"To face unafraid, the plans that we made"
I've just watching "A Very Glee Christmas", so I think it's time I talk about my Christmas, and how lovely it was.
On Christmas day our usual tradition (since my brothers and I stopped getting out of bed before midday) is to go for a walk on the beach with the dog before we open presents because otherwise it would be dark before we went on the walk. This year, for the first time that I can remember, we couldn't go to the beach because the ice was so thick that the steep roads down there would be impossible. Instead, we drove to Bidston Hill and walked there. We admired the windmill, and the views over to Liverpool, and the old observatory, and watched the dog try and catch snowballs. It was a nice walk.
Once home again we opened presents. We gave my mother a new camera, a little one so that she doesn't have to carry her DSLR everywhere. My older brother got lots of chess-related presents as it's all he's interested in these days, and my younger brother got technical things that I don't really understand. I got some great gifts - a set of Penguin postcards based on old book covers, some purple fairy lights from Camden Market, my tweed jacket from my brothers (which I chose in advance) as well as a set of five Dolly Parton albums in one case. I'd already received my Christmas money and spent it on my laptop, but it was nice to have things to open.
Christmas dinner was pretty epic. My mother found a whole bunch of gluten free recipes for stuffing, so she made three different types. No one knows why exactly. Two of them were lovely, the third one was a rice dish and not really a stuffing at all. She also made a huge dish of spiced cabbage which we all love, and loads of roast potatoes and veg etc. We demolished it in very good time too!
On Christmas evening we watched Inception as I gave it to my older brother and my mother hadn't seen it. I was really looking forward to watching it again as I thought it was great first time around, but I'm ashamed to say that I fell asleep during it and missed the whole thing. Might buy it for myself so I can see it again!
On Boxing Day my mother and I continued another of our traditions, climbing Moel Famau in Wales. As a child I remember feeling pretty miserable while walking in Wales in the cold and snow, but now I'm an adult I love it. There are many paths and routes to the summit, but we chose the shortest and steepest because we knew it would take a while in the snow and we wanted to finish long before dark. However, we still nearly didn't manage it - the snow and ice was so bad. I've never been on such a cold walk! The path was so steep in parts that we struggled to keep going and I thought we'd have to turn back, but we made it to the top, took a quick look at the Jubilee Tower, then headed back down again because the wind was so icy. Going downhill was just as bad, and in one stretch it was so slippy that my mother gave up trying to walk upright and just sat down and slid down the slope instead. It was so cold and dry that the snow was powdery rather than wet, so she didn't get damp, and she was having so much fun that I decided to sit down and slide down the hill too! Thankfully no one saw us acting like children, but it was awesome. We walked the rest of the way though. That evening we had another family dinner, this time with my brothers' girlfriends with us too.
On Bank Holiday Monday we walked in the morning along the coast, from Leasowe lighthouse to Meols, trying to avoid the icy patches. In the afternoon we watched Pretty Woman while I started work on my holiday project - making myself a skirt out of old jeans. I sat in front of the fire and ripped stitches up the inside legs of a pair of jeans that I don't wear any more, and it was very enjoyable.
The next day, which was also a Bank Holiday, I met up with Emily and Sara. Emily I last saw two Christmasses ago, Sara I'd not seen for so long that I couldn't remember when we last met up. We had a few drinks together followed by dinner, and then stopped off at Sara's house to admire her parents' ENORMOUS new kitchen and eat Indian desserts. We caught up on all the gossip and filled each other in on our lives. I can't believe Sara is still a medical student, nearly six years after we left school, as Emily and I are now both responsible working adults and I was a student so long ago now it seems strange that she still has exams and studying to get through. She might work in Manchester after she graduates, so hopefully I'll get to see her more often next year.
The next day (I think we're on Wednesday now) mum and I went walking again - this time to Delamere Forest in Cheshire. By this time it had thawed, so the snow and ice had gone but instead we were walking through mud and bog, which was delightful but at least the dog was very happy. As always happens when we walk in Delamere, we got a bit lost somehow, but the forest is so beautiful that it didn't really matter where we walked, just that we were out in the fresh air getting some exercise and having of time to chat.
On Thursday I did some more work on my denim skirt but found it much harder than expected to position it and pin it in place - it kept moving around when I tried it on. I must have a large bottom or something - not sure why they fitted when they were trousers, but not when I turned it into a skirt! My mother sorted out a lot of it - she has more patience and better needlework than I do. I'm sure we watched a film but can't remember what it was - it might have been the Blackadder special that was on tv.
On Friday, which was New Year's Eve, my mother was working in the morning but she was able to leave around midday. While she was out I cleaned the bathroom far more thoroughly than she ever does, which I consider the best Christmas present I gave this year, although my mother didn't seem that bothered. I like clean bathrooms, but I clearly didn't inherit that urge from her. Once she'd returned from work we had lunch and then went out to Lady Lever Art Gallery in Port Sunlight which is one of my favourite galleries - so small but full of such lovely things, including some lovely Pre-Raphaelite pieces. We had afternoon tea there, and browsed the exhibition on the life of Lord Leverhulme who created the gallery, collected the artwork and also built the village of Port Sunlight for the workers in his soap factory. I bought a print of a piece called His Turn Next which was used as a soap advertisement, and I think is so twee and cute but James is going to hate it when I get it framed and up on the wall.
After the art gallery we had a quick walk on the beach with the dog in the dusk light to tire him out before the fireworks that evening. Once home we both spent time cooking in the kitchen - mum made soup and gluten-free pizzas for dinner, while I mulled apple juice and made chocolate florentines and had a great time getting dried fruit and melted chocolate everywhere. There's something very cosy about sharing a kitchen with someone else while cooking things and listening to music. My little brother turned up at times to make his dinner and it was just like living at home and being 16 again.
On New Year's Eve itself we had a very tame time - we watched Jonathan Creek on BBC1 and then Singin' in the Rain on dvd, but had to switch if off just before the 12 minute Broadway Ballet sequence because it was nearly midnight. We drank fruit tea and watched the fireworks in London, and then my mother wouldn't even stay up to watch the last 25 minutes of the film but went to bed instead. I sat in my comfy bed with the cat and my laptop and surfed the internet for the first two hours of 2011.
On New Year's Day we went for a bracing walk along the beach with the dog and then dressed up and went out for lunch at the home of two family friends, Rob and Guy. I've known them all my life, and they are a lovely couple - very cultured but painfully polite and excellent hosts. We had champagne and wine and a tasty lunch and I got more drunk than I'd been for a while and was in great spirits. That evening I started using the sewing machine to make my skirt, and was surprised at how well it went actually - normally I'm dreadful at using the machine because I can't sew in a straight line and constantly change the speed from racing to crawling which ruins the tension on the thread. This time things went okay and I got nearly half of it done before going to bed.
On Sunday we set off early back to Wales for the first walk of 2011. We climbed Moel Famau again, again using the steepest route, but this time there was no snow or ice so much easier going than the previous week. We decided to take a longer descent route and walked along the ridge and down into Cilcain where we stopped for a drink in the pub, and then back along what's called the Leete Path to Loggerheads, where we parked. In order to avoid the car park charges, my mother parks in the free section which is unfortunately the other side of a very steep set of stairs in the cliff side, so we had to climb them again before we could rest. I felt pretty good though - the fresh air and exertion had a lovely affect on my mood.
That evening was my last at home, and I felt really fed up about it. I loved being in a warm house with a dog and a cat and a cosy bedroom, and not having to worry about work or paying for the heating or having to organise transport as my mother drove me everywhere. Plus it was nice to be home for that length of time - it was like a holiday. I don't think I could live there again, but knowing that this was just a short break meant that my mother and I made a point of doing things together that we both like. I realise now that I was probably pre-menstrual, but I felt very emotional and weepy all evening.
It didn't help that my mother chose Truly, Madly, Deeply as that night's film. I love that film, but I can't watch it without crying. Juliette Stevenson is the best thing ever, and of course Alan Rickman is the most handsome and sensitive man in the world (probably). The real tragedy of the film, in my opinion, is that [SPOILERS] Alan Rickman plays a ghost, and one can't make a future with a ghost, so Juliette Stevenson ends up with the drippy guy with weird hair who is supposed to be the hero. Maybe next time I'll stop the film before he turns up and imagine that Juliette lives happily ever after with her gorgeous sensitive musical ghost. Much better ending.
So yes, I cried in that film, and then went to bed and cried, and then spent Monday trying not to cry. We had one last walk on the beach with the dog, then I finished sewing my skirt and felt VERY proud of myself for doing so (it is a masterpiece) and then mum made bacon and eggs on toast for lunch. Then I went and got the train back to Manchester and tried not to cry on the train. I returned to my tiny, cluttered, cold flat and tried not to cry then. On Tuesday I went back to work and felt miserable - nothing seemed real, or important, and I've never wanted to be away from there so badly. It was mostly hormones of course, which didn't mix well with homesickness. I feel much better after a few more days in work and two trips to the gym - it seems real again, anyway. I've cooked soup and washed lots of dishes and tried and failed not to eat all the biscuits and chocolate still in the flat.
Christmas was wonderful; I wish it didn't have to end. But it did - today we took down the decorations in work and life continued on as normal. I'm still homesick though so am meeting my mother on Sunday for another walk!
On Christmas day our usual tradition (since my brothers and I stopped getting out of bed before midday) is to go for a walk on the beach with the dog before we open presents because otherwise it would be dark before we went on the walk. This year, for the first time that I can remember, we couldn't go to the beach because the ice was so thick that the steep roads down there would be impossible. Instead, we drove to Bidston Hill and walked there. We admired the windmill, and the views over to Liverpool, and the old observatory, and watched the dog try and catch snowballs. It was a nice walk.
Once home again we opened presents. We gave my mother a new camera, a little one so that she doesn't have to carry her DSLR everywhere. My older brother got lots of chess-related presents as it's all he's interested in these days, and my younger brother got technical things that I don't really understand. I got some great gifts - a set of Penguin postcards based on old book covers, some purple fairy lights from Camden Market, my tweed jacket from my brothers (which I chose in advance) as well as a set of five Dolly Parton albums in one case. I'd already received my Christmas money and spent it on my laptop, but it was nice to have things to open.
Christmas dinner was pretty epic. My mother found a whole bunch of gluten free recipes for stuffing, so she made three different types. No one knows why exactly. Two of them were lovely, the third one was a rice dish and not really a stuffing at all. She also made a huge dish of spiced cabbage which we all love, and loads of roast potatoes and veg etc. We demolished it in very good time too!
On Christmas evening we watched Inception as I gave it to my older brother and my mother hadn't seen it. I was really looking forward to watching it again as I thought it was great first time around, but I'm ashamed to say that I fell asleep during it and missed the whole thing. Might buy it for myself so I can see it again!
On Boxing Day my mother and I continued another of our traditions, climbing Moel Famau in Wales. As a child I remember feeling pretty miserable while walking in Wales in the cold and snow, but now I'm an adult I love it. There are many paths and routes to the summit, but we chose the shortest and steepest because we knew it would take a while in the snow and we wanted to finish long before dark. However, we still nearly didn't manage it - the snow and ice was so bad. I've never been on such a cold walk! The path was so steep in parts that we struggled to keep going and I thought we'd have to turn back, but we made it to the top, took a quick look at the Jubilee Tower, then headed back down again because the wind was so icy. Going downhill was just as bad, and in one stretch it was so slippy that my mother gave up trying to walk upright and just sat down and slid down the slope instead. It was so cold and dry that the snow was powdery rather than wet, so she didn't get damp, and she was having so much fun that I decided to sit down and slide down the hill too! Thankfully no one saw us acting like children, but it was awesome. We walked the rest of the way though. That evening we had another family dinner, this time with my brothers' girlfriends with us too.
On Bank Holiday Monday we walked in the morning along the coast, from Leasowe lighthouse to Meols, trying to avoid the icy patches. In the afternoon we watched Pretty Woman while I started work on my holiday project - making myself a skirt out of old jeans. I sat in front of the fire and ripped stitches up the inside legs of a pair of jeans that I don't wear any more, and it was very enjoyable.
The next day, which was also a Bank Holiday, I met up with Emily and Sara. Emily I last saw two Christmasses ago, Sara I'd not seen for so long that I couldn't remember when we last met up. We had a few drinks together followed by dinner, and then stopped off at Sara's house to admire her parents' ENORMOUS new kitchen and eat Indian desserts. We caught up on all the gossip and filled each other in on our lives. I can't believe Sara is still a medical student, nearly six years after we left school, as Emily and I are now both responsible working adults and I was a student so long ago now it seems strange that she still has exams and studying to get through. She might work in Manchester after she graduates, so hopefully I'll get to see her more often next year.
The next day (I think we're on Wednesday now) mum and I went walking again - this time to Delamere Forest in Cheshire. By this time it had thawed, so the snow and ice had gone but instead we were walking through mud and bog, which was delightful but at least the dog was very happy. As always happens when we walk in Delamere, we got a bit lost somehow, but the forest is so beautiful that it didn't really matter where we walked, just that we were out in the fresh air getting some exercise and having of time to chat.
On Thursday I did some more work on my denim skirt but found it much harder than expected to position it and pin it in place - it kept moving around when I tried it on. I must have a large bottom or something - not sure why they fitted when they were trousers, but not when I turned it into a skirt! My mother sorted out a lot of it - she has more patience and better needlework than I do. I'm sure we watched a film but can't remember what it was - it might have been the Blackadder special that was on tv.
On Friday, which was New Year's Eve, my mother was working in the morning but she was able to leave around midday. While she was out I cleaned the bathroom far more thoroughly than she ever does, which I consider the best Christmas present I gave this year, although my mother didn't seem that bothered. I like clean bathrooms, but I clearly didn't inherit that urge from her. Once she'd returned from work we had lunch and then went out to Lady Lever Art Gallery in Port Sunlight which is one of my favourite galleries - so small but full of such lovely things, including some lovely Pre-Raphaelite pieces. We had afternoon tea there, and browsed the exhibition on the life of Lord Leverhulme who created the gallery, collected the artwork and also built the village of Port Sunlight for the workers in his soap factory. I bought a print of a piece called His Turn Next which was used as a soap advertisement, and I think is so twee and cute but James is going to hate it when I get it framed and up on the wall.
After the art gallery we had a quick walk on the beach with the dog in the dusk light to tire him out before the fireworks that evening. Once home we both spent time cooking in the kitchen - mum made soup and gluten-free pizzas for dinner, while I mulled apple juice and made chocolate florentines and had a great time getting dried fruit and melted chocolate everywhere. There's something very cosy about sharing a kitchen with someone else while cooking things and listening to music. My little brother turned up at times to make his dinner and it was just like living at home and being 16 again.
On New Year's Eve itself we had a very tame time - we watched Jonathan Creek on BBC1 and then Singin' in the Rain on dvd, but had to switch if off just before the 12 minute Broadway Ballet sequence because it was nearly midnight. We drank fruit tea and watched the fireworks in London, and then my mother wouldn't even stay up to watch the last 25 minutes of the film but went to bed instead. I sat in my comfy bed with the cat and my laptop and surfed the internet for the first two hours of 2011.
On New Year's Day we went for a bracing walk along the beach with the dog and then dressed up and went out for lunch at the home of two family friends, Rob and Guy. I've known them all my life, and they are a lovely couple - very cultured but painfully polite and excellent hosts. We had champagne and wine and a tasty lunch and I got more drunk than I'd been for a while and was in great spirits. That evening I started using the sewing machine to make my skirt, and was surprised at how well it went actually - normally I'm dreadful at using the machine because I can't sew in a straight line and constantly change the speed from racing to crawling which ruins the tension on the thread. This time things went okay and I got nearly half of it done before going to bed.
On Sunday we set off early back to Wales for the first walk of 2011. We climbed Moel Famau again, again using the steepest route, but this time there was no snow or ice so much easier going than the previous week. We decided to take a longer descent route and walked along the ridge and down into Cilcain where we stopped for a drink in the pub, and then back along what's called the Leete Path to Loggerheads, where we parked. In order to avoid the car park charges, my mother parks in the free section which is unfortunately the other side of a very steep set of stairs in the cliff side, so we had to climb them again before we could rest. I felt pretty good though - the fresh air and exertion had a lovely affect on my mood.
That evening was my last at home, and I felt really fed up about it. I loved being in a warm house with a dog and a cat and a cosy bedroom, and not having to worry about work or paying for the heating or having to organise transport as my mother drove me everywhere. Plus it was nice to be home for that length of time - it was like a holiday. I don't think I could live there again, but knowing that this was just a short break meant that my mother and I made a point of doing things together that we both like. I realise now that I was probably pre-menstrual, but I felt very emotional and weepy all evening.
It didn't help that my mother chose Truly, Madly, Deeply as that night's film. I love that film, but I can't watch it without crying. Juliette Stevenson is the best thing ever, and of course Alan Rickman is the most handsome and sensitive man in the world (probably). The real tragedy of the film, in my opinion, is that [SPOILERS] Alan Rickman plays a ghost, and one can't make a future with a ghost, so Juliette Stevenson ends up with the drippy guy with weird hair who is supposed to be the hero. Maybe next time I'll stop the film before he turns up and imagine that Juliette lives happily ever after with her gorgeous sensitive musical ghost. Much better ending.
So yes, I cried in that film, and then went to bed and cried, and then spent Monday trying not to cry. We had one last walk on the beach with the dog, then I finished sewing my skirt and felt VERY proud of myself for doing so (it is a masterpiece) and then mum made bacon and eggs on toast for lunch. Then I went and got the train back to Manchester and tried not to cry on the train. I returned to my tiny, cluttered, cold flat and tried not to cry then. On Tuesday I went back to work and felt miserable - nothing seemed real, or important, and I've never wanted to be away from there so badly. It was mostly hormones of course, which didn't mix well with homesickness. I feel much better after a few more days in work and two trips to the gym - it seems real again, anyway. I've cooked soup and washed lots of dishes and tried and failed not to eat all the biscuits and chocolate still in the flat.
Christmas was wonderful; I wish it didn't have to end. But it did - today we took down the decorations in work and life continued on as normal. I'm still homesick though so am meeting my mother on Sunday for another walk!