My Locality, Black & White

Recently, a walk around my local village,

 taking in what we normally take for granted.

One of the most obvious choices to start the walk was our local church,

the atmosphere of the area was well suited for the change to black & white photography.

The tall church tower stood faststead,

and was well framed by the fir trees to the back of the church.

The watery sun was trying to rise high  into the sky, but the day emerged to a dull grey day.

The weather vane below is situated on the local Community Hall

North, East, South or West!?!

Christmas Greetings

Wishing Each & Everyone of You

A Truly

 H A P P Y   C H R I S T M A S

Finally. . . .

All the Christmas shopping finally finished.

Final preparations to complete, but looking forward to the break.

S E S O N A L   B E S T   W I S H E S

Soo Cold!

Definitely weather fit for polar bears. . . . . well, it certainly feels like it!!!!!!

A manmouth task this morning de-icing the car,

although even before reaching the car, I had to negotiate a very slippery garden path.

Even our car park at work was like an ice skating rink, not only for us but our vehicles too.

And it certainly wasn't much better when it was time to leave this evening.

Judging by how cold it is tonight, looks like we'll have a repeat of this tomorrow. . . .

Just a pity this weather couldn't have waited just a few days on in readiness for Christmas Day.

Although it's tried to snow, we have not had the snow compared to other regions of the country.

At least our travel plans are not disrupted to the extent of some around the country, although whether we walk or depend on a vehicle, we do have proceed with great care. . . .

Festive Preparation

All decorations finally in place, my tree this year though is my version of a 'twig tree'.

Normally produce this every year although usually by the dining room table.

The twigs may come from my garden after a massive prunning session,

 or from fallen branches  discovered on a favouite walk.

I then spray them with silver paint & once they are assembled

 in a vase, they are then decorated with white lights & small decorations.

It does look quite effective & the arrangement can be made as big or as small as you like,

which ever suits your needs.

Other items are now in place with further table runners/mats changed for that Christmas theme.

Cards are now arriving which are finally gathered & hung for displaying.

The house is finally starting to resemble some order once again.

after the chaotic mess  from wrapping paper & boxes of cards seemed to dominate many areas. . . .

Most gifts are now wrapped, just one more present to buy. . . .

Nearly there. . . .

Sigh of Relief

Finally, getting organised with Christmas preparations.

 Just enjoyed a lovely week off from work, although it went far too quickly, 

 but time used mainly  to bascially catch up with myself.

The Xmas decorations I displayed, above, are nearly all my own work except for the santa.

I made a table runner using techniques of patchwork & quilting. Then a cross stitch christmas hanging, a few years old now but I was please with the effort I had put into this.

Finally, 'Noel', the centre of a cushion I had made, using cross stitch once again.

The top cushion is one that I kept for myself,

& the bottom cushion I gave to my neighbours,

but knowing how much they enjoy the festivities of Christmas,

especially with their famillies & friends, I knew this was appreciated.

SEASONAL   GREETINGS

Sunshine Yellow

Lovely to see the Broom in flower on the nearby Quantock Hills.

A breath of fresh air when everything else is resting for the winter. . . .

~ ~ ~ The Narcissi ~ ~ ~

Couldn't believe it when I seen these flowering in the open. . . .

much too early, so I'm sure someone must have purposely planted them recently.

Just loved these roses where the rain water had gathered. . . .

Seasonal Greetings

Shop Till You Drop!!!

Managed to spend an enjoyable day with my daughter today,

 visiting the shopping mall at Cribbs Causeway, Bristol.

This is about a 45 minute drive away travelling by the motorway.

The shopping complex is situated over two floors,

which was very festive with an abundance of huge

Christmas decorations with its wealth of lights was stunning.

Very festive.

Enjoyed some good retail therapy,

enabling us to nearly buy all the gifts for our family & friends.

The Festive Mood. . . .

Starting to sort out the Christmas decorations.

The first to be found is the cross- stitch creations.

The centre Christmas Tree was a present for myself  from one of my Niece's a few years ago.

The framed stocking was one my daughter made when she was about 10 years old.

They both come out every year.

I taught both my daughter & my niece how to cross stitch,

so both projects have significant meaning.

The other Christmas stockings are projects that I made.

The fully embroidered stocking is specifically for the tree.

It's quite tiny & it was awkward to make.

There is a series to this but never gone back to make the rest yet. . . .

Most projects have to be quick to make these days.

My niece's Christmas Tree featured again.

 The bear has been used many a time for presants. . .

Countdown

The countdown of Christmas has now begun. . . .

Although, this year, I've not even given it alot of thought yet,

 and I am not as organised as I should be.

But, I now have a week off  from work,

so maybe, I'll get myself sorted. . . .

Over the years, I have preferred to make some of the Christmas decorations.

The Advent Calendar above was made when my daughter was 2 years old.

She is now twenty-two.

The tree shape was made from a corduroy fabric, while the pockets were made from Xmas prints.

The numbers, I worked in Cross Stitch, & then handstitched in place.

Each year, I would put a small gift into each pocket, not always chocolate, maybe a hairslide, etc., although, the 24th number always had a small amount of money.

Needless to say, this became a tradition for our Christmas's.

My daughter may be older, but she still expects to see it hanging somewhere within our home, even if the pockets are left empty now. . . .

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S E A S O N A L   G R E E T I N G ' S