Ahhhhh, It Feels Good...........

.................to begin 2012

.........although, I did come into it feeling very......very tired!

So.......did you all have a lovely Christmas and New Year?

Mine was lovely. Just what I needed. The run up to it was fairly manic, but taking a step back from blogging, and trying to forget about all the stuff which was worth forgetting about helped enormously.

 A bit of seasonal baking......

Nothing beats the seasonal smells of Christmas. Homely and smile inducing.

I was also, crazily making huge amounts of stuff for presents. I wanted to make as much as I could. I was so busy and my fingers ached but I was pleased, and I think/hope the recipients were!

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Time was spent eating and drinking mainly. Our late nights made for late mornings. Our Breakfasts became Brunches and we would all sit around the table for ages just chatting, catching up and being together. We were in such fabulous company. The Bears loved spending time with their cousins. Eight young children together for most days. They all had the best time.........and that's what it's all about really.

We walked....

Got cold....

Got wet......

But had such a fun time.

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We went here.......

I laughed so hard, I almost couldn't move. My favourite word!

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I got to have a little fiddle about with some lovely new yarn.....

....and continue progress with a WIP blanket

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We saw the New Year in with my lovely Sister-in-law and her Husband, and drank tea in pretty vintage china.....

....whilst I admired her vintage tablecloths.....

Even the children had a Vintage Tea Party!

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I also got incredibly inspired whilst I was away. So much so, I could almost burst. My inspiration came from two books......

The first is this one, and the pictures directly below came from it......

How inspiring are these pictures?

My heart skipped a beat big time. I love it all.............but I especially love the last picture. I HAVE to make these pot covers.

Just one teensy weensy problem.......I cannot knit yet. So it's a definite must learn for this year. However, I am already thinking of crochet ones to make in the meantime!

The book is full of gorgeous projects, This is my big book crush of the New Year.

The second book is this one, and the pics below are taken from it.....

It's a Recipe Book but it has lots of crafty ideas for the left over jars. I'm guessing a lot of us buy this preserve mainly to keep the jars at the end! I love the idea of planting hyacinths in them. There were lots of amazing christmas ideas which got me all giddy, but i'll save those for the next one!

So, before I knew it, I was on the Amazon site and these two little beauties worked their way into my basket!

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Back home again now, and the clear up has begun......

.....and it takes FOREVER!

It feels nice though to pack everything away and feel like a new fresh start begins.

Hyacinth bulbs grace my mantle and kitchen and are now spreading their vibrant aroma throughout the house......and I LOVE  IT.

Such pretty little souls. They look so springlike, and remind that the days are beginning to get a little lighter and there is much to look forward to.

Geraniums brought in from the cold outside are starting to thrive again and give me big heaps of pleasure.

This morning the sun is shining.

Hello sunshine....thank you for popping your head from behind the clouds to greet us and put a BIG SMILE on my face!

The coffee has perculated, classic fm fills the quiet, the scent of hyacinth wafts graciously around me, and I begin another day of tidying and sorting. Nice to start it feeling good though!

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So....still more to do, but I just wanted to say hello to you all.

Thank you for all your Christmas and New Year wishes. I'm sorry I couldn't get round to more blogs to extend all my best wishes for you. My greatest regret with blogging is that I don't have enough hours in the day to say hello to you all personally. It's this big long struggle to balance the hours in the day with real life and bloggy life.

Hopefully now things have calmed down a bit, I might be able to pop my head in more and say hello.

Have the most beautiful, super duper day today.....wherever you are and whatever the weather.......

Vanessa

xxx