Hoovering the Ceiling.

The wind and rain are getting worse.  It began yesterday evening and has continued all night.  It woke us in the early hours and kept us awake until getting up time.  And there is more on its way.  Rug up, eat soup and stay in.

As I said yesterday, this is my week for cleaning the cottage in preparation for the enormous quantity of tinsel, paper and lights that will be festooned around the rooms by this time next week.  I won't stand a chance of cleaning after then, until they all come down in January.  The thoughts of all the glow and glitter sends a little thrill of joy through me.  Something to cheer these dank days of sludge grey sky and sea, and warm our damp-touched bones and chilled fingers and toes.

I didn't have time to make candles over the weekend, and I really must do, as we have none.  A candle-maker with no candles?  Hmm, need to rectify that, pronto.  I have beeswax sheets at the ready, for hand-rolled candles - lovely and relaxing to do - but need to order some more wax for the floating candles.  I simply must have lots of those around over the Christmas period! I love them.  But before any of that can happen, I do need to clean.

I hoover the ceiling.  Yes I know, it's a bit odd, but there is a reason.  Spiders.  Or more accurately, cobwebs.  Hundreds of them.  When Pea was nine, she came up with a saying; Spiders only live in Happy Homes.  Therefore our home must be incredibly happy as all the spiders on the island want to live here!  I do not advocate killing spiders at all - ever.  So I had to be really careful that I didn't accidentally suck up any little bodies; that would be tragic.  There were an awful lot of cobwebs though and rather a lot of beams to clean.

And the dogs just ignore it all and play.

Half and hour of neck strain and slight dizziness and it was done.  I now have nice clean beams.  Yippee!  We can smother them in paper-chains and all manner of tasteless items in the knowledge that at least it was clean when they went up.  It will probably look like a haunted house by the New Year.

OK, I'm starting to get a bit excited now!  I have finished my Christmas shopping, or at least ordered the last of it from Amazon, and have all the lovely, fun bits to do.  I would like to have a go at making chocolates and toffee this year.  I bought a gorgeous book in the summer; The Homemade Sweetshop by Claire Ptak.  I haven't made anything from it yet, so now is the perfect time to have a go.  I will start with the chocolate as it looks the easiest and we all love chocolate in this house.  Even if it is a total disaster, it will get eaten.  I can see the next few weeks will go by in a blur of melted chocolate and wax, as the sweet and candle making goes into overdrive.  I will emerge from the twilight zone that is the kitchen on December 24th, pale, emaciated and blinking into the sunlight. 

Told you.  It is bitterly cold outside, the rain is relentless, the fields opposite me are half under water already.  I need...something...

That will do it.  Love in a mug.

Keep warm, dry and cheerful. xxx