Thursday, December 29, 2011

Snatching a quiet moment

Today has been a lull, a rest day, a brief interlude between a very happy and enjoyable Christmas with our daughter’s family and what will be a similarly happy and enjoyable New Year celebration with our son’s.


On the day before Christmas Eve DH and I travelled up to Yorkshire, taking his mother with us. Between then and yesterday, when we drove back down to my mother-in-law’s home, we went to church twice, ate very well but not too much, talked and laughed a great deal, played Grandson #1’s new card game to much hilarity (well, what else would you expect with a game entitled Killer Bunnies and the Quest for the Magic Carrot?) and generally caught up with each other’s lives very satisfyingly.

Beware the Bunnies!
I even found time to knit one and a half socks out of the pair I've been promising DH for ages, often as I listened to DD and her two sons playing their various musical instruments.

Tomorrow, DS will arrive with his wife and Grandson #3 for what promises to be an equally entertaining and hilarious visit. The games will be different and there will be less music, but there will be plenty of talk and laughter and catching-up with all the details that don’t always get across in phone calls and emails. Our offspring lead such busy lives with all their work and family responsibilities and we’re always glad when we can spend more than the occasional day or two with them.

Naturally all this activity means that I’m very behind with my blog-reading, but I promise to catch up once we’re safely back home in Wales next week. In the meantime, I would like to take this opportunity to wish you all a very happy, healthy and peaceful New Year.


Images via Wylio
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29 comments:

  1. Friko29 December 2011 at 22:18

    This is the season to concentrate on the ones we love; blogging is fun and I find it fills an empty space in my week very nicely, but it shouldn't be allowed to take over real life.

    So enjoy your family.

    Happy New Year!

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  2. Ray Barnes29 December 2011 at 22:20

    Bless you Perpetua, so glad you are having a lovely Christmas.

    A very happy new year to you too.

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  3. Kathy29 December 2011 at 22:36

    Absolutely, Friko. That's why my blog-reader is overflowing. :-) I'm still pretty new to this blogging lark and find it so enjoyable, but real life takes over very often nonetheless. The family make sure of that.....

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  4. Kathy29 December 2011 at 22:39

    Thanks, Ray. I'm an old sucker for all things Christmassy, though our Christmases are much more relaxed and low-key than they used to be. Having the next generation doing the hosting most of the time makes for a much easier time. We just fit in with what they want to do. :-)

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  5. Rubye Jack30 December 2011 at 00:25

    Well, I am here to tell you that you did not miss much this past week as very very few people have posted. And then today, it seems everyone is posting to catch up. I know these things because blogging is my real life. Just kidding, but since this Christmas turned out to be a bit of a lonely one, I found blogging helped me through it so very much.

    It is so nice that you have spent good times with your children and will be continuing to do so this week. Those are some mighty big cards. :)

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  6. Dr. Kathy McCoy30 December 2011 at 00:59

    Your holidays sound lovely, Perpetua. Nothing tops laughing and talking and playing with those you love!
    Have a wonderful rest of the holiday season!!

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  7. the fly in the web30 December 2011 at 01:07

    Oh for goodness sake..talk when you want to, read like wise...we have been astounded at the invitations...

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  8. The Broad30 December 2011 at 06:05

    "Killer Bunnies and the Quest for the Magic Carrot"? Sounds like one for my boys, the youngest of whom is 28 -- do you think he is too young for it?
    Happy New Year, Perpetua! Your Christmas sounds just about perfect!

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  9. Harriet30 December 2011 at 07:32

    'Killer bunnies and the quest for the magic carrot' - I want to play! I have had my brain stretched by Cranium and The Curate and I are worn out from being beaten by youngest son and girl friend. (You try modelling 'Wembley stadium out of soft dough - and then expecting your partner to guess what it is!) Happy New year

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  10. Kathy30 December 2011 at 08:32

    Thanks, Rubye, it's been fun! I logged on a couple of times at DD's to reply to comments, but didn't read and by yesterday my blog-reader was full to bursting and will be even fuller before I get a chance to read properly.

    I can well imagine that blogging would help a lot if you were finding Christmas lonely. We call it a virtual world, but those are real people who write and comment and with whom we interact and the interaction can be a lot more real and honest than much social chitchat. Or so I think....

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  11. Kathy30 December 2011 at 08:35

    Thanks, Kathy, I intend to. -) We always enjoy Christmas and New Year with the offspring, as there is very little TV watched in either household, and we play a lot of good old-fashioned games as well as the new ones. :-)

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  12. Kathy30 December 2011 at 08:45

    I know, I know, Fly, but blogging is also part of my life now. :-) There have been no invitations over here, but that's normal for us. Our Christmases and New Years are always family affairs, but it sounds like you've been having a LOT of fun over there too.

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  13. Kathy30 December 2011 at 08:48

    It's great fun for all ages, Broad. Even my 87year-old mother-in-law had a good try at learning the complex rules, while the two boys (12 and 9) had a whale of a time. :-) Definitely a game of strategy and vicious in-fighting.....

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  14. Kathy30 December 2011 at 08:53

    Cranium sounds like Pictionary in 3D, Harriet! One for the future for our 3 grandsons, methinks. Mind you, Killer Bunnies wasn't exactly a doddle. It took us two long games before we had a reasonable grasp of the rules and could see how to start playing strategically. My brain, if not exactly stretched, was at least thoroughly awake. :-)

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  15. Niall & Antoinette30 December 2011 at 10:56

    must look out for the killer bunnies game it sound a great laugh! we tend to have very competative games of scrabble.
    Wishing you and yours all good things for 2012! :)
    PS is the text easier to read on our blog now?

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  16. nerima roberts30 December 2011 at 11:41

    I agree with Friko. This is the time of year we spend time with family and create memories for the young ones to cherish.
    Last night I was roped into playing with Mr6's Bey Blades. They're mindless spinning tops. But we ended up having fun. :)))

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  17. Anonymous30 December 2011 at 14:52

    Just starting to catch up myself, Perpetua. With our Minnesota family leaving a little later today (they are still sleeping) the dull "thud" of quiet will soon descend upon me and I'll surely read some more blogs and respond. I've done this thing called blogging long enough to know that December is slow in posting and readership. The bookish bloggers, however, almost always post their favorite books of the year. Always good for adding to my list of books to read until infinity and beyond. tee hee

    I know you'll enjoy your next phase of family time and will take this moment to wish you and yours a very happy and healthy new year!

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  18. Kathy30 December 2011 at 15:37

    You would enjoy it, Niall and Antoinette. I think it has the potential to be very cut-throat, once you have mastered the rules. If you are used to killer Scrabble, you should feel right at home. :-)

    The new text size on your blog makes all the difference. Many thanks!

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  19. Kathy30 December 2011 at 15:44

    Quite agree, Nerima. We've been having a late exchange of Christmas presents and after all the excitement DS is having a lie-down with a new book (Grandson #3 tends to wake them up very early) said grandson is watching BBC iPlayer on his mum's iPad (oh the insouciant skill of the average 7yr-old!) and we are drawing breath prior to a game of Go For Broke, which always outrages DH's Scottish thriftiness. :-)

    Go on having fun with your games with Mr6.

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  20. Kathy30 December 2011 at 15:51

    Hello Penny. I hope you had a wonderful Christmas with your family visitors.

    Thanks for the blogging tips from experience. I only started in February, so am going through the blogging year for the first time. Your mention of books made me realise that it's ages since I did a book post, so once the holidays are over, I must think back over what I've read and particularly enjoyed this year.

    Off now to play Go For Broke and lose a virtual fortune . :-)

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  21. the fly in the web30 December 2011 at 16:54

    I think we had so many invitations as people felt sorry for us not having family here...so substituted!

    We're just girding the loins for New Year with the postman's family...highspot every year...a cauldron (missionary size) of boiling lard in which are cooked squares of pork, skin on, whole plantains and potatoes.
    Sounds heavy...but isn't. We start the party peeling spuds...

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  22. Cuby30 December 2011 at 17:58

    What a treat to find you at the end of the year on a post showing you enjoying family so much.I alighted on your words via Sian on Graemesay.

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  23. Cuby30 December 2011 at 18:01

    I am following your bog.

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  24. Kathy30 December 2011 at 18:34

    That fact shows the Costa Ricans in a very friendly and generous light, Fly. To European ears your New Year feast sounds like a heart attack waiting to happen, but I bet it tastes wonderful. It reminds me a bit of the big Bonfire Night parties we used to have in our Lancashire village when I was a child, with meat and potato pies made in enamel washing-up bowls to feed the multitude.

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  25. Kathy30 December 2011 at 18:39

    Hello Cuby Poet and welcome. I've seen your name on comments on Sian's blog and it's lovely to see you here. Yes, I enjoy our family get-togethers very much, as both our children live some distance away and we don't get the chance to meet up very often.

    Everyone is now relaxing in front of a vintage episode of The Good Life, after Grandson #3 trounced his grandparents and great-grandmother at Go for Broke!

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  26. chaplain.cz30 December 2011 at 21:06

    Glad to know you've had such a good time with your children & grandchildren & it sounds as though DM-in-L is fully recovered too.

    Šťastný Nový Rok / Happy New Year to both you & DH.

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  27. Kathy30 December 2011 at 22:29

    We've had a lovely time, thanks, Ricky, and it's not over yet. :-) With DH's father having been a Scot, we've always made quite a thing of Hogmaney.

    Yes, I'm glad to say that my dear M-in-L is making good progress now she's out of plaster, though she's not yet able to be quite as active as she would like. She's quite a live wire for 87!

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  28. Anonymous1 January 2012 at 16:27

    Happy and healthy 2012 to you and your family Perpetua, SP

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  29. Kathy1 January 2012 at 16:32

    Thank you, SP, and the same to you and Laughing Boy.

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I welcome your comments and will always try to respond to them. Thank you for reading.

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