It is now Christmas Eve, and I am very excited.  I have always loved Christmas, but there are times when it seems to have become more about hard work, and less magical.  So let's see how this story unfolds, starting three weekends before Christmas.
In the run-up to Christmas, part of it involves making sure Mum has her freezer stocked with Festive Fayre (thank you yet again, Waitrose) and another part was to meet for lunch with her twin sister, and my cousin Steven.  We almost always go to The Sculthorpe Arms, where the food is great, the staff are very friendly and accommodating,  and understand perfectly that 86 year-olds often like to lunch accompanied by their favourite bear.  But when you see what happiness this brings, even Mr Fox thought Paddington was a welcome addition.  He doesn't even drink, preferring to eat marmalade.

Monday morning saw me leaving early so as not to be late for my afternoon in Winchester with Trinity, and students from Winchester School of Art, to start our exciting combined project.

 Starting things is very exciting, but as Christmas draws closer, and visitors are on the horizon, completing things is also very important.  Here is a beautiful hand-sewn quilt that my lovely friend Dawn gave to me.  I have spent the past couple of weeks, having added a backing, hand-quilting it to the backing.  So now, with the quilt, the curtains and pictures on the walls, surely no-one will notice the actual walls?

 As I am still without a studio, our living area has become a substitute, with me printing on the dining room table, and then drying the prints in the living room.
  With Christmas approaching, it was another early morning start to add the final two colours, and to allow another two weeks for the inks to dry.
So here is my completed print.  I am pleased with the result, but even more pleased to be planning my next four designs.  Mr Cooper is now talking about ordering the studio in the New Year, hurrah!

In an effort to have a more stress-free festive few days, food is being prepared in advance, then frozen.  Presents have to be purchased too, but not frozen.  Me and Mr Cooper had a very productive few hours in Gunwharf Quays.  We travelled there by bus then train,  then went into a few select shops.  One of us said " I like that!' The other one then purchased said item.  We did this a few times and then went for a lovely lunch in Les Iguanas, then back to Selsey on public transport with our full carrier bags.  Job done!  Mr Fox found Les Iguanas very relaxing too.

 The following weekend was the Bristol/Portishead experience.  Each year we spend Friday night with John's cousin Val, and catch up with their family, aided by curry and Prosecco.  Then on Saturday, before travelling to Portishead, we stop for a little bit of shopping in Clifton.  Clifton is a magical place anyway, but add that the magic that Christmas brings, and a couple of hours spent there becomes very magical indeed.  Even better, after a large glass of white wine, you can play one of my favourite games.  (I don't play it very often as me and Mr Cooper are rarely together shopping, and I rarely drink white wine.  But to share the rules with you, after a glass of white wine, or two (but never three) you then buy something you see and immediately love.  The wine helps to take away your 'sensible' approach to not spending money on yourself.  Past buys, over the years, include a purple artificial Christmas tree, a bottle of my best perfume, a pair of Levi's, and a back-pack decorated with pictures of ponies and knitted cakes.  Sounds fun, doesn't it?

Here is the result of my Clifton white wine, the most magical pair of Irregular Choice shoes, decorated with black cats and moons, two of my most favourite things.  Plus, they were half-price!

 Mr Cooper then guided me back to the car, in case I fell in love with anything else apart from him, and we set off for Portishead.  Each year my brother Mark celebrates his 'Children's Christmas' on a weekend before Christmas, and we are happily a part of this, plus good friends Philip and Jayne, too. Mark and Philip were at school together.   Mark is nothing if not a traditionalist, and each year we have a fantastic curry with garlic bread on the Saturday night, followed by a ham Christmas dinner on the Sunday.  Mark is also very anxious to ensure these spicy and salty foods don't make us become de-hydrated, so he keeps our fluid levels well topped-up.  This year we broke with tradition to also include cocktails.  With Jem safely in bed, it was fun not only to consume these, but to give them 'exciting' names, which I really can't share with you on my 'family friendly' blog.
Another really lovely thing was that all of us were having such a good time together, whether we were in our twenties, forties, fifties and sixties.  We could never have had this 'closeness' with our parents and older relatives, when we were in our twenties.  Here is Mark's arm, proudly holding up his latest creation.  Although he had wisely served the cocktails in shot glasses, most of us, unwisely, consumed several, although we became a lot wiser the following day.

After a really happy and loving weekend with family and friends, it was then back to a week of work and reality.  But I have a souvenir of the weekend on my mantelpiece. A gift from Jayne, made from the corks we have saved for her, over the past couple of years.  We are so lucky to have family and friends that we really love and care for.  I think this will remain on my mantelpiece after Christmas too, to keep those magical Christmas thoughts alive.

 Only one more weekend to go, full of fun and frolics.  Sadly Mr Cooper was not able to accompany me, as he had a bad cold and was not 'feeling too clever'  So my companion was another John, and it was lovely to spend more time with him, as I don't see too much of my oldest son.
After shopping with Mum and then making up the beds for all, I ventured into Peterborough to do some banking for Mum.  Here is a suitable festive photo, taken just outside Queensgate shopping centre, where I went on to do a little shopping for myself.

 When I was little, my dad had a maroon sleeveless sweater, which he wore at the weekends.  I loved the colour of it then, and now I love the memories it evokes from happy times, long ago.
So now I am knitting my own sleeveless sweater, where maroon will feature strongly.  I will also put my own slant to it, by including many other colours of wool, in gaudy stripes.
 Why do models used on knitting patterns always look slightly sinister?  Please note the festive flowers also creeping into the picture.

 December has been hard work, especially with each weekend having being spent away from home.  Extra early morning starts have been made in order to produce mince pies and to write the occasional blog, but it has been worth it.  The past year has been one of many parts.   We finally moved home, which was, and still is, amazing.  I really love our home near the sea, and I look forward to working to make it feel like ours, both in the house and the garden.  My best homes become a sort of large art-work. (That's probably why it took so long to sell 'The Gables'!)
There were lots of other lovely developments last year.  It was a little quiet on the art-front, mainly because my non-working time was spent getting ready for the move, but friendships flourished.
Here is my card from Rose and Paul, featuring Dilly who I painted over a long, happy, hot summer.

 And here is my card from Deborah, with a message that says it all for this time of year.  Although we sometimes need a souvenir in order for us to remember happy times, and those who are no longer with us, it is lovely to be able to look forward to the year ahead, knowing there will be good times ahead with our loving family, and friends.  And even if some of the times are not so good, we will have the support of our loving family and friends.

Happy Christmas to you all, I hope you have a truly lovely time with your friends and families.
Looking forward to seeing you again in the coming year.  Until then, lots of love.

Me and Mr Cooper are just coming to the end of a week or two of celebrations.  Well, to be honest, one celebration surrounded by a week or two of fine dining.  The celebration was Mr Cooper's 66th birthday.  He seems to have coped with it really well, in fact you could say he has taken it 'lying down', which he is doing at the moment....you don't want to be getting out of bed before ten o'clock now, do you?

You'll be pleased to know that on most days I have been productive before ten in the morning.  As I am not going to be getting my art shed installed before Christmas, the dining room has quite effectively become my printing studio, and my linocut of the Staffordshire dogs now has the beginning of a wallpaper background.
  Luckily this print is only an edition of 11, so they can dry quite  happily on top of the plan-chest in front of the television.  My next linocut will be an edition of 30, so drying them will prove to be a lot more interesting.  At least it will raise awareness of the need I have for a large shed!

The start of our celebration was a visit to Mum, and we stopped on the way over at The Stratton Arms in Turweston.  It is such a gem of a pub, if you live anywhere near Turweston, do visit it. https://thegoodpubguide.co.uk/pub/nn13+5jx/stratton+arms/ When I returned from the loo it was to find Mr Fox possessively clutching my glass of red.  Well, at least he was quiet and sleepy for the rest of the journey!

A visit to Mum's usually includes a visit to Mattoni, an excellent Italian restaurant almost within sight of Mum's bungalow.  http://www.mattoni-restaurant.co.uk/  Although I usually do like to try many different foods, I have, over many visits to Mattoni, done this and have now refined my choice. In fact it hardly ever varies.  Insalata Caprese followed by fillet steak (rare), with chips swapped for a tomato and onion salad.  Now comes the variation, sometimes I have the blue cheese sauce, and sometimes the Dianne.
This is Mum and Mr Cooper towards the end of the meal, with Mr Cooper looking much relieved that Mum has offered to pay!

Although Mum enjoyed her evening, she finds the food a little rich now. And all in all, the food she enjoyed the most over the two days appeared to be these Polish salty snacks, perhaps because they were served as an accompaniment to a glass of Ned's Sauvignon Blanc.

Whilst I was there, I assembled Sam's Soup Dragon, which he had bought in kit form. She was very pleased to be brought to life, and is captured here just before she goes on to enjoy a tasty snack of blue string pudding.

It was still November when we were in Eye, in fact it was a week before Mr Cooper's birthday, but that fact hadn't deterred a neighbour from really getting into the early spirit of things.
Mum really enjoys seeing this festive scene and happily it means she does not have to buy her own inflatable Santa, a good thing all round!

When we got back from Eye, it was to spend a very pleasant couple of days with Susie and Werner, culminating in a feast at The Crab And Lobster in Sidlesham, where they were staying.  We go there often, but our lunches usually consist of a large red and a packet of crisps.  In fact the last time we actually dined there was when we had our small wedding reception, following our legal marriage in Chichester Register Office.  You will have to take my word for the fact that Susie and Werner actually visited, and that the food and company were excellent, for there is no photographic evidence.  Instead, fast forward now to Friday 23rd November, when me and Mr Cooper started to celebrate his birthday weekend with a night at The Greyhound on the Test in Stockbridge.  The last time we spent the night in Stockbridge it was to experience the 'wonders' of the Grosvenor, including prints that had been fixed crookedly to the bedroom wall.  Here, in room seven, not only were the pictures straight, but they were actual paintings, and what's more, paintings you would like to have in your own home.

Part of the treat also was that our room for the night was free, thanks Lucy!  Lots of people have asked me 'how come?' and it's because I am a hardworking and efficient kitchen porter there, once a week.  It was really lovely to be on the other side of things for once.  Another perk of being a hard-working and efficient kitchen porter was the fact that we had a free pre-starter from the boys in the kitchen.  At the end of the meal we were definitely replete, especially after I had also demolished a spectacular desert. (Banana parfait, Chocolate Mousse, Peanut, Caramelised Banana and Nougatine Crisp).  When we stayed at The Grosvenor, I showed you a photo of the breakfast I had there as a thing of horror, a far cry from my delicious poached eggs and avocado on toast.  If you feel like you need a treat in your life, go there for dinner.  Or why not make it extra-special, and stay the night too?  You will most certainly have to pay for that bit, unless, like me, you are a hard-working and efficient kitchen porter there!
http://thegreyhoundonthetest.co.uk/food-drink/

As well as assembling Soup Dragons and knitting foxes, I have completed the curtains for the spare room, where I fully embraced the fact that we live only 7 minutes walk away from the sea.  It is a very good thing that the curtains are so lovely to look at as the rest of the room isn't!  Over the past week I have been scraping away at the wallpaper to reveal what has been hiding beneath.

We must get hold of a plasterer before too long!  My short-term plan is to hang my blackbird pie-funnel paintings in there.  I think that between them and the seagulls, we can draw visitors eyes away from the cracks!  I am also working on an eye-catching patchwork quilt for the bed, so watch this space, and definitely don't watch where the walls meet the ceiling.  Or rather, where they used to meet the ceiling!

There is good news for you on the fox front, Julie.  Mr Fox the 3rd is now complete, and is pictured here with Mr Fox the 1st.  Yours is the slightly darker one on the left, he is looking forward to meeting you and stealing any unattended drinks, and salty snacks too!

Only yesterday morning I added to the start of this blog the picture of the Staffordshire dogs with the start of the wallpaper.  After a productive afternoon, I had added 3 more colours to the print.  Only two more to go, and it will be complete, which will make 9 colours in total.  Not too bad for my first ever reduction linocut.  Well, it was the first as I started it early in the year, but it hasn't been the first to be completed.  Us artists can't just rush into things, you know!

As I was busy printing away whilst Mr Cooper had an afternoon of watching sport, I did joke that, with hopefully producing 11 prints, I had solved that yearly problem of what to give people for Christmas.  Don't worry, it was only a joke, but if you really fancy a colourful linoprint with slightly-off registration, now is your chance to say so.  Hopefully they will be dry by Christmas.  Don't worry John and Sam, your presents are already sorted, so you don't have to practise looking surprised but yet pleased as you open your gifts (I haven't got anything for you yet, Molly, and I know you're really into art........)
Making presents for friends and family almost always brings with it some Christmas magic.  Try not to let Christmas become an ever increasing expense.  Sometimes simple things made with love bring much more happiness than an expensive gift. And the making of them brings with it a sense of Christmas magic to the maker too.  Now how do I tell Mr Cooper that I have decided against buying him the skiing goggles he wanted, in favour of a prettily-wrapped packet of home-made shortbread biscuits.  They might not be quite so handy to have on the slopes!
So, let's look forward to happy creating  the week ahead,  and perhaps some happy preparations too.  I really intend to put more work into early preparations this year in order to have a less stressful time during the festive season.  Well, that is the plan, anyway.  Just watch this space!
See you all soon, and have fun with your creations, or just have fun without them!