Celebrations!

Well it has been a very busy few weeks since my last post. Christmas has come and gone and I don't seem to have yet got into the habit of posting regularly but perhaps that will come. 

Not only does December provide an opportunity for a big family get together but our celebrations continue into early January with our wedding anniversary, followed quite quickly by both mums' birthdays. 

Christmas

Last year, our Boxing Day party was spoilt by the arrival of a heavy fall of snow that came much earlier than expected. The journey home with elderly mums in the car was one of the most difficult and worrying of my life and I hate to think what would have happened if it hadn't been for the kind young men that were out on the roads helping push us along when we got stuck in the atrocious conditions.  This year's party at my daughter and son-in-law's was such a contrast.  The weather was much milder and it was so lovely that 4 generations of our family were there to celebrate together again. Our grandchildren have been so fortunate to have grown up knowing not only their grandparents but several great grandparents too. This is very different to my experience of growing up with only one granddad who died when I was 11. Luckily I was able to "adopt" three of my husband's grandparents, who lived well into their eighties. Thinking back, it is amazing to realise that we have been celebrating Christmas as a 4 generation family for 44 years and that in 1994 we only just missed out on there being one with 5 generations.  

January

As has become the habit in recent years, we celebrated New Year's Eve quietly at home. As usual the celebratory fireworks on the TV were fantastic and, living in a city, there were also plenty to see out of our lounge window. I didn't take any photos this year but perhaps next year I might but only if I've learnt how to manipulate the settings on my new camera to take good photos in lowlight conditions by then.   

We celebrated our wedding anniversary over a meal with friends and then again, the next evening, over another meal, with some of the family. 

Having a wedding anniversary at the beginning of January can be a little inconvenient, particularly with regards to buying anniversary cards. Its often impossible to find anything suitable in the shops just before Christmas and its not always easy to fit in card shopping just afterwards. My solution this year was to make my own, though doing this without my husband noticing was a little challenging at times. I was very pleased with the resulting card which was so much better than anything I had seen in the shops. It also meant that I sorted out the colour printer, which now prints perfectly!