Today it is the shortest day for us folks in the Northern Hemisphere and also 6 months to the day that I got married. I must admit this occasion hasn't gone unnoticed, but with all the preparations for christmas at hand, it has been hard to get ready for christmas and find the time to actually do something special. But my husband came home armed with a bunch of red roses and carnations, and a bag of goodies from a little Chinese supermarket in the city. It contained our favourite celebratory food: dim-sum. We started this tradition last year on my birthday, at my request that we should find a new and interesting food to enjoy. And as a birthday girl always gets what she wants - my lovely husband obliged. Needless to say we ate too much (those little glutinous parcels are deceptive!) and since has become a tradition. I'm not very enthused with the peanutty "gelatinous rice balls", dim sum yay, GRB weird.

And I still love him to pieces.

I also just realised that I haven't told anyone on here very much about the big day. Because it was a midsummer wedding, our cakes were based on a really natural hedgerow theme, which stands for everything we are. My mother did all the sugar-work, my MIL baked the cake (we believe in sharing the stress...) and an idea popped into my mothers head - a Brambly Hedge cake. As that was a story-book I loved as a child. Summer Story is based on a midsummer wedding, where Poppy Eyebright and Dusty Dogwood marry and float down the river - all very summery and romantic. So that was the inspiration for our cakes at least. Butterflies, dog-roses, clover, bees, snails and squirrels adorned the three cakes that we had, and everyone was in awe (including us!) at how beautiful they were.

~*~

In other news, I managed to fight the hoardes and get our christmas shopping done, minus foil, because it wouldn't be a shopping trip without me forgetting something important, now would it? In pure panic at the thought of having to fight for a parking space, a trolley, a cash machine and to get anywhere near the centre of town I decided I wouldn't splash out on the spiced gingerbread latté that I'd promised myself and instead just got the dog's presents (yes, we're that sort of people, and no, we aren't precious about our dog - she's only getting a dog toy and some treats. Although she did get her own card in the post today, from the vetinary surgery!) and the shopping. Eh, I'm good. I managed the lot in under 2 hours, and was away just as it was starting to get very hectic.

I spent the rest of the day under a mass of ironing and cleaning. The bin in the kitchen had decided to leak its contents, leaving the bottom of the bin rather, icky to say the least. But no more! It is now sparkly. I just have an enormous amount of vacuuming to do, a bit more ironing and we're all done, just in time for me to work on sunday. I cannot believe it is less than 4 days until christmas, I don't know where the time has gone! But I have regained my christmas-spirit (it was lost when last weekend's excitements ended) and am now ready. How about you?

Ooooh, and before I foget, I got the most beautiful card in the post from Mimi! Thankyou ever so much, it was beautiful and the wording so heart-felt - It made my day!