Merry Christmas Eve Blogland!

Hello to you all on this Christmas Eve!

I am catching up with the last couple of days and will be my last post before The Big Ho Ho.

I have ordered my seed potatoes for next year.I haven't gone too crazy but next year will be planting Charlottes and Arran Pilot along with Maris Pipers. I was chatting on What's App to Tracy over at Our Smallholding Adventure as she has been ordering hers, too. She has been kind enough to say she will send me a couple of her Salad Blue tubers for me to try. Thanks again Tracy.x

There has been quite a bit  it going on lately so may not get my dates quite right! At the beginning of the week Jon and his dad did some work on the garden to use the digger as much as we could until it had to go back. They have scraped over the main part of the back garden ready for when  we put gravel or stone chippings down in the new year. 

Also they have done what would have been a really tough job for me and Jon which is to have scraped over the spot which will hopefully be the site for more fruit trees. It will need a bit more work but the back-breaking bit has been done, thankfully

We hope to have a couple of ducks next year so we have decided to utilise the dog house Jon made for Jake, which he doesn't use, as the duck house! It has been moved to a great spot on the far side of the pond.

I had a little disaster with my Christmas cake. I went to take it out of its wrappings to decorate it and look at this! 

Gutted!

I'm looking forward to moving onto my new 2017 diary ready for recording what sowing and growing I get done in the new year. Sooooo exciting as last year I came to the game very late and didn't get started until April.

I have at last been making some crackers in the last couple of days. I have had the snaps for AGES and so pleased I have finally go round to it.

Really pleased how they came out, even though they are a little plain; and one will go in the boys' stockings for tomorrow morning.

The Winter Solstice, as I think we all know what on December 21. This is also the day when traditionally the greenery is brought into the house. I was taking a peek at Kirsty Allsop's Handmade Christmas and came over suddenly all decoration overload. I wish I could take photos to do it justice because I love the way the house looks now but this is on top of the dresser in the bottom kitchen.

I am so grateful to have a holly bush in the garden.

By 4pm today we had finished all the food shopping a couple of last minute gifts from me to Jon. This is the stash cupboard of goodies, well there is more in the fridge and freezer of course but I like this photo!

Chocolate flakes for the boys' hot choc drinks, selection boxes, cranberry sauce (not making my own this year and amongst other yummy things some Stolen!

This lunch time we have watched Elf - I LOVE that film so we are all in the festive spirit and we have a bit of festive spirit in us, too! I have a little wrapping to do from when we popped out yesterday, Jon and I will do the prep for tomorrow a little later and tonight the boys will have their Christmas Eve bags of treats, we'll fill their stockings and put their presents out.

So, that is is for me for a couple of days. 

Love and best wishes to everybody for a wonderful Christmas, however you celebrate, be it with family, friends or both.

Bye for now.

Lou.xx