Month: December 2016

A little catch up

So it turns out that going away for 3 weekends in a row, plus a very busy time at work means that blogging gets a little neglected at this time of year. I’ve been meaning to write posts about various things, so they are just going together in a heap right now.

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From the Twinkl facebook page

First up- (and yes, it’s out of date because I know it is December now) but why are so many people putting up their decorations in November? Near where I live I spot a lot on my runs, and it seemed that the second people took down their Halloween things they were up with the Christmas ones. Now, I do love decorations, and I love having the fairy lights on, and candles lit, and all the lovely things that go with it. But now for too long. In the new year it is good to clear them away and feel free of all the clutter. I think if I put them up too early I would be fed up of them by the time Christmas comes around. Just me?

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My new armchair finally arrived! I had some John Lewis vouchers and so I bought this for our living room, as we only have one sofa and now we have more space. But I think it took about 6 weeks from when I ordered it to when it finally arrived. Now I need a cushion- I was going to get an owl one, but then Andy spotted some cool Totoro ones on amazon, so now I can’t decide.

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Thankfully after the nightmare I had on Black Friday with the leggings (as a reminder, they were going to be delivered to 8 Bus, Hatfield) they actually arrived, so I’ve got two pairs to rotate during December.  I’ve worn the blue ones a couple of times, but the red ones get their debut tomorrow in a Festive Five race.

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I LOVE these (this was a post run snack with some nuun)- I love salt and vinegar anything, and although it sounds like it won’t go with coconut, somehow it does. On offer on Ocado at the moment so I bought a few packs.

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Exciting news– Bluebird tea sell tea-scented candles. I bought one a while back to see if I liked it (you can probably guess by the photo that I did). I had the Earl grey cream one as I love that tea. When we were in Brighton a few weeks ago, we found that they also do festive scented ones- the mulled wine one is lovely- it smells of the spices and quite citrussy. The three pack had a snowball candle (coconut and chocolate), gingerbread chai (my favourite rooibos tea) and peppermint cream- Christmas shopping turned into some for me, some for presents…

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Back to some running. So my festive leggings had their first outing on Tuesday with my club run. They are fab although they have no pockets which is a bit annoying (I did know this when I bought them to be fair). I was umming and ahhing about signing up for the December 100 mile challenge. In the end I signed up, mainly because I am close to 1000 miles for the year. Although I am now 10 days in and still have 81 miles to go to make it 1000 (and 77 to make 100 for December) so we shall see how that goes. I am not convinced that I will manage it, but we shall see. I was a bit panicked and had signed up to marshal at parkrun this morning, so I got there early and did 4 miles (well 3.5 around and to my marshal point, and then 0.5 to get back to my car) (another excuse to wear the tights)- just keep chipping away.

I tried to include the tights in the photo but my arms aren’t long enough and I am not a selfie stick kind of person.

I also borrowed some jingle bells from work, and then it turned out that Ellenbrook has a load of instruments and clackers in the box with the signs- very cool! It was good fun jingling the bells at all of the runners, plus my point was at the end of a loop, so I saw all the runners twice (they do the loop and when they got to where I was, they turn back to the start, and the second time they run past in the other direction).  After running back to my car I changed in the sports centre as we were meeting Andy’s family for brunch, and I put the bells in the boot. Every time I went over a speed-bump they jingled!

On Thursday evening we went to see Moana, and I have been singing the songs ever since- they are just brilliant. The film was wonderful too- such a beautiful film to look at (the hair- just be amazed by the hair) and a great story.

Have you seen any good films lately? Or started to watch any Christmas films/ shows?  When do you put up your decorations?

Bath Christmas market- a flying visit

So after my visit to Swindon parkrun and a quick breakfast in the hotel, we drove to one of the Bath park and rides. It was totally chock-full when we arrived, and people had begun making up spaces. Luckily I had driven as I only have a small car- I manage to squeeze on the kerb behind some other cars- Andy’s car would not have fitted.

The town centre was of course packed (it being a Saturday), so we had a little wander, got some lunch and sat in the park to escape the crowds.

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It was a totally gorgeous day in Bath (as it had been fairly cloudy in Swindon)- blues skies and cold crisp air.

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We have been to the Bath markets for the last few years (three maybe) and it’s just so nice to wander- there are markets at the bottom of the cathedral, in a square, all along little side streets. What I love the most is that they have a lot of local products- West Country chocolates, beers, cheeses, chutneys and so on. Some markets I have been to just have the generic decorations and then a mulled wine stand, but there are so many individual ones. I didn’t take a photo but there was the most amazing stall with forged metal products like a stand for logs (if you had a wood burner- one day…) and all the fire-poking rods.

I had looked at a few things, but didn’t want to buy anything until later as we were going to the spa, so I didn’t want to have shopping bags to cram into the locker along with my clothes.

Last year when we left the spa, the queue was huge, and this year, when we arrived, it said it was a 45 minute wait- we think all the people who came last year later decided to come earlier.  I don’t think it was that long in the end- luckily as everyone has a time to leave by, the queue kept moving.

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You used to get slippers to wear, but now you get flip flops. The band is for the locker, and if you buy anything you scan that and pay at the end.

We had a couple of hours relaxing in the big pool  and going into the different steam rooms, although I am not good at staying in them for very long as I find it hard to breathe when the air is that hot.

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After leaving we had a little wander around the shops, went for dinner, and then went around the markets when they were much quieter. I even bought a few presents (including some amazing chai syrup for a friend who loves chai lattes as much as me). We then got the park and ride back, and drove home, getting back at about 11.30.

Previously we have stayed down there for the Saturday night too, but actually we don’t tend to go back into Bath on the Sunday, plus Sunday traffic is way worse, so it works out well this way as we have some time at home at the weekend too.

Have you started any Christmas shopping? What do you like about Christmas markets? Are you a fan of steam rooms?