Monday 19th December - Christmas Cake and Christmas Pudding

Which I made several weeks ago, amazingly doing some "getting ready for Christmas".

I had hoped to make them on "Sir Up Sunday" but in the event was a week late. I also had to use grated butted instead of suet, as the contents of the half-used packet were decidedly whiffy.

Let me tell you, grated unsalted french butter makes a Fabulous substitute for suet! I'll do that again!

Oh, yes. That word "again".

I had some difficulty finding currants, and in the end we found some in Sainsburys. I made a large square Christmas cake, the plan being to cut into half, to make a rectangular cake for Christmas, and then cut the other half into two squares, one to have a test cake before Christmas, and one to save for the New Year. I also made four individual puddings rather than a single big one, again with the view of having a test pud beforehand.

The cake, and the pudding, were absolutely delicious.

Oh yes. That word "were". Which is not to imply that we ate them all up.

I've had to throw the cake and the puddings away. They were delicious, but inedible. The currants were full of gritty, stoney bits, which grated in your mouth and threatened your teeth as you ate them. We tried, honestly, we tried to convince ourselves that they would do, but it was no good.

I've made a new cake, and it is maturing nicely, and now it is time for the puddings. And I have checked ALL the ingredients for grittiness before they go into the mix.

 

Thursday 15th December - From one generation to the next

Dali clock, snipped from amazon

Yesterday, or was it the day before? Doesn't matter.

The daughter volunteers in a charity shop, and a young customer came in, and said that they were sure they knew her... after a while they realised that I used to teach her the recorder in Primary School, probably about ten years ago...

Maths clock, snipped from amazon

Ten, or was it maybe maybe fifteen years ago? Doesn't matter.

I was walking towards the mirror at the top of the stairs, and was totally disconcerted, disorientated as it seemed as though my mother was walking towards me, apparently through a portal that doesn't exist....

Christmas tic toc clock, snipped from amazon

Thirty, or was it maybe thirty-five years ago? Doesn't matter.

My mother was having her portrait painted, out in Indonesia. For some reason, the artist started by covering the canvas with a swirling mist of pink, and then painted just my mother's eyes. "You can stop right there, and start again!" said my mother. "I'm not having Her looking out of MY picture!". The artist had painted a true and effective likeness of my mother's mother's eyes...

snipped from http://www.sundials.co.uk/~thames.htm

History repeating itself. Rather comforting, when you consider it. 

And I've found an idea for a sunny afternoon in London sometime.

  

Tuesday 13th December - Remembering this time last year

This season of the year is full of happy things and busy things and hassling things and preparation things... Our Christmas Tree, Christmas Shopping, Advent Calendars (yes, I have FOUR this year ), the Advent Candle

This year's candle

Last Year's Candle

This season of the year is also tinged with a little sadness; Last year I prefaced blog posts about my mother with a photograph of the Advent Candle














The white bear that arrived from Canada in December last year, to watch me put up the tree, and to provide hugs when I needed them.

This year's Christmas Cactus - in flower far too early!

A Christmas Cactus plant in flower will always have extra memories for me now. This is the one I bought for my mother when she was in the Nursing Home. It has already finished flowering this year, ;

Last year's plant

And here's my original one, photographed in full flower this time last year.

Sunday 11th December - Christmassy Sunday

I drove to church this morning through a misty frost. I was looking round the congregation with admiration; 9am in the morning, and here we all were, average age maybe sixty, maybe seventy? I reckon fewer than 10 people were younger than me, but we'd all made it, up, dressed, presentable and making a brave effort at singing the Advent Candle Lighting song, to the tune of As With Gladness Men Of Old in A major in the chilly early morning. I must let the other organists know that there's a version in G major in the blue hymn book!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advent_wreath

We are up to the third candle, which in many churches (but not ours) is pink for Joy, because today is Gaudete Sunday. This is an example from wikipedia. I have made one for home, but not got round to lighting any candles. I think I may save it until I finally manage to clear the dining room table.

We must have been doing something right, because by the time I got home at 10:30, the sun had nearly finished burning through the mist. I didn't stop the engine, but waited until BB fetched his coat, and got into the passenger seat and we zoomed into town, beating the crowds who were still having breakfast.

Glorious.

I got to spend time in the wool shop (but didn't buy any this time). Then we had lunch in town, bought presents for various members of the family, browsed in the bookshop, and came home in time for a welcome cup of Advent Calendar Tea (Assam)

A bit more Christmassing has happened here at home: the Advent Calendar I sewed oh so many years ago is up now;

The baubles are in the pockets, to be hung on the tree every day.
We've also added tinsel and the star to the real Christmas Tree. I'm enjoying decorating it slowly, instead of all in one go.

Saturday 10th December - another week flown by

Last week was full-on, this week will be the same.

I've two keyboard end-of-term presentations to do this morning, and then the weekend can start. No, hang on, I've got to zap out a slew of emails to all the parents sending out invoices and informing them of next term's start date!

Having burned two days of the Advent candle by mistake, we are now a day behind - I reckon both those occurrences indicate how the weeks before Christmas overflow with end-of term work.

Next week I shall be spending every spare moment sorting out the percussion band for a school nativity. I'm beginning to evolve a plan for how to contain 17 children, four cymbals, two dozen chime bars, and a further selection of tambourines, boomwhackers, bells and woodblocks in the miniscule choir stalls of the little country church we will be in. There are also three flutes, a saxophone, a clarinet and three djembes to consider. I'll have a clearer idea of where to put the keyboard I'll be playing, (unless I hijack the church organ, or maybe there is a piano somewhere - who knows?). I'll see the church properly on Monday afternoon, and maybe by Friday morning all will be perfectly under control. At least I'm not in change of managing the infant, stars, sheep, shepherds, kings etc as they twirl around the church at appropriate, or not, moments.

Toodle oodle for now - time to get dressed and go.

Saturday 3rd December - Starting Early

I don't think we've ever put up our tree as early as this. Some years we've barely got it decorated by Christmas Day.

This year we agreed to start early. I plan to add to it every so often. Today was just the tree and the lights.

Thursday 1st December 2016 - Happy New Year

Again? We've had the first day of winter, and the first day of the Church Year (first Sunday in Advent which was last Sunday)

Apparently it is the first day of the meteorological New Year;

I've snipped the above from here:  http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/learning/learn-about-the-weather/how-weather-works/seasons/winter/when-does-winter-start

I wonder if I'll remember to wish you all another Happy New Year on 21st December?

Meanwhile it is the first day of Advent Calendar Openings... I've got three this year; these two which involve tea and chocolate,

and a www.Jaquielawson.com  calendar. I don't mind at all advertising JacquieLawson cards and calendars on this blog as I so enjoy them!

This year she has created a sea-side theme. The clicking on the red bauble opened an amusing little film of a family taking a winter dip in the sea; rather them than me!

I've also got an Advent Candle. I wondered if I would find that too full of sad memories; it was about this time last year that my mother moved from hospital to nursing home for her final months. But candles are a sign of remembrance, and hope, and hymns such as  "Love Come Down At Christmas", and "Love Divine All Loves Excelling" and a beacon in the darkness.

It always reminds me of the words at the beginning of St John's Gospel, read out at carol services every year:

 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.