This will be my very last blog of 2008 as we are going to see the family for a few days and are leaving tonight. I hope everybody had a Merry Christmas and would like to wish you all A Happy New Year lets hope that 2009 will be a terrific year for you and your families.

As you know I started my sale before Christmas and that is continuing into January. I f you are looking for some organic cotton bargains for the children look no further! If you are already planning your summer holidays we have some very well priced summer clothes. Check out this red striped playsuit or hoody at these prices they will not be around for long and this just might be the time to pick up a bargain.

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I expect this is a day of high excitement from the children in most households wondering what Santa will be bringing them. I can still remember the delicious excitement of waking up on Christmas morning and wriggling my toes to hear the scrunch of wrapping paper. (I still have a good memory even at my advanced age!) We used to have our toys put on the end of the bed in case you are wondering about such strange practices! I used to convince myself that I heard Father Christmas the night before even when I was past the age when I really believed in him, it was just a bit of Christmas magic that I was very reluctant to relinquish.

We won't have the grandchildren here tomorrow so we will be very adult about it and probably wait until later to open our presents. I do miss those early mornings with children running around even if it did feel like the middle of the night at the time. So all you Mums and Dads enjoy all the childrens excitement they will be grown up be ...

Thats it !! I'm pulling up the drawbridge now, no more shopping for either food or presents what we haven't got we will do without. I shall not be returning to the world of Smoking Cessation until 6th January. We are planning to drive south to see the family after Boxing Day which will be lovely. Do you think it will be a white Christmas? A couple of weeks ago I would have said yes for sure but it seems to have turned wet and mild but with some ferocious gales thrown in.

I have been hunting around for some 'green' news for you without a great deal of  success, I'm sure its out there but we seem to have covered an awful lot of subjects over the past year. I would however like to recommend a website to you its called The Green Familia and brings you news of bargain shopping and trends and so on so take a look I think you will find it well worth a visit.

I know you probably don't want t ...

As you may already know I live in a very beautiful part of the country and my drive to work takes me through some of the most remote countryside in the whole of the British Isles. I was thrilled yesterday to see a beautiful stag standing by the side of the road he was a true Monarch of the Glen with a magnificent set of antlers. I was amazed to learn recently that these animals can weigh well in excess of 20 stone but when you see them really close they are so huge and powerful its not so surprising.

I was reading a rather interesting blog about baby food today and I wondered what your opinion was. When my kids were tiny I simply put everything we had through a mouli baby and very rarely ever purchased tins. Nowadays though there is so much more on offer for babies with lots of organic food available in jars and tins. We don't eat ready made in our house because we just dont' like it but is there a place for ready made baby food to be used on a daily basis? There is certainly a mu ...

This week seems to have been quite a long one but I have hung up my Smoking Cessation hat until Monday and am now wearing my homemaker/Internet Entrepreneur hat its all go isn't it? I have to make mince pies and a Christmas cake this weekend I am so far behind this year. We went to a party in the village last night where Father Christmas came and thrilled all the children and we had party games and dancing and a good time was had by old and young alike. So the festive spirit is building, carol singing next week which I always look forward to. What are you all up to? How are you getting into the spirit of Christmas?

Changing the subject completely we hear so much about cotton reusable bags as opposed to nasty plastic ones that I have decided to give a Sones cotton bag free with every order from now until the end of January. These bags are  'must have' items that your friends will all envy(slightly tongue in cheek here)& ...

Christmas comes but once a year and I am sure I heard some heart felt sighs of "Thank goodness" out there in the ether. It seems to bring out the best in folk but also the worst doesn't it? I had to pull myself up when I was in M&S Foodhall last week looking at all sorts of things and thinking I'll get that and this and so on and on. Sheer greed! Why do we get tempted into buying so many things that we really don't want or need? It seems to get ever more commercial and sometimes I have to step back from the hustle and bustle of preparation for one day in the year and think about what the true meaning of Christmas is all about.

I saw a great idea on a blog the other day about having clothes swap parties for ourselves and the kids. What a great way to recycle and have a good time with your friends at the same time perhaps even a glass of wine might be enjoyed at the same time! I think that organic clothing really lends itself to this idea after all its not ...

I'm very sorry that my blogging has been somewhat spasmodic recently, I have been mega busy with Smoking Cessation in between packing up parcels to send out etc etc. I have just arrived home now after a two hour drive home from Thurso. Its a bit wet and miserable out there and my route is mainly through open countryside so I am a bit shattered. But never mind Christmas is only just over a week away and I can put my feet up!

So I hope you will understand why this is a very short blog and I will try to do better. Just to get you in the festive mood I found this rather good guide to cooking your turkey on Netmums so go and take a look salmonella is definitely not a Christmas must have !

Linda

Back again and feeling a little better! I have a heavy cold and have been feeling very sorry for myself. Despite all the jokes about man flu in our house Peter is the stoic suffer in silence type and I am dying(at least!) whenever I get a sniffle.

Many a time I have waxed lyrical about the beautiful soap that I sell in the shop and I was delighted to see that John and Beth from The Strathpeffer Spa Soap Company were featured on the BBC 2 programme Landward this week. Congratulations to them they are selling a lovely product which I heartily endorse so pure and natural you could eat it!

I saw a blog post today which said if you know somebody with a small baby or expecting a baby  nothing starts off a baby with a light carbon footprint like organic baby clothing. Whats more its affordable, eczema friendly and soft as a whisper ...

Minus 5 this morning and feeling pretty chilly brrrr! I drove to Wick near John'O'Groats a very winding road which can be very tricky when its icy. We have our local Christmas party this weekend so I needed to buy some ingredients to have a general cook in tomorrow in between taking the dogs for a long walk. It promises to be a good night we have a ceilidh band and Father Christmas for the children.

My new Mary Berry Christmas cookbook has arrived from Amazon so no excuse now not to get up to date with everything. Whilst we are on the subject of food I was looking at the two week meal planner on Love food hate waste there are some really good ideas for using up all those leftovers that get stored in the fridge and eventually thrown away. Also some good storage ideas.

I have been reading some blogs about organic stuffed toys and I reckon that the Keptin Jr &l ...

Back in time today to add the new Baby basic items into the shop supersoft and cuddly babygowns with matching happy hats and stars above babygrows. I have also greatly reduced the Green Baby seasonal clothes but they are in limited supply so hurry these are probably the best prices around at the moment.

Every Christmas about this time I realise that there are lots of things that I haven't done and every year I vow to get better organised but so ...