December Birthday

Happy Birthday to you
Happy Birthday to you
Happy Birthday Princess Pepsi
Happy Eighth Birthday to you…

Pepsi birthday

Pepsi Berries

and a festive one
pepsi festive.500

She is a fabulous dog, very quiet, very gentle. She is often cold, mostly asleep, sometimes escapes, she is my shadow, she has more coats than me and more blankets than a blanket shop.
She has a new collar and a festive scarf this Christmas, gifts from Lotta! I haven’t been able to get any decent pictures of her wearing her new clothes yet, plenty of very close wet noses! much too scary to post. May be next week.
Do your pets have Christmas gifts?

23rd Dec. Ooops! something has happened to my pictures! I fear it is due to the new improved and updated WordPress! I will fix it later, apologies if you saw them taking over the page.

Rinda, yes she is a rescued Greyhound.

Christmas Questions Answered

I saw this on Rinda’s bog. She saw it here , The original FMM meme is sponsored here

How will you celebrate the holidays this year?
We will be at home with lots of family visiting this year. My brother has parked his motor home on the drive. We will no doubt be having fun moving between the house, the festively light gazebo we have put up and the RV. I expect lots of laughter.

What’s the weather currently like where you live?
Rain of every type, every day, it is cold and miserable but today, this morning we have a window of sunshine. I will plant up the cyclamen I bought yesterday.

Cyclamen

Do you decorate your home for the holidays?
Oh yes. I decorate the mantle shelf and around the fire. The large windowsill and a little in the kitchen. I like cream, white or red pillar candles, fresh greenery and various ‘things’ bought over the years.

What is your favorite Christmas movie?
Love Actually, The Holiday, Polar Express.

Favorite Christmas Carols?
Silent Night, Joy to the World

Do you have an advent calendar?

Yes. I made it for Ben in 1990. I still hang it even though some years now it is empty. This year I have put tags in the days when some thing is happening. When people are arriving or leaving or someone’s birthday.

Calender

Do you prefer coloured lights or white lights
White. But this year Ben has put some red berry lights in a large red glass dish: they look lovely. Oh! and there are coloured lights in the gazebo.


What is your favorite food to eat over the holidays?

Nuts and Medjool dates and any kind of shell fish which we tend to have over the New Year weekend

Dates

nuts

Do you display a live tree, or do you prefer fake trees?
We always have a real tree. I buy a broad leaved one and have very little needle drop, and with a beautiful perfume

What would you need to make your holiday perfect this year?
My family with me.
The flu like symptoms that are with Paul & I to go away,
And snow for a few days? Well it would kill the bugs?

HoHoHo

Thank you for this Rinda, just perfect for today.

Today

19th December 2012

Today my life feels like this:

Outside My Window: Rain, cold dark, a miserable winter evening

I am hearing: the traffic whizzing by it is ‘home’ time and the road is busy

I am watching: on the TV, the last part of Last Tango in Halifax which has been wonderful. Everyone in the hairderssers was talking about it today
I am thinking: about the Christmas holiday, in a week’s time it will be Boxing Day! what’s left to do? must check the lists.
I am thankful: that I have finished work for the holiday and I have a little more energy today.
I am busy:
 with my December project The days of December by Shimelle Laine. I am making a Father Christmas: I wine bottle tube or box. Some black felt, some red felt, some white marabou or something to make the white button cover that runs down Santa’s middle. I wrapped the black felt around the tube and secured it with a few big stitches.
I then cut up a red felt Santa hat and wrapped it around the black. Because of the shape of the hat (triangle) some of the black felt shows which is lovely. Sew the seam of the red felt.
The box has a lid so make a hat using the left over bits from the red hat and re-use the white pom-pom. Sew the white Marabou down the front of Santa. Make a black Belt from left over black felt, design Santa a face, put a bottle of wine inside, pop the hat on and Ta Da!
One Santa bottle holder to go with the Snowman bottle holder that I bought Oh! so many years ago.
A few plans: Just Christmas prep. Why do I say just? There are many lists to consult, but as I love it all I suppose it feels like ‘just’
In the garden: Wet, wet and more wet. Just the same as November. I have some plants to pot up tomorrow, two lovely red Skimmia, a pretty dark pink Lenten rose and two cyclamen red or white, I can’t decide yet.

In the Kitchen:
 Cottage pie for Lotta – a special request. Cranberry, orange and port Sauce for Christmas, Lotta’s Christmas stars, Ben is making Strawberry Margaritas tonight to welcome my bother and his partner.

And a picture: Ben’s Snowman lamp, almost as old as he is.

snowman

I hope you are cosy tonight?

Christmas is coming….

…and I am now on holiday until the 7th January, hooray!
I had a play with some textures and the top of a very nice, very unexpected but much appreciated Christmas gift.
The textures are by Pixel Dust Photo Art
I had this mad idea to post every day through December, I have done so far but I notice they are getting later and later!
moet.2

Thanks for looking. How are your preparations going? Are you finding any time for you?