'Twas The Night Before Christmas.....

'Twas the night before Christmas and:-

the presents are wrapped,

food is prepped as much as possible,

the housework is done (enough, anyway), and

the caravan is packed (most important).

It's been a funny old lead up to Christmas.  It just hasn't really felt Christmassy until the last week or so.  I suppose it is all the COVID hoo haa, as well as the weather not feeling summery until just recently.  On the whole, I've been pretty lazy.

We are just having a small family gathering here for Christmas lunch.  We are relieved that Mum is still allowed to attend from the nursing home, as we are at a private home and all fully vaxed.  Visiting Mum is very regulated, with a Rapid Antigen test now required before entering the building.

Despite not feeling overly festive, we put up or Christmas lights at the start of the month, along with just about every other house in our street.  

Other parts of town have a good display in patches, but I think our street, as a whole, has put on the best display.  Not that I'm biased or anything.  

We have had a couple of neighbourhood get togethers, which has been nice.  We have some relatively new residents, (we are no longer the new kids on the block), so it was good to get to know them better and for some to meet each other for the first time.

Our veges finally got a wriggle on.  The snow peas and strawberries have finished and now we are getting beautiful zucchinis. 

As always, we aim to have tomatoes by Christmas.  We put them in nice and early, but it just wasn't warm enough for them to ripen.  The yellow tomato plant has had green tomatoes sitting there for well over a month, not doing anything........until now.

We've done it.  Tomatoes by Christmas.  Three yellow.

And one tiny weeny little red one, about three quarters of an inch in diameter.

Our beans have really shot up, after we finally won the battle against the snails that kept chewing them off as soon as they emerged from the ground.

The rhubarb is growing madly.  This is after we have already harvested three big lots over the last couple of months.

When we lived out of town we used to have boysenberries, raspberries and red currants ready just in time for Christmas.  Earlier this year we bought a couple of boysenberry plants (or so we thought).  It turns out one is an early fruiting raspberry.  Also, a work colleague gave me a red currant plant she struck.  We thought we would have boysenberries and raspberries this year, but sadly the birds beat us to them.  Hopefully, next year we will have better luck and will net them.

It is amazing what some natural rain does for the garden.

Earlier in the month there was a Christmas market and Swap Meet in town.  We didn't have a stall, but I did spend some money.  A lady was destashing her knitting wool.  I could have brought lots home, but I think I would have been shot....and I have no room for it...... and I don't do a great deal of crochet or knitting.  This is what I did bring home.  It was all sooooo cheap.

The whole lot cost less than this Bendigo variegated wool would retail for. Not sure what I will do with it, but it all blends nicely and I can always add to it.

Learning to knit socks is high on my wish list, so these would be pretty.

The rest of the yarn is 4-ply.  There is about a kilo in each pile.  I would like to make a rug with it.  I just need to make a decision.

I could either make a rug using two strands of yarn.  The tan all the way through and then the others as a scrappy  blender.  It would be quick and easy, with a slightly tweedish effect.  There would be no wastage and fewer joins.(Ignore the crochet and edges.  I was just playing with various stitches.)

Alternatively, I could make a light weight granny square rug with the tan as the outer ring.  It would be slower and fiddlier, but would still be nice.  Anyway, I've pulled both apart at this stage and will mull over it for now.  It is too hot to be crocheting a rug at the moment.

So that's about our December wrapped up.

Wishing everyone a very Merry Christmas.

I will be back in the New Year, when I will have to think about what my plans will be for 2022.  Something to look forward to.