New year.

I'd like to wish all my friends a very

happy and peaceful New Year.

2011 will be with us very shortly, and I shall be glad to say

good bye to 2010, for all sorts of reasons.

What might we expect from this new year?

I so hope for peace in all ways.

Peace in countries that are war torn.

Peace amongst families. All over the world people will be celebrating.

In Paris there will be huge firework displays centred around the

Champs Elysees.

In Sydney, where my son lives, there will be amazing displays

centred around the Harbour Bridge.

I think we may be in bed and asleep!

I read in the Daily Telegraph about a family

with such a sensible idea.

They had a celebratory dinner together, then one slipped out

and changed the clock to almost midnight.

Upon which they toasted the 'new year' in......

and went to bed!

Linton in Craven

We went on a trip to the Yorkshire Dales today, with our family.

What a gorgeous village this is.

The photo is a stock one taken in the summer,

and today it didnt look like that at all, being fairly well covered in snow. The little river runs through the centre of the village, spanned by

a pretty bridge. Today the ducks were skating on the ice!

This fascinating building was commissioned by Richard Fountaine in 1721,

who made his fortune as an undertaker after the Great Plague.

It is the Fountaine Hospital, now used as an Alms House,

with a grant for six 'poor' residents of the village in perpetuity.
We had lunch at the local pub, and drove back in the dark, over
the moors. Very Bronte.

Christmas morning

Christmas morning saw us at this lovely

Bramhall Methodist Church.

The church filled up..and up... and literally up into the Gallery.

Standing room only!

The welcome was warm and friendly, and the service was very much a family one.

Children were invited up to the front to show their gifts,

toys, books, and each one said something about their present,

encouraged by the Minister.

One little girl brought her new doll.

" Has she got a name?" asked the minister.

"Yes"

"Are you going to tell us the name?"

"NO"!!

Christmas Carols were sung, the lovely words of the gospel of John were read,

and we left feeling uplifted and ready for the rest of the day.

A blessed Christmas to all.

I'll be signing off for a few days now.

May I wish all my friends a truly blessed Christmas,

with family, friends or whatever you are planning.

Winter weather

And this was how it was!

The moment we got onto the M40 the snow and the fog descended.

I've never driven in worse conditions, but at least

there was no ice.Traffic crawled at zero miles an hour.

It took us an hour and a half to move a mile or so.

Lorries were stranded by the side of the road, with traffic police

much in evidence.

I felt trapped, with nowhere to go but onward.

The strange thing was that by the time we reached the M6 Toll road,

the sun was shining and the snow had gone.
It took much longer than we had anticipated,

but we got here safely. Thank God.

We leave a day early for England to avoid the forecasted snow around Caen.

So I will be off line for a few days.

I'll hope to link up later in the week.

in the meantime....

rush to finish packing,

get house ready for people who look after it,

load the car,

wrap a couple of local presents...

and,

go to the dentist!

Even more sewing....

Lavender sachets again!

I have so much home-grown lavender, and every year

I try to find a new way to present it in the form of sachets.

This year they are all-white (nearly)

(click to enlarge)

They are made from vintage French linen,

some with a little cross stitch motif,

some with lace attached.

White velvet ribbon makes a little hanging loop,

finished with a snowflake button.

They are full of home-grown lavender and smell beautiful.

I'm quite pleased with them, and hope my friends will be too.

Mince pies?

I've been trying to explain a mince pie to a French friend.

Laboriously translated as 'tartelette de Noel aux fruits sec', it still

has little meaning for those who prefer a Christmas meal of Oysters and

Salmon!

Christmas pudding? No. Sometimes a Buche de Noel,

which is a little like a Yule log, a rich chocolatey cake in a roll.

Mmmmmmmmmmm.

These are not my mince pies
I liberated them from google,

but I have made some today, just so that my French friend

can have the English experience!

I do remember shopping in Sydney and trying to find mincemeat.

They kept directing me to the butcher, and it wasnt until a bright

young soul thought of 'fruit mince' that we got anywhere.

Different countries, different traditions, and language too!

Booksneeze review

Those of you who are Booksneeze members will already know that in exchange

for an unbiased review of a book, bloggers can choose a free book

to be sent to them.

This is the latest one that I have for review,

and it was so different from my expectations.

Then Sings my Soul.Written by Robert Morgan, it tells the stories and gives a look

at the inspiration behind the great hymns and

songs sung over several centuries. It is a book that could be used

in a Church situation as each page has the music of the hymn,

or just for personal use.

We sing carols, often , but maybe without thinking about the inspiration for them.

For example, I love the carol 'O holy night'.

I had no idea that the words were written by a Frenchman, Placide Clappeau,

whose hobby was writing poetry.

'O come all ye Faithful' was written by John Francis Wade in 1745,

a Roman Catholic living in Lancashire. Persecuted for his religion, he fled to France,

where he taught music.

In 1700 'While shepherds watched their flocks'

was written by Nahum Tate, living in Dublin.

On his migration to London he wrote poetry and was named Poet Laureate in 1692.

What a long way back some of these Carols go.

I think that for too long I have simply taken some of these hymns

for granted. This book has shown me a new way of looking at them,

and it's a book that I will dip into time and time again.

I received this book free from the publisher through Booksneeze.com book review bloggers programme. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions

I have expressed are my own.

Christmas lights

I remember the first time we spent a Winter in Canada,

in British Columbia with my daughter. They lived

up in the mountains, and one night close to Christmas, they said

'We're going to take you to see the lights'.

I had no idea that we would be seeing street after street of houses

lit up, covered in decorations.

I'd never seen anything like it!

Edit.....Do take a look at Judy's Front Porch

whch has some amazing photos of Canadian lights.

Here things are very discreet.

The most exciting thing we see in our village is a horrid

blow-up Father Christmas climbing up the wall of a house.

Unfortunately he usually stays there till next March or so, deflating gradually!

I noticed that our nearby town has its trees lining the roadside now,

all covered in sparkly white. The streetlights are going up now too.

I think Christmas is arriving in Brittany!

.

Shopping for UK.

Our Christmas will be spent in England, with family near Manchester.

Naturally, we do a bit of shopping to take with us, partly as gifts,

partly to fill my daughter's list of goodies from Fraance.

These are just a few! At the back you can see a wrapped up present.

Then there is a pretty tin of 'gavottes', a crunchy chocolatey

biscuity thing. Two bags of Guerande salt, the best you can find.

Some garlic. Sadly it isnt the right season to find the lovely strings of garlic.

Then we saw the box of candied fruit!

The box itself is lovely, made of wood, with a tiny flower decoration on each side.
It's full of apricots, peaches, figs, dates and crystallised citrons.

My husband's mouth is watering already!

Second candle

Today in church we lit our second Advent candle.

I always thought of it as the 'Peace' candle, but

it can have several significances.

The Bethlehem candle

reminding us of the Saviour's birth in Bethlehem.

The Preparation candle

reminding us of our time of preparation up to christmas.

"Prepare the way for the Lord,

make straight paths for Him" (Luke 3)

A bit more stitching.

During the time that I was confined to the house with shingles,

I did manage a bit more sewing. It was done little by little,

sometimes painfully....but it got done!

This is a lap quilt for a very dear old friend, who has had to go into

a Nursing home in Cornwall.

It's just made up of bits that I had in my fabric chest, and backed with a

light polar fleece. I found it so warm and cosy,

and it will be something a bit different for him.

Nursing homes are somewhat impersonal, and I wanted him

to have a nice bright quilt. My husband had his eye on it too!

Footprints

More snow this morning meant that the car stayed at home,

and I walked up to our local shop.

The 'snow trekkers' we bought last year are such good value, and

I didnt slide or slip at all.

Beatrice in the shop was very intrigued to see them

(oh la la, qu'est ce que c'est??)

And below are my footprints,

alongside those of a visiting bird.
You might need to click to enlarge.

Mine were the first footprints on the lane this morning.

I wonder what people thought they were?

Edit...you can get the grippers on line at QVC

Hungry birds

Poor birds. We fill up the feeders with nuts and seeds at least

twice a day. This morning there were

dozens of little bluetits, greenfinch and chaffinch

desperately fighting between the three feeders.

Then came the Woodpecker, looking for a meal.
Even the starlings have learned to stand on a fence rail and reach for the nuts.

Every morning their water is frozen, and every morning I replace it,

only to see it freeze over later.

The moment I stepped outside to take a photo most of the birds

flew off, naturally. Sometimes when I go out to replenish

the water they stay, watching me. They have become very tame now.

Advent calendar

If you know of the Jaquie Lawson card website, you may have seen this lovely

Advent calendar which she has produced for Desktops.

I treated myself to one...yes you have to pay, but only £2.00 for one

or less if you send some as gifts.

Every day there is a new window to open, and like her other beautiful cards, this one

is very special. The angel appears in another of her cards.

Have a look at the website

St Andrew's Day

Today is the feast day of St Andrew, the patron saint of Scotland.

What I didnt know is that St Andrew is also the patron saint of

Greece, Romania and Russia.

In Scotland it is a holiday (why doesnt England do this for St George?),

and the Scottish flag flies.

The students of St Andrew's University have the day off

as a free holiday. I'm sure Prince William appreciated that when he was a student there!

St Andrew was a fisherman, one of Jesus' disciples, and helped

to spread the Faith through Asia minor. He is also the patron saint of

fishmongers, singers and spinsters, an eclectic collection indeed.

Snow in Brittany.

Having been just the tiniest bit smug about our lovely

sunny days here in Brittany, it was a bit of a shock to wake up to this

yesterday morning!

Compared to those of you in Canada this is nothing I know. We braved the roads and drove the forty minutes to church

and were quite surprised at how little snow there was.

Different story two hours later.

Then we crawled back in an absolute white-out,

huge flakes obscuring the vision, one or two cars creeping along,

quite a scary drive for me (I'm the driver now)

But as we came within ten miles of home, the sun broke out and the snow lessened.

It was so good to be back in the warm house again!

Advent is concerned with that very connection between memory and hope which is so necessary to man.

Advent’s intention is to awaken the most profound and basic emotional memory within us, namely, the memory of the God who became a child.

This is a healing memory; it brings hope.

The purpose of the Church’s year is continually to rehearse her great history of memories, to awaken the heart’s memory so that it can discern the star of hope.…

It is the beautiful task of Advent to awaken in all of us memories of goodness and thus to open doors of hope."

Written by Joseph, Cardinal Ratzinger.

A bit of colour in my home.

At this time of year there is very little colour in the garden,

but in my sitting room I am enjoying three lovely plants.This first is a Hibiscus. It lives outside in the Summer,

but once it comes into the warmth it just never stops blooming.

I counted 40 buds and flowers the other day!

Cyclamen always look so beautiful at this time of year.

There is something refreshing about their crisp green leaves, clustering

round the edge of the pot, with spires of pink above.

This is a very poor photo, I'm not sure why, of my Paper whites.

They have shot up, growing up to two inches a day!
It's so good to have plants around.

Giveaway winner.

All the names went into a glass bowl.

My husband was required to shut his eyes and choose a name.

and the winner of the little giveaway is.......

BARB,

of, appropriately enough, The French elements.

Barb loves anything to do with France, although she lives in USA,

so I'm pleased that she has won.

Let me know your address please, Barb.

Catherinettes

It's St Catherine's Day in France today.

I think I've mentioned her before, but anyway......

St Catherine was a young woman of noble birth, a Christian,

who dared to correct the Emperor Maximus for worshipping

false gods. Although he sent his men to 'reason' with her she managed to

convert many of them to Christianity!

St Catherine is the patron saint of ....

lacemakers, unmarried women,

students, potters and milliners, and it is said that on her saints day

unmarried women pray for husbands.

These unmarried women are sometimes known as Catherinettes,

such a pretty name! The picture is by Pierre Auguste Renoir, and simply called

'Girl in a hat'

What a beautiful hat, dont you think?

Oh, by the way

Happy Thanksgiving to all my American friends!

Little giveaway

As part of my giveaway I'd like to offer a very pretty

Calendar with photos of Brittany.

It's in cellophane so I havent opened it to show the photos, but

you can see them in miniature on the next photo.Obviously all the wording will be in French

but the dates are the same as anywhere else!
There will be a little extra tucked in with the calendar, but
due to not having gone out for a while, I'm not sure what it will be!
I will draw for the giveaway on Friday 27th.
Just leave a comment if you would like to be included.

600!

Oh my, 600 posts!

I'll have to have a little think and

find a giveaway.

I'd no idea when I first started posting that I would

ever reach so many. I must be very talkative.

What is so nice is that I feel no need to wander about searching

for new blogs (though some pop up of their own accord).

I'm kind of settled, with my old friends.

We may never meet, but there is a real feeling

of 'knowing' people.

Christmas sewing

Oh, the relief of a better day.

Thought I would just show you (instead of winding on about my health)

what I made for my two grandaughters in Australia.

It's always difficult to think of something new.

Clothes aren't sensible, as it is not easy to know their sizes, and French sizes are so different.

You cannot send food of any sort to Australia, so no Christmas chocolates.

I like to send them things made by Grandma.

This year I made little Christmas cushions, with the help of
my friend Jan, who has an all-singing, all-dancing machine
that does embroidery. She did the names for me, and
I have covered them in this photo, just for privacy.
The cushions are decorated with snowflake buttons, sequins
and stars. I hope the girls will like them!

Thank you!

Thank you all so much for your kind wishes.

I'm pottering slowly, still in pain,

but thankful for my comfortable home.

I'm doing a bit of sewing, but its difficult to sit in any one position for long.

A kind friend brought me some books...always a huge treat , so I shall settle down with one later.

Housework? No.

Staying at home

I'm staying at home today, yesterday and probably tomorrow.
The Doctor thinks I might have shingles, and having done some research on the internet, that's certainly what it feels like.
Acute pain and general malaise.
Well, it's good to have a warm house where I can potter. No position is comfortable right now, so I do a bit here and a bit there.
The sun is shining today, unlike yesterday when it rained all morning. So I might even have a very little wander in the garden.
Just for five minutes or so. Then in for a cup of Coffee.

The engagement

It's finally happened. Good for them for doing it in their own time.

The interview on British television last night was, to my mind, shallow and trivial. All sorts of silly questions......'Did he propose romantically?' 'Were you hurt by criticisms?'

For goodness sake....it's nobody's business but their own how he proposed. Do we really need to know if he was on one knee or two, armed with a rose between the teeth?

Of course, anyone is hurt by criticism, why ask. It just seemed titillating.

Many years ago I was privileged to meet this nice young man's mother, when she came to open a wing of the school where I taught. She was, as you would expect, totally charming, and we were all swept away in admiration. Her son follows, it seems.

Washday

Traditions die hard here.

Families do the same thing that their parents did, and that

their grandparents did. Little changes.

This morning when I left the house, early, it was cold.

So cold that I had to scrape the ice from my car windscreen.

I drove the village road, passing the church, the hall, the little shops, till

I came to the outskirts.

There there is a Lavoir.

Lavoirs are something that almost every village has, and were widely used.

This was the place where the washing was done, in tandem with the neighbours.

All the gossip could be discussed while scrubbing. All the news relayed.

Round the edge were sloping stones on which to rest the clothes while rubbing.

It's many years since I saw dear old Angele, equipped with her wheelbarrow,

come through the field to our village lavoir.

But today, in all the icy cold of the morning,

at the little lavoir just outside the village, there were two ladies,

wheelbarrow parked on the verge, scrubbing.

How I would love to have taken a photo of them.

But no camera.....and I think it wouldnt have been polite anyway.

After all, they were just following a centuries old tradition.

Toast by the fire.

Did you ever have one of these brass toasting forks?

We did, and this afternoon, as I look out at the pouring rain (again)

I could wish myself back into childhood.

I raced home from school, longing for warmth

and that security that home brings.

Special rainy day tea was almost always Toast, made by the open fire, using Grandma's brass toasting fork.

Oh, the smell of it, that wonderful hot, yeasty, hungry smell.
The naughtiness of deliberately leaving a piece of bread just that moment

too long, so that smoke started to curl, and I could shout 'Fire!'

The taste of real toast, covered in butter, maybe honey as well.

It bears no relation to toast from a toaster.

How innocent, how undemanding we were in childhood.

How wonderful to look back on that satisfaction of such a small thing.

Remembrance Day

This was the scene this morning at the Ceremonie of Remembrance

in our village.

The Mayor , helped by two children, placed an arrangement of flowers

in front of the War Memorial.

The rain poured down.

The letter from the President was quickly read out.

The two minutes silence were held, rain dripping into everyone's sleeves

Thanks were given......

and the smallish group were welcomed into the two bars for a free drink,

courtesy of the Commune.

It never fails to rain on Remembrance Day here, but the thoughts are

serious, and thanks are given for the lives of those who

died that we might live in freedom.

Little lonely chapel.

I drove through the back lanes today to meet someone.

It was a route I had never taken before, and at one point I wondered if I was even on the right road. The tarmac ran out, the road surface got rougher, the forest loomed around me.....and then,

this little chapel appeared.

It stands in a clearing with trees around it.

There is one very old house, all shuttered up nearby.

Nothing else. I knew its name, Chapel de St Jean du Poteau, and when I came home , did a bit of research.

It dates from 1767, and was named after a neighbouring 'poteau' (post)which was part of a statue dedicated to St-Jean.

There is, I discovered, a thriving association known as the Friends of St Jean
which keeps the chapel in good repair, and organises annual events.

There is a 'Pardon', that is a religious festival, in August, to which many visitors come.

And at Christmas, this sweet creche is erected in the Chapel.

This year I shall find out when it is open so that I might share in the

local pride in this tiny place.

It isnt as lonely as I had first thought.

Weapon

This is my weapon of choice at the moment. Even though the Summer has gone, we still have small flies that love to come in and wander around the kitchen, in the warmth.

I loathe flies.

My 'tennis bat' has two batteries in it, and a little button on the side.

When pressed, the button lets fly with a high voltage charge......

and if I can actually manage to hit a fly, there is a horrid (but very satisfying) sizzling sound!

I dive round the kitchen like a demented tennis player

in the finals at Wimbledon.

But most times, like the Mounties,

I get my man (fly).

Jan Karon book

Thank you to those who sent me websites of booksellers.

I found the two books that I wanted,

and was able to buy new, rather than 'pre-read' books.

I had no idea that there were so many different sites,

as up to now I have only used Amazon and Bookdepository.

I've enjoyed browsing, and wishing...!

A change of view.

Overnight, the scenery has changed.

Where there was a very tall field of drying maize (for animal feed)

there is now

this. At 10 oclock last night we heard the rumble of heavy machinery.

Lights shone across the field as the maize cutter and the tractor rolled in.

Impossible to photograph, as all I would have got were lights,

but truly rather weird, like giant monsters roaring round the field, the

cutting blades held rigidly in front, just clearing our fence.

We've been wondering when it was going to be cut, as the maize looked so dry.

Now we look across to the far part of the village.

And my beautiful Liquidambar tree shows up so well against the stubble.

This is its fourth year, and it is changing colour so prettily.

I find the name so attractive too....it brings pictures of Amber

pouring itself liquidly into a glass.

What a dreamer!

This morning's task.

More sewing? No.

Christmas things? No.

Ironing.

I have a bad habit of allowing the ironing to mount up...something I virtuously told my daughter never to do.

So, armed with a steaming cup of coffee,

and a lovely CD of The Fisherfolk playing, I attacked it full-bore. Sheets, shirts, tablecloths, Church altar cloths...all quailed under the attack.

Now it's done......and there's another load of washing on the line, just waiting to come in and glower at me from the basket. Sigh.

Wonder if anyone remembers The Fisherfolk, an American community, who sang so beautifully. They relocated to England in the 70s, and we had the privilege of a visit from them to our Church. They have now returned to USA, but their music lasts.

Action stations....

I've suddenly sprung into action as regards Christmas presents. December feels ominously near.

I do love Christmas, and as we will be spending it in England with family, I can shop on line and have things delivered there.

I thought it was going to be simple until I ran up against a book on my sister's wish list. It's not available through Amazon, though their sellers have lots of copies.

In the USA.

So that didnt help either, as there is a long wait and customs duties to pay also.

I'm hunting around other online bookshops to see if I can find it.

The last resort is that I give her my own copy....but that is sadly very 'read' and not 'as new'!

I felt so organised! I have found various other things, classical CDs for my husband, flowers from the Scilly Isles ordered for an old friend. So I'm not doing too badly for the moment.

Bit of sewing.

Playing around with some strip patchwork, some Christmas fabric, and lots of home-grown lavender.

I've suddenly realised that December looms large. We have a Church Christmas coffee morning/sale to get ready. So once again I'm stitching little things.

Why is it that my fabric stash drawers never look neat and tidy? I'm always burrowing in them, and somehow never fold things up again.

Naughty person.

Book review.

Booksneeze is a company affiliated to Thomas Nelson,

who will provide free books to bloggers

in exchange for an honest review on one's blog. My first book went astray, so the company kindly sent another

which arrived this week
From the selection of books I chose 'Lonestar homecoming'

by Colleen Coble.

It is the story of a young woman who, with her daughter Hope, flees a desperate situation involving her ex fiance.

With only five dollars in her pocket, she alights at a station

where she meets the man who will be instrumental in saving her.

This book is part of a trilogy, but is quite readable on its own.

It is 'Christian fiction', and that is where I began to be disappointed.

The story of Gracie's rescue, her involvement with the man who helped her,

the search by her evil ex fiance, is a little too facile. I found that there were some 'loose ends'. Gracie's synesthesia is mentioned several times, but when her daughter shows signs of having this also it is not developed.

God is mentioned in a few places, but I never had the feeling that the whole story rested on

a Christian base. I could not say that my faith was challenged by this book.

I enjoyed the descriptions of the Texas countryside, somewhere the author obviously knows well.

I would read her other books, just for comparison, but for me, I'd prefer something a little deeper..

I read this book free from the publisher through the Booksneeze bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. the opinions I have expressed are my own.

Newest baby

Congratulations to my friend Jan. First a new blog, now a new baby!

She really is Jan the Gran now, as her first grandchild arrived...in America, yesterday.

When I was staying with her we went shopping for baby things, and at that point

had no idea whether it would be a girl or boy, so had to get rather bland colours.

Well...it's a girl!

What fun Jan will have making all those gorgeous girly clothes!

It takes me back to the years when I made dresses for a daughter, then a grandaughter.

There's nothing quite so exciting as a new baby!

All Saints (again)

I know. I've written about it before.

Twice.

But just in case there might be the odd person out there who would like to read it anew......

La Toussaint. All Saints Day.

This is a Catholic holiday celebrated on November 1st.

It's the day when families meet, and often go to the local Cemeteries to honour their deceased relatives. Chrysanthemums are only ever used on these occasions.

It is never given as a gift, as it is thought to be associated with death. I called in at our local grower today to buy myself a Cyclamen,

and took these photos. People were queuing up to buy not one pot, but several

of these giant blooms. Some of them are 2 or 3 feet across.

This grower will only be open for this weekend, hoping to sell all her plants.

What an incredible array of colour.

You can imagine how magnificent the cemeteries look. The village has pots of Chrysanths dotted all around the shopping area and the Church.

Monday will be a national holiday in France, when all the shops and offices are closed.