I hope you've all had a great time over the festive holidays and received some lovely pressies like Bob the Bunny! Up to his ears and paws in chocolate still!
I had a nice quiet Christmas and didn't over indulge in food but enjoyed what I managed to prepare which was a pastry parcel of asparagus, pea & herby cheese with traditional trimmings of stuffing, red sprouts & chestnuts, roast spuds, onion gravy and some samphire for a bit of greenery.
Followed much later in the day by a bit of xmas pud.
I was the lucky recipient of some fab and most unusual pressies so thank you to my dear friends for those. Here are some highlights in no particular order:
A friend went to Alaska and brought me back this hand stitched decoration, a felt moose in a canoe.
A gingerbread house kit with all the sweeties and trimmings.
A hand blown glass spirit ball given to friends as a good luck symbol.
Handmade espresso cups from Germany.
I particularly liked the packaging of the biscuits above and interestingly enough they are produced by a local business in Beverley, they were quite delicious.
I did get a Cath Kidston book from a relative but it is one I already have (she doesn't read this). This has happened to me before at Christmas, I wonder if anyone else has had the same dilemma of what to do with duplicates. There is actually no point in me mentioning it to the relative as she is abroad and chances are would not have the receipt and it would be a hassle to consider changing it. It wouldn't seem right to offload it to a charity shop or Ebay but it did set me off thinking about swapping so if anyone else was in a similar position with a book, I have a CK Make hanging around here.
As it's New Year, here is a quote which I tend to agree with, (before anyone asks if I've made any resolutions):
Many years ago I resolved never to bother with New Years resolutions, and I"ve stuck with it ever since. 
Dave Beard
I do tend to think of something new I could try at the start of a new year and this year I've thought in musical terms to learn a new skill.
Ta dah, I've bought a ukulele
A friend of mine is a really good ukulele player and I went for a bit of info and a taster session yesterday. The result was a trip to the nearest music shop to buy a uke and here is the little beauty. I am just learning 3 chords at the moment, it's not that easy, my hands are not seeming very flexible yet for plucking out chords but I will stick with it as I think it's going to be great fun.
They tell me a few minutes practise a day will exercise my hands into those positions I need.
Time to go before normal routine returns tomorrow.
Hope 2013 is a fabulous new year for us all, with new opportunities in healthy abundance.
