It's 1.40pm and Jim and Bella have gone for a nap, so here I sit in my new pj's, surrounded by toys, toys and yet more toys. Diarmid Gavin is creating wonderous gardens on tv whilst I eat chocolate and sip Lady Grey tea (my new favourite).
Christmas has been such a different affair this year. In the past Jim and I were ludicrous in our present buying and giving. We would have piles and piles of presents just for eachother. It once took us over an hour just to open the presents we had given eachother. We were desperately over compensating for our lack of family. For eight years I wasn't able to go home for christmas, so it was just me and Jim. No family, no children and often no friends. Just the two of us and many, many, pointless, unnecessary gifts. It was expensive and excessive and not quite as much fun as we always hoped it would be.
The last few years have been very different. We started visiting my family for Christmas. Children finally started to be born (until my nephew was born 4 years ago, I was the last baby born in our family!) and the focus stopped being on drink and arguements and He said, She said. Instead Christmas started being slowly reborn. We started to notice eachother. We stopped shouting and started talking. Drinking slowed down and laughter increased. And best of all, children started careening from room to room.
This year Jim and I had a few small gifts for eachother. We both panicked slightly on Christmas Eve that we really hadn't bought enough for eachother, but we trusted that for once we had bought a few things that were really wanted. And we were right.
When we arrived at my parents house I was greeted with the ecstatic screams of "Look what Santa brought me!". Within a minute of sitting down, my nephew was begging Bella to open her gifts, "Have this Bella. This one is for you Bella, open this one Bella!". I had been a little nervous that the combination of a four year old boy and a two year old girl could prove difficult this year. There's a lot of ego involved in being 4 and 2. But I was proven so wrong. My nephew just wanted Bella to see all her new things. And when he saw the gorgeous little metal xylaphone that my other brother gave Bella, he sat down with her and they took it in turns to play a few notes and then wait for the explosive applause that would surely follow! There were no fights, no grabbing or pulling. Instead there was sharing and showing, giving and taking. There was a wonderful, clever little boy and a beautiful, funny little girl playing together and loving every minute of it. And I loved every minute of it too.
Have you noticed though how there's a tendancy to make everything on your blog sound wonderful and magic? We leave out the crap, and focus on the beauty. And I think that generally that's a good thing. But I also think that a little more reality is called for occasionally. So instead of giving you the impression of a perfect, happy family let me just tell you that as a child Christmas was pretty awful. And as an adult Christmas was pretty awful. I have a complicated family. And I have a very challenging set of In-Laws. It is not and has never been easy. But since Ethan and Bella were born it has improved almost beyond all recognition and I am more grateful for that than I can ever say. So when I write about my Christmas day I think it's ok to make it sound perfect. It's ok that those hairline fractures are painted over. These days I have the opportunity to look through those rose tinted glasses and that's just fine by me.
But enough of all that. Lets get to the important stuff... The new christmas books...
Sublime Stitching by Jenny Hart.
I asked for it sight unseen, based purely on various reviews throughout the Blogosphere and was not at all disappointed. It is ringbound, making it easy to lie flat and follow the instructions and it has a shed load of very cool embroidery patterns. The only thing that I will say is that if you're looking for an embroidery book that is full of inspirational pictures then this probably isn't the book for you. It is mainly a pattern book, but I think that's a good thing.
The Apron Book by Ellynanne Geisel.
This was another sight unseen request. Again, I read a few different reviews, but was pretty much had when I saw the title! And let me tell you, if you like aprons then you will love this book. It not only has the history of aprons, but personal histories and photo's gallore. It also has an actual pattern tucked in to the back jacket. It is both eye candy and practical and therefore a close to perfect book. The only thing that loses it some points is the fact that the foreword is just a little old fashioned for me. But that's just me.
Babyknits for Beginners by Debbie Bliss.
This was an unexpected gift from a friend. As you may know, I don't knit, but I do have a growing collection of knitting books! And this is definitely a welcome addition to that collection. Now if I (or more to the point Jim) would just learn how to knit!
The Happy Hooker by Debbie Stoller.
We all know it, we've all seen it and now I finally own it. Repeat after me, I will learn how to crochet, I will learn how to crochet, I will learn how to crochet. One day.
Falling Cloudberries by Tessa Kiros.
This is by the same author as Apples for Jam, my favourite cook book of the year. And this is just as wonderful and inspirational and downright yummy. It is a beautiful combination of outstanding photography, interesting anecdotes and gorgeous but straightforward recipes. Seriously, give Tessa Kiros a go, you won't regret it. She may not be a popular as Nigella et al but she bloody well should be.
New Decor by Elizabeth Wilhide.
Eye candy galore! Pattern, pattern and yet more pattern. You want this book, you really do. And bizarrely enough you can buy it at Ikea. Cool.
