Twelve Days Of Christmas 2024

This is my eleventh post of this kind. For eleven years now, my friend Lisa and I have been swapping twelve small gifts at Christmas, one to be opened on each of the Twelve Days of Christmas.

These are the gifts I received from Lisa this year.

A closer look.

A tote bag with the cutest Christmas design, dogs and cats in antlers and elf hats, love it! A festive glass storage jar with a Christmas tree topper, very handy to store the Christmas sweeties. Inside were some chocolate sprouts, yum. A felt decoration kit to make a sprout, I shall definitely make this to hang on the Christmas tree. Some reindeer paper hankies and a tube of Manuka honey hand cream, both needed in this cold weather.

Lisa knows how much I love piggies and yes, I gave a little squeal when I opened the piggy spatula which had been wrapped with some gingerbread men sprinkles. A lovely festive bowl had been wrapped with a Kinder snowman. A pretty apron and oven glove and some gingerbread men food bag clips, I'm all set to rustle up something lovely in the kitchen.

A gorgeous pen set and a set of birthday cards. We usually give each other a book in the swap, this year's is Winter's Wishfall by Ceri Houlbrook, an author I haven't come across before. I look forward to reading that. There's always a couple of edible gifts too, this year Lisa has spoilt me with some dark chocolate florentines and some spiced fruit crumble biscuits, they both sound delicious. Now that I've posted about them I can dig in.

Didn't I do well. Such a lovely set of gifts. Thank you Lisa, I love everything.

These are the gifts I sent to Lisa.

A closer look.

Who doesn't love a selection box at Christmas, especially Cadburys. That little campervan tin is filled with shortbread, yum. A Falala decoration, very festive. When I saw the Twelve Days of Christmas bauble I knew I had to buy that for our little swap. The tin is one I bought to put the bauble inside for transportation so that it didn't get broken, I'm sure Lisa will find a use for it.

I know Lisa meal plans so I thought this meal planner would come in handy. A bee print apron. Some Christmas themed silicone cookie stamps, (I liked those so much that I bought myself some too) and I bought some gingerbread mix to go with those. A scented soap in a cute tin.

A little needle felting kit to make a bunny. I've been saying I'm going to try needle felting for years now, I've even got a kit to try it. Perhaps Lisa will beat me to it. The book I included in this year's swap is Christmas at Serenity Bay by Helen Bridgett. I know Lisa's busy making scrapbooks at the moment and including photos of her travels so I thought the alphabet stamp set might come in handy. A pack of cute little hedgehog cards, they're blank so they're perfect for a number of uses.

Another fun swap. I look out for the gifts throughout the year and pick them up as I see them, it makes it easier than shopping for twelve gifts all at once. It's always fun to open a gift each day right up to Twelfth Night. Thanks again, Lisa.

December 2024

As in recent years, we put our tree up on the first of the month. It always gets me in the Christmas spirit once the house is decorated ready for the festivities. We'd planned so much this Christmas, especially as it was our first one as grandparents, we were so looking forward to sharing the festivities with our little Jack. Unfortunately, illness struck. Both Mick and I were poorly with some kind of virus from Christmas Eve onwards. We're only just beginning to feel a little bit better now. Daniel, Jasmine and Jacob came down with it on Boxing Day, and Jack also had a trip to see the GP the following day for something unrelated. We did spend time together but it wasn't really the Christmas we'd planned.

We'd planned so many outings this month in the lead up to Christmas but many of those were cancelled because of the weather. We had heavy rain and Storm Darragh spoiling our plans, but we did manage to visit Fountains Abbey for their annual Music and Lights Celebration. The cellarium is brought to life with live choirs and bands filling the ruins with festive music. A lovely day out.

We also managed a trip to Haworth for their Christmas Music Weekend. It was a miserable day but that didn't hamper our enjoyment. I love to hear a brass band at Christmas, my dad played the Eb bass so I was used to hearing band music when I was growing up and this type of music always brings back memories now.

There were also trips out to Helmsley, Thirsk, Nostell Priory and Pateley Bridge, so we didn't do too bad considering the weather, then on the Friday before Christmas, Mick took a day off work. We headed off into the Yorkshire Dales but again, the weather wasn't very good. I didn't mind, I just love the Dales and love to visit whatever the weather. We popped into the Wensleydale Creamery in Hawes to pick up our cheese for Christmas, and the Black Sheep Brewery in Masham on our way home to restock some beer for Mick.

I've read just one book this month.

The Golden Rule by Amanda Craig.

"When Hannah is invited into the first-class carriage of the London to Penzance train, she walks into a spider's web. Now a poor young single mother, she once escaped Cornwall to go to university, but after marriage to Jake her dreams turned to bitter disillusion, her husband has left her for a rich woman, and Hannah has survived by working as a cleaner. Jinni is equally angry, and in the course of their journey the two women agree to murder each other's husbands. After all, they are strangers on a train - who could possible connect them?

But when Hannah goes to Jinni's house she meets its shambolic caretaker, who claims Jinni is very different to the person Hannah has been led to believe. Who is telling the truth - and what will become of the women's pact to commit a terrible crime?"

A really well written book with twists and turns a plenty. I liked the plot, there was plenty to get your teeth into, and the characters were interesting.

I shall definitely look for more books by this author.

I'm carrying just two projects over into the new year, a knitted baby blanket and the Natures Walk Blanket, a crochet blanket by Sandra Paul. I've got quite a few projects I'm itching to start though but I'm waiting until I finish at least one of these before I cast on anything new.

There's been all the usual festive TV programmes to watch this month but something I watched at the start of the month, before I embarked on the Christmas films, was The Day of the Jackal. Based on the novel by Frederick Forsyth, the plot concerns an assassin known as the Jackal and the MI6 officer who is determined to catch him. Starring Eddie Redmayne and Lashana Lynch, it's already been commissioned for a second series and I can understand why, it's fast paced and keeps you on the edge of your seat, it's thoroughly enjoyable. I shall definitely be watching the next series.

I can't finish off without mentioning Gavin & Stacey. We were all left on a cliffhanger back in 2019 so The Finale ties up all the loose ends and finishes things off nicely. I'm sorry to see this series come to an end, it's so well written and has given us lots of laughs over the years.

All that's now left to say is thank you for another year of friendship. Thank you for visiting my blog and leaving such lovely comments, I really do appreciate it. Wishing you all a happy, healthy and prosperous 2025.

Books Read In 2024

I've read thirty eight books in 2024, noticeably less than in recent years, however, some of the books I have read have been quite hefty. I'm at a point where I count the number of books I've read purely out of interest, I don't set goals, reading is purely for enjoyment.

I haven't read as many classics this year, mainly because I've been immersed in The Seven Sisters series, and those are long books. I think they're each over 800 pages long, some longer. I have read a few though and I continue to collect them with the aim of reading more.

As I said, I've read The Seven Sisters series by Lucinda Riley this year, with her son, Harry Whittaker taking over the final installment as Lucinda Riley sadly died before she completed it. The books are about seven sisters who were adopted by a billionaire. After his death, the sisters are given clues about their heritage which leads each of them on a journey to uncover their past. If you haven't read these books I can wholeheartedly recommend them.

As always, I've kept up with new releases from my favourite authors. Some of these books belong to a series so it's good to catch up with the lives of the characters I follow, others are stand alone stories but I know how much I enjoy these authors so I know that they're going to be good.

The Old Man and the Sea - Ernest Hemingway

The Seven Sisters - Lucinda Riley

Queen of our Times - Robert Hardman

Fresh from the Country - Miss Read

The Storm Sister - Lucinda Riley

The Little Prince - Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

Letter to a Hostage - Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

A Villa with a View - Julie Caplin

The Museum of Ordinary People - Mike Gayle

The Shadow Sister - Lucinda Riley

Peter Pan - JM Barrie

Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen

The Big Little Wedding in Carlton Square - Lilly Bartlett

The Pearl Sister - Lucinda Riley

The Household - Stacey Halls

The Last Reunion - Kayte Nunn

The Moon Sister - Lucinda Riley

The House Keepers - Alex Hay

The Flatshare - Beth O'Leary

Very Very Lucky - Amanda Prowse

The Sun Sister - Lucinda Riley

The Kindness Club on Mapleberry Lane - Helen Rolfe

The Missing Sister - Lucinda Riley

The No-Show - Beth O'Leary

Atlas: The Story of Pa Salt - Lucinda Riley and Harry Whittaker

A Vintage Summer - Cathy Bramley

Home Truths - Charity Norman

Swimming to Lundy - Amanda Prowse

The Great Hippopotamus Hotel - Alexander McCall Smith

The Memory of Us - Dani Atkins

Nurses on Call - Donna Douglas

The Crossing Places - Elly Griffiths

The Secrets of De Courcy Square by Ann O'Loughlin

We Solve Murders by Richard Osman

This Year's for Me and You by Emily Bell

Christmas with the Wartime Midwives by Daisy Styles

The Nutcracker by ETA Hoffmann

The Golden Rule by Ananda Craig

My favourites have definitely been The Seven Sisters but I also really enjoyed The Old Man and the Sea, The Memory of Us and We Solve Murders.

I started the Ruth Galloway mysteries by Elly Griffiths this year so I intend reading more of those next year, I've already bought the next ones in the series.

I'd also like to read more classics. Again, they're waiting on the bookshelf, it's just a case of finding the time to read all the books I've got, yet I still keep adding more.

I'm always excited to see where my reading will take me, it's such a wonderful way to escape real life, learn new things and de-stress. Both my parents were avid readers and I'm so pleased that they passed this gift on to me, I'm only sad that neither of my children pick up a book to read very often.

Do you set yourself reading goals? What was your favourite book you've read this year? 

Merry Christmas 2024

Christmas has changed for us over the last few years. Loved ones who we celebrated with are no longer here and we miss them terribly, but there's a happier change this year, an empty seat (or highchair) will be filled with the next generation and the way our Christmas looks will change yet again.

Wishing all my bloggy friends a happy and peaceful Christmas.

Gift Knitting

I hadn't intended gifting anything handmade this Christmas but one of Eleanor's friends asked her if I'd knit her a pair of socks so I decided to make her a pair for Christmas. 

I used yarn that I'd got in my stash, West Yorkshire Spinners in the Blue Lagoon Colourway with Blueberry Bonbon for the cuffs, heels and toes.

I used the Petunia Dursley's Double Eyelet Socks pattern by Erica Lueder, a pattern I've used a few times before. I like the little holes in this design, they remind me of the socks I used to wear for school. The heel is the Fish Lips Kiss Heel by Sox Therapist. Putting in a contrasting colour on the heel doesn't interrupt the stripes when using a self-striping yarn.

That's the extent of my gift knitting this year. How about you? Have you made gifts for anyone this year?

November 2024

I've been slowly moving forward with the Christmas preparations throughout November. There's just three and a half weeks now until the big day and I've still got plenty to do, but it's been nice to ease into the festivities during this past month.

There's nothing like snow to make you feel christmassy. We got our first taste of the white stuff on the 18th of this month, it seems very early this year. It started snowing at about 8pm and it was forecast heavy snow all night so we were actually expecting to wake up to more than we did, not that I'm complaining, I could well do without snow in my life, though I have to concede that it does look pretty.

We visited our small town's lights switch on event. It's always very well attended and it's nice to bump into people who we haven't seen from one year to the next. This time we saw the parents of one of Eleanor's primary school friends so we stopped to have a chat with them. The small independent businesses always put on a good show too, I like to see how they decorate their windows. The above is one of the barbers shops.

Some of our outings this month have been abandoned or postponed due to the weather but we still managed a trip out to Wentworth Castle Gardens as well as Harewood House and Castleton Christmas Tree Festival which I wrote previous posts about.

I've read four books this month.

We Solve Murders by Richard Osman.

"Solving murders. It's a family business.

Steve Wheeler likes retired life. He still does some investigation work, but he prefers his familiar habits: the pub quiz, a favourite bench, his cat waiting for him at home. His days of adventure are over. Adrenaline is daughter-in-law Amy's job now.

Amy Wheeler thinks adrenaline is good for the soul. Working in private security, every day is dangerous. She's currently on a remote island protecting infamous author Rosie D'Antonio. until a dead body and a bag of money mean trouble in paradise...

As a thrilling race around the world begins, can Amy and Steve outrun and outsmart a killer?"

I've been looking forward to Richard Osman's new crime series and my name finally reached the top of the list at the library. Although it's not part of The Thursday Murder Club series, it's still written in that same familiar way which I enjoy.

Some great characters, I especially like Steve, and the story was good, though I did unravel it before the end. I think this is a good first book of a new series, though I must admit that I missed Elizabeth, Joyce and the boys from his first series. Time will tell if I get to like this series just as much.

This Year's for Me and You by Emily Bell.

"Hannah and Celeste have been best friends since they were eighteen, when they made a pact to spend every New Year's Eve together.

From Dublin to London, the two are inseparable: that is, until tragedy strikes.

When Celeste discovers a list of Hannah's New Year's Resolutions, she is determined to complete them. Little does she know that doing so will reunite her with someone from her past...

Through Hannah's last wishes Celeste begins to rediscover life again, one adventure at a time.

But could the biggest adventure of all be falling in Love?"

This book was given to me as part of my Christmas present last year from my pen pal, Pauline. I was pleasantly surprised by the story, I thought it was going to have more romance in it than it did but it was more about a mix of different relationships, grief and loss. I really enjoyed it.

Christmas with the Wartime Midwives by Daisy Styles.

"Cumbria, 1944: as Christmas comes to Mary Vale, mothers and midwives alike seek a miracle...

Newly trained midwife Libby is just starting work in the neighbouring villages as well as the Mother and Baby Home. She's inexperienced, but so many new mums are desperate for her help.

Meanwhile, Margaret arrives at Mary Vale heartbroken after losing her man and facing having a child alone.

Yet it isn't long before Libby and Margaret discover someone with bigger problems. Beth, along with her young children and desperately ill husband, faces eviction from her home just before Christmas.

Can Libby and Margaret save Beth and her family with a quick-witted plan and festive magic?

After all, it's Christmas...and a time for miracles."

This is another book I received from my pen pal, Pauline, last Christmas. I enjoy reading festive books at this time of the year. They help me get in the Christmas spirit.

This is the fifth book in a series, I haven't read any of the other books but that didn't matter, it can definitely be read as a standalone book. The title had me expecting Christmas to feature in the story more than it did but I enjoyed it nonetheless. Some good characters to get to know and a solid story. I expect the rest of the series is just as enjoyable.

The Nutcracker by E.T.A. Hoffmann.

"The gift of a handsomely decorated, enigmatic nutcracker sets the stage for a Christmas like no other: there will be legends of ancient curses, battles with the dreaded Mouse King, and a visit to the wonderful Kingdom of Dolls. The inspiration for the classic ballet, E.T.A. Hoffmann's irresistible tale of magic and mystery continues to be the perfect encapsulation of a child's wonder at Christmas."

I thought this would be the perfect story to get me in the Christmas spirit, after all, I love the ballet, but I have to say it's quite a dark and chilling tale. It's a short story which I was glad about otherwise I'm not sure I'd have finished it, but then fantasy isn't really my genre. I think I'll stick with the ballet.

We had another family get together this month as Jasmine celebrated her birthday. They were out with friends on the day itself so we had our customary take away and games night a couple of days later.

I finished the socks I was knitting for Mick as part of the Strictly Sockalong knitalong. I used Yarnsmiths Merino Sock Prints in the Rainy Days colourway and knit them plain without a pattern. I wasn't trying at all to match the colours, I snipped the yarn at the end of sock one, started sock two without winding off any yarn, and they actually match perfectly. These sock blockers are a little small for Mick's socks, but I think you can see the colour matching well enough. They'll keep Mick's feet nice and cosy though the winter months.

Wolf Hall is back for it's second series and it's just as good as the first. Following the story of Thomas Cromwell's rise to power and fall from grace during Henry VIII's reign, series 2 has picked up where series 1 left off, following Anne Boleyn's execution. We're three episodes in and three to go. No spoilers, although we know what happens!

I'm expecting the month ahead to be a busy one but I'm hoping that the weather allows for some nice days out in between all the Christmas preparations. Fingers crossed.

Castleton Christmas Tree Festival

Bakewell is the biggest town in the Peak District, a market town in the Derbyshire Dales. We love to visit so when we saw that it was hosting its Christmas Market Weekend on the 16th and 17th of November, we put it in the diary. We were expecting a lovely day out, something to kick off the Christmas festivities, but it was anything but. There were traffic jams before we'd even entered the town itself, cars queuing just to reach the car park. The crowds, wow, the crowds! You couldn't even see what some stalls were selling, it was a push and shove just to walk along the streets. It didn't feel at all Christmassy, I think we heard Christmas music playing on one or two stalls but that was it, it could have been a summer market for what we saw of Christmas. We stayed for as long as we could stand it, which wasn't long, and then decided to make a hasty retreat, which wasn't hasty at all because of the crowds and queues.

I'd seen that Castleton, a village in the High Peak district of Derbyshire, was having its lights switch on that same day so we decided to head over there instead, it's about half an hour away from Bakewell. It was such a different experience there. It was still busy but there wasn't that push and shove that there was in Bakewell. The first thing we noticed when we hopped out the car was the scent of roasted chestnuts, that just shouts Christmas to me. It's such a pretty village and it was done up beautifully with Christmas decor. It was such a great atmosphere too, people drinking mulled wine and plenty of mince pies being served. There was a Santa's grotto for the children.

Part of the festivities was the Christmas Tree Festival at St Edmund's Church. 

Local businesses had decorated small trees which were displayed inside the church. The meet and greeters made us feel very welcome, and even Archie was allowed inside.

Each tree displayed a number so we were able to see which business had supplied it.

Some of the trees displayed what the business sells, such as this one by Three Roofs Cafe.

Their tree is filled with gingerbread men, and women, all named.

And this one decorated with ice lollies and ice creams.

This tree had been decorated by the children at Castleton C of E Primary School.

Castleton is known for Blue John, which this tree was decorated with.

The only place where this semi-precious mineral can be found in the UK is at Blue John Cavern and Treak Cliff Cavern, both in Castleton.

The chancel looked especially lovely. I always enjoy seeing the stained glass windows in a church.

We enjoyed our visit to the church to see all the beautiful trees, and we enjoyed our visit to Castleton too. We managed to save the day after a shaky start, and though we didn't stay to see the lights switch on, our festive season got off to a good start in Castleton.

Harewood House

We had a lovely day on Friday. We'd seen that there was to be an artisan fair held at Harewood House in Leeds over four days, the Thursday to Sunday, with reduced admission to the estate. It's somewhere I have a vague recollection of visiting as a child but I've never been since. Admission is usually £18 but the reduced price for this event was just £5 so we decided to take advantage of that and so Mick took Friday off work.

Harewood House is the family seat of the Lascelles family and home of David Lascelles, the eight Earl of Harewood. The landscape was designed by Lancelot "Capability" Brown. Emmerdale is now filmed on a purpose made set on the estate and the house has been used in various TV and film productions including the Downton Abbey movie and Victoria. We weren't able to go inside the house as it's currently closed as the Christmas exhibition is being installed. Friday was the day that winter arrived here, a mist hung in the air all day and it was much colder than it's been all season, but that didn't stop us enjoying the day.

There were over 130 different stalls at the artisan market. It was very well organised with the stalls creating a walkway by the side of the woods.

There were a good selection of stalls, lots of food and drink stalls. but so many others too: candles, wooden toys, ceramics, jewellery, textiles, glassware, wood crafts, rustic garden art, hand painted glass, hand made soaps, and so much more. We made a few purchases.

There was also a small seating area where you could purchase hot food to eat right away. A duo was providing musical entertainment. We spent quite some time looking round the many stalls, there really was something for everyone.

Afterwards we decided to have a walk around the grounds. Here you can see the front of the house getting decked out ready for the Christmas festivities. Numbers were being placed in each of the windows to make the house look like an advent calendar.

We went round to the back of the house to see the terrace and Parterre. Such fantastic planting here which I think will look even more stunning in summer when the flower borders are in full bloom.

The fountain.

From the terrace you look out over beautiful countryside. I'm sure it looks even more stunning when the mist lifts and it's bathed in a sunny glow.

Before we left we visited the Christmas shop. It's located in the Old Kitchen, Below Stairs. There were lots of goodies to browse, but I was just as interested in all the copper pans and cooking paraphernalia displayed on the shelves around the room.

And what about this magnificent range. The kitchen was restored in 1996 and I enjoyed looking around here just as much, if not more, than I enjoyed looking at all the Christmas merchandise on sale.

We went out for a meal on Friday night to round off a very enjoyable day. We didn't see all that Harewood House had to offer but we were impressed with what we did see and it's on the list to return there to explore more at some point in the future.