Hello Lovelies, we have been having the most amazing summer weather of late. Long, hot days, wild swimming, and BBQs have been filling our days over the past week. Today cooler temperatures have returned and I have to say that there is some relief in that.
I have finally managed to find some time to put together a podcast. Editing was a bit of an issue this time round as I had to edit on YouTube Editor which is limited at best. There were things I wanted to do that I couldn't but at least I managed to get in a bit of chit-chat with you 😊
I have also added some new yarns to my shop so if you are a knitter/crocheter then clip on the shop tab at the top of this page to see what I've listed.
Have a lovely Thursday everyone, see you back here very soon.
Yip, Christmas is just around the corner and I'm pretty sure that most of you are busying yourselves finishing up those last few things that need to be done. It is no different in my home right now. We are finishing up our lessons for 2014 and are looking forward to packing away the books for a lovely two week break. Our afternoons are filled with lovely things that we are doing together, right now the girls are busy decorating the gingerbread house. In our home it is a two day process this year. Yesterday we made the dough, cut out the shapes and baked them. Today is decorating and assembly day (please do excuse the rather messy counter-tops in my kitchen today - real life and all that lol.
The tree went up on Saturday...
We have a few new decorations on our tree this year. My clever 16 year old made a set of 8 - each one unique- paper baubles for the tree. I just love them! It makes me think of Victorian times when most decorations were home crafted.
I found these cute little red bell baubles at The Range this year and fell in love with them. I had no option but to pop them into my basket and take them home and I have to say they are VERY happy living on my tree ;)
The mantle was decorated yesterday afternoon, everyone adding a little touch.
Outside my window at the moment the weather is horrible - windy, rainy, cold. The days of hanging my washing outdoors are gone until next year so my house looks a bit like a Chinese Laundry with washing drying over every available radiator.
I'm loath to use the tumble dryer too much so was thrilled when a friend gave me a whole lot of these nifty radiator drying racks - thanks Ruth!!
With the colder weather setting in, I thought that I would make a whole lot of hand-warmers to slip into our mittens when out and about. Have you seen these before? They are fab.
Mine are filled with lavender and rice so that they smell good too. I have made mine with a removable outer cover so that I can wash them when need be - it extends the hand-warmers life a bit.
When heating you just pop the inner (must be made from 100% cotton) into the microwave for around 16 seconds and then pop them into their covers. You are sure to have warm hands on your cold winter walks :) The little ribbons slip over the middle finger to prevent the warmer slipping down into your mitten/glove.
If you are keen on making your own you can follow this great little tutorial I found through Pinterest. Of course you could also make bigger ones to warm you up in the evenings or snuggle down into bed with. If you don't have rice in the cupboard you could use barley, beans, wheat or even oatmeal instead.
That's about it from me today. I will be back tomorrow to show you the gingerbread house :)
Hello and Happy December! Today the first windows in the Advent calendars have been opened, there is a feeling of anticipation as the advent season officially begins! Actually, the joy of Advent for us set in yesterday at our Christingle Service at church. The pews were fill and there was a distinct feeling of joy in the air. Christingles were lit and looked so beautiful in the church lighting up all those joyous faces. Now our Christingles grace the mantle lighting up the darkening days.
Another much anticipated event in our home - the construction of the Advent wreath which has taken centre stage in our living room this year. Our first candle was lit and we remember the hope that we have in our Lord and Savior. The hope he gave us by coming to earth to die for our sin, the hope we have of His return one day. What joy!
I thought I would share a few pictures of the Christmas Tree Festival held in Chesterfields 'Crooked Spire' Church. Oh this is a beautiful church - it takes my breath away every time I visit.
With DH off for a few days last week, we tried to do something festive with the girls each day - small things like visiting the Christmas Tree Festival, walking through our little town after sundown at 4pm with holiday coffees in hand to look at the Christmas lights, visiting our local garden centre to browse through their festively decorated areas, that sort of thing :)
The tree closest to the front of this picture touched my youngest daughter the most, it was a prayer tree. All those tags hung on it's branches are peoples prayers. We added one for a dear friends daughter who was {at the time} in hospital for 5 days with a severe bought of Gastroenteritis. Mercifully she is feeling better and is now at home.
On the home-front - I have managed to get quite a few Christmas gifts for friends finished - I can show you hints but not the whole thing unfortunately - complete reveals will have to come in January :)
... and a little festive baking has been going on already ;) ...
That's about it from me today. Hope you all have a fabulous day and I'll see you back here very soon :)
Well here we are, about to step into Advent, a joyous and blessed time.
As always, in our home we want Jesus Christ to be our center, our focus. It can be difficult in a world that is so focused on lights, tinsel, Christmas songs, movies etc.
So although we love that side of it too, first and foremost this celebration is about Jesus. To keep our hearts true I like to take some time to plan out an Advent program that we can easily incorporate into our daily living.
I created a file for this years plans and spent a bit of time browsing the net for some easy ideas to do. Inside I have an Advent reading plan - God's Word keeping us centered.
I have printed off various activity ideas for us, hopefully we will get to do something special each day. We will kick off our Advent by making our Advent wreath together tomorrow - something we do every year. The Advent candles have arrived in good time so we are good to go on that activity.
Our church has it's Christingle service on Sunday - a beautiful tradition that I love observing within our Anglican faith. We will make our own Christingles and place them on the windowsill in the conservatory for all to see as the winter darkness draws in. I found this lovely little explanation video for those who have not heard of the Christingle before - this is an easy activity that you can do within your own home if your church does not do it.
* Throughout Advent we will read new books together during our Read Aloud time. Some books in our book basket (we have not read any of these so I cannot recommend them yet - but I'll keep you posted):
* Of course the girls have their Advent calendars up on their bedroom walls, ready for the first door to be pried open on Monday. I have also purchased a Jaquie Lawon 'Christmas Market' interactive advent calendar - just for fun :)
* We will bake gingerbread and Christmas mince pies all through December - it never lasts long in our home so I find that I am baking up a new batch every 3 days or so.
* We will make a gingerbread house - perhaps we will try and be a bit more adventurous and create a little church too - perhaps a replica of our own beautiful church. We have a great gingerbread recipe so as long as we have that sorted we can go wild with our designs :)
* We will decorate our tree around the middle of December - I like to leave it a bit, if we decorate too early I find I want to rip it all down in the week between Christmas and New Year. Traditionally it all comes down at Epiphany or twelfth night, so the later we leave the dressing of the tree the better.
* We will sing wonderful Christmas Hymns together every day
* We will go and see the panto - even though my girls are in their teens they love the panto!
* This year we are going to see the Paddington movie - my youngest LOVES this little furry bear so it's a 'must do' as far as she is concerned.
* We'll make pomanders - they give a lovely spicy Christmassy smell
* We'll write out our Christmas cards and mail them off
* We will make some old fashioned English toffee (recipe at the end of the post) as we remember that the first Christmas Card was invented by an Englishman ;)
* We will go to our churches Christmas Carol Service
* We will attend Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve
* We will put out our Christmas Nativity early on - Baby Jesus will only be added on Christmas morning and the wise men will start on the far side of the living room, only reaching the nativity scene on Epiphany.
So there we have it - a brief peek into my plans for a blessed Advent :)
As promised - the recipe for Old Fashioned English Toffee
Old Fashioned English Toffee
1 cup (250 ml) butter
1 and 1/3 cup of sugar (333 ml)
1 tablespoon (15 ml) light corn syrup (For UK readers this is Karo light corn syrup avail. Tesco)
3 tablespoons (45 ml) water
1 lb (453 grams) dark chocolate
1 lb (453 grams) ground peacan nuts
Melt the butter and sugar together. Add the corn syrup and water. Boil over a high heat to 300 deg F or 148 deg C (use a candy thermometer). Pour onto a greased cookie sheet and leave to harden and cool. Break into pieces and dip into melted chocolate and crushed peacans.
I think that it is so easy to get carried away buying decorations to decorate your home over the Christmas season. I have been so inspired browsing around Pinterest, some of those front porches are quite something!
Now I want my home to look and be warm, inviting, and festive, but I certainly do not want it to cost me a fortune! I do enjoy a more natural and homespun look anyway, so it is not hard to create something special for very little or even next to nothing.
This is what will greet friends, family, the postman and milkman - and whoever else drops by our home this season. It's simple, but it also conveys a little about the occupants! Have you noticed the cross in the pots?
This little arrangement was adapted from an idea I found on Pinterest. It is simply greenery and sprigs of holly gathered from the garden, pine-cones and teasel heads gathered from various nature walks, a couple of baubles - bought really cheaply from Tesco, and a bit of ribbon.
I think that the palm leaf crosses that top the arrangement are the best bit for me. They convey a silent message. Christmas is about Christ in this home.
Now all we are waiting for is a bit of snow please!!!!
So have you started decorating yet? We usually put our tree up around the 15th of December, but I do like to slowly start decorating the house with little touches before then. Of course the first thing to go up is our Advent Wreath. This is central to our Christmas celebrations in our home as it helps us to keep our focus on Christ.
I have to say that by Friday I still had not sorted our Advent Wreath and candles out! In fact it was only after Church on Sunday that I dropped into 'The Range' and collected what I needed.
Traditionally you are supposed to have 3 purple candles, 1 rose candle and then the Christ candle which is white. This year I knew I wanted pillar candles - less likely to fall over in my wreath - so I had to compromise on colour. Still, I love the result!
I found some 'knitted' candles and just fell in love with them. My favourite pass-time combined with one of my favourite traditions of Advent. what could be better?
Our Advent wreath has been placed on the central coffee table in our living room. In our home we light the candles each day as part of our devotional time. This week it is the Prophecy candle, the candle of Hope. We remember the prophets and how they foretold of a Savior whose kingdom would be established forever. Praise the Lord!
As I write this post the sun has slipped away below the horizon. It's not yet 4pm! But the candles are all lit and a warm glow is now filling our home. I do so love candlelight in the home!
Anyhoo - I will be back tomorrow to share a few more Christmas Decor things with you. Have a peaceful and blessed evening.
Around 05h30, winter officially arrived in England! Yip- Happy Winter Solstice to all my northern hemisphere friends and happy Summer Solstice to all my southern hemisphere friends ;o) It is the shortest day and longest night of the year. Sunrise this morning was at 08h23 and we will bid the sun goodnight at 15h51 this afternoon. From here on out, our daylight will slowly increase - Yay! It's quite nice to know when the sun rises and sets in my part of the world. If you are interested in finding what it is in your neck of the woods, you can do so here.
Funny thing is... is that today has been a rather warm and sunny day! We walked up to the village this morning, enjoying the sunshine, peeling off the layers as we walked along the wayside. The sun streamed into the window at the top of the stairs, officially making it my most favourite spot in the house ;o) - I am like a cat, always seeking out some peaceful spot to just be. Sunshine streaming through a window would qualify the spot as 'peaceful' in my humble opinion ;o)
The days are slipping by quite peacefully - although I can see that the children are needing to get back into some sort of routine. There has been allot of mooching about today!
Homespun Christmas gifts are all completed and wrapped up ready for Christmas morn - as are all the gifts for that matter. (I will have to show you after Christmas so they can be modelled by their new little owners).
We plan on driving into Chester on Christmas eve to see the lights. It is the most magical place at Christmas time. As you walk down the streets lined with Tudor buildings, you would be excused for thinking that you had just stepped into another time - another world.
So as we slowly meander our way towards Holy Christmas Day, walking the paths of winter, I want to leave you with my very favourite poem to enjoy.
One of the things that I wanted to do this advent was to make our very own Christmas wreath. I have never made one before, but being a big fan of everything homespun, it has been something I have wanted to do for YEARS. So it got added to the 'Advent Planning' list this year.
Now the girls had been feeling a little closeted in during the week and it began to show one afternoon - if you know what I mean ;o) So as soon as 'school' was out, I let them go out for a walk around the country paths that surround our home. I heard them slip back in quietly and then slip out again. ' I want you back before the sun goes down' I called after them. The sun is setting before 16h30 these days so they only had about half an hour.
Knowing that they had been stretching my patience that afternoon, they clearly felt the need to 'make up' and came home bearing gifts...
Yip, they had been gathering wreath materials ;o) - so sweet!
So with impatience forgotten, J-L wielded the camera and V-L and I wielded evergreens and twine...
Excuse the bad hair day please ;o)
Of course a bit of silliness was in order...
We were really pleased with our very first wreath - a good joint effort I thought.
Of course it looks just beautiful hanging on our front door.
I like making wreaths, I think that we might just make one for Easter next year!
I pictured a quiet Advent this year. Time spent at home away from the maddening crowds. Time spent doing cosy crafts and baking. Time celebrating the home. So let me share today with you.
Advent candles lighting up the dark days...
Christmas tree all aglow...
Puzzles are on the go...
gifts are in the final stages - blocking just before being sewn up - ready for wrapping...
Jesse Tree filling up with our ornaments as well as our Scripture Adventure advent chain growing smaller each day as we tear off a link and read the scripture verse for the day...
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