2020 - December 21

Shortest day, longest night - the light has been in short supply all day. So gloomy and grim, which I suppose is perfect for the news right now. Nothing but misery. 

I was too upset to post yesterday due to the border closures between the UK and France. Our youngest and her family were due to travel out to France today. To say they are devastated would be an understatement. Many tears have been shed on both sides of the channel. And we are helpless in the face of it. Currently the news is that a decision will be announced tomorrow Tuesday and comes into effect on Wednesday. All we can do right now is wait it out. It’s hard to know what to do to keep spirits up

These are my finished socks  I’m now working on a shawl for want of something to do. I have made more knitting mistakes over the last few days than I have in ages necessitating a fair bit of reworking!

And a few views from yesterday’s walk, it was a beautiful day. No two days seem to be the same at the moment. 

 Fingers crossed for some positive news tomorrow xx

2020 - December 19th

When will this all end? More restrictions, Christmas cancelled for millions in the UK. New tier level 4 introduced for some that only went to 3 yesterday. I know it’s to keep everyone safe but after people were given a glimmer of hope for a ‘near normal’ Christmas just last week, then for all those hopes and wishes to be dashed. Yes, you can still meet on the day which is fine if your family lives local. It would almost be better to have put us back into lockdown then no one would have to wrestle with the decision of meeting or not meeting. Heart breaking. We are tier 2 but more or less surrounded by tier 3 or 4, a scary situation. Technically we can still travel .......

I was awake around 5 this morning and ended up coming down as I was wide awake and uncomfortable with pains in my hip. After about an hour I decided I may as well ice my Christmas cake, what do you think? Definitely not as many sprinkles as Last year!

Yesterday evening Rebecca did a Instagram live floristry chat with Liz from Blue Sky’s Flowers.  They both created a mantle decoration for Christmas you can watch again here - Chateau de la Ruche Instagram if you go to the IGTV button (middle) on the page you can see all the videos or you can also access on the grid (left) and find the post

I think you will agree it’s magnificent. I so miss having a mantle to decorate. 

I must get back to my knitting, I have made so many mistakes in the last 24 hours and pulled out so many rows, think my mind is elsewhere 

Take care xx

2020 - December 18th

I’m sat here with a glass of mulled wine. The house smells lovely, a mixture of the wine and a dauphinois potato dish that Peter cooked earlier for dinner this evening with duck breast. We decided if we can’t go out for posh dinner we may as well have one at home. 

Just a short walk around the village today, dropping off the final cards on the way. It’s been a grey damp windy day. I did ironing this morning and that’s about it. I’m trying to ignore the news. 

I started a new shawl last night because I got bored of my socks. I know I should finish them first. I’m using some of the minis I got last Christmas in the advent calendar. The pattern is Reyna. 

2020- December 17th

Hello all, hoping this finds you all well and those of you in the USA, safe and cosy at home in the face of all the snow. I can’t imagine we will see snow here, we don’t often. 

Today we ventured into Cambridge as we needed to go to Marks and Spencer. I was amazed at how quiet the town was considering it is only one week til Christmas. No carol singers, no Salvation Army band, no buskers. No crowds. I was also surprised to see so many gaps in the shops, so many shut or empty shop units, a sad state of affairs. As everywhere was quiet we decided to treat ourselves to lunch in Itsu, I love their teriyaki chicken rice bowl and Peter had the Korean chicken rice bowl. Normally the place is heaving and you are hard pressed to get a seat, but not today. Afterwards we had a wander round the headed to Gelato Jacks for dessert - Christmas pudding ice cream. Omg it was so good - if you find yourself in Cambridge then head to Benet Street or All Saints Passage, you won’t be disappointed 

Before we went out I made my wreath. I wanted one this year that would be winter rather than Christmas. In fact a wreath to leave up all year and tweak for the seasons.  It’s hard to photograph a wreath on a glass door but I’m hoping to change the porch and garage doors next year so will make sure I get a wreath-worthy door!

Some little festive touches

We were pleased to see that the government left us in tier 2 restrictions, in fact really our county could be tier 1 our numbers are low but I’m guessing it’s easier to leave us due to our proximity to Cambridge. 

I’m working on sock 2 currently doing the gusset then onto the foot. Not sure what’s planned after they are done. 

Take care and try to enjoy the season x

2020 - December 16th

And the tree is done. I must admit I nearly bottled out as we managed to get out for a walk. We actually went for a fairly long walk. 8.5 miles to be precise, we followed the start of the new route we did the other week but continued on rather than turning off. This took us over the new A14 and towards the village of Hilton. At that point we could have rejoined the previous route but we decided to head into the village and then out towards Fenstanton crossing the A14 again. Once there it was a case of picking up the route through the fields and around the lakes back to the village. I have to confess to feeling stiff in my hips now. 

At this point we could have turned back and still had a reasonable walk

Some of the lovely old houses in Hilton. The big shame here though is they are so close to the A14 that they suffer from road noise. Whilst our village is much quieter these days with so much less traffic in the old road. 

Here is the tree, looks like I need to straighten that star - a job for tomorrow. 

2020 - December 15th

We have a real little character in the garden. He’s actually been around for a while. I think he thinks we put the pergola up as a playground just for him (I say him it may be a her). Often seen swinging on the bars. His latest trick is to try and get into the bird feeders. 

He is definitely entertaining to watch. I didn’t have my phone handy when he was hanging upside down from the feeder

It’s been a lovely day again, we whizzed into Cambridge for the Chinese supermarket then back home and out for a walk. With more rain forecast over the next few days the meadows are slowly going underwater. The second photo shows the height of the river and the meadow beyond, not long until they are one. At least the village side is higher up! 

The willows were looking stunning against the clear blue skies

The village has a snowman trail and these are on show at the Manor House. Love them.  

Can’t believe it’s only 10 days til Christmas, I’ve still not done the tree etc. Part of me just can’t be bothered as there will be no one small to enjoy it with us, but I need to make the effort so maybe tomorrow when it’s raining.....

December 14th

Today we saw the sun, all day. What a mood lifter. Of course we got out for a walk once I had the wash on. It was so good to feel the sun on your face. It was however very wet underfoot I really need to invest in some new waterproof boots, my walking boots are fine up to a point but not much good for walking through water or lots of slippy mud!  My wellies are in France, but then they really aren’t suitable for a long walk. I need to investigate the options. 

A message this morning from our youngest daughter to say that both reception classes at school have to self isolate as someone has tested positive. It’s such a worry, but totally crazy as Gus has to stay home but Jess is allowed to go into school???! 

I don’t have any answers everyone is pretty upset, confused, unsure of what to do for the best these days. Your head tells you one thing but your heart another. I wake feeling relaxed for a few minutes then reality kicks in and so does the anxiety. It makes me so cross to see all the photos on the news of people crowded together not caring if they catch Covid or not as long as they are having a good time. Then feeling so guilty if you just want a short while with your family at maybe not a safe distance when you’ve been with no one else. This year just sucks and it looks like a good part of 2021 will too. We booked tickets for a concert next October, do you think it will be safe to go, let’s hope so because right now it’s all we have to look forward to next year. 

Stay safe x