Bank Holiday Monday

Day 285...

Another slow and steady sort of day on what is called here in the UK a 'bank holiday'; this is basically a day that is classified as a public holiday, and is marked by the fact that the banks are closed.

Many moons ago I used to work for one of our high street banks and always enjoyed the Christmas period. We used to work till about midday on Christmas Eve and it would often be worked in fancy dress. We would then be in the local pub by about 1pm which was always such a great time. And on years when Christmas fell over a weekend we would enjoy the bonus of 'bank holidays' by having a break from work of four days! Those were the days!

Now working in education I do benefit from having a couple of weeks off over the festive period, and as Simon's work tends to shut down for the same amount of time it is great to have time off together, and time off as a family.

So today has been fairly standard; a mix of online shopping, ironing, a few odd jobs and more R2D2 building for Simon. But I did decide to gather up all of my Christmas presents and find a home for them all to live so thought I would share some of them here with you.

My good friend and podcast co-host, Michelle, knows me so well...I have a big soft spot for the attraction Mr Toads Wild Ride that used to be at Walt Disney World and can now only be found at Disneyland, so this mug is just right...

And then knowing my love of Disney jewellery she gave me this necklace which is gorgeous...

...and Christmas wouldn't be Christmas without some chocolate...

Couple of my favourite chocolate bars!

There of course had to be a little Star Wars in this years presents with Molly getting me this Stormtrooper themed gift...

Stormtrooper Bottle Stopper

And Simon got me this Loungefly purse which is just soooo cute...

I also received a couple of Disney books; this first one is 'Disney Book of Maps; A Guide to the Magical Worlds of Disney and Pixar'...

...this is a beautifully illustrated book and covers 25 films from Peter Pan to Snow White to A Bugs Life to Coco and more. Each film has its own 'map' depicting the story as well as a synopsis and an overview of the key characters.

But the present that brought me to tears was this book; Birnbaum's Walt Disney World The Official Vacation Guide 2020'...

...so it may seem a little strange why a guide book for the year just ending would bring me to tears, so let me explain.

When Simon and I first visited Orlando, Florida back in 1991 we had little, if any, knowledge about Walt Disney World and the Orlando area and so being the organised people we are (and before the days of the internet!) we bought ourselves some guide books one of which was the Birnbaum's guide to Walt Disney World.

Well suffice to say I read the book from cover to cover and my love and obsession with Disney World began. Each year we visited after that it became a tradition to buy the latest version, just in case anything had changed so that we would be as up to date as possible with new attractions, restaurants and hotels. Those were the days when travel research was by way of reading a physical book rather than sat staring at a screen. I now possess 17 Birnbaum guides including ones 'For Kids', Dining Guides and even a couple for Disneyland. Getting a Birnbaum guide book has now become a key part of our vacation.

For a multitude of personal reasons we have not been able to visit Disney World since 2013 but 2020 was going to be our year; all the things that had been stopping us in years gone by were no longer an issue and we were getting ready to book a trip and then 'you know what' happened. Simon knows how much I have missed my Disney fix and this gift meant the world to me acknowledging the sadness of not being able to go but embracing the hope that we will get there as soon as we possibly can.

Take care out there, and hopefully we can all get back to doing what we love as soon as possible.

xx