Thursday 14th December - more cards, more decorating

 It's beginning to look a bit more like Christmas here;

There will come a year when putting up the lights all around the sitting room will be a bridge too far, but this year we're still up for it. 

We are SO not a minimalist household! Neither do we embrace the latest decor trends...!

I've wrapped nine presents and written just fifteen cards, but now I have to wait until BB has braved the shops before I write any more. 

He visits the supermarket in person every week to shop for my father. This is so he can rummage through the microwave ready-meal selection to pick the longest dates. Online ordering means you get what you're given and make the best of it - okay for us but not so good for my father. It does mean we have a chance to get anything that was not delivered, or forgotten from our own order.

Wednesday 13th December - post boxes, more cards,

 But first, 

Can you see it? In the middle? A tiny violin ornament. Our neighbours spent the weekend at a German Christmas Market, and brought it back as a thank you for feeding their cat.  It's so sweet!

I've three more cards to write to reach today's target of 20 (minimum) per day. I'm going to pick people who just need a 'Happy Christmas ' sort of message rather than a longer letter.

Irritatingly the envelopes for the snowman and robin cards weren't identical as appeared at first sight. So I've taken the scissors to the edges of the snowmen. Take it from me; this is best done BEFORE you write the message.... 

I

Not ideal, but it might pass the 'would you spot it from a galloping horse at 20 paces?' test.

None of yesterday's were posted - it was a cold, wet, windy day. Not to worry, there's plenty (ish) of time. 

I can't remember if this is the post box near us;

or another one. I love the way post boxes suddenly get these toppers in tune with the seasons!

And if you ever wanted to know what happens to your letters once you push them through the opening, all is revealed at the Christmas Trail at Mottisfont Abbey. My son visited the Abbey at the weekend, and sent me this photograph. It's worth clicking on the picture and zooming.

Tuesday 12th December - Christmas Cards

 

I got 20 cards written this morning. The last posting date for Europe is tomorrow and I had 6 of those. Then one piano student as they were calling round, and some for family. I was feeling pretty chipper at having made a good start. That was when I thought I had a mere 75 on the list...

I spent the afternoon updating the list, adding missing addresses, changing the format as the one I was using was driving me crazy, adding in post codes, names of children etc. 

I had kept last year's cards as I knew there were some details I needed to get right. For instance the name of the lady at number xx is Not Margery as I had always thought! And what was the name of the oldest child of the family down the road?

Horrors! The list now stands at 100! A mix of miscounting and missing people off the original list. 

With the aid of the glass of sherry and the updated list I got another wodge of cards written, addressed, stamped and ready to go. It takes time as I write a shirt letter to quite a few of the recipients.

That's today's entire achievement. 

I've enough cards for the next 30 or so, but we'll need to buy more... not all to be posted, luckily, as some 20 will be local folks, and another 10 or more will be emails rather than real cards.

As my relatives, friends and neighbours get older I feel sending out cards becomes more important,  which is why I stick with it.

Monday 11th December - The Tree! and other bits and pieces

 

I started thinking about the Christmas Tree yesterday, Sunday, but there was a bit of clearing and tidying to do first before it could go in the bay window;

so I went and made cranberry, orange, apple and onion chutney instead. I started with a Delia Smith recipe, very easy, and just took an hour.

I say 'started with' - I added an apple, used cider vinegar, couldn't find and cinnamon sticks... you know how it goes... I also made just half quantities (there is only one chutney-eater in this household - me) and put it into the half-size jars I bought specially for home-made stuff. Otherwise I followed the recipe... 

Himself had zoomed off in the car to rescue a friend with a computer problem, returning in time for lunch and to clear the chest in the bay window. That seemed plenty for a first pass. After lunch the chutney was cool enough to put away, but the jams and chutneys cupboard was blocked by the shredder and a toppling pile of paper awaiting its fate.  

 So he dealt with the obstacles, and the chutney is sitting in a cool-ish dark place until it is ready.

I just drew a little duck - the Jacquie Lawson calendar picture for Sunday.

Today, then, was tree day! I think this is the first time in years we have 'done' the tree in a single day. We took it gently; found the tree and put it up. How sad and small it looked!

 As we progressed, it began to look more respectable; lights and tinsel

baubles (just silver, gold and red - the only colours my mother would allow on the tree!), star, tree skirt, and, my latest purchase, battery operated tree candles! 

I love them - they take me straight back to my childhood, when the electric tree lights we used for many, many years were a Dutch set of candle-shaped lights that had paper-clip style coil to hook them onto the branches, and white lights when all my friends (how I envied them!) had strings of multi-coloured flashing lights.  

As the afternoon became darker the tree really came into its own;

 I might add the little German-style wooden decorations tomorrow...

I realised today - how has it taken me so long? - that the reason I have always felt so harried about getting ready for Christmas every year is because until just a few years ago - 2020 - I was always working full time, and completely embroiled in possibly up to 20 school concerts of varying complexity. As well as accompanying for music exams and preparing my own piano students for their exams. 

Presents, decorations, food, cards just all became added things threatening to derail an already crammed schedule. All it would take is for a colleague, or worse still, for me to be unwell, and everything would pile up until, until... yes. indeed!

  

I am so enjoying this leisurely pace. I did desperately want to clean the bay windows before the tree went up because of the streaks and smear and spots - too late - tra la la - I won't even be able to see them through all the tinsel! 

Ho ho ho - Happy Christmas, everyone! 

Sunday 10th December - Makes and bakes for the second week in Advent!

 Here we go;

The knitted teddy bear glove/finger puppets might take a bit of 'trial and error' depending on the yarn you are using, and the size of hand/finger your are making them for. 

A complete teddy finger puppet took me a day, the glove puppet two days. So if you are looking to use up some scrap yarn and make a small present, this might work for you.   

The papercraft  has to be  the simplest booklet ever - at least, I hope you find it so! A single sheet of A4 paper and a pair of scissors should see you through. Then, the contents are up to you. A little story for a child, pictures, drawings...

And two recipes for cheese biscuits. I've just listened to an audio book by Miss Read, 'Winter at Thrush Green' (I find her books perfect night-time reading and listening - I used to read them when life was threatening to become 'all a bit much' and needed to totally switch off and wind down). They continually have little sherry parties in each other's houses, and I think these little biscuits might have been the sort of thing they served beside the sherry (and whisky for the men, of course!). 

One, the cheesy feet is suitable for Everyone, the other, with mustard, pepper and cayenne, has a bit more of a 'kick'.  

Sunday 10th December - Pause in Advent 2 - Peace

 

The second candle, for PEACE is lit. Still no greenery - still too cold and wet outside to go foraging..

PEACE is what we are probably all hoping and praying for; in the Ukraine, and in Russia, in Gaza and Israel, and in the many, many other areas of the world where conflicts still endanger lives.

Edmund Burke famously said 

 'Those who don't know history are doomed to repeat it. ' 

I think that pretty much sums up the Ukraine/Russia, and the Israel/Gaza conflicts, all the other conflicts that come and go in the News. History is a complicated business, takes a lot of untangling and a lot of learning.

Which brings me to today's Collect;

BLESSED Lord, who hast caused all holy Scriptures to be written for our learning: Grant that we may in such wise hear them, read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest them, that by patience and comfort of thy holy Word, we may embrace and ever hold fast the blessed hope of everlasting life, which thou hast given us in our Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen.

I firmly believe skilled teacher is firstly a skilled learner. To learn, we need to hear, read, mark (pay attention to) and inwardly diges,t (reflect upon) the subject - in my case music, and specifically playing the piano - before we will ever be useful. It takes time and patience, and a readiness to persist and struggle with the subject.

Likewise, this collect is encouraging us to read and listen to the Scriptures, and other books which help widen our understanding of God's plan. Reading, hearing, engaging with, paying attention to the Old and New Testament helps us get a handle on the way the God's plan, in spite of the way humans continually go 'off-piste' is working out through history, through the present, and into the future. 

The birth of Jesus was heralded by angels announcing 'Peace on earth, and goodwill to all men'. I'm just continuing to hope and pray for this.