Sip the mulled wine, it's the holidays!

I have been working everyday now for the last 10 days and won't surface until about the 23rd of December.
 I have dug out the long under wear, ski socks, trapper hat, mink ear muffs, cashmere scarves, wrist warmers and sweaters ( I might be out in the cold but I'm going to look good and feel warm doing it!), I have my new black sheepskin thermal boots and great lip gloss that my hair doesn't stick to. I am all set for the Christmas rush. 
I will now be outside working at the Christmas Tree farm until Christmas, snow or shine. We sell our trees in a big barn but who am I kidding, it isn't warm in there, just dry (unless I am wet from lugging trees in from the field). The trees love the cold frosty weather we are having. It makes them last longer if they have had a nice cold snap before they come inside for the holidays. Even the internet barn is cold.

I've made some cracking wreaths for people already and have even sent several out via the internet already. 


Decorations are my weak point though. I love doing up trees and when I have tons of decorations at my disposal, I have great fun.

This is a tree I did in Suffolk not long ago.
 Funny enough though, I have only glass ornaments on our tree and some red roses. I use lots of white lights to get the wow effect. I have been decorating other peoples trees for over ten years and yet tend to keep it really simple for myself. Most of the ornaments that I have will get passed along to each child when they move out and start having their own trees. I have been collecting for them since they were born. Keep sakes. Every year I buy two of the same decorations for them to add to their collection. I put them on our family tree but they know that some day they will be put on their own tree. 


Boy will my tree look bare when the first child moves out! Maybe then I'll start collecting other themes!


I'll try to stay in touch and pass on any funny antics from the tree farm between now and Christmas. So put on some Frank and sip some mulled wine and enjoy the Happy Holidays!

I always thought it amusing that when The Rooster was a grain trader, he went to wheat conventions. Then he was a rice buyer and went to rice conventions. I have been to both of these types of events and they do really exist. This week I have done the convention, it was just a day trip but I was at The British Christmas Tree Growers convention. Yes, there really is such a thing. The wreath in the picture is not a Christmas tree but  something I threw together to enter for the best wreath competition. The winner's wreath was surrounded with bunches of holly and I just don't go there. Prickly, poky, mean stuff. I think even the winner didn't really make it himself, as he had 'staff', I am the staff and make all the wreaths hands on. 


It was an interesting day out anyway. We were up in Suffolk for the day and the weather was annoyingly cold but sunny, a heavy frost that morning over parts of the UK was good for the xmas trees, it makes them greener say the farmers. I just can't believe how chilly it is already and it isn't even November yet. I tried to have a few chats with some Christmas tree growers but one was from deepest Scotland and the other from deepest Norfolk. I couldn't really understand either of them but they seemed happy chatting away to each other, no worries. Not being a tree grower myself, only associated to a seller of one, I didn't have to pay attention to the chats about pesticides and vermin. Really I was only along as I knew the farmer hosting the event and I make a pretty wreath. Well, some people think so but not the tree people there that day. Farmer friend won best tree and gets to pick one of his larger ones to take down to Downing Street. Impressive. I wouldn't mind putting a wreath on number 10.


The rest of the week was a bit full on too. 


At puppy class, which seems to not be going that great, I have been struggling with collar work. Cadi thinks her collar is the devil and runs away and hides her head when she sees me with it. So I make her wear it more regularly to try to combat the fear. It's really sweet, chocolate brown with pale pink spots, I'd love a scarf like it. She just rolls around the carpets trying to get the thing off. It's exhausting. Puppy teacher says we have to get over this devil stage. Maybe I'll knit a scarf to match Cadi's collar and see if that helps.


I didn't see much of my boy Rooster until the end of the week at his rugby festival at school. Perfect day for that. Pissed down with rain while we were all still in bed then the sun came out for breakfast. There wasn't a clean boy on the pitch at the end of the day as under all that long grass on the field was mud! Thank goodness the first team kit doesn't come home to be washed as coach protects it like a new born! My machine cringes when the boy Rooster comes home with training kit anyway. I am constantly cleaning mud blobs,small stones and grass wads out of the filter. 


I was running a bake sale during the rugby but luckily the sale was right in front of pitch number 1 where boy was bruising and battering other boys and himself.
The sale is to raise some extra funds for a rugby tour this summer for the boys. They are off to Australia and it isn't cheep! A few cakes aren't going to cut it but we moms have to start somewhere. Boys are useless at raising money but very good at spending it. 


The chick had an easier week until I made her clean her room yesterday. It's half term now and there was six weeks worth of crap scattered around the place that really needed the attention of a bin bag. I stood outside her door with the vacuum cleaner at the ready until I could see the floor. You would have thought I was asking her to climb Everest or something with the fuss that she made. She has an 'on suite' and I started there. When I could see the bathroom floor, I congratulated her, "Well done, that wasn't so hard was it?" Silly me, when I pushed the door all the way open, I saw that she had literally chucked everything that was on the bathroom floor into the bathtub! Well, wait until she wants a shower in the morning, because I wasn't going to clean up that mess. The bathroom floor has never been cleaner though.


That goes for the rest of the house too. 


Actually,just the carpets. I had to pop into B&Q yesterday for light bulbs and came out with a Rug Devil carpet cleaner instead! Chicks think I am honestly, the saddest mother in town as I then spent Five hours steam cleaning every carpet in the house! The house smells great and carpets are springy and new like. I didn't even mind when Cadi peed on the front hall way carpet in fear of the machine, as I just steamed it all up! It doesn't have to go back until Tuesday so I am sure that I can get the sofas and a few chairs done by then. My arms were killing me from lugging the damn thing in only one direction but it's worth the pain. Rooster had to put the burgers on the grill last night as I couldn't lift my right arm, but what's the saying?- no pain, no gain- 


I must remember to pick up the light bulbs when I return the carpet cleaner on Tuesday. House getting a bit dark and I want to see nice clean carpets.

Christmas

Yah, Finally got the Christmas buzz. I have hung the wreaths on the doors,picked out about seven different Christmas trees though I know I can only have one and had help from my sweet little chick to decorate the chick tree. It is very girly and slightly pink even though it is taboo to have too much pink apparently if you are a girl. Discrimination against the colour blue or something.  Slight health issue lurking in the hen house at the moment with one of my chicks. Not sure where it is going  but  I'm trying to knock it on the head. She has decided that food isn't necessary. Great. More later on that. 18 days to go to the big day. This is the busy season for me work wise and I am getting plenty of fresh air, rain and shine. I smell like Christmas trees and have sap in my hair but have only burned my finger once with the glue gun making beautiful wreaths worthy on London front doors. Get to pick out a perfect tree for a celeb family today even if they don't do much for me. The chicks think it's cool.

The real chicks are pissing me off though- one egg a day! and that is between the 4 of them.