I always regard Christmas as a time to reflect and a time to be thankful – maybe because we don’t have the Thanksgiving tradition that the Americans have, Christmas takes its place for us Brits? Well I have a lot to be thankful for this year.
- I have a loving family, a roof over my head and food on the table
- I have the best husband a girl could wish for. He did ALL the Christmas food shopping by himself so I didn’t have to!
- Adrian’s Dad had a stroke in March, followed by months of medication balancing that left him with kidney failure, critical weight loss and depression, yet he fought through the lot, got the meds right, put weight back on and has made an amazing recovery
- A side effect of Derrick’s stroke was that we were able to get Social Services to properly assess Adrian’s mum and get a care package put in place
- I have an adorable Basil cat who miraculously did not get infected by the virus that took his brother
- I have followed my dream and have a business I am proud of, work with a fantastic bunch of people and get to play with craft stash for a living
- I have genuinely lovely customers and blog followers!
From myself and Adrian, I just wanted to say a huge thank you to all my loyal blog readers for your wonderful support over this last year. You have followed the ups and downs of this year right here as our various dramas unfolded and your comments have been so caring and heartwarming that you really have touched both our hearts. Some of your comments have made us howl with laughter, others have brought tears of sadness and all have been genuinely appreciated. Srsly.
If you are on the Graphicus email list, you may know that this Christmas, we decided to make a donation to the PSP Association instead of sending Christmas cards. Progressive Supranuclear Palsy is the illness that Adrian’s mother suffers from and we recently heard from the charity that they are expecting their annual income in the next twelve months to be £350,000 less than it was last year – a sad side effect of the credit crunch and I’m sure all charities will be experiencing a similar situation. However, every little counts, as they say, and with your help, we have raised over £2,000 for the charity this year – so give yourselves a huge pat on the back if you bought the Peacock Summer Party CD which carries a 50p donation for each one sold. (You can find out more about this rare and often misdiagnosed illness at www.pspeur.org.)
I have a reasonably tidy house at the moment – the prospect of visitors has finally shamed me into learning where the dusters live and how the hoover works. I couldn’t face the prospect of cleaning up the craft room though. It has suffered a little from a last minute christmas card making frenzy.
I managed to persuade Adrian that it would be less work to rearrange the lounge furniture so we could fit the dining table in there for the day. Phew!
Anyway, I hear the call of the sprouts, so I think I better continue the domestic goddess bit for a little longer and start preparing for tomorrow’s feast. Hope you have a great Christmas!
Wishing you all a very
Merry Christmas
and a
Happy New Year!
from Glenda, Adrian and Basil (aka Santa Claws)
Wishing you , Adrian and Basil and all your families a truely wonderful Christmas and a very Merry New Year.
Thank you Glenda for yours and the Graphicus teams helpfulness and inspiration throughout 2008 .
Here’s to 2009 and all it has in store for us all xxxx
Love Deby xxx
P.S ….. Is that a mole in your garden ?
seconded, Deby! Have a good rest both of you, and hope all goes well in 2009 for you and your families – and a hug for santa claws
Merry Christmas Glenda to you and all your family (two legged and four legged).
Have a good rest over the holiday.
Beryl xx
Have yourselves a great Christmas and here’s to a brilliant 2009. Thank you for sharing so much with us all it’s very much appreicated.
Merry Christmas
Karin x
Warmest Wishes for Christmas and the New Year, Glenda, Adrian and Basil!
From all of us at Necky Knoll House.
(PS: There’s a card you can print off on today’s post at my blog.)
May 2009 be a gloriously creative year.
Yes Deby, we have a plague of moles at the moment – more soil than grass!
Oh my I am so comforted to see the mess your craft space is in – I can feel less shamed about my untidy mounds now! Wishing you a fabulous Christmas and all the best in 2009 – lang may yer lum reek!
Poor Basil, not sure he looks to happy about that hat, perhaps he thinks you are expecting him to spend the night delivering gifts all over the world instead of being snuggled on a warm lap.
Interesting “call sounds” from those sprouts – had me in stitches!
Wishing you all the very best Christmas and a HAppy New Year. Thanks for your wonderful craft shop and sites, Love Rosie
Merry Christmas to you your family and your team We have our parents over hear in Spain for christmas, had the full xmas dinner to day all out for a Spanish lunch tomrow. thank you again for your inspiration. Happy new year to all
Lin
Hope you have a glorious Christmas and hugs for Basil from Tashika
he he Jenny M xx
Happy Christmas, Glenda, Adrian and Basil. Thanks for everything!
Here’s wishing you all the best year in 2009!(“)(*o*)(“)
Best wishes to you Glenda, Adrian and Basil for a Happy Christmas and New Year – let’s hope 2009 will be better for you.
Thanks for the wonderful inspiration you have given us throughout the year and also the Graphicus team.
Our room did look like yours but Lou and I have just spent 1 1/2 hours tidying up our ‘den’ ready for family visiting over Christmas as they are bound to want to have a look at what was the garage. My hubby is as good as yours – he’s been cleaning all day while we finish the family Christmas cards. So we’re now going to have a drink and some nibbles and then head off to bed and we’ll be up early to see what Santa’s bought in the morning.
Have a good one – enjoy the break. Get some rest if you can – you work so hard throughout the year so hopefully you’ll get the chance to chill out a bit.
Love
Caz xx
ps – furry hugs to Basil from our two fur babies – Jasper & Felix – it’s their first Christmas and they just LOVE the tree!!!
Moles are so sweet, ok so they make a bit of mess for a little while but the soil they leave is so fine and great for planting.
Note: How I see beyond the normal every day chaos of a craft room ( which is probaly normal to me and every other crafter ) and into the yondernes beyond LOL !
Have a great Christmas …. 1.09 in the morning and I’m peeling potatoes and still wrapping presents !!!
I too have had a pretty awful year, but like you have been counting my blessings. (They are always there.) Love your Craft Room! its in a worse state than mine! Looking forward to welcoming a new Burmese kitten to our home in the next few days, who I am sure will be a Whizz at crafting as our last lovely Burmese was …. usually decorated with a nice bit of glitter, some bits of peel offs and a few sticky foam pads!!
Have a happy and peaceful Christmas and 2009.
Wishing you all a very Happy Christmas and s safe and healthy New Year.
Many thanks for all your hard work during 2008.
Love and hugs
Cynthia x
Hi Glenda and all the family. Happy Christmas to you all and best wishes and hopes for 2009. I hope that life will be better than it has been this year.
I and my family (4 naughty but loving cats ) are having a guilt free slob out, surrounded by wrapping paper ribbons and bows . It is my youngest Balinese cat’s second birthday today, so a chaotic party is in order! Love from Frances and the feline delinquents.
Hi Glenda,Adrian and Basil Claws—A Merry Christmas to you all.Hope 2009 is a better year for you! I have enjoyed all your blogs and numerous crafting tips –thanks!!
It was reassuring to see a craft room equally as messy as mine .Actually yesterday was the final straw as it was so bad, that Roger[my husband] helped me give it a good BLITZ.Walls ,floor the lot.Then finally I sorted the crafting stuff which was strewn as far as the eye could see.I also put away the xmas stuff and then I felt a lot better.It is so organised that I have found stash I didnt know I had—bet you are familiar with that feeling.So now I am happy to meet the challenge of the ‘love and romance’ atc for this month.!!!!
Hope you have a great time over christmas.love Joyce
Hi Glenda, Adrian and Basil,
Thank you for your continuous well of awesome inspiration. I too would like to add my wishes to you and and your family for 2009 for all that is good for mind, body and soul. Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
Oh, and Seasonal purrrrrs to Basil from my 3-legged furry landlady, Cassie Ho Ho Ho
Smiles and hugs,
Susan
Merry Christmas to you and yours too, Glenda.
Thank you for all your inspiration throughout the year. Looking forward to the next Open Days already, and Jo and I are really gonna try to get on one of the workshops you teach next year.
Furry hugs from my girls to you, Adrian and Basil and lots of love from me.
Jill (Tara and Martha)
xx
Merry Christmas to you all, thank you for being such an inspiration! Plus thank you for sharing your craft room pics- mine is in a similar state!
I think your craft room looks wonderful, any room that is pristine is not being used properly. My craft ‘room’ is one end of our utility room (glimmer mists and glitter go really well with clean laundry) and it’s in a constant mess because there’s no room to put everything away. Hope it was a good one and a Happy New Year.
Hope you all had a great Christmas and that there were no disasters with the turkey! Thanks for inspiring me and helping me to take my first crafty steps during 2008 and I look forward to more inspiration from all of you at Graphicus in 2009!
Best wishes
Marie
Hope your Christmas was the best and that the new year brings many special times.
Thanks for the photo of the craft room – proof to my husband that mine is not the only one like it!!11
Hope you and your family enjoyed a happy Christmas Gleda.Here’s wishing you and Adrian and of course Basil a very happy,healthy New Year.Thank you for all the inspiration gained from you over the last year and look forward to sharing 2009 with you.
Gill xx
Hi Glenda, Adrian and Basil.
Hope you all had a fantastic Christmas.
Best wishes for 2009.
Am really looking forward to seeing what you have lined up for us all;-)
Hugs,
Michelle xx
Hi Glenda, Adrian and the delicious Basil,
Hope your Christmas was splendid and that 2009 brings you both peace and joy. You certainly deserve it after the past year you’ve had. Well wishes to Adrian’s Mum and Dad also.
Our Christmas celebrations started 10 days early with a family & friends lunch for 12 with 5 staying. Manic clearance of the craft room (dining room) but it all went well with much laughter, fun & games. We spent all of Christmas day at the nursing home with my Mum, generally helping out and causing mayhem with my entertainment routine …Strictly Prancing & Squawking! to amuse the Alzheimers unit. Could hardly move on Boxing Day and my voice had all but left me, much to my husband’s delight.
Finally I have my craft room back but it took all day yesterday to find everything that had been put away. Like you Glenda, I found all manner of interesting things and have resolved to use them.
Many thanks for all the wonderful goodies you’ve brought to us in 2008, the terrific Guild, great offers and all of the useful tutorials and U Tube VTs etc. I look forward in anticipation to 2009.
Bird
Hi Glenda. My good wishes to you are a bit lates as my computer has been disconnected since 23rd as the spare room was needed for a VIP – my little granddaughter. They’ve all gone home tonight so the house is back to normal. It’s a bit too quiet though!
But, better late than never, I hope that your Christmas festivities were perfect for you and that you, Adrian, Basil and your family have a happy, healthy 2009. Many, many thanks for sharing not only loads of inspiration but also parts of your everyday life.
Hugs to you all.
Lesley XX