Post-Christmas and a seasonal collection

Yesterday's Christmas celebration was great and I did have enough energy, after simplifying and getting a lot of help from Handsome Son.

Paper plates on top of the regular ones, serving ourselves from the stove instead of fancy serving dishes, saved work and cleanup. The food went over fine, despite its episodic cooking, freezing, reheating. 

He brought cheese and crackers as always to start, ginger ale and egg nog to continue and Christmas cookies and candy, German from Aldi, very good.  

I made my seasonal collection of foil candy wrappers

At Easter he brings Aldi bunny chocolates, so there's a bunny collection then. This collecting I do is probably along the lines of fruit wrappers and banana stickers. 

He also made the tea, absentmindedly making builder's tea -- leaves into the kettle and boiled.  And it turned out to be the best tea I've had since my youf. I remember my mom had a metal teapot, Pico ware, and maybe that's the secret. I use china and porcelain.

So all went well , lovely day,  And now the table's cleared, and when I get to the library, I can borrow a puzzle. Maybe I can reborrow the cat one I never got to, if it's in. 

And today's Ukraine salute, instead of combat and battle, is about the force of art, seen in this lovely hardanger and reticello piece by a Ukrainian embroiderer. If you don't read French, continue, there's a translation

Happy day everyone, do something you like to do today, stitching, collecting bits of tinfoil, whatever pleases you. 

Christmas, The Golden Bough and orange wrappers

Today, which would have been my Dad's 128th birthday, we're finally having Christmas dinner. At this point I'm past it and would as soon move on, but Handsome Son really wants to do it, so okay.

I finally, after years and years of meaning to, have borrowed The Golden Bough. 

Just to find out what the gist is. It's about religion, early beliefs and who knows what else, and it's high time I at least opened it. I've seen so many references to it.

And here are a few images from a really lovely blog, Spitalfields Life, about London and local history and characters. Today's is a departure, a post about a collection of fruit wrappers! 

These are the tissue paper wrappers that used to come on individual oranges and other citrus fruits, smelling lovely and with really good graphic art. Evidently some people made collections, and this is a lovely one.

There are more, if you go to Spitalfields Life. I have it on my  feed, and it's endlessly interesting. I have no particular stake in London, but this blog makes it interesting, with quirky events and people and all the small handmaker businesses to be found if you know where to look, and they do.

Happy day everyone, enjoy your day even if you're not quite up for it!

Christmas is coming, finally

Yesterday I removed the Dollarama, (but Cocktail Lady got an extension)  Christmas setup, it being Twelfth Night, Three Kings Day aka the Epiphany.

Here's the fake fireplace looking cheerful and today Handsome Son asked if we could celebrate Christmas on his day off, Tuesday. 

So we will. If I need to rest in the middle I will. Most of the cooking's  done anyway and the table's still laid. This year we've even missed the Orthodox dates. But we're ahead of Valentine's anyway.

I did get in an expedition to return library books to the book drop at the further away libe yesterday. I had two days overdue fine, and my account is labeled DELINQUENT until it's paid. 20 cents. I may as well rob a bank, since they've already labeled me a criminal, jeez 

 I didn't have enough oomph to get gas on the way home and get a replacement insert for the rear wiper blade which is currently a bunch of ragged bits. Another day.

I saw Gary yesterday and he evidently was thrilled about the brownies. I didn't think he expected quite such a prompt return! Anyway turns out he loves them, so maybe after Handsome Son has had a share, the rest will end up next door.

Meanwhile, here's a new puzzle. Sparkling M, bear with me, this one has more than one possible answer:

Happy day everyone, let's hope someone bakes you a treat, or, if not, diy!