December 31st 2001

Happy New Year!

Well, I survived the year and I survived the challenge of this blog. 365 photos on 365 days, and no cheating!

I hope you enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed taking the photos  (most of the time). Thank you all, especially the friends and family who supported me throughout 2010, who have guided me, been there for me and made it the year that it was.

Please take a moment to check out the photos of the year and comment/vote on your favourite!

Roll on 2011!

December 30th 2010

TGI Fridays

As I spent the first several months of 2010 living in Cheltenham, I stayed no more than a few hundred yards from this restaurant. Many Fridays, after a long commute and/or a difficult week at work, I thought I might take this photo for this blog, but each time a different alternative came up, and I kept this “in reserve”.

So now, I’m finally posting this photograph, but I’m living over 100 miles away, and it’s a Thursday …

Instead I’m posting this for a completely different reason, as today we enjoyed a family meal, with Claire, James and Sophie all enjoying the company of my parents, sister, brother-in-law and family as we met up for Christmas. It really felt like a look into the future as we all enjoyed our meals in a child-friendly environment and all got to know each other just a little bit more. I hope that as 2010 ends that Claire, James and Sophie really feel part of my family now – amazing to think, given how 2010 began.

December 29th 2010

Reindeer

The wrapping season is not yet over, as today we prepared to visit my family down in Cheltenham tomorrow.  The reindeer gift tags are lined up and prepared, not just for the presents tomorrow, but in readiness for next year’s presents. Those are the best intentions, but I wonder if we’ll actually remember about these next year or just buy new ones?

December 28th 2010

Poinsettia

Today was all about relaxing – the kids were away, and the day’s plan consisted of nothing. A plan that was very successfully followed.

The photo is last-minute and unimaginative (almost literally as it’s timed at 11:58!), but the poinsettia reminds us that it’s OK to have a day like that, as it’s still Christmas season.

 

December 27th 2010

Hephaestus

Today we went to the RSPCA animal rescue centre in Derby. Since Bonnie died we made the decision that we would go to the rescue centre to investigate the possiblility of potentially adopting a cat that needs a home some time in the future, and agreed to make the first tentative steps in that direction today.

We returned from the shelter having put our names down for two new cats! Meet Hephaestus – he and his mother were strays, and although the other kittens in his litter have had homes found for them, they were brought into the shelter needing a new home. Hephaestus, and his equally adorable mother Hestia, will be joining us in the new year. It goes without saying that we won’t be keeping those names, but we certainly intend keeping both cats for many years to come!

December 26th 2010

Halfway up the stairs

No, not a small green nephew of a famous frog, but a large pile of unopened chocolate (and it’s not the full pile either). It can only be Boxing Day …

December 25th 2010

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas to you all – here is my festive image for the day.

Presents opened, lunch cooked and eaten, and my first Christmas as part of a new family successfully survived and enjoyed. Here’s to many more.

 

December 24th 2010

Final journey

A theme of this year’s blog has been the long journeys into work, whether winding through the Cotswolds or taking the long motorway drive down through the Midlands. Today will be the last, and it’s marked by the snow in Leamington Spa – roads still slushy and pavements still white from the earlier snow.

It would be nice to think that as well as the last commute of the year it is also the last snow of the year but time will tell …

December 23rd 2010

Wrapping

This evening was devoted to just one activity – wrapping. I’ve never had small children in my immediate family before, and never realised quite how many presents there are to wrap. To be fair, the clue was probably in the direct correlation with the very large number of presents we’ve bought for them over recent weeks and months.

But, in a strange way, I enjoyed the wrapping marathon and hope to enjoy watching all the good work being undone two days from now. And there’s a certain amount of satisfaction in getting it all done one day earlier than necessary!

December 22nd 2010

Blackbird

Thanks to overnight snow and icy roads, today was another day working from home. One thing that struck me was that when the snow hit a couple of weeks ago, most of the garden birds were nowhere to be seen. But this time they are back – poor birds have nowhere to hide.

I managed to load up the bird tables with food and in a quick moment got a snap of this blackbird struggling on the snowy fence. I would love to have a better snap but unfortunately the priority was working and not photographing.