December 2008

1 Crow's running a Crimbo Relief Table Top Rally and I started testing out his route cards.  Two down, ten to go.....  
We ordered a new Dyson vacuum cleaner for mum-in-law and I've been testing it out.  I've never had an upright cleaner before and I'm thinking of getting one for myself.  It's certainly far, far superior to the ancient cylinder one I currently use.
2 I've decked the halls today.  Well, I've put up my Christmas tree and a few decorations in the lounge and dining room.  Then, all the unused decorations I've listed on eBay and if they don't sell they're going to the charity shop, not back into the loft!
Had a late afternoon trip to mum-in-law's to deliver her Dyson and we had a Chinese take-away treat too.
3 The coldest night & morning of the winter so far, everything covered in a hard and very white frost this morning.  Pretty but slippy!
Sadly we need to buy heating oil, but at least the price of petrol (and hopefully, oil) has dropped to the lowest it's been for some time and steadied off.  Research found prices per litre varying from 34.14p to 41.5p, so I'm glad I shopped around.
I've started making a chunky crochet top.
4 xams cactus flowerI've got three Xmas Cacti in flower which probably means they'll have all finished before Xmas day :-(
5 Milky WayDid you know: 

a 16-year study by German astronomers has confirmed that there is a giant black hole at the centre of our galaxy.  They tracked the movement of 28 stars circling the centre of the Milky Way, using two telescopes in Chile.  The black hole, said to be 27,000 light years from Earth, is four million times bigger than the Sun.

6 Harvested my last two green peppers from the potting shed.
7 Well, 4 out of my 7 lots of Xmas decorations sold on eBay.  That was a nice surprise!
8 November gym stats show me as 2nd in the women's over 50 "most weight lifted" category with 130083 kg lifted last month.
9 I've finished my chunky crochet sleeveless top.  It's ok but I'm a little undecided about the shoulders.
10 Another bitterly cold day when half of our grass remained frosty & frozen all day, along with solid ice in some of our garden paving stones.
Out for a meal with friends this evening at The Lion Inn at Boreham.  This was once a very old pub (15th century building) called the Red Lion, which has now been completely rebuilt as a gastro-pub with a 15 room hotel due to open in January.  We had a good meal in new, but pretty noisy surroundings.  Already busy when we got there at 6:15, I'm not sure if it's popular because it's new or it's approaching Xmas or a bit of both.
11 13 more items sold on eBay.  Amazed by the sale of a Barclay James Harvest CD for £21!  No more listing now until after Xmas, unless there's another free listing day, of course.
I've started a crochet scarf.
12 Xmas cards are tumbling through the letter box and I haven't even thought about mine yet....
13 The Crimbo table top rally starts on Monday so I'm frantically trying to finish the checking.  Had to give up with a headache after several hours of map studying, but only three sections left to finish and I've already started each of them.
14 At last, my efforts checking the table top are complete, so it was on to Xmas cards.
15 And now, birthday cards to make.  I finished the scarf and started another.
16 It's being reported as the coldest start to winter for 30 years!
Interesting info published by the Google:  the top ten most searched UK terms are Facebook, BBC, YouTube, eBay, games, news, Hotmail, Bebo, Yahoo, jobs.  I'm not sure exactly how this reflects on the nation;  I certainly don't think it exhibits great intellect.
17 It's mum-in-law's birthday but she's ill with bronchitis, so the family lunch planned for eight of us is postponed.  We still went over to visit and deliver her present, along with Strepsils and lemon juice to go with her honey!
18 Busy day.  Xmas haircuts this morning, followed by cleaning out the chicken run, then on to the pub for drinks with Crow's ex-business partner.  They usually have a regular boy's get-together but I invaded tonight to make it a mini ex-office xmas party, because Chris had tales to tell about losing his clothes, driving licence and passport on his recent trip to Spain.
19 And now, I bet you're just dying to know Google's top ten fastest rising global queries:  Sarah Palin, Beijing 2008, Facebook login, Tuenti, Heath Ledger, Obama, Nasza Klasa, Wer kennt wen, Euro 2008, Jonas brothers.  Mmmm, what a mixture!  Seems the world, well certainly Europe, is obsessed with social networking.  For the full BBC news article click here.
Tesco in Witham has announced it is open from one minute past midnight on 22 December until 6pm on Christmas Eve.  Lots of insomniacs  around?
20 Coldest start to winter, but my car thermometer said 14.5C today - crazy!
I've been into Witham to see the optician because I'm at that age where varifocals are now in order.  I've been warned that my varifocal prescription is tricky because I'm sooooo short sighted.  Anyway, I've come away to think about it because over £300 for new specs is quite a lot when I still have the option of lenses and reading glasses.
This evening we've been to Ipswich for our annual get-together with friends at a rock panto.  This year, Cinderella and the usual excellent fun.  We had a delicious Italian meal first.
21 Been catching up on the Strictly final from last night.  I think I probably wanted Lisa to win but sadly she was knocked out in third place and Tom was a worthy winner.
22 Another treat this evening - out to a local pub for a meal with friends.  I had a delicious fish pie, followed by a very naughty bread & butter pudding with custard.
23 I had to queue for one hour at the local butcher's to pick up my Christmas chicken and venison - what a fortune he must be making.  However I came home to find a totally unexpected, surprise Xmas present in the post.
Finished that 2nd crochet scarf, with tassles and started a lacy headband, but I'm not sure about the wool.  The American pattern demands a fashion wool that I haven't heard of and doesn't state it's thickness.  I'm trying a DK silky wool.
Harvest:  3 leeks
24 Last session at the gym before a four day break.  Cooked our Xmas chicken and it was really lovely with mixed fruit stuffing, roast potatoes, parsnips, carrots and onions.
25 Just a quiet day for us with Crow's mum and his daughters who joined us for a couple of hours.  Something different for our Xmas lunch - venison casserole, followed by red wine apples and creme friache.
26 The chicken was delicious cold with chips and bits and there's still enough left for me to freeze two portions of breast to make a future "roast" dinner, some for a mushroom and chicken risotto and some to enhance my chicken broth.
I finished the headband but it turned into a scarf because the DK wool wasn't fine enough.  Started another headband in four-ply wool.
27 My jerusalem artichoke harvest is going to be mega this year.  I already harvested a batch last month.  Today, I dug up three plants and got just over 6 lb.  Goodness knows how I'll use them all.
Harvest:  6 lb jerusalem artichokes, 2 leeks.
28 Crow has kindly reminded me that he wants seven beanies for his R's meeting on 9 January.  I made three some time ago, so another four are required and one of those rolled off the needles tonight.
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30 A beanie hat per day at the moment.  Up to six now.  Eight are required, not seven, if Crow is to be included in the set.
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