Tree ornaments, wrapping and stitching

Yesterday I had some household chores to do, laundry and a kitchen floor to clean. The ironing took a while, mostly because I put a film on and sometimes you just have to give the film your full attention. Today was going to be wall to wall sewing but I didn't feel the sewing vibes when I got up. Scamp had eaten something that upset his stomach and so he was whiney in the night. At one I point I got up and went downstairs to sit in the living room with him. This morning I decided that I needed to take Scamp for a walk before I did anything else. John came with us and we walked around the common. This is a 4 and a half mile walk. At the start Scamp didn't want to walk but as we headed up the hill towards the common he caught on to our destination. His tail started to wag and he started to walk along happily. One thing I have learnt about Scamp is if he whiney a walk helps to sort him out. The common was fairly quiet since it was early and so I was able to let him off his lead. We haven't walked here since June as it was just too crowded and there was no social distancing at all. Today was a comfortable walk with most people being considerate to others.. We put our masks on as we left home and took them off when we got back.

As we walked along the road I was aware of people's Christmas trees in their windows and many of them looked very planned and themed. Our collection of ornaments has grown over the years and each holds a memory. This one was bought when we visited Chatsworth House with my parents. The children were quite young at the time. There are two like this

Lucy and Richard like them and Lucy spent time stroking them when we bought them as they are covered in velvet. Katy hates them because she dislikes the feel of velvet. The globe ornament was bought on a mommy and Katy shopping trip one year. She really liked it and added bonus it was in the post Christmas sale.

Lucy has a friend who has given her interesting tree ornaments. One year it was a unicorn.

and last year it was a pink flamingo.

We may not theme our tree but there is usually someone in the family who themes their wrapping. This year it's Lucy, and she's made great use of brown craft paper and garden string.

I'm very interested in what is in the top box since it says mum on it. That's from Richard who is making use of Lucy's left over paper. She bought some wax and a seal to finish off her presents.

Don't expect the big boxes to have big presents in them as the family also enjoys putting a small present inside a very large box.

Having got back home after our walk Scamp and I needed a nap before lunch. By the time I got to my sewing, time was moving on. I sewed the last two rows together and was ready to add them to the first four. At this point I found I hadn't added the sashing row to the bottom of the 4 rows I'd completed earlier.  I decided to finish this tomorrow. If I have time I'll also add the borders. So rather than one almost completed quilt top I have two pieces neatly folded waiting to be finished.

Having tidied up my sewing I went to the kitchen. I planned to make to a loaf of Jamaican hard dough bread. This was my second attempt. On the first attempt the crumb wasn't dense enough but it tasted perfect. This time round was much better but I forgot to glaze the crust with egg white. Maybe the third time will be perfect.

This evening I've done a little slow stitching but I am feeling tired so I'm off to bed. I'm looking forward to getting my quilt top finished tomorrow. I also need to wrap some little stocking presents and double check we have everything we need for the next few days meals.

Take care

Lyndsey