Managed to get the Suffolk bits of the family here together for the belated Boxing Day meal last Friday. None of us were running at 100% but at least the food has all been eaten. Youngest Daughter and Eldest Granddaughter had to be away before tea-time as EG was due at her Daddies house for the weekend. Brother-in-Law couldn't stay either so just 5 for tea but many of the food things I didn't want to get stuck with here (the chocolate yule log - much too sweet for me now and a box of chocolate biscuits ditto) went off with family. ( I've put a list of family abbreviations in a column over on the right to save me having to write in full from now on)
Lots of the car-boot sale Christmas Crackers got used - a mixed lot of other people's chuck-outs with all sorts of different things inside and still some left for next Christmas too.
I had some books from the wish-list for Christmas presents which was lovely and some random things too which have gone in the charity shop bag already (makes me sound ungrateful but....) Also had a box of chocolates from someone in the family who didn't know I no longer eat them. They will go in the Foodbank collection.
This pretty little jug from my sister had Muscari/Grape Hyacinth bulbs in and coir discs - the bulbs were meant to be planted in the jug, but I thought the bulbs would do better outside and popped the jug in the dishwasher. It was only when it came out that I discovered what it said on the base!
Why? I wondered and filled it up with water and it doesn't leak or seep, it's glazed inside and out and looks like a proper serviceable jug. Very odd.
The three children all clubbed together for my present and that's special and deserves a post of it's own.
And Onwards...........
The 2024 diary has been filled in with all the things that I know are happening........ dentist appointment, all the birthdays, a summer holiday and what days the library van visits and which bins are due to be emptied on which Wednesdays - I live an exciting life!
Not much in the diary to do outside of home in January although I came across details of a Jumble Sale at the end of the month. There's the Keep Moving Group of course but otherwise I'm mainly hibernating with a list of stuff to get done in the next week or so..............
Must put the Christmas tree and decorations away before the 6th
Make a batch of pastry cases
Make focaccia bread
and a spiced fruit loaf
Get some books off to ziffit
Sort the grandchildren toys and clear out those they have grown out of
Clear up the huge heaps of leaves that have gathered out the front near the porch as soon as it's dry enough (seems as if there hasn't been a completely dry day for weeks!)
Finish emptying the water-butt in the greenhouse
Sort out last years paperwork and file or chuck.
It's annoying that the swimming pool has altered the sessions with so few that are a decent time for me to get to. Certainly couldn't make it for a 7.30 or 8.30 a.m swim! And evening swims don't appeal either. I've not been for various reasons since October and missing it.
Thank you to everyone for Happy New Year wishes.
Back Tomorrow
Sue
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Maybe your dishwasher settings are low enough to prevent crazing? Or, more likely that repeated dishwashing would erode the pattern, one wash would not be enough.
ReplyDeleteWhatever, I think your decision not to plant the bulbs in it is a wise one.
I'm not sure what to do with the jug if it can't be used .
DeleteI agree with RP, maybe repeated dishwashing will wear away the pattern. I'm. Glad you got some family time in the end. I'm in the middle of "taking down and putting away" - just washed all my Christmas aprons, towels, and tablecloths.
ReplyDeleteIt's the bit about decoration only that is also odd.
DeleteThink of swimming as a boot sale and you can make an 8:30 appointment. Am always so impressed when you get to an early boot sale.
ReplyDeleteWaiting for dry weather for leaves in south suffolk as well. Hope your snowdrops do well this year.
If only it were that simple.
DeleteThe garden is completely waterlogged and I reckon bulbs are swimming!
It’s probably too late now but grape hyacinths spread everywhere which is nice when in flower but the leaves look messy for the rest of the year, speaking from experience . I wish you health and happiness for 2024
ReplyDeleteI've got lots of patches of grape hyacinths already and dig them out when they spread
DeleteDishwashers can get pretty hot perhaps its the heat that is the issue with the little jug rather than the pattern being eroded?
ReplyDeleteX
Could be, although the glazing looks OK
DeleteIt seems to be dank and grey everywhere at present, more like February than January, and the ground is sodden.
ReplyDeleteFlooding in our village again. I don't remember the last day without rain
DeleteYears ago I dabbled a bit in pottery where I was told that these items are for decorative purposes only because they haven't been fired with a temperature high enough to be food safe.
ReplyDeleteHappy New Year and thank you for your blogging!
Best wishes, Annabeth x
Oh, that must be the reason. The glaze looks OK but perhaps it won't last
DeleteDo you have a school swimming pool available locally? We go to one where GD has her swimming lessons. It is open to the public Sunday mornings and school holidays. Bookable only and some sessions lane swimming. Never crowded and cheaper than the posh leisure centre.
ReplyDeleteThe schools don't have pools - they use the public pools and thats why there are no sessions in the mornings when I want to go
DeleteGlad you were able to get your holiday in even though some had to leave early.
ReplyDeleteSorry the swimming times do not work for you.
Happy new year
Cathy
The swimming pool keeps changing session times which is annoying
DeleteNew calendar hanging here on the wall above my desk is labeled with places to go, appointments, basketball games and gatherings. Life goes on even when the year changes.
ReplyDeleteAlways lots to enter into a new diary - but not very exciting yet
DeleteIt's a sweet little jug, I guess time will tell about its suitability for dishwashing, sometimes it feels like these companies are just covering themselves......
ReplyDeleteWe live at the top of a hill so have good drainage, but we've got standing water today, the rain is relentless.
Alison in Wales x
It is so dismal today and flooding around the village yet again. Hope it changes to colder and dryer as the forecast says for later in the month.
DeleteWhat a pretty little jug. I am glad that you all got together for a belated Christmas.
ReplyDeleteGod bless.
It is pretty but if it's only decorative I'm not sure what to do with it!
DeleteLooking forward to hearing about the joint gift. Could you phone the pool manager and explain the new time is a problem? Sometimes changes are made without thought to the impact. I once took a course and the last bus from the university was re-scheduled to leave 30 minutes before classes finished. No one had looked at class times. Jean in Winnipeg.
ReplyDeleteI put all the important dates into my diary yesterday and did lots of paper shredding-I like to get the year set up in my diary but have promised myself I’ll try to use my phone diary this year too. A sort out of my enormous craft stash is needed and then I hope to back and quilt a top that has been pieced since 2021! Weather here is dismal and doesn’t inspire me to get out and walk. Catriona
ReplyDeleteIt's a sweet vase - maybe use it for cuttings for indoor plants?
ReplyDeleteI agree with Jean that you might call the pool and let them know about the session times you need. You never know...
Hope your year fills up with many fun adventures, Sue!
Your Boxing Day family gathering sounds perfect and you must be happy to know everybody is feeling much better. I have a small jug like yours (mine has bird feathers on it) and I use it to hold my pens and pencils on the desk. It works well for me. Can you and a few friends let the swim pool management know you need a better time slot? Can they designate a few lanes for senior swim? A few days ago, I raked leaves that gathered under my Korean Fir tree, Japanese Maple and Birds Nest Spruce where my daffodils will eventually pop up. The leaves were wet so I raked them into a tarp and folded the tarp to carry all the leaves to the compost. It took 3 trips but all looks greatly improved.
ReplyDeleteYour could either use the little jug for cuttings, small bunches of flowers from the garden in Summer ... or add it to the charity bag. I always feel slightly ungrateful when I have to relegate presents, but sometimes it can't be helped. We had a strict 'no present' rule for Christmas this year for all the adults and everyone except my brother stuck to it. He bought Alan a nice bottle of Port, but I had already bought him the one he actually wanted, and he bought me two large bottles of Lambrini and three flavoured ciders. I don't drink any of those drinks they are much too sweet for me, so they are all at the back of one of Alan's cupboards ready for when one of the charities round our way asks for bottles for a bottle stall. But what a waste of my brothers money, exactly what we were all trying to avoid!
ReplyDeleteIt's a shame about the swim times, you really enjoyed it last year didn't you. (Oh, and I found that missing book when I was sorting through the books this morning.)
The glaze on the jug may be lead based which would make it unusable for food.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Meg. That little jug would make a sweet little vase for small flowers though. Happy New Year!
ReplyDeletei don't think it's ungrateful to pass on unwanted gifts, it's better to do that than waste them, i regift things to people who would use them x
ReplyDeleteI also think it is wise to pass the unwanted gifts along. The school my sons used to go to has a White Elephant Sale in early December for young students to buy gifts for their families. I send all my new unwanted gifts and gift bags to them. I do not regift. I also kept only one of the three calendars I got this year as I have no need for three. One year I only got calendars as gifts so rather detest them. The one I kept my oldest son got for me features pixs of the Yukon where he lives and where I lived a long time ago.
ReplyDeleteGlad you were finally able to get together with your family.
ReplyDeleteI always feel bad about getting unrid of unwanted gifts. I think that's why we tend to do lists. That way it's something we want or need. I am getting better about giving things away. I can't keep everything.
It sounds like you had a good time with your family for the holiday season. Our son and family were here Dec 17th and Justin made the pizza for us. Good to see them again. I will get my small Christmas tree out of the house by end of the week and outdoor decor back in garage. I made 3 calendars online via Shutterfly and they should arrive by Friday. One is for me and two are for a couple friends I know. I did get a free calendar from the hardware store I go to often. I like making pumpkin banana bread with chopped walnuts. Alot of my friends like it as well. Happy New Year!
ReplyDeleteYes......I think it is lead in the glaze in the jug that is the problem too.
ReplyDelete