John celebrates his birthday today. We had a great morning talking to friends in Australia on Skype. Adam then made John a huge full monty breakfast, soon to be a thing of the the past, as they both go onto healthier diets and exercise regimes next week...will I join them?
I walked to the rugby club this afternoon up hill and down dale as my effort to get fitter. Met up with John, Adam, his friend and his friend's father for the last part of the last half of the game. Then a beer in the club house!
The breakfast shot is here:

2010

Happy New Year to all. Hope you were able to celebrate in the way that you liked. We had a quiet evening (after a long day shopping in London), with my brother, his girlfriend and the girls. We watched Shakespeare in Love, SUCH a good film even after more than four veiwings, and then watched the countdown in London with the fireworks at the London Eye. So very glad we were all here snug and warm.
Our day in London was a date for John and I and we shopped for clothes. It was not as crowded as we expected and we took lots of detours and back streets to cover the areas we wanted to see. We went to Liberty's of London, which is one of my all time favourite shops and I got inspired to make things again this year.
We ate in the Tokyo Diner, just love it in there and love it that I can talk to the staff and use Japanese.
This morning there is a rugby DVD on, John's early birthday present, so I excused myself and made this little bloke. He is about the size of an egg and his partner is half done already...I am making two of each of my critters.

Ashdown Forest Walks

We did a four mile walk this morning with four other families and three dogs. Twenty of us over hill and dale in glorious winter sunshine. Frost still on the ground in places, but mostly mud. The starting and end point was The Foresters Arms in Fairwarp. We wound up the walk in the pub for a great lunch. Rabbit and bacon pie for moi. http://www.forestersarmsfairwarp.co.uk/ImageGallery.aspx
Three days now we have been walking.
Yesterday we went to Sheffield Park but it was closed, so went on to Lewes for a ramble through its streets and to see the castle. Lovely moon scape for you all to see.

 

Weighing In

Christmas Day was relaxed and fun. John bought a Wii Fit for the family and one by one the girls weighed in to get their BMI and fitness age. David, Kristen and Adam did it too and in the end I thought 'Blow it....what does it matter if they know?', so I did my public weigh-in to a range of comments and laughs. Yes, I am more chunky than I was when I met John (nearly five years now), but the machine says my BMI is IDEAL....Yeah! My fitness age needs work. I am showing 54 for a 49 year old...but that is reversable!
Long walk to Forest Row this afternoon, in rain, for all of us and some people weighed-in again today. Am not prepared to risk a change...certainly a negative one!
Got some crochet done this afternoon, nice to be back at it, my head is full of ideas and I have a fabulous new crochet book to help me learn even more now.

rabbit with carrot

rabbit with carrot
Originally uploaded by hirado_hime

The night before Christmas

and all through the land, mad women like me are cooking!
In fact I started last night, which is the night before the night before Christmas. This of course does not include the gravy that Hannah and I made and froze at the weekend, or the brasied red cabbage and apple and the brussel sprouts which are ready in the freezer too!
Last night I made pork and chestnut stuffing balls. The smell of which is amazing. They have smoked bacon, garlic, sage, lemon zest, onions and of course pork and chestnuts in them...delicious. It is a fiddly job though and took almost 90 minutes just to get them oven ready. But so worth it.
I got up this morning really glad that job is done as we have 9 people here tonight for a Thai curry (also cooked last night). There will not be as much cooking time today.
Having said that, John is making bread sauce this morning. I know, the sound of it is horrible, but last year I made and ate if for the first time and it was superb. It is a creamy onion flavoured thick textured sauce, served warm with the turkey and trimmings.
At the last farmers market of the year, apart from veg, I bought a lovely stollen covered in powdered sugar. Something we ate when in Belgium that really reminds me of the season. It evens sounds like a Christmasy word!

After my two hour slot at the office (already had one broken down boiler) we are going to collect the turkey.

Then it will be on for young and old. This crazy time when a huge percentage of the population feels the need to eat the same thing, drink a lot, watch a lot of dubious TV and then moan about feeling full and lazy....

Three Little Maids are we....

These are the little kokeshi that I have been working on for the grand daughters of two of my colleagues. They are about 12cm tall. The first one I made is of Amazonian proportions because I could not read the pattern...now they look tiny and 'normal', although we all like the original Kozue chan.

The recent snow and ice is causing havoc, but for the first three days it was beautiful powder snow. Now it is crusty slush and last night it took almost an hour to dig my way out of the drive to get to the station.

The rabbit is one that John bravely took to his office Christmas party as his secret Santa gift....Fortunately at least the recipient was a girl...although it may have ended up in a bin on the way home! Who knows?