I'm not sure how I'm going to convey the essence of the past eleven days to you, without boring you rigid with lists of activities....................
I think I can say this without offending anyone............
I would have liked to have been a guest in my own house........
Don't think our guests were a burden, that was not the case at all. Graham and Ruth are great fun, and make very entertaining and interesting guests. And my parents are the easiest guests in the world, and lovely to have around. And I'm not exaggerating these sentiments at all..............
No, the problem......... is..............
ME!!!!!!!!!!!
I just find socialising exhausting.
Hugo and I live a quiet life, and I love it that way. I may spend a lot of time on my own, but it is always packed with activities I find fascinating. When I socialise, it's a little like going on stage. It's a performance I enjoy once I've been pushed on to the stage, (mainly by Hugo!), I get into it and love the dialogue.
But once I come off the stage, I feel shattered.
And it's not as if I'm doing any cooking, because Hugo does all that. And my Mum worked for hours creating the table decorations, above, for the Christmas meal.
When we received this very grand invitation to some friend's New Years celebrations, I knew we would be participating in a significant production.
Miles and Bob, (full name Barbara), give dinner parties which you come away from feeling you have had a memorable experience. They create atmosphere and excitement by using invention and imagination, all without spending crazy sums of money.
They gather people together, and subtly orchestrate us.
This gathering required that we dress as Bishops or glamorous actresses.
Miles' Bishop's outfit was, of course, great. But it was the detail of his comb-over that I loved. It stood out from his head beautifully, and I thought it was a brilliant and witty detail.
Bob's lipstick was beautifully smeared, and a smattering of glorious beauty spots painted on her face, made us feel we had stepped into an exotic period play.
The guests had all entered whole-heartedly into their various roles...... right down to this gentleman's perfect red nails.
My Mum stole the show.........
And now, with Christmas and New Year celebrations behind us ...............the sparkle, the walks, the giving of gifts, dressing up, rich food, cosy fires, hilarity and hard work becoming a distant memory......... it's back to reality and rest. Two things I'm very fond of..............
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I'm not sure how I'm going to convey the essence of the past eleven days to you, without boring you rigid with lists of activities....................
I think I can say this without offending anyone............
I would have liked to have been a guest in my own house........
Don't think our guests were a burden, that was not the case at all. Graham and Ruth are great fun, and make very entertaining and interesting guests. And my parents are the easiest guests in the world, and lovely to have around. And I'm not exaggerating these sentiments at all..............
No, the problem......... is..............
ME!!!!!!!!!!!
I just find socialising exhausting.
Hugo and I live a quiet life, and I love it that way. I may spend a lot of time on my own, but it is always packed with activities I find fascinating. When I socialise, it's a little like going on stage. It's a performance I enjoy once I've been pushed on to the stage, (mainly by Hugo!), I get into it and love the dialogue.
But once I come off the stage, I feel shattered.
And it's not as if I'm doing any cooking, because Hugo does all that. And my Mum worked for hours creating the table decorations, above, for the Christmas meal.
When we received this very grand invitation to some friend's New Years celebrations, I knew we would be participating in a significant production.
Miles and Bob, (full name Barbara), give dinner parties which you come away from feeling you have had a memorable experience. They create atmosphere and excitement by using invention and imagination, all without spending crazy sums of money.
They gather people together, and subtly orchestrate us.
This gathering required that we dress as Bishops or glamorous actresses.
Miles' Bishop's outfit was, of course, great. But it was the detail of his comb-over that I loved. It stood out from his head beautifully, and I thought it was a brilliant and witty detail.
Bob's lipstick was beautifully smeared, and a smattering of glorious beauty spots painted on her face, made us feel we had stepped into an exotic period play.
The guests had all entered whole-heartedly into their various roles...... right down to this gentleman's perfect red nails.
My Mum stole the show.........
And now, with Christmas and New Year celebrations behind us ...............the sparkle, the walks, the giving of gifts, dressing up, rich food, cosy fires, hilarity and hard work becoming a distant memory......... it's back to reality and rest. Two things I'm very fond of..............
FIRST .... HAPPY NEW YEAR TO YOU & YOURS
TWO THINGS YOU ARE FOND OF ....WELL IT HAS TO BE HUGO...AND YOU BOTH LOVE E&D....
SO I WILL GUESS AFTER FAMILY....
IT WILL BE KNITTING & BLOGGING....
BUT I WILL ADD ...YOU HAVE A LOVE OF "LIFE"
AND YOUR DESCRIPTON FOR THE HOLIDAY PERIOD IS WONDERFUL ....& THE DECS 10/10 AND A GOLD STAR...{:>)
Posted by: RI | January 02, 2008 at 09:26 PM
wow your decorations are amazing, please send your mum to my house next year to do mine!
I always think Christmas and new year can be a real balancing act -
It's lovely to party and celebrate, and sometimes its lovely to curl up quietly with a good book!
I hope you have a very happy 2008, and can't wait to hear all about it. xx
Posted by: driftwood | January 02, 2008 at 09:57 PM
Have a lovely 2008! (I am with you on the socialising thing, my husband does it loads but it wears me out too!)
Posted by: Lin | January 03, 2008 at 08:25 AM
See I love going to other peoples houses for dinner but having them at mine stresses me out beyond belief!! We have it cut down to two major entertainings a year now. One of which is on Saturday!! ARRGHHHH
Posted by: Gemma | January 03, 2008 at 09:06 AM
What a beautiful post! I love what your Mum did with decorating your Christmas table. I love doing just that, although I managed to forget to photograph our table this year. I shall "borrow" her dangling ornaments idea! And acting in costume ... we did that as well! Please see my website's blog page for photos. I'm delighted to tell you that "Fragile Shadow" sold over the holidays! So, thank you for that image, Vanessa and HAPPY NEW YEAR! Here's to rest and reality ... This morning, I'm off to a figure painting session with friends.
Posted by: Alice Saltiel-Marshall | January 03, 2008 at 04:42 PM
I so hear you!
My husband doesn't understand why I seem to be having such a good time and then need to crawl under a rock for a week. By the end of the Christmas New Years' swirl of delightfu; activity I was the grumpiest person on earth.
Wishing you a spectacular 2008.
Posted by: michelle | January 04, 2008 at 12:35 AM
Hi,
Hi, I´m Vanessa's Mum. We had had such fun with all the Berwick crowd. Dogs, twins, more children, real vicars and loads of friends.
Christmas is an exhausting affair, but one to be loved for those who are loved. We really enjoyed decorating the table and thanks to Hugo for filling it with such fantastic food.
What fantastic photos!!!!!! Another new career?
Posted by: Cherry Cabban | January 09, 2008 at 02:37 PM