Cats in the Kitchen, Flora in the Garden

Before I start on this posting I would like to take a moment to remember Lisa Oceandreamer's recent sad loss of her Mother and to let her know my thoughts are with her at this sad time. I would also in the midst of this sadness, like to take time to wish her gentle birthday greetings for the coming week, to show that even at this sad time, I have not forgotten, what would have been a noticed day in her life.

**************

I have had a busy end to the week, a Local History Group on Thursday evening, which I had not had time to prepare thoroughly for, as I usually do. For once I decided I would have to after the preliminaries, 'wing it' and inspiration, thank goodness, struck as we were all sat round the large table in the Centre. I decided to go round the table making a story circle, and you know how much I love doing them. I asked each person to tell me, in turn, a memory or if they were not born in the village, the first event that they remembered in the village. At first there was stunned silence, they are so used to me giving a short talk or asking them questions, then it just took off and everyone found something to say. Do you know, it was wonderful, it was one of the best meetings I have had, there were one or two old memories, of a part of the village, now demolished, that were absolute gems. Stories of close communites, where children were many and money was sparse, but childhood still seems to have been enjoyed. A tale of moving into the first of the new houses built in in the village in the hard winter of 1963. I was so pleased and told the group that there were, in those stories, the foundations of the booklet we want to publish, and I am making arrangements to have a long chat from the lady that was born in the old cottages. From what could have been a disaster, it turned to an excellent night, and how happy I was that people had turned up despite, the howling wind and battering rain.

Yesterday, I finally managed to dress the main tree in the living room and to put up another tree, in the back living room, which we call the morning room. I sat for what seemed like hours on the floor surrounded by tangles of lights with a will of their own, not to mention rolls of golden balls which were also determined to do their own thing. If anyone wants to torture me, the way to do it is to put me in a room with a tangle of tree lights. Nothing works me up more and makes me irrate and at screaming pitch. These tangles were really bad, strange because they had been put away perfectly. In the end husband to the rescue, after hearing all the odd noises and mutterings coming from the room. Perhaps, I should have got the decorations down myself and left the light tangles to him, as he is very good at disentangling them.

I also asked him to go into the common land behind our cottage, to get me some branches of rowan to make my treasure branch with. Yay! for husbands being capable and manly! I forgive him the decoration fiasco. As soon as he brought them back, I sprayed them gold and left them in the sun [yes, we actually saw some sun yesterday] to dry.

I spent yesterday evening finishing off the front living room, by placing a few final decorations. I am particularly pleased with me Green Man rondel, that lives above the fireplace, above the screen, I have managed to place a mistletoe wreath around him, so he is surrounded, and I think it makes a great Solistice, Yuletide, decoration, as he is protecting the house. The final piece of decorating was actually filling my treasure branch, what fun that was. It is filled with tokens from friends around the world, from friends nearby, and with items, of value to me that the children have either bought or made. It looks truly wonderful, and each piece has a tale to tell.

I love the way that day after day the decorations, spill through the rooms, and each room becomes a magical shrine to the season. The undecorated rooms look messy, as I always push the rest of the decorations in their boxes into those rooms until I am ready for them, but at the end all the rooms are ready for the season, and I celebrate with a glass or red wine, whilst all the different sets of lights are switched on.

Although, there is a reminder at the end of the post, I just want to say, don't forget my Christmas Story and Memory Posting Circle, you can post anytime between the 17th and 24th, and of course, I will be transferring them onto a temporary website, where they will remain until the end of January. I am going to post a Christmas Memory and also I am in the middle of writing a short story, to put on the site called A Tale of True Love, which is best described as a story in the style of an old fashioned fairytale. The idea came to me when I was decorating the tree, but wait and see.

Another lovely present arrived for me yesterday, this time a beautiful purple felt heart from Janet at just bee...etc. She had embroidered a daisy and beaded a lupin, so it said Daisy Lupin. Thank you, Janet. I was just so touched by this, and it is now hanging on my treasure branch. I will be photographing this nearer to Christmas.

Today I am having a day off from cleaning and I think I will sit down this evening, with some Christmas music playing, a glass of wine at my side and write all my local Christmas cards. It is important to take some time out and relax, to just step back even if only for an hour or two from this mad Christmas Roundabout we are on. In the meanwhile, I am now about to help my husband put the Christmas greenery swags up on top of our bookcase and our dresser, then I will tackle the stair banister. Happy decorating.

I have decided that every posting I do before Christmas and over the Christmas season, I am going to put in an illustration from an old fairytale book of a story that is a fairytale or a pantomine. I have so far, in the last posting, done The Snow Queen, and in my Sunday Scribblings, Cinderella, today it is Snow White and the Seven Dwarves.

Don’t forget to join in Daisy Lupin's
Christmas Story or Memory Posting
Post a Christmas memory, story, even a ghost story
Or poem you would like to share,
More than one if you wish ,
Anytime between 17th and 24th December
Just let me know it is your contribution
I will transfer them to a temporary site
There they will remain for everyone to enjoy
Until the end of January.
Come on lets have a Giant Christmas Story Circle