A Mother's Ramblings

If you are anything like me, this time of year your recycling bin is overflowing with cardboard boxes from various deliveries of Christmas gifts for various family and friends. Seeing all that cardboard makes me itch to do something creative and so I decided to make a few Christmas Wreaths with Dan Jon Jr, despite the both of us still being slightly scared of making anything craft based together. I found a bowl that was about the right size I envisioned and used it to trace around on the cardboard for the outside of the wreaths. I found a slightly smaller bowl to make the middle of the wreaths and using a Steak knife because I couldn't find my pen knife or craft knife, cut through the thin cardboard. As you can see, I also found an old Cat Food Box useful to making a wreath ring from, which just goes to show that all those times Blue Peter told us to use Cereal Boxes and the like, they were on to a winner!

I'm so excited for this week, not just for our Family Meals, but for me, the Christmas season starts this FRIDAY! Yup, Tops and I are off to London for the launch of some very special vending machines, and of course, they really show the real reason for the season, giving as our Saviour would. This is followed by Tops going to see a show with Flyfour (one he went to see a couple of weeks ago!) and Dan Jon and I having a special evening together and then Saturday we're having a Brunch with a friend (Tops and I are) and in the afternoon finally putting up our Christmas decorations. I can't wait!

I can't believe it is over half way through November. It is nearly December people! I am rather excited because for me the month of December is a month of service, of times when people are nicer to each other, of carol concerts, of choir rehearsals (and our Choir leader has picked two beautiful songs for us to sing as a choir, a further song that I get to sing with our Young Women and of course some lovely hymns for us to sing as a congregation), of Christmas Craft Fairs, and the last minute rush to finish off all the projects we started for Christmas. Sorry Tops, you are so not getting a handmade jumper this year. With that in mind, here is what we are eating this week!

For the last few weeks, our ward (parish) has been arranging a trip to the Temple. There was going to be a coach laid on and everyone could travel down to the Temple together. There was just one problem. Tops and I get really travel sick. So we decided, that we would travel down the night before, staying in the Temple Accommodation for Patrons. We'd never done it before but knew that several of our friends had so knew it would be possible for us too. The drive down the M1 and M25 were exactly as expected on a Friday night, and Tops and I made the most of having been loaned Flyfour's car by using the Cruise control and making the most of the Alexa that he has wired up into the car so we could use our Spotify account. We ate Pringles and laughed and sang and sometimes were quiet so I could concentrate on a tricky part of navigating to the Temple. And then suddenly, out of the darkness there it was.

We missed a few meals last week, we were doing "other" things, that I forgot about or that took place last minute and so I've been trying super hard to remember everything in advance this week! Luckily nobody starved and we're more excited about the meals for this coming week and for some other things happening in the next few weeks too!

I really can't believe that it is already November, that means I can officially watch a Christmas movie every day and wear my Christmas socks and only one of my friends will moan at me (he says Christmas shouldn't be mentioned until December 1st, but I say Humbug to him!) and the rest will just either be "SAME!" or "Pippa, you so crazy!" but then again, my friends are like that most of the time! So on to the meals for the week!