Merry Christmas!

As with the previous post I don't think I can improve on my Christmas post from last year so here it is again:)

The Night Before Christmas was always my children's bedtime story on Christmas Eve.
So for all of us who still feel the magic of this night......

'Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house
Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse;
The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,
In hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there;
The children were nestled all snug in their beds,
While visions of sugar-plums danced in their heads;
And mamma in her 'kerchief, and I in my cap,
Had just settled down for a long winter's nap,
When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter,
I sprang from the bed to see what was the matter.
Away to the window I flew like a flash,
Tore open the shutters and threw up the sash.
The moon on the breast of the new-fallen snow
Gave the lustre of mid-day to objects below,
When, what to my wondering eyes should appear,
But a miniature sleigh, and eight tiny reindeer,
With a little old driver, so lively and quick,
I knew in a moment it must be St. Nick.




More rapid than eagles his coursers they came,
And he whistled, and shouted, and called them by name;
"Now, Dasher! now, Dancer! now, Prancer and Vixen!
On, Comet! on Cupid! on, Donder and Blitzen!
To the top of the porch! to the top of the wall!
Now dash away! dash away! dash away all!"
As dry leaves that before the wild hurricane fly,
When they meet with an obstacle, mount to the sky,
So up to the house-top the coursers they flew,
With the sleigh full of toys, and St. Nicholas too.
And then, in a twinkling, I heard on the roof
The prancing and pawing of each little hoof.



As I drew in my hand, and was turning around,
Down the chimney St. Nicholas came with a bound.
He was dressed all in fur, from his head to his foot,
And his clothes were all tarnished with ashes and soot;
A bundle of toys he had flung on his back,
And he looked like a peddler just opening his pack.
His eyes -- how they twinkled! his dimples how merry!
His cheeks were like roses, his nose like a cherry!
His droll little mouth was drawn up like a bow,
And the beard of his chin was as white as the snow;
The stump of a pipe he held tight in his teeth,
And the smoke it encircled his head like a wreath;
He had a broad face and a little round belly,
That shook, when he laughed like a bowlful of jelly.
He was chubby and plump, a right jolly old elf,
And I laughed when I saw him, in spite of myself;
A wink of his eye and a twist of his head,
Soon gave me to know I had nothing to dread;
He spoke not a word, but went straight to his work,
And filled all the stockings; then turned with a jerk,
And laying his finger aside of his nose,
And giving a nod, up the chimney he rose;
He sprang to his sleigh, to his team gave a whistle,
And away they all flew like the down of a thistle.
But I heard him exclaim, ere he drove out of sight,
"Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good night."




May I wish all of you a very Happy Christmas!

Not Quite According to Plan!

Well, I have to say that I'm glad the holiday is over this year! It didn't go at all as I planned it unfortunately. My daughter-in-law was taken into hospital on Christmas Eve with pre-eclampsia and is still there, though she is hoping to go home later this evening. Consequently both she and Neil spent the whole of Christmas in the hospital. Kaitlyn has been ill with a virus infection, Stephen, plus Hannah's brothers and dad have all had a sickness bug over Christmas and Bilbo Baggins tore his dew claw and had to have it removed on the 22nd,so has spent Christmas wearing the 'lampshade' to stop him licking the wound. So there has been a considerable amount of worry and fed-upness all round I'm afraid.
Still, there is a general improvement now and hopefully we can have a family get together on New Year's Eve instead.
On the present front I did really well, got lots of books,Cds and DVDs along with a new printer, as my old one went caput a couple of weeks ago.

I shall leave on a cheerful note with a photo of Bourke's Luck Potholes taken when I was in South Africa in December 2005 - Steve and Hannah were living in South Africa at the time and I had a couple of fantastic trips out there. The pot holes are in Blyde River Canyon in the Drakensberg Mountains - it's a really stunning area to visit.

And this is me and my friend in a wildlife rehabilitation centre, unfortunately this particular vulture was too badly injured to be released back into the wild again so he lives there permanently now. It was really fantastic to have this bird perched on my arm - they have a bad reputation but are actually a vital part of the scheme of things as by scavenging corpses to the bone they prevent the spread of disease. There are many different kinds too, who all take their turn in a particular order as they are designed to deal with different parts of the dead body. The man who runs this cente gave us a fascinating talk about them which completely altered my view of them.

The Masterpiece! and a Meme..

This is the wreath that I made for the front of the house - total cost £2.50 for the moss base, the yew, ivy and variegated holly came from the garden and the berried holly is from my secret holly bush! The berries are all real which is why they aren't evenly spread. I've never ever seen so many berries on a holly before.

The ribbon and the fake Christmas roses have been going for years, whatever they cost originally I have more than had my money's worth.


The ingredients for chocolate truffle torte a la Delia Smith.


This is how it goes into the freezer, when it's served it is turned out so that the crushed amaretti biscuits are on the top - it's incredibly rich and incredibly good.


Just out of the oven, this will eventually be...


..this - a chocolate log. Even the recipe says that it will crack as it is rolled up and in all the years I've made it I've never managed to roll it up without this happening!



Cabbage au gratin ready to freeze for Christmas Eve dinner - the boef bourguignon is still on the 'to do' list.


These are yesterday's effort, first of all I made the marzipan and put it on the cake to dry out for several days before it is iced.


This is one of the boys' old sledges, I pile it with holly - green, variegated and on top berried branches, then it has a red ribbon and small white lights. Photo doesn't do it justice. It's my favourite thing.



This wreath is on the back door now but I had to take the picture indoors because the porch is too small for me to get far enough away. I prefer this to the other one, it's simpler, I use whips from my willow tree wired together to form a circle then add just holly and ivy with the bells and the big red ribbon.

Now for the Meme which Cate from Beyond The Fields We Know tagged me for, it's a list of favourite Christmas carols but like Cate, I've expanded it to include Christmas songs as well.

It Came Upon The Midnight Clear

In the Bleak Midwinter - mostly because it was my mum's favourite.

Three Kings From Persian Lands Afar - this isn't all that well known but has a lovely tune.

The Holly and The Ivy - top of my list really with its strong connection to the Winter Solstice.

The theme song from the animated film The Snowman sung by Aled Jones

Chestnuts Roasting On An Open Fire.


Actually, I like most carols, I grew up singing them every year and what I really like is to hear the familiar tunes played by a brass band and not sung at all.One of the traditional English things of this time of year is hearing the Salvation Army bands playing in pretty well every town centre. The Sally Army do a lot of good work and I always contribute to their collection. No tags but do it if you want to.