Christmas and New Year

My friend Seona with our tree.

Christmas and new years was so much fun.  Just what I needed to get me set up for what I know will be a difficult start to 2012.

Christmas started early for Arthritis Care as we were asked of we would like to be part of the Christmas tree festival at St. Luke's Church in Cannock.  One of the menbers paid for a tree and we set about decorating it in pink, our arthritis care colours.  We featured in the local newspaper and raised a lot of awareness.

Snow in Sawbridgeworth.

On the weekend before Christmas, I made my way to see my friend Kim.  She had lots of Christmassy things for us to do including a Christmas quiz at a local working mens/phoenix club and it was really lovely.  There were people dressed up in all sorts of fancy outfits including turkey hats, Christmas ties etc, and I, of course wore my beautiful bauble earrings!  On the Sunday morning I noticed some rather large white flakes floating past the window and, of course, it was snow.  It didn't stay long but I did manage to get a photo before it melted.

I really enjoyed driving my new car to Kim's.  I normally would have struggled but I think the new car mixed in with several stops made the journey a whole lot better.  I stop for around an hour every hour.  I know this is a lot but I feel so rubbish if I don't and I want to enjoy myself while I'm there.

On the 23rd I went to Chasewater to see Santa.  I went with my arthritis friends who leads a Brownie pack.  We went on the steam train and I got the Brownies singing all the way.  After the train ride the Brownies went to see Santa while I sat and drank tea, I also ate 2 mince pies which did nothing for my diet.

On Christmas Eve I went to sing in Stafford to raise money for Katherine House.  I do it every year and we usually get a really good reception.  Later I went to meet my friends and was shocked to see my old school friend Gemma who lives in New York.  She will be getting married this year to a guy from the Dominican Republic, he is very much what I expect a New Yorker to be.  He's a lovely bloke who tipped a barman £2 after buying a whisky the last time he was here and couldn't understand why we told him not to.  I'm so excited about her wedding and I'm so happy for them both.

New Years Eve was wonderful.  I went back to my friend Kim's for an 80's party.  I spent a few weeks getting my outfit together and ended up with Madonna.  I had my hair done in Stafford before I left home and went on my way with as much coffee and salad as I could manage and plenty of stops along the way.

The party was at Kim's mum and dads house. Here are the characters we had at the party;

                                        
Adam Ant
Wonder Woman
Teenage Mutant Hero Turtle's (all 4 of them!)
Superman/Supergirl
Bananaman
A coal miner on strike
A space hopper
Boy George
Alice Cooper
Slash


We had a brilliant brilliant time.  It had been a year since myself, Kim and Amy had been all together and it was lovely.  We spent the next couple of days together before I had come home and get ready for the first hurdle of the new year, my operation.