December...ing

I do so enjoy writing these more or less regular ....ing posts. A little bit of this, a little bit of that. Just the way I like it.  Jennifer and Jo have both recently written lovely December... ing posts and I like to follow suit. The photos are more or less random and represent my entire photography efforts over the last few weeks, with the exception of course of Alistair's birthday photos, which I have already shared.

:: Observing the winter birds on the canal. I don't know why the cormorants move inland in the cold weather. Any thoughts?

:: Enjoying the first few days of a long break over the festive period. These days are passing quickly, far too quickly.

:: Working on a secret present for someone and hoping I can finish it in time. Fingers crossed. A dog is sleeping on it just now and a break is in order.

:: Keeping an eye on said dog because he had a seizure this morning on our walk. Rudie is Jack's best dog pal and I am still a bit shaky after experiencing a dog seizure. Rudie seems completely fine now but has a vet visit scheduled for later today

:: Feeling relieved at having successfully completed my UK settled status application as part of a pilot project via my work. I received the most patronising email letter from the Home Office, which made we want to throw my laptop through the window.

:: Coincidentally, I experienced my first ever anti European abuse, at my multicultural workplace no less and in the presence of two other (equally shocked) European citizens. I am considering a formal complaint. On the whole, people here in Glasgow are very welcoming and of course all of Scotland has rejected Brexit. If only this mattered.

:: Looking back to afternoon tea at the Blythwood Square hotel with my friend Christine. It was most enjoyable and service was pure amazing. It was nice to be treated like royalty.

:: Planning a Hogmanay party for friends and neighbours.

:: Encouraging James and Alistair to finish the running's club Santa dash in freezing rain. It was meant to be a fast race along the canal but the canal path was too treacherous and the kids were running laps around a waterlogged and sleet covered playing field instead. You can't see the sleeting rain on the photo but I assure you, it was miserable.

:: Rearranging the living room furniture to make space for the Christmas tree

:: Shopping with Richard. Just a couple of hours, nothing too strenuous. Shops are not my thing and I would not ever shop for fun (unless it is a fabric/yarn shop). As a reward, we treated ourselves to lunch.

:: Finishing my hexagon quilt - one stitch at the time.

:: Cooking a big pot of Bolognese sauce for a large lasagna I am planning to cook on Christmas Eve. You can never go wrong with lasagna, petits pois and a green salad.

:: Not letting myself being stressed by all the hustle and bustle of Christmas preparations all around me and looking forward to decorating our tree with the children later today.

Thanks for stopping by and saying hello. A very warm welcome to new readers, it is lovely to hear from you.

Christina xx