The last few days have been so very challenging.  It seems everything we look at breaks, dies or just goes wrong. My patience has all but disappeared as we leap from one catastrophe to the next.

I've mentioned before that I love to wallow.  Oh yes, give me the hint of excuse and I will whine and moan and sulk with the best of them.  My particular talents - throwing things in a rage and sobbing on the floor.

And so yesterday, as the destruction reached comedy levels, I wanted to shut the children in the lounge in front of a DVD and mope.  Fighting against that primal urge, I grouped us un the kitchen where we spent the afternoon listening to Michael Buble's Christmas album at full blast, making salt dough ornaments and peppermint crisp.

And yes, it was 800g of the cheapest chocolate I could find at Lidl. No I didn't have any peppermint extract. And so what if the candy canes were from the Pound Store and obviously very close to their use by date. And no, the salt dough did not set at all. But actually, the ingredients matter very little on days like yesterday.

Because, in the end, its what you make of them.