Friday 6th December - Evergreen evening

This has been a feature of the social whirl at our every year, at the beginning of December, for a good few years now. We get together for an evening of making Christmas wreaths and table decorations, fortified by Chrismassy refreshments (cakes, mince pies, stollen) and background  music.

It was the first time that I had been along. My Fatal Error was to fail to being any greenery or secaters with me (we were supposed to provide our own). Best Beloved proved is undying love by going out into the cold and frosty garden by torchlight and hacking at a couple of the bushes, and then bringing the consequences of his endeavours to the church hall where daughter and I were waiting to begin.

It was a fun evening; and fascinating to see how differently everyone's wreath ended up. Here are a few;

 

All these wreaths except two (the one with a candle, and the one on the left in the middle row) started with identical rings of oasis as the base.

 

They do seem to reflect the personality of the constructor. You've probably already guessed that mine is bottom left, the heap of greenery with a red ribbon threaded through it. When I got it home, I stuck four candles in, and designated it an Advent Wreath as there was no way it would have survived being hung on the front door.

Saturday 7th December - The Really Secret Craft Project...

... is finished, and only just in time before the intended recipients arrived this morning.

I'm a bit pleased with myself, if the truth be told. The last pocket was done on Thursday night.

Saturday 7th December - Realistic Idealism

On many occasions I have really, really wanted to follow my dreams... for example

Ideal; To live in a gorgeous country cottage with roses round the door (this is clearly a Summer time dream... the roses are always bloomin' marvellous).

The cottage would be tastefully decorated in well-chosen colours, with perfect antiques and vintage finds. The uncluttered surfaces would be decorated by - three assorted but toning glass bottles with unusual seed heads casually arranged in and around them - or an array of seashells from that wonderful holiday in Wales - or a selection of quaint little hand-carved boxes - just like in the books.

Reality; You are miles away from shops, buses, schools, petrol stations. In winter you can't get out because the roads are snowy and icy and the gritting lorry never comes. In bad weather you lose your electricity (there is no mains gas). Broadband is woefully slow. The seed heads drop bits everywhere, the sea shells collect dust and the hand carved boxes just look really, really tatty.

However, I have discovered a realist's solution to another idealistic dream...

Ideal; to have chickens at the bottom of the garden, and live in a sort of small suburban small-holding with fresh eggs and a kind of farm type environment.

Reality: getting up early to feed and water and clean out said chickens and animals. Remembering to go out into the cold and feed and water and shut them up every evening. What happens when a fox gets into the run, or the chickens get old or sick, or they makes holes in the fence... and the noise, and the smell, and the inconvenience...

Solution! Continue to buy eggs from the supermarket as before, but invest in these:

We could have sheep, and baa-lambs, and sweet little piggies as well...

And as many donkeys as we wanted, without the fuss of vets bills and farriers and buying hay and collecting the dung up from the field, and having a field in the first place...

We can just go and buy concrete chickens and sheep and cows from the garden centre.

Every few days we could re-arrange them around the old apple tree at the bottom of the garden.

Foxes, and there are rather too many around here, would never be a problem.

I dunno, however. Concrete animals will never be as warm, and cuddly, and responsive as the real thing. No quirky personality, no amusing little ways.





I'm sure there's a moral in there somewhere, but tonight I can't be bothered to think it through. I think it boils down to what you get out of something, whatever it is, depends on what you are prepared to invest, time-wise, into it. This is the fatal flaw in ideals about fresh home-grown vegetables, or a beautiful garden all year round, or a clean and shining house. It takes the investment of time - and that's just not going to happen at the moment!  

Wednesday December 4th - Be Upstanding

Called round at the parents this morning. After coffee, my mother had another go in the standing frame.

She is so much stronger; able to pull herself up from sitting in the wheelchair to standing by herself, and looking much more relaxed. Her balance is better, and she is less reliant on the support straps.

After the best part of fifteen minutes standing she was able to lower herself back to sitting by herself as well.

She can now move her left leg and foot.

Being able to walk any distance is off the edge of the horizon, but progressing to being able to stand and take a step or two is not an unrealistic hope for the future.

That's a double negative, I know, but this is not the place or a time for wild optimism. More a place for carefully qualified, and measured, realism. That way I can be continually surprised and full of rejoicing when she exceeds expectations.

It's like learning a new piece - especially for adult pupils. They always disappoint themselves and berate themselves for slow progress, instead of being cheered and encouraged by what they have achieved. When I'm learning a new pieces, I take the view that just managing to play a small phrase correctly is worth celebrating and gloating over, and worth doing over and over again, congratulating myself each time I get it right, rewarding myself with a cup of coffee or even a gold star! It may seem silly and infantile, but remember, "success breed success". Being able to do something that you have been working towards is worth crowing over, and doing over and over again to enjoy that feeling of achievement.

Thursday December 5th - Pale winter morning

8 am

Opened the curtains just now to a pale blue/ dove grey/ rose pink/ golden clear sky, grass, trees, hedges white with frost.

Beautiful. The leaves on the huge oak trees at the bottom of the garden are such an amazing russet colour.

This is the kind of winter weather that I love - well, to be truthful, I love Looking at from the warmth of indoors. Not so keen on being out in it - cold feet, cold nose, cold fingers.

Sunday December 1st 2013 - Happy New Year - again!

I have got three "Happy New Year" days every year;

January 1st - New Year's Resolution Day

Beginning of September - the New School Year

First Sunday in Advent - beginning of the Church Year.

The first two New Year Days involve action - making resolutions, planning lessons, arranging schedules, making lists, blah blah blah.

Advent, however, is a time of finding space for waiting, watching, listening, somewhere in the midst of the manic logistical nightmare that is December.

I have lit the Advent Candle, and plan to do a bit of Real Advent Activity - that is, Doing nothing that is busy, just Being who I am, until today's portion of wax is consumed.

There will be plenty of time later in the day to go back to all those lists and laundry piles and other preparations waiting to be done.