Having spent all of the Saturday before Christmas sorting out store cupboards, all of the Sunday ironing for someone else and housekeeping, all of the Monday running from shop to shop for the last bits and pieces, helping out with a Christmas lunch on the Day, finishing off a 1000 piece jigsaw of Father Christmas and a Christmas tree (fiddly but fun) over Boxing Day and Thursday, having a quick visit to the sales at the Gateshead Metrocentre today and finding nothing I wanted but still managing to buy some useful bits at reduced rates and offering  to sort out a return tea for the local family tomorrow evening it could be time for a holiday for me. On Monday I have to go to the local hospital for a fitting of the dreaded hearing aid. Perhaps the holiday starts Tuesday?

The first three new year's resolutions are to pay the rent on the allotment next Saturday morning, learn about growing dwarf fruit trees as there will be some bought to go on the allotment and to start proper work on card making for the coming year.  The college course only scratched the surface on card making as part of something else but it's a good idea that is worth improving. Watch this space folks.

The carpenter from the housing association has visited the side door, replaced the draft excluders and put up a baton to take a thick curtain to keep out the worst of the cold. That's fine. It would have been better if the door had been replaced by a double glazed one which would have solved the condensation problem too.  But the gentleman who did the survey and put in the ticket for the repairs could not be persuaded to go down that line though it was in his remit to do so and this was the preferred option. It may be possible to change his mind of course.

The college homework is all up to date and some is ahead of plans, the shopping is all done for the holiday, the mince pies and Christmas pudding made, the library books sorted and ready to read, the annual jigsaw puzzle is on the table started and the sales have already started in Hexham town centre from the looks of it yesterday. And the weather has turned - the rain appeared this afternoon. Tomorrow a visit to the allotment is planned with donations for the compost heap and further bird food supplies. Unfortunately the ironing is still in the basket and I shall have to get myself into action to clear that up tomorrow.  It will be nice when radio and newspapers get over the festive season and the everyday returns. Christmas has been going on so long that it has become boring.

I have the train tickets for a trip to London around 11th January 2008 to catch up with the son and wife.  And great plans for the allotment as soon as the weather allows anything to be done. It's so quiet when it's not possible to get onto the allotment to do real work.

The daughter invited me out to the MetroCentre as she was going to finish her Christmas shopping yesterday. Just stocking fillers she said. She had a list of names but no ideas. I suppose that mothers do have their uses. Woolworths to the rescue - it still has shelves full of stocking filler toys of respectable quality at under £10. There was even the "in toy" for the little ones - an iggle piggle! For heavens sake - the teletubbies are old hat, long live the new teletubbies ....................

I don't do Christmas shopping so I'm telling you, her shopping was done in an hour, then the grandson fed and most of his shopping solved fairly quickly (the hungry teenager) and then a rapid transit back to the local garden centre up the road here to buy a Christmas Tree. I tried to get daughter to buy a red one that has to be plugged in to get it's lights to work but at £139 she wasn't interested even though red is her favourite colour. I did give the two of them the rest of the home made mince pies as there were so few remaining I decided to make another batch today.  So much for forward planning

My daughter said it was okay for me as I don't do Christmas shopping - too darned right. Grandchildren get money (to their parents if young) so that the present is correct whatever happens. And when they get to18, I believe that presents for grandchildren should end as they are adults who can go to work and celebrate for themselves.  I can see that in the future I shall be not popular - so what?

It's either cold and wet or wet and windy or too wet underfoot outside. So the things that I would like to do on the allotment aren't possible. I knew that it took up a lot of time but till the time was free, I didn't realize how much. I did go down and put out some bird food yesterday and it is far too wet underfoot to do anything useful at all except look at the patch where I am going to plant clover and fruit trees in February - March. Next year is not so far away is it?

So it's a case of getting on with college homework and getting ahead where possible. If I can get ahead on one project on the interactive media course and do the basics of the website then come end of January there won't be a conflict of interests. The MS Publisher course ends during March I believe so that will free up some time. We're on with a project making cards at the moment. It may sound like something you do at first school but the tutor seems to want grown up results! The grandson wants me to drop him off one that I have done with a couple of changes. Now he's better at Publisher than me anyway.