Friday 24 December 2010

CHRISTMAS EVE

The snow has been minimal up here but it's been really cold and the frost still looks lovely: tonight is another clear, cold night so the world will remain white tomorrow.

It's been quite a busy week: not only having the children home from school but then I went out to dinner on Tuesday night (with Husband and our Very Best Friends up here); Wednesday night (with 'the girls') and we had a party last night.  I slept badly last night and woke up feeling shattered today: and have also felt nauseous for most of today as well.  No going to midnight mass for me I'm afraid, despite my intentions to (I mean to every year, even years when I'm not pregnant): I'm off to bed shortly.

Our party yesterday went really well and I think everybody enjoyed it.  There were about 10 or 12 children aged between 0 and 12 running around madly (well, the 12-year-old didn't) and adults ranging from people in their 30s to people past retirement age: so a real mix, which was great.  Pregnant Friend C. came along, and I was really pleased to see her because she's been ill recently and I've been worried about her: she's still got a bit of a cough but seemed better.  She's lost about 7lb but I'm sure the baby has been ensuring that it's been getting all it needs.  She thinks she may be having a girl but she's not sure: I think she is as well but that's only because I'd really like her to!  She's due about a month or slightly less after me, so it's been nice to have someone to share pregnancy stories with as well.

I'm a little worried that The Little Guy isn't moving enough: he's moving but not very much: but on the other hand he's been pretty active until the last day or so.

We had the second year of a Family Tradition (or what Husband wants to be a Family Tradition) and went to Keswick today: we were going to stop in Ambleside as well but didn't really need to and it was getting late by then anyway.  To go to Keswick we went over Caldbeck Fell, which is beautiful at any time of the year but at the moment looked particularly strikingly white: it made me think of Norway, although admittedly would have been even more like it if it had 6' of snow either side of the road!  But there was something about the openness and looking over towards the snow-clad hills.

In Keswick we went in Booths - where a lady who was a complete stranger came up to me in the cafe and said how lovely she thought I looked with my green jumper and pale pink scarf.  I'd been feeling pretty washed-out so that perked me up a bit.  We then went up to Old Friars sweetshop ('Old Scabbers' as Daughter calls it) and then in Java chocolate (they have a chocolate fountain in the window and do chocolate-coated kebabs.  The children's faces were covered, especially as someone told Son to lick his plate, which he did....).

In Keswick there was a clock counting down to the New Year: 7 days and 9 hours, roughly, while we were there.  So about 7 days until the birth of no.3!  I do hope he's going to be OK.

We then went on to Windermere, via Ambleside.  I felt so nauseous in the back of Husband's car, which has very hard suspension, that I was in tears at one point.  We just stopped at Booths and then drove back via Kendal and Tebay, joining the M6 at Tebay.  Daughter fell asleep in the back of the car after her VERY late night last night and I shut my eyes and relaxed: by the time I got home I felt a bit reinvigorated.  I had very nearly not gone out with them for the day and whilst I'm glad on the whole I did, I was a bit of a wet blanket.

'They' (Husband, his Brother and Brother's-wife-to-be) are now playing rocky music quite loudly downstairs and I'm going to be a real party pooper and go down and ask them to turn it down in a moment.  The thumpy bass is a bit too thumpy.

I've just finished reading The Time Traveller's Guide to Medieval England, which I can highly recommend.  A friend gave it to Husband for his 'half way to 70' birthday earlier this year, and I borrowed it from him.  It's not full of facts and figures but of a real flavour of what life may have been like then.  It's fascinating but I wouldn't have wanted to have lived then!

8.45 and time for both the children and me to go to bed: I must remember Stockings!

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