A Visitor, A Day in London for the Xmas Lights and Getting Productive - W/E 23rd November 2024

This week began with a shift at work on Sunday. I was due to work between 11.30am and 6pm. The time passed a little slower today, mainly because of the job I was doing, but the shift went okay.

Our guest came back to our house later in the evening and we got a take out for supper and watched a film on Netflix.

On Monday, we had planned to head into Central London, to see the Xmas lights and check out some of the Xmas shop window displays. Our guest had booked a theatre ticket for herself for the evening. 

We headed into London for 1pm, as there was a gig at Pizza Express Soho, which was part of the London Jazz Festival and OH thought we might enjoy it, so we had lunch there watching the gig. The food was very good and the jazz was great too. We all had a lovely time.

Unfortuately, it rained most of the afternoon, but we didn't let it stop us. We headed to the National Portrait Gallery after the gig, and enjoyed looking at the portraits of the Tudors, which was very pertinent considering we are in the middle of watching Wolf Hall.

We then headed to Covent Garden for a mooch and a drink, before walking to Oxford Street, to check out the Xmas lights and shop windows at Selfridges. In Selfridges, I overheard a mum telling her child that there were only 36 days until Xmas. So exciting.

In all honesty, Oxford Street was slightly disappointing, but Bond Street lights and shop decorations made up for it. The lights on Bond Street were done in conjunction with Chanel this year and some of the decor in the store windows was amazing. Here are a few pics:

We then wandered through the Burlington Arcade  and I stopped to take a photo of the exterior of Fortnum & Mason, whose windows were decorated as advent calendar doors, on the way to Piccadilly Circus where we caught the Tube home, whilst our guest headed off to the theatre.  It was a full on day and we were very glad to get back home and relax. We'd forgotten how exhausting Central London can be.

On Tuesday, I was booked into my usual class in the gym. I hadn't been for a couple of weeks, so I was looking forward to it. I woke up to snow falling, but it was quite wet so it didn't really lay. A pretty sight to see it falling though.

In the afternoon, our guest was heading off to take the Eurostar to catch her flight home to Australia via Paris. I decided to spend the rest of the afternoon watching cheesy Christmas movies and working on my hexi quilt. It had been so busy for the previous couple of weeks, I just needed some down time. I really enjoyed my afternoon/evening and made good progress on the quilt too. Here's an up to date photo of how it currently looks:

There are a few gaps that need filling, but it's getting close to completion. I love the randomness of the  placement of the stars and diamonds. I've really enjoyed making it. I just love quilting with hexies. They are my ultimate favourite shape to work with.

On Wednesday, I needed to go out and do the weekly shop. I headed off out of town as usual and got everything we needed, plus a few extras for Xmas. Joints of lamb were half price at Tesco, so I bought us a shoulder joint for Xmas dinner this year. It will be frozen until the day. I also bought a few other bits of Xmas food which could be put away until needed.

When I got back I had to get ready for a shift at work. LB was thinking about dropping by, as she was on a Uni trip in the East End, but she decided not to bother as she had an important deadline looming. I would have missed her anyway. Hopefully, she'll visit us next week, when she comes over for a friend's birthday.

Work passed quite quickly and without issue. It was a late finish though, as the store was very messy. I had to get the de-icer spray out for the first time this winter, as the window screen was frozen over when I got back to my car.

On Thursday, after sleeping well, I slept in till past 9am and then got up and ready and headed off to the gym for a work out. My weight has been rising a little lately. I've put  a few pounds back on and I'd like to shift it again, but it's proving difficult.

I spent the afternoon pottering at home. I'm in the process of making a homemade advent calendar for myself. I'm making small paper envelopes using a template, wrapping paper and sealing them with small Xmas stickers. I intend to fill each one with a sweet treat or gift. I did the same thing last year, but I'm trying to vary the contents a bit more this year. I've bought a few different things to put in the envelopes, i.e. chocolate coins, chocolate nutcrackers, chocolate mini fingers, maltesers, mini candy canes, etc. I may even throw in the odd piece of Xmas jewellery or beauty/makeup items.  I try to collect a few bits of Xmas jewellery every year to add to my collection.

I also started a new Xmas patchwork project that I saw on Pinterest. It's just a small one and fun to do.

On Friday, I got up after not sleeping well and did a bit of tidying around upstairs.  Lots of things had been moved around due to having a visitor this week, so I needed to put things back in their usual place. I then had a leisurely breakfast and later decided to try to get on and do some more work on the sofa cover for the shed. 

I wasn't looking forward to it, as I knew it would be tricky, but I was off work until Sunday and needed to make the most of my time off. I needed to machine sew the arms of the sofa and it took a little while to get it right, as I had to unpick a few puckers here and there. I eventually got it done though, so now all I need to do is to add the velcro all around the base of the sofa and the base of the cover too. This will take quite a long time, but I have now bought upholstery needles to help me in this task, which should make it easier. Any progress on this project is good.

I then finished the small Xmas project I started the day before. Here's a picture:

It's just a little hanging patchwork Xmas tree. I think I'm going to hang it in the shed along with some battery powered coloured lights that I bought at a charity shop, to give it a bit of a festive feel. I need a couple of cushion covers for the shed. I'm not sure whether to make some or just buy some. I haven't decided yet. It would make sense not to spend any money and to just make some and use up more of my fabric stash.

Saturday, was a chill day this week, as I wasn't working. I got up early and headed off to the gym to the free session for over 50's. It's ending in a couple of weeks and I can't go next week as I'm working, so I need to make the most of the last few sessions. OH came along too and then later when we got back we did some work tidying up the garden for the winter. We needed to clear up lots of leaves and OH wanted to start to do some structural work in the garden. (More in another post)

It's been quite a productive week this week for a change, and quite varied too, largely due to not working very much. Next week, however, I'm scheduled to work a lot more, so there'll be less time for sewing, gardening and other activities.

I hope you've had a productive week.