December! The crazy end of the year, where I often end up running around a little headless-chicken-like, but mostly because I love Christmas and Christmassy things.
So let's start with our home Christmas tree. I tossed up turning my tree into the Grinch or an Abominable Snowman, but lacked access to the items I could do this with, so went with our standard "here's all the baubles and decorations that I've gathered and been given and have great sentimental value to me" tree.
In previous years I've had to coerce the Little Big Fella to help me put the tree up, but this year I guess the sense of tradition kicked in and he was eager to participate. It was so nice to have someone in the house who wanted to help for a change (the Big Fella is not a fan of Christmas - Bah Humbug!).
Got a bit of my Christmas baking on this year, but nowhere near as much as previous years! It's one of the things that makes it feel like Christmas for me, though.
The Art Society challenge for the month was "fading light". I decided to have a go at painting my Poppy. The photo I referenced from was taken out the front of his house at the end of a standard Saturday hanging out at their place as the sun was setting. It was only a year or so before he died, so I thought it fit the brief quite well.
It's not quite finished, but I can see him peeking out at me through those eyes and cheeky smile.
We ended up at our friend's place for dinner one night. The Little Big Fella was exceptionally tired, and fell asleep on my lap before we even ate! We moved him onto a chair so I could eat, but I took him home to bed not long after.
I ended up coming back a bit later to pick up the Big Fella, and ended up almost pushing him out the door. I think he might have been in holiday mode :-D
One of our great friends had a 50th birthday bash at the start of the month as well. The Big Fella helped cook a pig on the spit, which was a hit, and set up the tables and chairs and so on. It was a great night and I believe the birthday boy celebrated well into the following morning!
The Little Big Fella went to a birthday weekend that included a sleepover, junk food, a new interest in Beyblades, and a party at the local pool. He had a great time, and I really enjoyed some time on my own to get stuff done.
The Big Fella was away for a week at a course, learning how to be a better trainer. He came back super inspired! It'll be interesting to see how he goes with the next school in March. He's since been reading and watching all kind of interesting things, which has made for some thought-provoking conversation.
The Little Big Fella's school had their annual swimming carnival. Unfortunately I didn't have the option to take the day off work, so I popped down in my lunch break. He'd just finished his last race and was waiting for the free swim part of the day.
School ended for the year, so now we're in the end zone for primary school. The Little Big Fella is looking forward to next year and all the possibilities. I hope it goes as well as it could.
School holidays mean mates over for play days.
These two always have a great time together, and the arguments have decreased over the years as the Little Big Fella has learned to be a better host and work against the fact that he's an only child.
A few days into the holidays we discovered some interesting items in the Little Big Fella's school bag.
This young man came 2nd and 3rd in his races at his school swimming carnival, AND came 3rd in the overall age group championship! Pretty impressive for someone who reckons he's a terrible swimmer! We also found his school report, which was great, as usual. He loves maths and technology, and does well in English and most of the other subjects.
The guys at work voted to have our Christmas party in the workshop, with a BBQ and some Red Rooster. To help make it feel more like Christmas and less like being at work at night, we set up a few bits and pieces:
The Art Society had its Christmas party as well. I was asked to decorate the table, so I re-used the work party table idea, with a few little changes.
I love these ladies (and the ones that are missing)! They're SO supportive and encouraging and my life would be significantly less without them.
And that pretty much brings me to Christmas Day. I watched a little of the Christmas carols on TV on Christmas Eve, then decided to do a little table setting, like the two Christmas parties:
The Big Fella got home from work at 5am. The Little Big Fella had already woken me 10 minutes earlier, so we all got up and started the day. The presents were opened and the smiles were large!
The Little Big Fella was spoiled again, but I was too! The Big Fella has booked me in to a 5-day art workshop in May and I'm SO excited for it. I was also given vouchers to my favourite online art supplies shop.
The Big Fella obviously needed a nap after working all night and fell asleep on the couch before heading off to bed. The Little Big Fella and I did a yummy breaky and just hung out for a bit. It was a seriously quiet Christmas Day for us! We did a fancy-ish dinner, but otherwise we really just relaxed and played and watched movies and stuff.
Last year I couldn't work out why I was so tired over the Christmas holidays, and why I didn't get as much done as I wanted to. I worked out that I'm on the go the entire year, with very little break time, not only during the days but over the weeks and months. So this year, I'm not worried about not doing much, but revelling in the relaxation. I'm doing what needs doing, but not pushing myself to "achieve". And after a few days of doing very little, I'm ready to do a bit more. Including (surprise, surprise) a little painting:
I did go to work on Friday. I've found that time between Christmas and New Year is so quiet that it's easy to get some of the bits and pieces done that don't get squeezed into work hours the rest of the year. This time the computer system cracked the sads so I spent a bit of time on the phone trying to sort something out for that. But I also cleaned the fridges, did the filing that had been piling up, and packed up the Christmas decorations for the year. And I sat and had a chat with the few boys that were working while they were on lunch break. Then I knocked off early and continued in my lazy holiday ways!
So let's start with our home Christmas tree. I tossed up turning my tree into the Grinch or an Abominable Snowman, but lacked access to the items I could do this with, so went with our standard "here's all the baubles and decorations that I've gathered and been given and have great sentimental value to me" tree.
In previous years I've had to coerce the Little Big Fella to help me put the tree up, but this year I guess the sense of tradition kicked in and he was eager to participate. It was so nice to have someone in the house who wanted to help for a change (the Big Fella is not a fan of Christmas - Bah Humbug!).
Got a bit of my Christmas baking on this year, but nowhere near as much as previous years! It's one of the things that makes it feel like Christmas for me, though.
The Art Society challenge for the month was "fading light". I decided to have a go at painting my Poppy. The photo I referenced from was taken out the front of his house at the end of a standard Saturday hanging out at their place as the sun was setting. It was only a year or so before he died, so I thought it fit the brief quite well.
We ended up at our friend's place for dinner one night. The Little Big Fella was exceptionally tired, and fell asleep on my lap before we even ate! We moved him onto a chair so I could eat, but I took him home to bed not long after.
One of our great friends had a 50th birthday bash at the start of the month as well. The Big Fella helped cook a pig on the spit, which was a hit, and set up the tables and chairs and so on. It was a great night and I believe the birthday boy celebrated well into the following morning!
The Little Big Fella went to a birthday weekend that included a sleepover, junk food, a new interest in Beyblades, and a party at the local pool. He had a great time, and I really enjoyed some time on my own to get stuff done.
The Big Fella was away for a week at a course, learning how to be a better trainer. He came back super inspired! It'll be interesting to see how he goes with the next school in March. He's since been reading and watching all kind of interesting things, which has made for some thought-provoking conversation.
The Little Big Fella's school had their annual swimming carnival. Unfortunately I didn't have the option to take the day off work, so I popped down in my lunch break. He'd just finished his last race and was waiting for the free swim part of the day.
School ended for the year, so now we're in the end zone for primary school. The Little Big Fella is looking forward to next year and all the possibilities. I hope it goes as well as it could.
School holidays mean mates over for play days.
A few days into the holidays we discovered some interesting items in the Little Big Fella's school bag.
The guys at work voted to have our Christmas party in the workshop, with a BBQ and some Red Rooster. To help make it feel more like Christmas and less like being at work at night, we set up a few bits and pieces:
 |
| Our trailer ended up being almost completely painted inside! |
 |
| The boy's Christmas tree had pride of place |
 |
| A bit of local greenery down the tables, with some lights, fake candles, the painted gumnuts, and some walnuts. Then the curtain light at the end of the table, and the pots of painted branches strung with little lights around the sides, to create a "room" effect. |
 |
| One of our main suppliers supplied some entertainment for us! |
 |
| The office girls. This was also our goodbye for the gorgeous blonde on the left. We'll miss her! |
And that pretty much brings me to Christmas Day. I watched a little of the Christmas carols on TV on Christmas Eve, then decided to do a little table setting, like the two Christmas parties:
 |
| It looks so pretty all lit up! |
 |
| And I set the table for the day. My mum would be so proud. |
The Big Fella got home from work at 5am. The Little Big Fella had already woken me 10 minutes earlier, so we all got up and started the day. The presents were opened and the smiles were large!
The Little Big Fella was spoiled again, but I was too! The Big Fella has booked me in to a 5-day art workshop in May and I'm SO excited for it. I was also given vouchers to my favourite online art supplies shop.
The Big Fella obviously needed a nap after working all night and fell asleep on the couch before heading off to bed. The Little Big Fella and I did a yummy breaky and just hung out for a bit. It was a seriously quiet Christmas Day for us! We did a fancy-ish dinner, but otherwise we really just relaxed and played and watched movies and stuff.
Last year I couldn't work out why I was so tired over the Christmas holidays, and why I didn't get as much done as I wanted to. I worked out that I'm on the go the entire year, with very little break time, not only during the days but over the weeks and months. So this year, I'm not worried about not doing much, but revelling in the relaxation. I'm doing what needs doing, but not pushing myself to "achieve". And after a few days of doing very little, I'm ready to do a bit more. Including (surprise, surprise) a little painting:
 |
| These are just works in progress. I'll show the end results in a later post. |
There are quite a few things I'm glad to leave behind from this year. But there was plenty of good stuff, and there is much to look forward to in 2019! I look forward to seeing you in it!
No comments:
Post a Comment