

Our days are marked by which set of workers might be popping in, and they have all been quite busy this week. The plasterers have done a super job and the walls are so smooth now. The electrician has  installed the ceiling spot lights so we  can all see what we are doing now, and the floor has been sealed and levelled, and the first couple of tiles are down. The rest will follow tomorrow.

I was determined to get my decorations out so the rather skimpy little tree is now well dressed and looks quite good.

My wreaths are up at the front door and on the walls, my 'Willow tree' nativity looks good on the mantlepiece, and my light-up scenes from last year survived the packing and stand at either end of it.

I sent these photos to my son Tom in Denmark. I visited him one Christmas and found all the shops sold gnomes; very few Santas and no nativity characters, but lots and lots of gnomes. Of course I brought a few back with me and they show their faces each Christmas for a few weeks.

On Wednesday Chris had an eye appointment at Shrewsbury hospital, so I went with him in case his sight was a bit blurry after the treatment. It was about an hour on the bus, but it was warm and comfortable, and I took the opportunity to get my bearings. Then there was a brisk walk to the hospital and a lot of waiting around as Chris was tested, then waited to see the doctor.  Once we got out we walked round to the other side of the building, and my these hospitals are big!, where we caught a bus into the town centre.

As we walked into the first shopping mall we were greeted by this light bauble and immediately it felt like Christmas. 

Then I spoted this display of polar bears. I have a soft spot for bears, so I had to stop to take a photo. 

We did a bit of shopping and found some tasty lunch, and then we walked through the shops and out onto the main road. Here we had to walk aroud the legs of this huge reindeer, with his name tag a mash up of his home town and tradition. 

After that we went back to the bus for the drive home. I enjoyed getting out of the house for a while, and during the day the builder had spread the sealant on the floor which couldn't be walked on until the next day, so it was a good day to be away from home.

I said last week that I would try to finish joining all my little crocheted motifs, and last night I did just that. It is such a joyful riot of colour. I really like it. It was joined by crocheting with a slate grey yarn, and now I have a lot of ends to sew in, so that is tonights work sorted. Then it will need to be stretched and steamed to get it properly square and then have a border worked. So it is not quite done, but the end is in sight. 

And so is the end of my post for today. I hope everyone is enjoying the run up to Christmas, and not getting too stressed about it all.  I'll be back with the next installment, next week.