What a great Christmas we had. Everything worked out just fine and the approach of having no plans, no parties and just a quiet relaxing time seems to have been a hit. I’ve been so lazy that I haven’t even managed to finish the socks I’m knitting, but maybe I’ll get there today. We’ve really […]

Christmas card traditions seem to vary enormously. In England as a child I dutifully gave a Christmas card to every child in my class. Not receiving a card in return was the sign of total social disaster. Someone would have to really hate you not to give the obligatory card. You could also judge your […]

When I was a little girl the fairies always brought the Christmas tree. Every morning for what was probably the whole of early December, my brother and I would race downstairs to see if the fairies had been in the night. Day after day we were disappointed, until finally the glorious morning came and we […]

I think you all probably know that I live with teenagers – well to be honest two teenagers and a wannabee. Which amounts to the same thing really. When I say ‘live’ I could probably substitute several things,  but ‘try to survive, stay sane and keep them more or less on the straight and narrow’ […]

Saying ‘no’ at Church is a difficult thing. Not just for me. There is always, always, always guilt involved and sometimes, if I’m honest, people make use of those feelings in order to get others to do things that they want done. For many, many years I was in charge of flowers and decorations for […]