Gingerbread Haus - November 2020 🎄🎅🏼🎄

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas, we inherited my parents amazing tree this year.  They don’t want the stress of putting up and taking it down every year.  I didn’t know if it would be too big so I put it together in mid November (just after GO’s birthday).   For days it stood there naked, then finally on a Saturday when we were both free, no work for either of us to do we dressed it.  It took ages, the lights were the most important part (we used 3000 lights) and we watched a few instruction videos.  The consensus of opinion was rather than wrap around and around (like I usually do) we needed to wrap along the branches moving up in sections.  It was a faff but three tree actually glows, like you see in movies and magazines.  The rest of the house will need a day all on its own to Christmassify.  As the song goes “It’s the most wonderful time of the year.”

Gingerbread Life - November 2020 🍲🐓🍲

Last day of self isolation, working from home, and it has been interesting.  When I started I wasn’t sure how I could fill a whole day with remote learning, I teach three year olds.  

I did it though and I enjoyed it.  Yes it was cringey recording myself but after I got over that it was hard to stop.  I sometimes think they got a better deal virtually than they get in real life 😂😂😂.  Obviously that’s not true, in real life I’m an absolute hoot 😉.

One part I am going to miss is actually being at home, not leaving the house in the wee small hours and returning in the evening to a cold, dark house.  Having a cup of coffee in a cup not a flask.  Wearing comfy, snuggly clothes, and blankets (yes, I wear loads of blankets). Not having to wash my poor, poor cracked hands like a loon every twenty minutes.  Food - not just grab and go soggy cheese sandwiches, cold porridge or rock hard bagels but warm, hearty soul nourishing food.  I have taken the time to make healthy, tasty comforting food and it has been wonderful.  I have had fresh fruit and yoghurt for breakfast, soup for lunch, vegetable laden stews and casserole for dinner.  I have eaten a rainbow. 

🌈  Long may it continue (it won’t there are some bagels in the freezer). 

Gingerbread Travel - November 2020

August may be an expensive for Papichen but November is an expensive one for me.  With five family birthdays (four in the first week) it can be be a money pit of a month.  Gift buying is tricky as it’s so close to Christmas you don’t want to use up all of ideas and leave nothing for the real big day.  With this years added inconvenience of being in a second lockdown (no trips out), I wondered how to make it special for the Ginger One.  Then I had (stole) an idea, I asked lots of friends and family to send videos wishing him a happy

birthday.  Then I put the video together (some have asked not to be shared online) which you can see below.  We couldn’t travel as we were in tier 4 and weren’t allowed to visit people so it was lovely to have friends and family “visit” all be it virtually.

Gingerbread Familia - November 2020

We’ve been keeping a Beary special secret.

After a very, very long journey, we are pleased and relieved to announce that we have been approved to become foster carers. We are looking forward to welcoming some little people (0-11) into our family and home for however long they may need to stay.