Nearly a new year.

Finally....back, and upright, after a horrible flu-ey cold/cough that hit on Boxing Day.

I'm so thankful it stayed away for Christmas day.

We had lovely times, starting with the early Communion service at our little tiny church in the valley, family with grandson on Christmas Eve , arriving with a luxurious hamper full of Cornish goodies. More family on Christmas Day ,with grandaughter, arriving with half the meal and an extra friend who was suddenly alone for the day!

These exquisite roses arrived from family up in Stockport, and below is a very poor photo of the hamper, taken in the evening. As you see.

How generous our children are. My very sensible daughter, knowing I do not need any more 'THINGS', sent us a voucher for the theatre in Truro, so we look forward to choosing a concert. I had the extra pleasure of being able to Skype with her on Christmas day, now I've found the webcam.

And the Christmas cards! I'm going to sit and go through them soon and give myself time to appreciate them.

Nearly a New Year, may it be a happy and peaceful one for us all.

Christmas

I send my warmest wishes for a truly blessed Christmas time to all my friends, wherever they may be.

I'll be back after the holiday.

May the peace of Christ be with you in this busy time.

Candles and things.

Referring to my last post on memories of childhood Christmas preparations, Floss asked me about candles on our tree.

I've had to search places like Ebay to find photos of the candle holders, but these are pretty much what we had to hold our candles.

These are the holders that clipped on to the branches.

Floss, we did very occasionally have the candles lit, but only with a grown-up standing by. How magical it was.

As these were the post war years, all our gifts were home made, as were our cards, and I remember spending hours doing little sewing projects, and rushing to Grandma to get needles threaded and wool untangled.

On Christmas Eve our little wooden crib came out, with all the characters. the straw had to be found to make the stable look right, and then, all was done.

All the traditions had been observed.

This year my 24 year old grandaughter will be with us, and has already mentioned the Monopoly tradition!

A pause in Advent, 3

Linking with Floss in A pause in Advent,

and thinking about Preparation.

Preparing for Christmas, for us as children meant;

the whispering,

the list making,

the muddly wrapping up of little parcels, then hidden in a wardrobe,

the making of cards for all the family, covered in glitter,

The searching out of big woolly stockings to hang at the end of the bed,

Decorating the pine tree that somehow just arrived, and we even had real candles in little tin holders,

sitting by a log fire with only the tree lights glowing,

The singing of Carols with my aunt playing the piano,

The waiting. The hoping.

The scents, the scents of pine branches, of oranges, of the one cigar that my grandfather smoked in a year.

The preparing ourselves for that wonderful season of Christmas.

Oh, to return just for a moment to those innocent days.

Deep sadness.

There are no words.

Presentations.

Our Church is in its Interregnum period, waiting for the appointment of a new Vicar. Similarly, our church in France went through the this, and I know from experience what a responsibility lies with the church council and churchwardens in their choices.

Today the whole church was invited to listen to presentations by three shortlisted Vicars.

How different they all were.

Each one came from a different area, one from a large town parish, another from a smaller area. It cannot have been easy to face a church full of people, all of whom were probably making notes as to the spirituality of their talk, their family situations, their availability etc. Not to mention checking out their clothing, haircuts and so on.

Each one did a ten minute talk and then answered questions from the congregation.

This afternoon they were shown around the parish, and tomorrow there will be in-depth interviews.

We wait with bated breath.

(As Michel Roux on Masterchef often says, 'I know which one I want')

On the Piazza.

The annual Primestock show took place in Truro this week. I think it is one of the  few cities where the 'animals come to town'. The show is held in huge marquees on the Piazza, which is a large open space bordered by the river on one side, and shops on the others.

As we arrived we were intrigued to see a separate tent given over to beautifying the cattle. Hairdryers were buzzing, combs were tidying tails, and the animals were looking very smart.

Below are the sheep having been judged.

It's a day when people come from far and wide to view the cattle. There are stands of farm produce, floral art, crafts and photography. Later there is a fundraising auction for a farming charity.

I think this one was Champion of the show!

Since 1902 the Primestock show has been part of Truro's history, and was for some years held within the City Hall. Then in 1985 Health and Safety regulations came into play and it had to be moved.

In 2002 the Piazza was adopted as its final showplace, with parking nearby making it easy for everyone to enjoy this farming tradition.

A pause in Advent 2.

Today is the second Sunday in Advent.

If you have the traditional Advent wreath in your church you will see that a purple candle, often known as the Bethlehem candle, has been lit.

It reminds us that it was a King who was born in Bethlehem, however lowly his place of birth was.

It is the candle of love and peace.

Our prayers are so much for world peace and harmony between nations.

Christmas wreath.

This is a slightly 'skewiff' photo of my homemade wreath--which cost me nothing to make.

Obviously I wasnt holding the camera straight....

I looked in the Garden centre and wasn't prepared to pay £12.99, so came home and cut back my Clematis montana. The long whippy stems were perfect for making the circle.

Then I cut some fir branches, tucked them in and secured them.

The glue gun came into play as I added bits and pieces.

There we are, cost- nothing. I have boxes of ribbon and bows, so it was easy to decorate.

Maybe I will now learn to take photos.

Parcels.

This week I had the pleasure of opening two parcels, both sent from the USA.

The first one contained a bag that I had ordered from Terri at Hearts in Service

 She is a crafter and I've often admired her Etsy shop. When this bag appeared in the shop I just knew it was for me! It's beautifully made and will be so useful.

The second parcel was a win! Amy at Pinehurst Cottage offered this little village on her giveaway, and to my surprise I won it.

It will look sweet amongst Christmas decorations.

Christmas workshop.

Our local quilting shop 'Coast and Country quilting' was running a series of one hour workshops yesterday. I can't normally get away for a full day, so that was perfect for me, especially as the workshop was on making Christmas things. Eight of us gathered together, were welcomed with coffee and cupcakes, and put to work.

I chose to make this dear little booklet, though there was a choice of Christmas decorations also..

All the materials were provided. All we had to take was our workbag with pins, thread, scissors etc. It was fiddly, but looks so sweet when finished, and is just right for putting a few Christmas recipes in to send to a friend.

Mine isn't quite finished yet. I think I'll try to make several of them as little gifts.

A pause in Advent

I'm linking today with Floss , who for some years has invited posts on our thoughts about the season of Advent.

I read an article in the Telegraph about Advent calendars recently. Apparently there are dozens of varieties, chocolate, candie canes, pockets full of goodies etc. You can send a Calendar to your child, to your aunt,

to your friend and to your pet.

They are even calendars called Countdown calendars to appeal to all faiths.

I didn't find one reference to the Christian meaning of Advent, a season when we prepare ourselves for Christ's coming as a baby into the world.

There is something very special about making one's own calendar, with  children.

Did you know that one of the first Advent calendars was produced in Germany in 1908, just a simple card with 24 pictures on. Later the pictures became doors to open to see the date. There were, in those days, Calendars with Bible verses.

I don't think chocolate figured much.