7 days till Christmas

To-day has been your traditional build up to Christmas day of a school carol concert, and an inivtation to attend my daughters piano lesson to hear Christmas carols.
Both are lovely things to do, and certainly make you feel like Christmas is nearly here. Yet both for me to-day have touched the emotions.
The Carol Concert at school is held each year in the Church that is attached to the school. It is a traditional church with beautiful stained glass windows and the sound of the school children singing echoes in the true old fashioned way round the walls. As 'Joy to the World' was sung out (and Ellie was in prime front row spot) I couldn't help feeling nostalgic, as to-day was the final carol concert I will attend at the junior school. In September Ellie moves to secondary school, and after 11 years of faithfully turning up to the Christmas concert this was my last year. Memories of dashing from work to get there on time come to mind, chatting and giggling with friends, but most of all the moment when your child catches your eye and beams with pride that you are there to watch them have made these occasions worthwhile. To-day was the last.
This evening, was the carols with the piano teacher. Ellie is just learning, and can now play basic tunes. Tonight, sitting on the sofa listening to Ellie play made me cry. My Mum played piano, and loved to hear Ellie play, she was so pleased she was learning. At home Ellie sits on the same piano stool that my Mum used to sit on, which still has some of her music in the drawer underneath the stool. I wished my Mum could have been there to hear Ellie play, she would have loved it, it would have made her so happy. It is these moments when the gap of my mum dying is still painful, the grief still hurts. In yet I am so proud too; as the family tradition of playing piano has skipped a generation to her grand daughter, so the legacy lives on. On Sunday Ellie will play her first carol in church, and I know it will be another moment of mixed emotion.

So here if you listen very carefully is 'O Come All you Faithful', you need the volume up real loud, but it's worth it.

Jane

8 days till christmas

whilst writing cards and wrapping presents yesterday i alternated between listening to music and having the tv on, actually mainly it was both together. listening to music while the tv provided a visual backdrop. each year there is a fight over the christmas advertising. we all know the john lewis and marks and spencer adverts. the cute story line, the music, the tearjerker or surprise ending, the sexily voiced voice over. there have been many copycats this year (iceland or matalan anyone?). but what has caught my attention has been the asda and sainsburys adverts. both have taken a different tack. one came in for criticism for suggesting that mum did everything (in a very 1950s way) as it focused on the one day and the hard work behind it. the other has highlighted christmas days; what happens in the run up to christmas day. i've enjoyed watching them as they have changed each week. 

which ones have been your favourites this year?

Emma

9 days till Christmas

Cards and decorations.......

Done. Achievement at the end of the weekend, and it was more fun than I could have ever imagined. Funny how that happens- jobs that have to be done, before you start seem onerous and dull, but actually when you start are enjoyable and satisfying, especially when shared with friends. The highlight of to-day was taking the cards to the postbox in the rain, when suddenly certain surnames caused Ellie great amusement. Special moments are found in the small shared things, I need to remember that rather than focus on the to-do list. These are the moments of Christmas.

Jane

10 days till christmas

yesterday i was trying to finish off my christmas shopping. well that's not strictly true, i was trying to finish off shopping for a game that has become a christmas tradition in my family. whilst trying to find the final present that would top off this modern day pass the parcel i found myself looking at cds. those of you who follow along here will know that i am into music. over the past few months i have seen advertised a young lad whose music outstrips his years. it was the kind of advert that always made me look up from what i was doing and pass comment; i want to hear more of that. yesterday morning i was listening to the radio, i didn't know what i was listening to but i liked it. a glance at the digital radio ticker told me "lighting bolt". that was all i had time to read before i had to switch off and head out to work. whilst i was looking at cds yesterday i saw the record of the young lad who i wanted to hear more of. there on the sticker on the front of the cd were the words "lighting bolt" putting two and two together i realised this was what i had heard on the radio that morning. i instantly bought it. getting home last night i listened to the record. not just that but today i you tubed it and watched the promo videos that have been released. he is being touted as the new dylan, donavan and oasis. to me someone is styling him up to be a modern day scott walker. have a look, see what you think. mr jake bugg. i'm not sure he would have come out of anywhere other than the north of england. it was a distraction from all the christmas tunes i have been hearing and singing this week. a welcome one.

Emma

11 days till Christmas

In a week's time I will have;

Finished work for Christmas
Written all my cards
Posted all my cards
Found presents that are hidden in many places
Wrapped presents
Ordered a turkey
Bought the stuffing
Had a few glasses of wine to see me through
And then maybe some more.
Remembered to feed the Christmas cake brandy
Seen friends
Got a holiday haircut
Dusted off the party outfit
and found my make-up bag.

But for right now the card I stumbled across to-day seems very apt

Jane

12 days till christmas

am i alone in this? does anyone else experience days when their car is invisible? some days you can be driving around and feel as if no one sees you. cars pull out in front of you or brake suddenly causing a chain reaction. today was an invisible car day. today was the day i was reversed into in a supermarket car park. i saw it coming. i pressed my hand hard on my horn (really, i never do that) yet still this lady reversed into me. thankfully we both drive older cars with large bumpers. reversing out of parking spaces in supermarket car parks does not involve much speed and as no damage was done we both drove off without exchanging information. i got a rub on my arm and a "sorry" before getting into my car to drive off. i was relieved there was no damage not just for myself but because i could see the stress and pressure on her face. i didn't want to be an added complication on her no doubt long list of things to do before all the shops close on christmas eve.

today was also the day of meeting up with old work friends, we hadn't seen each other since this time last year. i was complimented on how well i looked, how i looked different, different in a good way but they couldn't put their finger on it. it was lovely to have a couple of drinks and dinner, catch up on their lives, reminisce about our old working lives and where we are currently. it's amazing to me that people you spend your working day with are sometimes the people you spend the most time with. it might have been a year since we all saw each other but we slotted into our usual banter as if we saw each other yesterday. warm hugs and promises of we must do this again soon were exchanged as we left. this past year in a business sense has been hard for us all, we are all hopeful that the new year will be a slightly easier one and we will be able to make good on our promise. it's not just christmas that is hurtling towards us it's the end of the year too. tonight was actually the first time i thought about that. it was good to think beyond the next twelve days. i tried to kid myself i have more time to do everything i need to do. who am i kidding? i didn't succeed at that at all. 

Emma

antlers anyone?

today has been another stupidly busy work day and to top it off; it was my choirs christmas concert tonight. i had enough time to head home, get changed, have a quiet ten minute sit down, sing some warm up scales and head out the door again. once i had collected my friend, we arrived to an excited choir room and were surprised to see an audience already forming. i had asked my sister if she wanted to come along, (she is family and a safe bet to say nice, encouraging things should we all hit the wrong note at the same time) but i also had a friend there who had invited herself along during a conversation about what we were doing in the run up to christmas. somehow that didn't seem so safe. this is a friend with access to facebook and twitter and is not afraid to status update and tweet at will. this being the first christmas concert i had done for years there were nerves but all of them were unfounded. we had a great time. we sang, laughed and joked our way through the performance and topped it off with silly headgear and wishing everyone a merry christmas. the thing about being the performer? i didn't take the pictures. this time my sister has one up on me. it is usually me that videos her kids singing and dancing. tonight the tables were turned and i can but guess the response i will get when my nieces and nephews get to see me singing merry christmas everyone with antlers on my head. there are bound to be some priceless remarks. i can't wait.

Emma