Lost And Found

If pace was my Word of the Year, I think I have totally failed. The pace of life has been rather too fast - except for poor Bob, for whom many activities have  been conducted at a much slower pace than in previous years. But Pilates is helping the back/ankle issues, and in the New Year he will be starting regular sessions at the Leisure Centre. And having a Blue Badge means he can at least park nearer his destination and reduce the amount of walking he has to do, we are very grateful for that. But we seem to have had a very full calendar in recent days. 

We actually scheduled last Monday as  Date Day - time to be together with no commitments to outside activities. I am taking time over the next couple of days to wrap Christmas Gifts.

Most of these have been bought over the last two or three months, and put on the top shelf in my wardrobe, But not everything - there was a stack of things on the spare bed at one point, and when I discovered Rosie and Jess were coming up to Norfolk for the weekend, I promptly hid their gifts. I didn't want surprises spoilt.

On Wednesday I got myself into a real panic because I could not find some gifts, and had completely forgotten where I had put them! Bob helped me locate 90% of  them [all in bizarre places]

Then there was the Christmas cake, which I originally planned to ice before Julian came.But he's not really fond of Christmas Cake, so I decided to wait. Could I find the cake on Wednesday? I hunted high and low, declaring confidently "It is in a round tin" Bob looked on the top of cupboards, and took the lids off the various round tins, only to find smaller round tins nesting inside. All empty! Eventually I found the square tin, neatly labelled "Christmas Cake" with the cake inside it [in my defence, the cake itself is round!] I have found the pack of fondant ready roll icing,but not the marzipan. The cake remains uniced as yet. [is uniced a word? it looks so similar to unicef, but pronounced so differently]

I returned the unsold craft goods to the loft, and went on to my 31:13 website to manage the inventory. And discovered to my horror that the mice were mistakenly listed as out of stock.No wonder none has sold for a few weeks! I've reduced some of the Christmas items.

We now have a clearer idea of which family members will be around, and when, over the festive season. So I shall make some serious menu plans and tidy the freezer and food cupboards next week.

I recently had a Waitrose voucher, and decided to stock up on tins from their Essentials Range. I am always intrigued by the items they consider to be 'essential'! These are currently on trays, slid under the spare bed. 

On Saturday morning, as I prepared for Christmas Lunch #1, I could not find the cranberry sauce [which I serve with roast chicken as well as with turkey] I knew I had bought a jar. We managed to find three in the end- one in the kitchen, one in the Futility Room anc one under the bed. 

"I once was lost, but now I'm found" is the soundtrack to life at Cornerstones this week