Advent - Day 1

I'm joining in with Julie over at

  Julie's Scrapbook

and posting a photo a day during advent. 

My first photo is of Master Madaboutbags' advent calendar, not only does it contain chocolate but it lights up too.

I miss the simplicity of the calendars from the 70's with their pretty Christmas pictures, does anyone know if you can still get them? 

If you would like to join in then pop over to Julie's blog for more information. 

Puddings and pies and little white lies......

Hopefully you are all in touch with your swap partners for the cracker swap, if you are having any problems getting in touch let me know but remember we are getting into a busy time of the year so you may not get a reply straight away. 

it's been a busy few weeks and I can't believe it's Friday again already!

Master Madaboutbags was back at school last, last week after a 2 week half term holiday, and my first week was a busy one full of fun things and a few blunders. 

Monday I enjoyed a day of sewing, playing catch up on my projects for some of the swaps I'm taking part in and attempting free motion embroidery on a mini quilt for the first time. It was a lot harder than it looked and I don't think I have concentrated that much in a while. Initially I wasn't that happy with the finish and I hope my swap partner will realise that I did try my very best. The mini quilt is now pressed and the binding has been added and I'm feeling much happier with the finished project. 

I've now also made some extras from the left over fabric and my parcel is in the post on it's way to my swap partner. 

On Tuesday I spent a lovely afternoon at a friends for lunch and a crafternoon. Lunch was delicious and I was amazed at how much sewing/crafting was actually achieved. I was too busy chatting, crafting and eating to take any photos! 

In the evening I went along to my daughter's church to make my Christmas pudding. 

There were over a hundred of us, just look at all those eggs!

it was a wonderful evening, of great company and conversation 

and we even had a roaring fire too. 

This year I had my own special pudding stirring spoon made by Lauren at Rockery Cottage. I'm hoping this year's pudding is as tasty as last years.

The finished puddings looked fabulous all lined up on the table.

My pudding is now steamed and hiding in the back of the cupboard until Christmas Day, 

and it's funny because I'm the only one who really likes Christmas pudding and I used to buy and individual one just for me but since I've started making my own Christmas pudding everyone wants some so I'm having to share.

Wednesday was another sewing today, one of my daughter's friends came over with her gorgeous baby daughter to make a draft excluder whilst I enjoyed a few cuddles. 

Thursday was WI day and my job was to pop into town and collect 27 pie and mash lunches, with the help of Mr Madaboutbags too as he was doing the driving. They were made for us by the wonderful family that run The Little Cafe in Moulsham Street, Chelmsford, so if you are ever over this way and fancy pie and mash (amongst other delicious meals) pop in and enjoy. 

This was from the slide show and shows one of the original pie and mash shops in the East End

With the lunches safely delivered and served onto plates it was time to sit down and enjoy our food, with many of the ladies trying liquor (parsley sauce) and chilli vinegar for the first time. There were lots of worries that the parsley sauce was made from eel juices but our speaker for the afternoon, Sharon Gould, explained that that myth came about because they sometimes used the water from the boiled eels to make the parsley sauce and it had  natural gelatine in it.  After lunch Sharon shared with us her experiences of growing up in the East End of London, she had many of us nodding and laughing away as she told us her childhood memories, of school, shared houses, outside toilets, cockle picking and what seemed like weapons of torture which masqueraded as beauty products. 

Sharon also bought along jellied eels and pickled herrings for us to try, now I do remember going to weddings and parties as a child in the East End and there was always jellied eels and cockles but I don't remember ever trying the jellied eels as I don't like the jelly, but I did have a try on Thursday and they weren't as bad as I thought they would be, I did only eat the eel not the jelly though.

 Now we have covered the puddings and the pies and I bet you are wondering where the little white lies comes into my week, well.......

as I explained Mr Madaboutbags helped me to collect the pies from the cafe and dropped me off at the village hall for my WI lunch and meeting. So that I could collect our eldest son from school when the meeting was finished I drove my car to the village hall and Mr Madaboutbagscollected me from there and we drove into town to collect the pies. Once they were collected we drove back to the village hall where Mr Madaboutbags dropped my and the pies off and then went home. I had a wonderful afternoon and then it was time to go home, so i helped clear away and then just as I was about to leave I couldn't find my cars keys, I searched my pockets, bags and even the car but they weren't anywhere and then it dawned on me........I'd left the in the passenger door of Mr Madaboutbags car!!! Oh NO!!! Now my memory has been getting pretty bad of late and Mr Madaboutbags has been ribbing me a little lot about it so I couldn't possibly phone him up and get him to bring me the keys could I, so knowing that the car was on the drive and then he wouldn't see me from the house I asked one of the WI ladies to take me home and I snuck in the gates and grabbed the keys from the door of the car and then she very kindly dropped me back at the village hall. Mr Madaboutbags was none the wiser, safely tucked up on the sofa watching TV and I picked up our song and drove home. The WI ladies and I had a chat in the car about whether it was really lying if I didn't tell Mr Madaboutbags about the keys but as we tell each other everything I couldn't keep it a secret and blurted it out as soon as I got home!!! He just rolled his eyes and seems resigned to the fact that this is how it is going to be from now on!!!! I would like to say this was a one off but that would be telling even more lies as this week there were even more blunders!!! I am now being referred to as Brenda the blunder woman and my head is so woolly I could knit my own jumper!!!! 

Cracker Swap 2016

A last minute request, we have an odd number in the swap would anyone like to sign up for the cracker swap, you could have to be happy to post overseas. 

Please leave a comment below if you are interested 

Thank you  

Cracker Swap 2016 swap partners

Thank you to everyone that signed up for the cracker swap this year I'm looking forward to seeing all the wonderful things that you managed to fit into your tubes!

I've already posted the partners for those taking part on Instagram 

and here are the partners for those in Blogland.

Claire and Debbi

Ellie and Glenda

Montse and Melanie

Leah and  Lynn

Kim and Andrea

Kimberley and Suzanne

I'll be sending out email address for those who don't have blogs

For a reminder of what the swap is all about pop over to this blog post

Cracker Swap 2016

Get in touch with each other, read each others blogs and any questions just ask. 

If you are on Instagram then you can use the hashtag crackerswap2016.

Happy Swapping

Cracker Swap 2016

Christmas Cracker Swap 2016

Thank you to those of you that have already said you would like to join in please could you just comment below again so that I have all your names in one place, sorry that some of you can't take part I understand is a busy time of year, and for those of you that haven't taken part before this is how it works......

Each of us will make a fabric Christmas Cracker filled with goodies 

1) Take a kitchen roll tube (much roomier and nicer than a toilet roll!)

2) Fill your tube with goodies (you're be surprised how much you can fit in!) I think it would be great to include your favourite Christmas joke or recipe!

3) Wrap you filled tube in a Fat Quarter of some lovely Christmassy fabric and tie the ends with ribbon, add charms or bells if you wish.

4) Send your completed fabric Christmas cracker on its merry way to your swap partner

5) Receive a gorgeous fabric Christmas cracker stuffed with goodies and a lovely piece of fabric too!

*****

Suggestions to fill your kitchen roll

sewing and crafting goodies in the way of buttons, ribbons and threads, needles and pins, stickers, beads, charms and lots more

Christmas chocolates, sweets etc

pampering goodies like nail varnishes, bath bombs, soaps etc

something handmade (as long as it fits in the tube! Although it could also be wrapped around the tube underneath the fabric too!)

key rings, brooches, earrings etc

A favourite Christmas joke

A favourite Christmas recipe

*****

This is a partner swap, so get to know each other, read each others blogs or Instagram, do a little stalking on Pinterest. Find out what sort of Christmas they have, modern traditional, or maybe they do something completely different for Christmas, this swap is  a great way to meet new people.

SWAP RULES

This swap is open to UK and overseas bloggers, Instagrammers and non bloggers as long as you have a contact email. 

Last posting date for your Christmas cracker will be 16th December (before if you are posting overseas) - if for any reason you can't make that deadline please let your partner know. 

Blog, about what you receive and what you have sent so we can all see your wonderful goodies. If you don't have a blog you can always send me the pics and I'll post them on my blog for you.

I'm going to try and partner bloggers together and Instagrammers together so that it is easier for you all to find each other. 

Right, I think that's everything, if you have any problems during the swap then please let me know, but bear in mind that I am only the organiser of this swap it is up to you and your partner to swap details, likes and dislikes etc and to arrange a time to swap (by the deadline hopefully). I do understand that sometimes things happen and if for whatever reason you can't take part in the swap and need to pull out then please let me and your partner know, it's so disappointing not to receive anything!

If you would like to take part please sign up by the 4th November and swap partners will be posted on 6th November.

Please feel free to use the cracker swap 2016 pic for your blogs etc.

***************

Taking part in blogland so far we have

faith76
Ellie
Kimberley
Andrea
Melanie

Non bloggers
Lynn
Suzanne
Lois M
Mari R
Claire

IG
If I've tagged you on the hashtag crackerswap2016 then you are in!

Here are a few photos from previous cracker swaps to give you an idea

School Report

It's normally around this time of year that we have parents evenings or school reports heading home, 

if I was getting my school report for blogging and crafting this is what it would say.........

Could do better just about sums it up, so in an attempt to do better who fancies joining in with the cracker swap again this year???

AWOL

As you can tell from this post title I have been AWOL again from my blog, the school holidays started very early for us this year with my eldest two finishing as soon as their last exams were over and my youngest finishing on the 9th of July!

My problems with Lightroom are still ongoing which has made uploading photos to the blog from my camera a big problem, I need a quiet day to sit in front of the computer to see what's going on but I'm not sure that is going to happen during the holidays.

I'm way behind with my sewing/crochet projects for the strawberry swap, but I have let my swap partners know and Mr Mad About Bags took our youngest to the cinema yesterday so I was able to catch up a little. If you have sent or received your Strawberry Swap Parcel then let me know and I can share some of your pics on my blog.

I am finding that I'm posting more on Instagram at the moment just because it's quick and easy, I really don't want to stop blogging as I know some of you aren't on Instagram and I enjoy catching up on your news when I can but does anyone else find that there just isn't enough time for everything or do I just need to manage my time more productively (think I may have answered my own question there!)

We've been busy in the garden this year, tackling some old jobs and creating new ones, I have lots of photos to share of our progress and I will try and blog about those soon.

Anyone else find they lose track of days during the holidays? With us all being at home the days just seem to roll into each other and with the older ones doing more of their own thing this year we seem to have become a family of three, which does feel strange sometimes but is a sign of things to come. I usually use my blog as a way of keeping track of what we have been up to during the long summer break but that hasn't happened this year which is a shame so I need to sort that out too.

Well, that's it from me this morning, just a quick post, no pics, and the Lakeland catalogue has just arrived in the post so I'm going to grab a cup of tea and enjoy half and hour browsing through it instead of tidying the conservatory....oh I'm so easily distracted!!!!