(I really love our Nativity set. Here is the not so traditional ‘villager bringing bread’.)

Even when I was a university student, my mother would buy my sister and I chocolate advent calendars and post them to wherever we were (which makes it sound like we were half a world away – we weren’t. We were a train ride away in London in my case, and Edinburgh for my sister. but anyway…) It was a lovely, thoughtful gesture and it meant a lot to me, especially when I was battling deadlines and crowds of christmas shoppers in my retail job.

Now I’m a parent of two small children I’m trying to work out how I want to celebrate the run up to christmas. There are lots of great ideas in the craft/parenting blogging community.

Thing is, we live in a small house and we’re still trying to find homes for all our stuff. I don’t want more stuff.

So this year we’re going to decorate the house, bit by tiny bit. FB we be slowly building up the decorations on the wooden christmas tree (another thoughtful advent gift from my mum when I was in my early twenties – it sat on my dest in the games company in the insane run up to christmas 2003…) and he and LR will be helping me find good homes to show off a picked decoration for the house each day. Starting with the christmas gnomes, which hang off the internal doorknobs.

I wanted to make an advent candle log – I tried to get it do last advent too! – but we went to see family at the weekend and so it didn’t happen. We still have the first sunday’s candle, but on a plate, and that’s ok. That’s just how we’re doing this year. Even as a non-religous family it’s lovely to count the passing of time in this way. Or at least it is for me. And hopefully for everyone else too.

In conclusion – No to more stuff! Yes to enjoying our decorations even more!

Happy Advent!

We’ve been in the house for over a year now but there is still not enough storage and the room that is going to be the children’s room still has a lot of boxes and things that need to be re-homed in it (our room is an attic! FB announced – which is true. Even though it’s only the first floor next to our room.)

So there is lots of *stuff* about the place, and – as a dear friend pointed out to me – ‘You’re happy to live with piles!’ which is sort of true. Though I’m not sure I’m happy about it really. Resigned maybe? Unable to do the work necessary to make the storage we need to clear some of the pile? Too time poor right now, with two small children? Lacking in man(person)power?

Regardless the hotspots have to be cleared for all our sanities. This is the first one. Sometimes I go sit on the bed and look at it.

It makes me feel better.

But hey…

…don’t for a second think everything is perfect.

(On the chair – shirt that needs to go away, jumper that need to be finished, jumper that needs to be cut up and made into trousers, top that needs mending, pillowcase with wool handknits that need washing inside. Play mirror that needs putting back in the toy basket.)

Dyeing with woad is really satisfying!

At the moment I probably do a big woad dye every three months, and the results (and over dyeing etc) keep me busy for a decent chunk of time afterwards. This lot will end up as about 5 other colours by the end of the next couple of weeks or so.

(Btw – all the woad I use it grown and processed in the UK. This always makes me really happy.)

In other news…

SO EXCITING! (I have a date with my spinning wheel in about a fortnight (once I’ve ushered a couple of big ongoing work projects out the door.) Hopefully I’ll have some in the shop before christmas.