240 days of lockdown & thinking festively ...

240 days of lockdown today ... 

A national newspaper has helpfully kept a headline tally of the days since our Covid Lockdown began - 240 days today. Somehow the big numbers give a reality check. 

Hubby & I have stuck to the guidelines & the latest National lockdown has deprived us of visits by the new grandson & his family while their major house renovations are going on. We have a daily FaceTime chat which is lovely, even when he grabs their phones & kisses the screen we are on. We miss his cuddles & development. 

While the vaccine news is encouraging, ministers are still planning the way our Christmases will look with Covid still lurking in the sidelines. It does not feel right that we have so little control over our own lives & how we live them. 

On Monday, a free morning prompted me to open our loft & to poke around in the many Xmas storage boxes. I hope many of you are like me with various themes, colours & bits up there which tracks how we celebrate Christmas. 

Some years it is woodland / deer themes which I love but they are staying up there.  I do not feel like bringing down all the beautiful glass ornaments that need special care - they are fragile yet so pretty. Red is out because I changed the curtains in the living room & dining room to the winter purples / berry colours which are warm & cosy. What to use? 

GOLD - I spy the box (yes, I colour code boxes to make it easier) of the various gold decorations & that decides my colour. 

The golds (matt, shiny, reflective, large, small, glittery, various shapes) will do just fine as they add the warmth & light. 

I KNOW, it is not even the first Sunday of Advent but this year has been so incredibly trying that I think we can wing it & be far more random. I always light candles on the four Sundays of Advent leading up to Christmas & my decorations usually go up after early December but with shops closed, it is not easy to just pop out for anything so more planning is needed. 

I have started on the sideboard in the conservatory - it always contains the things we will use like our lovely Christmas china .... a sneak preview 

I bought this length of fabric ages ago & have only just hemmed it as a rather colourful Xmas cloth. What do you think? 

I will reveal more soon but I feel a bit happier having some special things around again,  with lots of candles to bring light in to the darkness of winter. Stay safe, stay sane, stay alert ... 

Thank you for your company, each & every visit & comment is much appreciated, 

Dee ~💕~