Project 52 2020 week 49 – citrus decorations
This week’s seemed to drag so slowly to get to Friday, but we’re on countdown to Christmas holidays. I’m lucky as my work closes down for a week over Christmas so it’s quite easy to get the extra week off for school holidays. A bit of a treat, even after 7 years there.
Lockdown 2 is now over, and we’re back to tiers. We’re tier 2, although more of the trips I make are usually to the village just inside tier 3. That’s not really going to change – I’d rather pop to that post office where it’s small and quite quiet, than traipse round town into a much busier WHSmith to go to the main one and queue there for ages. Tennis is also in tier 3 but luckily there are travel exemptions for children and coaches to travel to courts in tier 3. Really, apart from tennis starting up again, there’s not much difference to our lives.
Here’s our week 49 of Project 52.
On Sunday we didn’t do much. Just relaxed at home N went out on the farm for bit in the afternoon. And I made a mammoth Yorkshire pudding. There was plenty to have it fried the next day with cold leftover beef, jacket potatoes and salad.
Monday was just a usual work and school day. Nothing interesting happened. I posted a few puzzles off again. N had outdoor learning at school which always seems a bit random, although he likes anything done outside.
On Tuesday the advent calendar got started. I’d forgotten to put the chocolate coins in the pockets the night before, so N had to wait til after school for day 1. I finally got round to drying some orange slices (and lemons, although they always burn), in the bottom of the aga. Because it’s a really low heat, they took nearly all day, turning every half hour or so. But they’ve turned out well. I want to do some apples as well, then I’ll make some dried citrus decorations.
Wednesday I finally got round to sorting out getting N’s Peter Rabbit soft toy he’s had from birth sent off to get re-stuffed. He asked to get it done last year, but he reminded me again this week. After one place quoting me double their website price guide, I then got a snooty email response back from another asking me to send over all the stuff I already had done. Sigh, not the best customer service although I’m sure it’s because she gets lots of asks and no follow ups. Posted the toy off first class in the hope it would get done this weekend (nope, took 3 days to arrive – disgraceful given my 2nd class parcels seem to have been delivered in 1-2 days over the last few weeks).
N’s individual tennis lessons started back. It was nice to be back, and nice to briefly chat with the main coach who we crossed over with as he left.
Thursday, we managed to finally get N’s advent candle he did in school, to burn down to the correct day. It takes so long to get to 1, it took us a couple of days as we started it late. N came home from school absolutely filthy because he’d fallen over in football while wearing shorts. I did explain he could have got less muddy if he’d actually worn his shin pads and long football socks, but he said they don’t bother with shin pads for football. What do I know!
Friday was church service afternoon at school. I dialed in to the Teams event to watch it. Each class does their poem or readings. N’s class did Bible readings of Jesus’ birth, then explanation of the Christingle. They also made their own Christingles and got to light them. The first year N’s got to do it. He brought his home and promptly warned me not to eat the raisins because the whole thing had been sanitised. Not that I like raisins anyway.
It was group tennis in the evening. It was so cold, but nice to speak to other parents from a bit of a distance. While the tennis rules are no spectators, kids can have one person to supervise. Plus the rules for tier 3 is the rule of 6 in public outdoor places, and the courts are in the huge playing field. I think we were all quite excited to be back talking about normal things like tennis, kids and work, rather than not seeing people other than work colleagues.
Saturday we had to go into town to get N some new trainers. He gets through about 3 pairs a year, but thankfully he can live without astro trainers (he usually has these for cross country) as they’ve not been doing that and his tennis trainers still fit. Buying trainers for kids that are actually proper sports trainers is a nightmare. So many of them are fashion trainers, or just boring black. Thankfully they had 1 pair of suitable trainers in his size in and they fit.
It’s so strange being in town when we so rarely go in nowadays. We also got some bread from the guy on the market. I’m giving up on the new indoor foodie stall place – it opened to great fanfare, although only half the stalls were filled. But we wanted the meat pie/fishmonger – not open again. And the franchise business who wanted their name on it have already pulled out. So the only places that are any good are the few in their who’ve added to their existing local shops to be in there. Hopefully after Covid it’ll pull through and fill up. We stopped at Costa drive through (which took ages) for a treat. I thought the terry’s chocolate orange hot chocolate was disappointing – no orange flavour until a slight hint near the end. They gave me chocolate coins because they had no correct chocolate left. And their festive sausage rolls sold out on Wednesday launch day in 1 1/2 hours. So a bit rubbish.
The rest of the day I spent doing some papercrafts and making simple Christmas garlands.
Posts this week (it’s the start of Blogmas, so I’ll be back to blogging daily for December, at least up to Christmas).
Ahh the idea of chocolate orange hot chocolate really appealed to me but I’ve seen others saying it was disappointing – that’s a shame. Good to hear that tennis started up again and you got to chat to adults. The joys of getting slightly back to normal living !
Glad the teenis is operrating despite it being a tier 3 now and you can get to chat to some other adults whilst supervising. The dried fruit sounds like it was hard work, I’d have probably forgotten it and let it burn
I also thought that the terry’s chocolate orange hot chocolate was disappointing – no orange flavour all all. Sounds like you have been very busy. I want a new citrus wreath this year but cannot find one
The dried orange slices look great. Glad that N’s tennis can still continue even in Tier 3. It’s funny with post at the moment – I’ve had a couple of first class things arrive after second class items sent at the same time too. Lovely for N to make a Christingle at school. We had our Christingle service at church this morning and Sophie enjoyed making hers via Zoom with Girls’ Brigade. We ended up sharing photos of the children with their Christingles rather than having a proper parade service as we would have normally done. #project366
I tried to make orange slices once and I managed to burn them! I have never tried again since. I didn’t know you could get soft toys restuffed what a great idea.
Great that lockdown 2 is over. Good that tennis is taking place for N. OoOooO chocolate coins and the dried orange slices look great. Awesome customer service, double the price? wow. Yeah I don’t think I’ve come across football players wearing shin pads. Nice to meet other people at tennis.
I quite liked the Terry’s Chocolate Orange….I did think it wasn’t very orangey initially but then liked the subtle hint of it.
Oh would never have through to dry oranges!
You aren’t the only person to state the Costa Terry’s Chocolate Orange hot chocolate is disappointing! I will steer clear in that case! I cannot believe their sausage rolls sold out so quickly though!
I bet you are looking forward to your time off work at Christmas, I’m looking forward to a break too but know when I have down time, that’s probably the time I will be ill 🙁
The dried orange slices look awesome! Crazy how you have to turn them all day though! Sim x
The dried oranges look just the thing for some festive decorations. What a pity about the indoor foodie place!
The dried oranges look great, that’s quite the commitment having to turn them every 30 minutes all day though, bless you! How lovely that they had a church service afternoon you could watch and the chance to make their own Christingles. I really like them. My boys made them at a church service many moons ago x
I’ve never tried drying oranges like this. It sounds a pain, but they must smell divine. They look lovely too.
They smelt amazing, and still a little bit in the box they’re in. A few years ago I did them in sugar to make sweet oranges, then half coated in chocolate to give as foodie gifts.
Ohh! That is fab you get a good break over Christmas.
Those orange slices look so good. What a great idea for a decoration x