Calm descends....

Now, you and I know that night follows day. Science that.

And because of that, we’ve arrived as predicted at Christmas Eve. What science cannot explain to me, at least in words I’d understand, is how today came upon us so fast. I’m actually fairly convinced that it’s somehow scientifically connected to my age. Luckily, I don’t have to prove my theory because at my age, I don’t have time to take up science.

I seem to have reached that moment, that point, where you kind of collapse into the seasonal mood and stop worrying about it. If it isn’t done now, it won’t be done, and suddenly, it’s not important. The important thing now is that you’re safely gathered in and facing a day off that you have in common with kerjillions of other people, and I hope you feel the fellowship.

The fantasy lounge and decorations....

I heard on the radio this week that in the UK, some two hundred thousand tax returns are electronically filed on Christmas Day, proving that some people do actually treat it as a day off to get stuff done. I’m very admiring. I will help to prepare, cook and wash up a big old roast lunch. My effort levels won’t rise any higher than that unless one of the games we play becomes a bit animated, and they can, now that the grown ups outnumber the children!

And the badly lit, untidy reality!

I know that lots of people work on Christmas Day. I’ve been talking to the staff at my lovely Mama’s care home. Their generosity of spirit is humbling - there has been much adjusting of rotas and work stations for colleagues that want to observe Christmas Day for worship, or spend time with distant families. I hope that if you are working on Christmas Day, it goes smoothly and is charged with goodwill and festivity.

Meanwhile, I have yet more mince pies to cook and do you know, a desk to tidy. Have a happy Christmas.

What's On Your Workdesk? Wednesday 498

I can't quite believe it's the Wednesday before Christmas! In my mind, I was going to have a completely empty desk so that I unroll wrapping paper and cut required sizes on the flat, and the tapes, tags and ribbons would be in basket, easily to hand and easy to move without losing stuff. Well that was a pipe dream.

I can hear my father saying 'it's a shambles'. It is, but the work is being done equally well, so it will be OK. What struck me most about this picture is the pot of embossing paste in the centre on top of my acrylic drawers in which I keep foam pads and erm, stuff. I can't remember when I last embossing paste or why it has such a prominent place on the desk..that's usually saved for something new  - or worse, something with a deadline! You can just see a grid like print out on the work surface - it's a January 2019 calendar. I used to always have a 12 x 12 calendar LO and thanks to a challenge on Facebook, I'm going to do another...I even have a frame to hang the calendar in, so it makes sense! What are you up to this week...are you in a panic, or resigned? Still making or chilling? I made more mince pies yesterday, so drop by if you'd like one with a cuppa.

Say it with food...

The thing about an approaching year end is the number of people you realise you’d like to acknowledge. Here in the UK there’s a fading tradition to tip various service providers, but it’s a difficult thing to do, (if only logistically) and if you start that with tips for a few great service providers, where do you stop? My list would be huge.

Now, I don’t know about you, but I’m a feeder. Food is a treat for me and I like it when other people feel the same. So, during December and because I’m ostensibly at home to do these things, I bake. Only mince pies and occasionally, biscuits. The advantage of this is two fold, frequently I am able to offer a couple of fresh mince pies to a delivery guy or the postie. And I get to have the oven on, which in my tiny kitchen, is as good as any heating at a time of day when I’m really too mean to actually use the central heating!

Last month (late!), I made these individual Christmas cakes. I’ve finally made time to ice and package them; they are for the staff at my lovely Mama’s care home - you know, the people I’ve never met who do her laundry and cook her meals and clean her bedroom. It’s not a huge gift, but I want them to know that ‘backstage’ or not, we notice their work and appreciate it, they are essential to Mama’s well being.

Back in the day when I was a sales rep, we used to trot around to customers with bottles and diaries. Mr Dunnit would come home laden with bottles and erm, girly calendars and occasionally something really nice! But that was always just lip service really, to a ‘good’ customer or an excellent supplier.

These days, I hope a small home made edible is enough. If you’re in my neighbourhood, call in....you do the vacuuming and I’ll warm you a mince pie.

In preparation.

I'm at the stage now where I've had lots of bags hanging around the spare room, stuffed full of items that are set to be gifts for various people. I use the big bed to spread the gifts out and allocate them to their various recipients in little piles. That's not to say that each member of our family gets a box full of gifts from us, but that there's often one or two rather than one 'main' gift. It's a very useful overview for me. I can see what I've got which means that I can easily tell whether I need to get anything else. I can also get a sense of whether I've bought enough wrapping paper! 
I've been doing it this way for as long as we've lived in this house. Miss Dunnit, now 25-and-a-half was 18 months when we moved here. So I' thinking, it's an annual routine by now. And I beg you to agree.I asked Mr Dunnit to add a bottle of rather tasty gin to 'the big bed' rather than walk past it on the stairs as he went up yesterday. This is my bedside table last night.

Is it me?! I don't know which worries me more - that he's over protected from the whole present planning and wrapping thing, or that he thinks I want a bottle of gin at my bedside!

In his defence, he did seem rather embarrassed that he'd made such a mistake, (and it IS a mistake), but he laughed hard and long over my slightly offended and exasperated reaction. And now we're thinking hmmm, should we really give this one away.....!

What's On Your Workdesk Wednesday 497

It's ALL on my work desk, thanks for asking - your share and my share of the mess. I have no one to blame but would like to mitigate the shock of the sight by saying that I am multi tasking..the layers will reveal wrapping paper, cards waiting to be written, gifts tags as a work in progress and 'proper' work paperwork. Somewhere.

Like last week,there's a wedge of yellow kitchen paper - for a similar reason. Turns out my Christmas mugs are smaller than our everyday mugs and I'm still overfilling them! That bottle at front right is not water, as it should be. I see so many of you good Deskers who drink water whilst working. I don't like it. Anyway, I digress....it's tonic water. I was restocking (we have a cupboard with a few in and a box full in the garage) and this one got away. I thought it should rest on the desk before being opened and sprayed everywhere!  Pretty sure that by close of play tonight, it will be gone. And not just from the desk. There's a pic of me and lovely Uncle Ray that will do nicely for a scrapbook challenge and then there's the mess of holly image and Brusho colours. I'm doing a Diana; and will cut the whole up and use sections that please me. Let me say right now, her explanation makes it sound easy...

So let's see what you're doing then people, images of calm and clean would do my poor tired eyes some good. Images of mess and panic would do my mental health a whole lot of good!

The card-sending arrangement

As normal in our set-in-our-ways way, yesterday at about 6 o,clock, when he came from work, Mr Dunnit and I had a welcome home hug, a lovely big cup of tea and a mince pie. Our conversation was a lot of talking about customers, deadlines, deliveries and work. Whilst the tea is brewing, we glance through the post. Because we are charmed with a lifetime of friends, the post is starting to deliver Christmas cards. It’s not a remarkable scenario, I’m sure. We probably go a bit off script from here though.

Cut to the lounge, some half hour later:-

Conversation has drifted from work to post prandial activities. I confessed my guilt over not being ready to post any Christmas cards from us. Mr Dunnit, who has a habit of being my ‘overview’ guy, has some erm, 'wise' words. What, he asks, will make me happy - to fret about not having made any cards, or to just buy some nice cards and send greetings that may otherwise not be sent to our lovely people; after all, they take a long time to make and then they have to be written. (True, that.)

Well, this year gentle reader, I was ready. Really ready. I asked if writing the cards would be a good thing to push onto his list of tasks for evenings. After all said I, it only takes a couple of evenings and a little concentration...a gin and tonic helps. I pointed out that in 32 years of being a couple that sends cards, our lovelies might quite like to see his handwriting. It would probably go down really well, give him a sort of modern man edge.

Well, he continues to slay me. He looked me in the eye and smirking, said ‘that’s not a task, it’s a torture’. 

And that’s the story of why I continue to write the Christmas cards in our house.

I suspect that there will be other stories regarding the division of Christmas labour; I could probably fill each of the twelve days of Christmas. I won’t spare you if they occur, I don’t really see why I should.

What's On Your Workdesk? Wednesday 496

Four nine six. Four hundred and ninety-six. Seriously. And how many of those have been an untidy mess of stuff, half finisheds, waiting to be put aways, waiting for inspiration.....all of them frankly. So gentle Deskers, I give you :-

Absolutely the same thing! Slight work in progress, although you can't see it because it's on the *ahem* cutting station behind me. It's a scrapbook LO. I haven't any time to make Christmas cards, but I can get in the mood to do a LO. Don't ask, it's an insanity you do not want to be a party to. So there's a sheet of unused 12 x 12 which was cast away in disgust after trying to colour match it in unnatural light. Disaster. The square of yellow is just kitchen tissue. I was using it as a coaster for a really stupidly full mug of coffee. For reasons I will explain elsewhere, I know Jan must have had an overflowing mug too. There's a glue bottle with the lid off...I never learn. Now I'll have to pick glue snot out of the nozzle and that just makes me cross. The big scissors are out...things are getting serious! Actually, I'm not sure why...it may have something to do with packing tape and Mr Dunnit. It usually does. I'll leave you to noodle over that!
Show us your panic stations then one and all, please put WOYWW in your post title, keep the desk part of it reasonably brief - this is such a busy time for everyone and you don't want to not have comments because you wrote too much, huh. I know, pot, kettle.....