xmastime

What a xmas day! Considering I was expecting the day to be a fiasco it went really well. With shared arranements for the kids I was expecting the usual problems, But amazingly the kids were ready at the time promised.

Where to start? Probably at xmas even when Nicci turned up at about 9am, I was only just up and we werne't expecing her till much later but she managed to beat the traffic all the way down from Preston. So cue a morning of catching up and chatting. And a roast beef dinner at 4ish, I was doing Julian a favor and standing on the door of the Bear that evening, so after me digging out a suit and black shirt. Pen gave me a lift down to the Bear at 6. All the usual Cowbridge faces were there just finished work and monopolising the bar. So the door was quiet, I busied myself collecting glasses because I felt like I was standing there like a spare part. I ended up giving Sils a lift up to J&E and then later on Haz, The Bear shut its doors at 11 and last orders at 11/30. Though some people managed to nurse their last beers till 12.15, when a rather drunk Chas got a lift home along with a couple of his friends who live in St Brides and who have the farm where we occasionally use the farm shop....small world or what? I came back with the Discovery.

So I got in at 1ish and fell staight into bed. Xmas day started about 8 with coffees and a large late breakfast about 10. I spoke to my kids and my mum on the phone, Knox got his blackberry, Chayce a mix of charm bracelets and clothes-she wants a laptop from the January sales and JJ is saving his money for a shopping trip in Liverpool in the new year. We could sit and relax while preparing a bit of veg and popping the turkey crown into the oven. Till we collected the kids at 1 and lo and behold they were ready!
Time to unwrap our presents, I got my shaving kit, a new watch and a huge handknitted scarf/blanky from Pen, who had put a phenominal amout of effort into it. we saw Pend dad David first and had a long (for him) chat and gave him his presents, he got a little choked up and about the photo in hand made frame of him and pen on our wedding day.
Then onto the Hitchcocks, New slippers for me Yayyy! I'm at that age when slippers-especally Ugg ones make me happy and are a well needed gift.
We got home just before 5 where Nicci had prepped and stated to cook the rest of the veg. Time flew then with prepping a Xmas dinner for 10 people, All the adults, Myself, Pen, Gary, Bex, Nicci and Steve managed to just about squeeze round our table, with Wills, Alex, Ruby and Cub sitting at small tables in the living room. The dinner went without a hitch-even the vegi options. And the eveining progressed in a blur of snacking on cake then cheese and drinking while chatting and hopefully not traulatising Steve who I don't think is quite used to our pagan ways and pagan honesty.

Pen sat up with Nicci who left our house at 4am to do the 300 mile journey home in her Beetle.

So all in all one of the best Xmas days we have have both had for a long time.