The last few months have simply flown by. What with one thing and another this post, which I started after our last holiday, has been resting in my drafts for over two months and it's only now as I find myself thinking about the year ahead that I remember to celebrate the year just gone. Since the end of October, I've had some wonderful nights out with friends in London (who I already miss enormously), made some fabulous new friends through our NCT ante-natal classes, been to a live screening of
Eugene Onegin from the Met in New York with D, watched the fabulous
Populaire with my good pal Piney and celebrated first birthday cuddles with my very special godson, Toby and much, much more besides. I felt a great need to pack a lot into my last few weeks before starting my maternity leave but now D and I are taking it easy and enjoying some well-earned quiet time at home before we start the next chapter of our story.
Looking back, the end of October was the start of some lovely times with my family. It was my sister's birthday and she rented the most amazing cottage in the Forest of Dean (where we spent many, many childhood holidays exploring the woods and walking along the river) for a week of good food, laughs and party preparation - and what a party it was. D and I followed this with a quiet week in Cornwall, brunching in bed, relaxing, reading, walking along the beautiful beaches and eating some lovely local food during the day and catching up on a box set of of
Spiral in the evenings with home-cooked comfort food to keep us going. We saw my family again at Christmas and I found myself thinking that Christmas and New Year are magical times of the year in any year, but this year, with the impending arrival they've been even more special than ever.
On the needles, I have had to rationalise the number of projects in progress so I'm down to the quilt for her cot, the aforementioned mobile and an i-cord length which will spell out her name when she gets here. Books-wise, I am treating myself to Elizabeth Jane Howard's
Cazalet Chronicles, re-reading some old favourites (Susan Cooper's
The Dark is Rising and William Goldman's
The Princess Bride) and reading some of the gems that I discovered unread on the shelves while being forced to condense our book collections into half the space so that there could actually be room for a nursery.
We've really enjoyed getting things ready for when the little one arrives. I can't tell you how much joy I have received from crafting tiny knitted jumpers, hats and boots; what a pleasure it has been making cushions and a mobile and even just choosing paint colours and toys for her nursery. We've only got a few days to go now and I think we're nearly there. I'm not sure you can ever be ready for welcoming a child into your life but we're looking forward to it more than I can possibly express.
The last few months have simply flown by. What with one thing and another this post, which I started after our last holiday, has been resting in my drafts for over two months and it's only now as I find myself thinking about the year ahead that I remember to celebrate the year just gone. Since the end of October, I've had some wonderful nights out with friends in London (who I already miss enormously), made some fabulous new friends through our NCT ante-natal classes, been to a live screening of Eugene Onegin from the Met in New York with D, watched the fabulous Populaire with my good pal Piney and celebrated first birthday cuddles with my very special godson, Toby and much, much more besides. I felt a great need to pack a lot into my last few weeks before starting my maternity leave but now D and I are taking it easy and enjoying some well-earned quiet time at home before we start the next chapter of our story.
Looking back, the end of October was the start of some lovely times with my family. It was my sister's birthday and she rented the most amazing cottage in the Forest of Dean (where we spent many, many childhood holidays exploring the woods and walking along the river) for a week of good food, laughs and party preparation - and what a party it was. D and I followed this with a quiet week in Cornwall, brunching in bed, relaxing, reading, walking along the beautiful beaches and eating some lovely local food during the day and catching up on a box set of of Spiral in the evenings with home-cooked comfort food to keep us going. We saw my family again at Christmas and I found myself thinking that Christmas and New Year are magical times of the year in any year, but this year, with the impending arrival they've been even more special than ever.
On the needles, I have had to rationalise the number of projects in progress so I'm down to the quilt for her cot, the aforementioned mobile and an i-cord length which will spell out her name when she gets here. Books-wise, I am treating myself to Elizabeth Jane Howard's Cazalet Chronicles, re-reading some old favourites (Susan Cooper's The Dark is Rising and William Goldman's The Princess Bride) and reading some of the gems that I discovered unread on the shelves while being forced to condense our book collections into half the space so that there could actually be room for a nursery.
We've really enjoyed getting things ready for when the little one arrives. I can't tell you how much joy I have received from crafting tiny knitted jumpers, hats and boots; what a pleasure it has been making cushions and a mobile and even just choosing paint colours and toys for her nursery. We've only got a few days to go now and I think we're nearly there. I'm not sure you can ever be ready for welcoming a child into your life but we're looking forward to it more than I can possibly express. 