...so there was just a couple of days after Sue left until we held a little party-ette for my Italian class. Last year we had a little get-together in the night-class room, but as we've been meeting this term at someone's house it seemed a nice idea to host at ours. We made a few things, and everyone brought something too. Everyone must have enjoyed themselves, as they stayed almost three and a half hours...... I'd expected a couple of hours at most !
So it was a bit of a late night after clearing up, and then it was my last full day at the Garden Museum leaving me only the following evening to try and do some Christmas wrapping and pack for my trip to Leeds, as well as put party stuff away...... exhausting !
My mother was in very good form over Christmas, and in spite of it being rather wet we got out and about in the car quite a bit. There was some local flooding around but nothing as bad as in other parts of the UK. Usually a little stream ........
My sister's very placid Rottweiler, Mabel, relaxing on Christmas Eve
On Boxing Day we went out for a late lunch with my sister, her partner and my two nephews - we went to the same place last year (but earlier in the day). This year there was a much more relaxed feel, less families with small children I guess, and with log fires burning and very nice staff and service we had a really lovely time at
The White Hart.
Then it was time to return home and the lovely Franco, who was also arriving back home from Italy the same afternoon. We decided to have a little day out on the Saturday........ Pre-Raphaelites: Victorian Avant-Garde at Tate Britain (culture and lovely), and then Panto "Snow White and the 7 Poofs" (definitely not culture and disappointingly crap!), via "The Sales" around Covent Garden and Piccadilly.
Then it was home with M&S party food and bubbly for a very quiet but enjoyable evening to wait for the dawn of 2013.