My Month in Numbers 2015: December

You know ... if either of us blink we're going to miss it.

The end of the week ... the end of the month ... the end of the year could easily give us the slip while we're sat here scrutinising the menu in the remaining box of chocolates for something that isn't 'the coffee one' or while we're trying to remove from our chins that elusive bit of glitter that's been there, on and off, since November.

So how about we take this chance to pause and reflect on December before January turns the page on us and starts an entire new year. And how about I throw in a few statistics to help me along the way. Here's my month ... in numbers ...

[If you're new here - hi, you're looking good, all that turkey and tinsel has done wonders for your complexion - if you want to know more about this feature just drop by this page].

The first week of the month saw me spending ...

3 hours 20 minutes in the cinema:
The Bristol Old Vic production of Jane Eyre was brought to the National Theatre from where it was broadcast live into cinemas.

It was a strange, energetic, minimalist kind of production - for example ... this is not just Thornfield Hall ablaze* ... it's the entire set for the 3 hour long production:

Screenshot of the Jane Eyre 'Production Gallery' on the National Theatre site.

****168 year old spoiler alert: it was the mad woman in the attic what done it!

And, at the risk of glossing over all of the merits of the actual performance, perhaps the most impressive element of the evening was the fact that I managed to sit still through each and every one of those 180 minutes.

Well, I say I sat 'still' .... I did definitely sit.

If you like the look of the production [and can face watching the big screen without being able to get up to make a cuppa whenever you fancy] then visit this page on the NT Live site to find out if there are any Encore performances you can catch [simply type in your location and it will find your nearest venue].

Fortunately for you you won't have me jiffling away in the seat next to you.

But then again ... neither will you get to share in my never-ending supply of Werther's Originals and fruity travel sweets. It's all swings and roundabouts.

While we're on the subject of travel sweets ... this is the scene before James and I set off on a trip to Bowes Museum for their Christmas market. Note the temperature ...

16℃ at 8am on a December morning. 16℃. At 8am. In December!!! 

Because I've been doing this number lark for quite a while now [this is, after all, my 72nd Month in Numbers post!] I can consult my statistical back-catalogue to find that in December 2010 [my first MinN year] we were regularly experiencing temperatures of minus 11! 

And, while I'm not a huge fan of being freezing ... it just doesn't feel right and proper to have warm hands at any given point in time throughout December. Let alone not needing to wear a hat [whoever heard of such a thing?]

We haven't had a single frosty day here yet and there's something to be said for a crisp frosty day to get you feeling Christmassy. All in all it's a good job there've been other things on hand to make it feel a lot like Christmas. For instance ...

I saw 3 reindeer! 

Alas ... they weren't flying over the roof of my house [although I did wave to Tm Peake as he passed overhead in the International Space Station this month!]. Rather they were attending the Christmas market. [Even Santa's helpers need to find those last minute gifts.]

This was also the week I heard 3 people describe reindeer as being like big dogs ... 

1. The first person was me. When a crowd cleared revealing the pen where the reindeer were being kept my flight or [appropriately enough] flight reflexes kicked in until I realised that they weren't actually big dogs. Phew.
2. Then, as they walked past the pens, I heard a Dad explaining to a toddler he was carrying that "No, they're not doggies". 
3. And finally there was this, from a BBC news report about an escaped reindeer: "Warren Porter, who took a picture of Bjorn as he galloped up Carlton Hill, said at first he thought it was a "big dog"". 

And boom! It's not just me who's been fooled into the resemblance! 

Although, thankfully, it's a relief all round that this is just a repeated case of mistaken identity. Because, really, the idea of Santa landing on my roof accompanied by 9 big dogs would certainly have taken the edge off any anticipation I'd had as a child!

[BTW you need to visit the actual story about the reindeer for two main reasons ... [1] the headline is a work of bizarre genius: "Runaway reindeer that escaped from Tesco event recovering" and [2] the look of sheer 'couldn't give two hoots now I'm freeeeeee' in Bjorn's body language as he sprints down the road!]

And now, seeing as it's [almost] Christmas, allow me to make the tortured link from an escaped reindeer stalking along the road ... to another kind of deer ...

It was a 2 deerstalker month: 
Deerstalker No.1 occurred on our festive trip around York [which I wrote more about here]

Then, a fortnight later, in an antiques shop in Barnard Castle, we came across Deerstalker No.2:

And if casually finding another one wasn't enjoyable enough ... check out the label inside this one:

You couldn't make it up could you?! 

Clearly the Gods of Antiquing are also excited about watching the new - Victorian - Sherlock in just one day's time!!

And, now let us glide from one instance of a Cumberbatch to another [entirely arbitrary one]...

In case you're thinking I was in danger of passing up the final chance this year to remind you that I saw him in Hamlet this year [which I may have mentioned ... once or three dozen times] ... then let me share this possibly-Hamlet-inspired car-dirt graffiti I spotted in a car park on the same day ...

Fill in the 2 blanks.[Or should that be the 'To' blanks?]

Surely those 2 wiped-out spaces once read "To be" and "Or not". Surely?

Well ... that is the question.

December was also the month I magically* 'glued' 3 photos together to make my 1st 'gif': 

*OK, so, the 'magic' was actually via gifcreator.me and the photos show my sister and I trying to get a decent pose of us in our Christmas outfits where it's a wonder our two large 50s inspired skirts actually fit in the room let alone the shot. Then when I flicked between them in my photo-viewer we seemed to move ... and I was moved to conquer the gif! Et voila. Merry Christmas!

Right ... we're almost there now ... I promise there'll be no further mentions of Cumberhamlet all year ... so let me just squeeze in a few more things before I leave you to 2016 ...

CLARIFICATION: someone new here last month inquired about the nature of the relationship between James and I, which was understandable considering that the post she'd read was all about staff Christmas parties and I didn't clarify that we don't work together. So, for the record:

1. James is my partner. Not in business, or crime. He's my husband if you will. At least he would be if we'd ever gotten round to getting married. Which we haven't. 
2. Neither are we co-workers or colleagues. And please don't suggest he's my 'boss' ... it'll only give him ideas. 

And, should you need further proof that one of his roles in life is to keep me happy ... who else could I sweet-talk into dressing in 90s denim for a photo-opportunity? 

Whilst seeking out Christmas decorations in the loft James found his 25 year old denim jacket [And I made him pose in it because a blogger's gotta do what a blogger's gotta do.] 

It's what he used to wear when we first met. And - to his credit - it still fits him, and yet ...

... just because one can wear 1990s denim ... it doesn't mean one should. Not for a second time round at least!

And while we're talking about slightly misguided wardrobe decisions ...

I bought 40 tea bags for 99p and started saving myself 75p per cuppa.
Now, this statistic might sound far too much like maths for anyone in a post-Christmas dairy/meet-induced stupor to care about, so let me give you the salient points:

• after years of paying for a cup of tea from the cafe at work I realised it would be much cheaper to just bring my own teabags and buy a plain hot water instead; 
• so I bought a pack of 40 bags from a nearby 99p shop and started keeping a handful of them in a little purse in order to easily take then down to the cafe with me to drop into my hot water.

Which was all well and good ... at first. Until the day I forgot to take the purse out of my pocket and spent the afternoon like this:

As I shared on Instagram: 

• Forgot I'd been walking around work with the purse with all my tea bags in tucked in my shirt pocket. #onenormalboob #onebigone

Ah. A mention of Hamlet ... and a boob joke.  I'm ending the old year as I mean to go on. 

And so ... 

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As always you're more than welcome to join me in documenting your own days in numbers:

• And there's plenty of info on how to do just that here.
• If you've never given it a go ... maybe the new year might be where you begin? I'll look forward to it!
• To link up your own post drop me a comment here and then leave me your link.
• But - if long form blog posts aren't your thing - feel free to join in via social media too! Via Twitter @notesonpaper or Instagram @withjuliekirk or my Facebook page. #MonthinNumbers

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Now I'll let you get back to deciding what to wear, who to kiss, and which resolution to break first after midnight.

And while you're there ... remember to do a little jump tonight ... right as the 2015 rug is pulled out from beneath your feet, take a deep breath, and then dance, dance, dance your way across the new year's pristine floorboards. 

In heels. 

Let 2016 know you've landed ... 

Julie x

A little something to digest before Christmas.

I really wanted to wish you a Merry Christmas here, of course I did.

I still do.

In fact ... "Merry Christmas!!" there, I've done it now. *Ticks it off the To Do list.*

And I felt I should accompany my greeting with photos of something filled with the spirit of the season ... yet I'm seriously beyond Christmas crafting ... [and I'm saving the photo of the Peppa Pig/ Shrek / Minions nativity scene I saw at the weekend for a post on my Facebook page later this week], so I had a rummage around my files and found just the thing.

It's a collage I made a few weeks back mixing together two of my favourite things to do: listening in to conversations and creating Snipped Tales.

I made up the first half myself ...

But the second half - well, the speech part - is something I genuinely overheard in a tearoom this year:

In real life the man in question mostly appeared to be joking ... yet something in his voice told me he would stick to his guns and not pick whatever it was his lady companion had suggested ... 

And so ... I chose to share an awkward conversation over what's supposed to be a nice lunch ...

... because if that doesn't describe Christmas ... I don't know what does! 

And with that I'll wish you a Christmastime filled with merry lights and twinkly people ... with not a hint of indigestion in sight.

Julie x

How to do a staff Christmas lunch (when you don't really like other people).

"Are you sure you're not already regretting letting me come?" I asked as we wended our way from the car park, through a back street, past a pub sign that ominously read 'Dogs Welcome!', and towards the city centre of York early on a blustery morning in December.

"No" he replied "I don't regret it. You're not spoiling anything, you're invited. I've invited you to my Christmas lunch." 

And, though slightly breathless in the blowy morning air, I smiled one of those smiles that despite trying to keep a lid on your pleasure [for 'playing-it-cool's sake] somehow manages to escape through the side of your mouth anyway.

I'd asked the question because, for the last few years, James has gone to York to do Christmas shopping on his own.

Over those years, he's also anticipated and enjoyed the prospect of a long, leisurely [and no doubt, quieter than usual] lunch in his favourite restaurant on his own. [Without me I suspect he feels something of the relief of a parent securing for themselves some 'me time'].

And, normally, I'm otherwise engaged, but not this year. Plus we'd been planning to go 'somewhere nice' to get some shopping done and ... well ... it just made sense for me to break with tradition and join him in York. And so ... there I was, invited to his Christmas outing, with a free lunch thrown in!

And so we did the kinds of things people do on a festive staff day out in York*.

(* This is purely conjecture. I can count on my hands the number of staff parties I've ever attended. My jobs have always been rather peripatetic and I've never spent time with the same colleagues day in day out. Although actually, now, when I'm doing self-employed stuff I spend lots of time with the woman I work for and I know her pretty well. But hang on ... we're meant to be talking about York ...)

Here's how our staff Christmas party unfolded...

(1) We took a wind-blasted 'stroll' around the Minster grounds:

Isn't he splendid?

(2) We had a mooch along The Shambles:

For those of you who don't know The Shambles it isn't some Harry Potter-esque Diagon Alley reconstruction .. it's a genuine medieval street [although most of the current buildings were built in the 14/15th Centuries]. And it's a 'must see' if you're ever in York.

(3) We then continued to fantasise about old buildings:

I have a serious love of buildings on bridges [I don't know why...] and while Minstergate isn't exactly a bridge - you can walk under it.

Since taking this photo I've learned that you can actually rent it out! Oh goodness!

(4) We squeezed ourselves into a five storey second-hand book shop:

James, engrossed in the history section at Minstergate Books.

That is what other people do for office Christmas parties ... right?

(5) Some of us tried on hats. 
In the interests of completeness the viewing of this next photo should absolutely be accompanied by this music because ... the game is on ...

(6) We had lunch and toasted 'Team No.1':

Just FYI ... we weren't being particularly boastful there ... that's actually our house number. #WeAreAlwaysNumberOne

Here's James and his big sea bream:

I had tagliatelle ... for good reason there are no photos of me eating it. [Scrolling to the end of this post will clarify that for you ...] ;-)

And, finally ...

(7) We exchanged 'Secret Santa' gifts: 
Kind of ... 

"We should have done a Secret Santa" I said. 

"Ha!" he replied acting out a scene: "Mmmm ... let me guess who this came from!" 

And then ... he paused ... leaned back in his chair ... and reached into the pocket of his coat which was hanging on a hook behind him ... 

... and, after some riffling, he turned and planted down on the table in front of me ... a caramel chew he'd bought earlier that day. [What? Did you think it was going to be diamonds or something?].

And I laughed and laughed at the timing of it, of the serendipity of it, of the brilliant 'punchline' of it all.

Then I had an idea.

And I turned to my own inside coat pocket, rummaged to the bottom ... found what I was looking for ...and then placed my contribution to the 'Secret Santa' moment on the table in front of James.

And that's how we ended up exchanging the gifts of a 20p caramel chew and a glasses cleaning cloth that had been lurking in my pocket for weeks without me once being able to remember where it came from and, as I don't wear glasses, why on earth I was keeping it in there ...

But I guess I had my answer to that; I was keeping it there so we could share with one another two perfect, spur-of-the-moment, serendipitously pocket-sourced gifts!! We couldn't have chosen better if we'd had weeks to plan and shop!

So that's how you do a staff Christmas lunch when you don't really like other people ...

• you go with someone you do like
• you do the things you both like to do
• you eat well and pretend you're Sherlock
• you rummage in your pockets and find the perfect gifts* [*used tissues not included.]
• then you return to the car and eat pork-scratchings on the way home while one of you reads aloud from a novel [using a head-torch because it's dark] while the other one drives [true story].

This way...

• no one gets drunk 
• no one is forced to dance with strangers while wearing tinsel 
• no one gets trapped sitting next to that colleague who finds a party the perfect time to discuss the worst, most anxiety-making, work related issues ... [we've all been there right? Even my limited experience of staff parties involves this one!!] 
• no one photocopies their bottom [not sure if that's a pro or con ....]
• and no one carries out any form of infidelity in a cupboard! Result!

And I for one am hoping Team No.1 gets to replicate this little festive outing in December 2016, I guess have to check with the boss* first. [He's not my boss. I don't even call him Boss. Not even for Christmas.]  

I'm making a note right now to have something interesting in my pocket on standby ... 

Feel free to take inspiration from our party any which way you fancy! 

[FYI James recommends the sea bream. And the deer-stalker.]

Julie  

Do you remember that article you inspired me to write? No? Then take a look inside the Pretty Nostalgic Yearbook 2016.

Hi you.

If you're:

• [a] looking for something lovely to read over the Christmas break [and beyond] ... OR ...
• [b] looking for a beautiful gift for a vintage-lover [by which I mean someone who loves vintage and not someone who's old but who's still got it going on ...]
• OR [c] at all likely to feel happy for me when I reach one of my life goals ... then have I got the book for you! 

This also gives me the chance to say thank you to those of you who helped me reach that goal. Even though you probably don't yet know that you did! 

The Pretty Nostalgic Yearbook 2016 is the first book from Pretty Nostalgic with their new publisher The History Press. They previously published big, beautiful, magazines with a focus on vintage-inspired living and are now continuing that theme in book format.

And this is how they describe this latest publication:

"An old-fashioned annual for grownups who love traditional things, gloriously illustrated with original vintage images and filled with fascinating facts, pearls of wisdom and heartfelt glimpses into British social and domestic history.

A Passion for the past. Making things last. Putting people first.

This is the perfect read for anyone who yearns for times gone by and respects the past enough to see that not all modern things are good for us."

Here's the contents page:

And ... if we just zoom in a little  ... to the 'Winter' section ... you'll see why this book means something in particular to me:  

See that Julie Kirk there?

That's this Julie Kirk here.

That's me that is!

My article 'Addressing Life' is not only the first time I've had any non-crafting-related work published ... it's also the first time I've had work published in a book.

And if we're talking life-long dreams ... then this is one that became reality for me on page 138:

And while I was the one who wrote the article - which is all about the importance of the humble address book - there are many of you reading this, right here, right now, who helped me do it!

So THANK YOU!!

To jog your memory ... quite a while ago now ... I struck up a conversation about address books on my Facebook page where I talked about how I'd stopped writing in a 'real' address book around about the time I started to rely on email / social media as my main forms of communication.

• And many of you joined in the conversation and shared your own address book histories in that thread.
• And I was completely enthralled by how similar many of your reflections were. 
• And, quite frankly, I found that your responses [many of which were touching and profound, for example, how you can't throw away the address of relatives who are no longer here] were too interesting to allow them to end up floating off into Facebook obscurity; forgotten about; languishing down the bottom of the internet somewhere. 

So I decided to take pull out the main themes, reflect on what we can all draw from them and then turn the whole thing into an article which will hopefully inspire more people to hang on to ... or to even begin keeping .. a 'real' paper address book; rather than rely on their less tangible email 'contacts' files.

And I sent it to Pretty Nostalgic, because - as they describe themselves as "promoting creative and sustainable living inspired by the past" - it felt like the perfect fit for them, and they accepted it ... and now it's in print! 

I'm not saying you should buy the book purely for 'our' article ... but ...

I am really proud of it ... I mean, I even managed to mention Shakespeare and Game of Thrones in the introduction:

But look, I only take up 4 of its pages, the remaining 160 plus are equally worth a glance.

Here are a few to give you the idea of the mix of vintage images and retro-fabulous topics on offer:

History of the sandwich anyone?

How about fossil hunting?

And there are plenty of shorter features too:

If the Yearbook looks like something you - or someone on your Christmas list - might enjoy then:

• you can find it here via the Pretty Nostalgic website 
• or from other retailers such as here on Wordery [one of my best 'go to' book stores this year]
• and here on Amazon where you can 'Look Inside'

For the record: this isn't a sponsored post, I bought my own copy. Likewise none of the above are affiliate links.

However, the gorgeous vintage Christmas wrapping paper in the background of the photos [peeking out from under the book] is available from my Etsy shop here!

So .. there it is ... the perfectly splendid Pretty Nostalgic Yearbook 2016: home to my article on the importance of the address book.

And if there's ever a time of year when we're all reaching for our address book ... it's the time of year when we've all got Christmas cards to send! 

Julie

Be careful not to tear it. It's too nice to throw away! Indulge in some vintage Christmas wrapping paper nostalgia.

Hello hello.

Our eyes met across a rammle-filled room.

Well, actually no, because a pile of breathtakingly glorious vintage gift wrapping doesn't really have eyes. Yet what it lacks in the eye department it more than makes up for in every other way imaginable! 

I could tell all that the minute I clapped eyes on it where it was tucked away, sitting on an old dining chair, in the back of a junk shop, in a narrow residential street, in a seaside town, in England's North East.

An unlikely first meeting. An unlikely place to meet. An unlikely amount of oh-so-rare UNUSED vintage wrapping paper!!

Of course I bought it. Of course I did:

You want some? Want to share the thrill? Want to fall in love with it too? Then don't let me stop you ... I'll happily step aside so you can start a new life together...

Head over to my Etsy shop to browse the various options available to you young lovers. Here's how I've described this papery treasure trove there: 

"Be careful not to tear it." Give me it here, I'll keep that for next year". "It's too nice to throw away!"

Such is the refrain of the wrapping-paper-lover.

Maybe that's you. Your mother? Or maybe it was your Grandmother.

And with this original, vintage wrapping in exquisitely retro and festive designs ... it easily could be her carefully opening each gift and saving the papery treasure for another year!

How much would you pay for a single sheet of mass produced gift wrap in a local store?

Now ... how much would you pay for a technicolour glimpse into Christmas Past?

These beautiful sheets can take you right back there, to sitting beneath a tree decorated with all kinds of trinkets and baubles ... [not the colour-themed minimal ones of the 21st Century!] ... right back to watching the pleasure on the faces of the gift-givers and receivers ... right back to saving the paper ... because it's too nice to throw away!"

Some designs are available to purchase as single sheets while others come as a pack of 12 with the original retailer -Boots - label:

And it's from the pre-decimal price on that label that we can at least be sure that these designs are pre-1970s [although the designs alone scream that they weren't made yesterday!].

The larger packs are a considered purchase ... but you do get 12 assorted designs and if  you think what that would cost in a high street stationers right now then it's not so different ... and these are unique and nostalgia-filled and wonderful!! When are you ever going to find more like it?

Similarly ... if you plan to use them in crafting, buying festive scrapbook papers would cost you something similar for a pack of 12x12 sheets  ... and they wouldn't have the history and authenticity that these provide.

Of course I'm biased ... but I just know there's someone who will see them, fall for them, and throw caution to the wind to own them. And I know it's possible ...

... because that's exactly what I did! 

Seasons greetings to you!

Julie 

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Hop to the shop for vintage gift wrap, vintage Christmas cards, Christmas junk journal kits, festive washi tape, festive craft packs plus gift ideas [many under £5] for the crafter or vintage book/ephemera lover in your life!