It's January.....

It's a worry - starting January behind the aceball but I guess we will catch up before the end of the year. Let's hope so anyway. Right now - the e-mag is running late which means the newsletter is running late which means the new lovelies are not all on the web ......Our Christmas present ordered on 25th Dec, has still not appeared so maybe someone else is behind as well. But - my new shoes ordered in August finally turned up yesterday - aren't they glorious? I was a musician in my previous life so when it is cooler, this will remind me.

Here they are from the side - all hand made and I love the trim inside. They fit perfectly but I will need to buy some new socks to match.

And don't you love the back? This should have me all set up for the challenges of 2015.

I also received this lovely new book last Wed - ordered it on the Sunday from Japan and it arrived on Wed. How is that for service?

And after Christmas I went off to Target and bought a Ninja for chopping up my curry pastes etc and Ian discovered the juicer part so we have been enjoying many pineapple drinks - mine with added water and his with yoghurt. It's a great set of stuff - 3 different bowls and a central pulse - easy to clean. It was time for a change. Must say that Target was a disgrace - product all over the place - it was difficult to tell if you actually got all that you thought you might be buying. Every box had been opened - haven't seen such a shambles other than in the knitting wool baskets at Spotlight.

2015 - I thought I might do one of those one thing a week for 52 weeks (foolish) - or one thing a day for 365 days (highly foolish) or even one thing a month for 12 months (still foolish) - I have a long list of creations I want to create this year and many deadlines and all of that and I remembered what I am really needing to be working on all through the year - my letters to the Grannies. Family research is absorbing but it takes up a lot of time. I am chasing my paternal family - my paternal Grannie - that was hard work and very on going - my maternal family - my maternal Grannie of whom I do have quite a lot but you always find more. Then there is Ian's family and that is very ongoing. Every morning I check ancestry to see how things are going and there is so info I still haven't entered. Most days I find something new and exciting. Who said life was boring?

Anyway I am making a concerted effort to get started firstly with my maternal grannie - Wilhelmina Charlotte - because I have memories. Once you start delving you realise how tough life was for them and the sacrifices they made for their children who in turn made it for us. I guess any pioneers to a new country are going to be rather enterprising. The one thing that fascinates me the most is that both my paternal great grand father and Ian's paternal great great grand father were bakers. Small world indeed. I am allowing most of the year becasue I know I will uncover more stuff I must include. If only we had asked the questions we now want the answers to and if only they had passed on their letters and kept diaries. If only.....

 This is my bit of a start - I had scanned a couple of photos but they are on my computer which was stolen so now I need to find the photos again - last year I made a page whilst thinking. I am planning journals for each grannie especially as it means I can add to it. A lot of prep is in the research.

And this is the house my grandfather built for his parents and then they lived in it after they died. The lady who owns the house now very kindly sent me some photos. They would be so proud of it as it looks beautiful. It was only a little cottage with the central passage - I used to stay there in the school holidays.

So let's see what I can come up with this year. I shall share as I go along.

In the meantime back to the behind the aceball tasks.