Happy Christmas and a Happy New Year!

I am writing this on Christmas Eve at my lovely in-laws to wish you all a very happy Christmas Day and a Happy New Year. I hope you will have everything that you wish for!

This time of year makes me very reflective. What a strange year is has been for Col and me! I would never have thought last Christmas that just a month later we would have nearly lost our home. As a result of that, the rest of the year took a completely unexpected course and we finally returned to our house at the end of August. There is still a long way to go in terms of the Contents claim with our insurers and the house is still rather minimalist, but we are so happy to be back. Apart from the darkest time, in the week after it happened, when it was like a waking nightmare, it has mainly been at worst anxiety and upheaval. Last week when my Mum had a fall and cut her head which required stitches, the worry and distress was a thousand times worse than anything to do with our flood. I guess what I want to say is, I hope all of you are with your loved ones this Christmas. For those of you who have lost someone special this year, my heart goes out to you, and I know that the year I have had is nothing compared to that loss. It has also been a tremendously hard year financially for many of us, and there are not so many presents waiting under the tree in many homes.

I have had some wonderful kindness from my crafting friends over the past year and it has meant so much: thank you! A disaster makes you realize what tremendous goodness and thoughtfulness there is in people. Hope you have a day full of warmth, love, hugs, and full tummies tomorrow. Thank you for your friendship.