Well, we've had a lovely time!Went to Mums after I finished work on Saturday and spent the night there, with a slight de-tour to a service station when poor Muppet had a very pongy accident in her carry case. Not her fault - it's not like we can tell the cats to 'go before we set off'. Fizgig and Splash took a few minutes to get used to each other again and then they tore the house apart! Muppet was very glad of the break and camped out on the landing well out of the kittens way!
We had missed Simon (Tony's eldest) by a matter of minutes too. He'd come by with some Christmas presents on his bike and stopped for a brew. Wish I'd seen him. In my head he's still about 6, not into his 20's which he is!
Sunday lunchtime - which is when one of mum's breakfasts finishes - we set off to Maltby. We took the sceneic route, i.e Via Skipton and Leeds on 'A' roads. Don't ask why... we're just glad we didn't end up in Wigon this time!
By the time we hit the M18 my bladder is fit to burst - but as we'd already had one kitty-accident on the trip since leaving Lancaster we just wanted to get gone with as few stops as possible. We knew Jenny would be out (the sister we stay with) so we were to collect the key from Rachel (the other sister) and I thought 'great, use her loo and let the cats out for 5 mins'. But she was out too!
So we're locked out with no toilet and two stressed out moggies and a straining bladder! A frantic phone call to Jenny later and we'd arranged to meet half way between where we were and where she was - at the local Mc Donalds Brive Thru... which also has a loo! So off we shoot, appolgising to the cats, but for once i was putting my needs over theirs!
Finally we have a key to the house - and I have found a clean loo and taken care of business - and we return to Jenny's, under strick instruction not to let her kitten out of the house.
Her 'kitten' Olly is three times the size of Fizgig, infact, he towers over Muppet! But he is lovely - white with black spots, black bandana and black tail with white tip. He looks like a nagative of a cat! But desote his size he isn't yet a year old, and he's very timid. Muppet takes no chances and hides on the window ledge, and even Fizzy is a little wary of this much bigger cat who only wanted to be his friend.
Before too long though they were scrapping and chasing each other round and playing and slaps and bum-biting. Typical kitten stuff! Not to mention teaching each other bad habits - like Olly's christmas tree climbing and Fizgigs needless hissing and growling (even when he's playing - as learned from Muppet).
As it was Christmas Eve we called round to see Rachel again after she's had chance to put the kiddies to bed. We had Christmas presents to take round and didn't want them to see us bring them instead of Santa! Poor Rachel and Gary were still frantically wrapping presents and looked glad that the kids had finally nodded off. They've been playing up for the last few days!
Christmas Morning! Jenny was still round at boyfriend Pauls so it was just me, Yorkie and his brother Bob for breakfast. Chruistmas breakfast is Yorkie's speciality! With bacon, sausage, bean, tomotoes, mushrooms and toast! Yummy yummy! A good way to start the day! We also swopped a couple of smaller gifts and got ready to call round at his mum's for Christmas proper.
And just as we're in the car and setting off, Dad calls! Hee hee, timing as impecable as ever! So at least I got a few words with him, even if I couldn't talk for long, it been against the law to talk on the phone and drive at the same time!
We managed to get lost again. We always do - it's another Christmas tradition! Since neither Yorkie nor Bob go over to see their mum often, and have never lived in the house she's in now, plus niether of them drive, getting directions from them it a little - erm - hit and miss.... As we're apporching junction 30 Yorkie starts rubbing his beared. A bad sign. 'Do we come of here, or at 28?'
So Bob calls Kate (mum) and Dave to find out which junction we come off at. As we sail past juntion 30 I hear Bob say: "Ahh, will number 29 do??". Clearly it should have been 30. At least this year we're heading the right WAY up the motorway... So we come off at number 29 and we have directions: Go through Polterton, over the speed bumps, take a right at the Y junction" So we get to Polterton. We're on the minor road joining the main street. So I look left and right, and to the right we see speed bumps. This must be the way! So we turn right, spot a Y junction and follow the right fork. And enter the middle of no where... In the distance we can see Bolsover Castle which is where we need to be. Sadly, we seem to be driving AWAY from it!
You see, we didn't actually go INTO Polterton, we'd gone right round the out side edge of it! So when we drove back over the mototrway we'd just come off, and got to a tiny settlement of about 2 shacks and a farm, with Bolsover castle in the far far distance, we opted to turn round. This time we went THROUGH Polterton and sure enough... speed bumps and a Y junction. Right one this time, and only half an hour late!!!
Christmas itself was lovely. As well as myself, Yorkie and Bob, Jenny was there, as were Joy and Irene (friends of Kate and Daves) and of cause Kate and Dave themselves. Dave was on cooking duty and Kate kept a plentyful flow of present coming our way. There is a set system to present opening at Kates (which I approve of) where we each open one gift at a time, in turn, so that we can all see what has been bought for each person, and who buy. it stops present opening being over in 30 seconds flat and everyone gets thanked for what they have bought. The down side is that it takes HOURS! And gefore we were half way though, dinner was ready and we had to take a break to eat!
Me and Jenny both had a sprout each (under protest and smothered in bread sauce and cranberry). Melon or pumpkin soup for starters (I had soup). Then there was turkey and gammon, mash, roasties, snips, two kinds of stuffing, caulie, sprouts with chestnuts, pigs in blankets... And pud when on for ages, with pudding, cake, cheese, and some desert we couldn't agree on (Yorkie said it was egg custard with rasberry jam on, but it had a posh name and tasted wonderful). I managed to get a quick phone call into mum to wish her a merry christmas between courses.
Then back to the gifts!
Finally it was agme time, and for once we DID NOT PLAY WHO'S IN THE BAG! So happy am I! I hate that game so much! With next to no general knowlege, no intrest in politics, celebs or history, and the real handycap of not having played it with these people all my life so clues like "he's dead" don't work with me... I don't stand much iof a chance. This year we plaed 'Deal or no Deal'... and I won! not sure if that's something to brag about though.
Normally by this stage I am plastered, having had far too mcuh wine. but this year I am driving, so I'm sober. I had one glass of champers when I first arrived, and one glass of merlot with dinner. This year I am very much aware of how much Yorkie and his brother pass wind during these family games. It's not pleasant! I bannished my man to the garden for each fart!
Come 1.30am it's time to go. My poor Yorkie is dying on his feet. Bob had already been taken home by Jenny an hour before, and everyone else is starting to sway some. I had a lovely heart to heart with Kate - mostly drink enduced.
All Boxing Day Yorkie and Bob are dying. Yorkie swears he has a hernia. He's just eaten FAR too much and is bloated! We do NOTHING but stay in, play computer games and read.
Next day is a little more intresting. Rachels was manic! The kids were loving Christmas, playing Buzz Junior on the PS2 an making sure everyone joined in. Not to mention climbing all over Uncle Mark and Uncle Bob. I wish I'd remembered to take my proper camera - but I did get some nice snaps on my camera phone!
Eventually it was time to go, with a long drive back to Burnley the next day I needed to get some sleep. Jenny hasn't finished renovating the house yet so we've been sleeping on an airbed in a room where the radiator isn't connected yet - with three cats scrapping over us all night - so sleep hasn't been something I've had a lot of.
Fizgig and Splash had another lovely reunion when we did get back to mums on Thursday. I feel bad for splitting them up again, but as there is no way I am giving Fizz up, and mum feels the same way about Splash, there's not much we can do about it. I have promised to bring Fizz on all my day trips to mums though. Muppet will be glad of a day away from him, and the kittens love spending time together. With this now being the last 6 months before the wedding I will be spending more and more time in Burnley sorting out flowers, caterers, photographers, etc, all of which I have apointments with in the New Year. Bringing the kitten over with me is no hardship.
Friday morning we landed back at home, tired, sorry Christmas was over, but glad to be back in our own home and our own bed. I had work this morning, and a ton of stuff to catch up on, and now it's all back to normal again.
We're spending New Year with Jacquie, David and their girls, and seeing Nan on New Years Day, and then that's it. Festivities over...
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