Festive sausage rolls are ready ...

 

Amidst the busyness it is good to do some of the prep ahead of time. 

I think nibbles are good but something a little heartier goes down well because it is more substantial & not sweet. 

I rather like home made sausage rolls with a festive filling. I have bought in extra ready made puff & shortcrust pastry ready for a quick bake if needed. I tend to do a festive plait on Boxing day & always use ready made puff pastry. 

I bought in pork stuffing to use. The first was pork, apple & cranberries that I spiced up with salt, pepper, garlic & a little sweet paprika. The second stuffing was pork, cranberry & orange so I added some orange zest & a squeeze of fresh orange to this mixture to be made up the same as the other. 

I cut the length of rolled pastry longways - spread a thin layer of bought cranberry sauce down the middle of each half, brushed the edges all round with just water (you can use egg but I find water seals it just fine.  

The spiced sausage meat was halved, then rolled in to a long sausage shape for each side. I used my hands to just nudge it in to the right shape. 

The pastry is rolled over the sausage meat, tucking it in under the filling, then rolling the whole shape over with the rolled part underneath to give a neat shape. 

Each half was then cut in half,  then in to quarters to make 8 in each side - 16 from one roll of pastry. I did 2 lots so have 32 sausage rolls ready to bake when needed. 

The ones with the pork, orange & cranberries had the tops just snipped with a scissors so I know which are which. 

These were open frozen overnight on a baking sheet so they are ready & can be cooked from frozen after being glazed with an egg / milk mixture. 

Bake at 200c for about 20 min. 

Most of us like a savoury treat so these are perfect, served with some chutneys or a dip even.

I hope you find some time to do some baking ahead of the time. Thank you for stopping by & visiting with me. I appreciate every comment, like or share. 

Dee 🎄🧈🧑‍🍳

The last Sunday of Advent brings PEACE

 … and just like that, the fourth candle is lit on the Advent ring, all four candles burning together & a reminder that there is little time to Christmas. 

The four candles are for:

                      HOPE, LOVE, JOY, PEACE

I have a central candle to burn on Christmas morning with our breakfast when we are together.

These candles have provided quiet, reflective moments each week, the passing of time reminds one of the empty chairs & thankfulness for those with us. 

 Have a blessed last Sunday of Advent. 

I hope you find some quiet, peaceful time amidst your day.

Thank you for stopping by, reading, commenting or sharing. It is appreciated 

Dee 🎄🕯️⛪️

Marking the Winter Solstice

 

Our days are much shorter with dawn coming later & night coming earlier. 

It is the time to 'nest' when you can, to take stock as the year winds down to Christmas. 

I like to bring in fresh greenery in to the home - fir, holly, ivy, pine cones & my garland is up on the front door to welcome in visitors too. 

I went in to the woods last weekend to forage & came out with a handful of gorgeous fallen branches. 

I have tied them up in to a swag & put them on the patio chimnea that faces the house so they can be seen from the windows. 

The taller branches are in the funnel of the chimnea, along with the autumn ones I picked up some weeks before from the same woods. 

They are a visual link to nature & my love of forests & woods. 

There is something very therapeutic about spending time in woods or forests, the smell of pines, of gentle sounds of nature & being able to pick up some branches - it is an important connection. 

The Winter Solstice marks the shortest day & the longest night of the year, when darkness abounds & the light will slowly start to return again.  

This is how I have marked the Winter Solstice previously 

This time is also known as Yule, or Modranight (Mother Night), or Midwinter - it is the gentle pause in the seasons.

Norse & some Anglo Saxon cultures celebrate the influence of Mothers on this night, their wisdom & lineage remembered, their stories told so they are not forgotten. It is a lovely tradition. 

This is some of my female ancestors who had a big influence on my life. I am so fortunate to have several generational photos of my maternal line ... 

I like to do a simmer pot of winter scents at Solstice to fill the home with fresh fragrance & light candles to mark the return of the light. A dark cycle completing ... 

These are the herbs associated with the Winter Solstice. 

 I look forward to the light slowly returning but I also love the dark nights when homes are lit by gentle lights over the festive season. 

Thank you for stopping by & visiting with me, 

Dee 🕯️🌲🍁🪾🔥

Festive tartan trends ...

 

We have tartan curtains in our dining-room at home that I won a few years ago after commenting on a magazine photo online. 

I had forgotten about it at the time until this package arrived unexpectedly & beautiful heather coloured tartan curtains were unpackaged. I was absolutely delighted with the pure wool curtains & they are hung in the dining-room each winter, I swap them out for lighter curtains in summer. 

Apparently, tartan is trending according to my students & Country Living magazine. 

Just as well because our large conservatory table has a tartan tablecloth (from IKEA about 15 years ago). It is the right length for the long table & the colours are very festive so it appears regularly.  

I have a 2 seater cane bench at the bottom of the table & that is a comfortable seating arrangement. That has a tartan fabric throw on it in reds - the fabric was bought ages ago & it is just perfect next to the table cloth. 

I have another one that is more reds & golds that goes on the shorter table in the dining-room too, along with other plaid / tartan bits. 

Our home has lots of traditional elements, some dark furniture, along with modern things so it is eclectic decor that reflects our style not to stick to a trend. I consider it timeless, comfortable spaces you want to relax in. 

I bought warm bedding from Dunelm for the guest beds in tartan that looks very welcoming & warm. I was told it is right on Ralph Lauren trend by my students. I indulged them & they went off to buy some too; the thought of being a trend setter for the students is a novel idea. 

However, warmth is comfort in winter so that was my motivation.  

Winter needs warmth & comfort & these brushed cotton tartan sets offers that. Are you inspired by tartan elements in the home & which colours are your favourite?

Thank you for stopping by, it is appreciated, 

Dee 🕯️🏰 🛌 😴

The JOYful third Sunday of Advent ...

I love how the four candles of Advent quietly mark the approach of Christmas. Each candle a reminder that preparations are needed to make the festive season run smoothly. It is also a reminder of the  reason for the season, something that is forgotten in the commercial rush. 

The JOY candle joins the first two of HOPE & LOVE, a reminder to spread positive messages in your wake because many people do not look forward to the festive season for various reasons. 

I often join friends or host friends for supper before Christmas when we are all spread out. Celebrating the JOY of friendships, fellowships & support. We treasure our time together before returning to our own family time.

The JOY candle is a reminder to find Joy this week. 

It is also a timely reminder for quiet time, for stillness when the pressures get loud for more & more. 

I like to take time away to enjoy the traditional elements. 

Yesterday I took a woodland walk, to breathe in the pine scented air, to pick up some fallen branches ahead of the winter solstice in a few days. It brings to mind to carol of The Holly & the Ivy - a reminder that our ancestors were connected to the seasons & their observances of bringing in greenery, of holly used in modest homes as decoration & symbolism of renewed life, of  yule logs kept burning or lit from a central one. These were important observances that gave hope in mid winter. 

JOY in stepping away & appreciating simpler times. 

Thank you for stopping by & visiting, it is appreciated

Dee 🌲 🌳🍂🪾

The glistening beaded ornaments are up ...

Hand beading is a traditional skill in Southern Africa, unique items that are not mass made in a factory across the world is always something to be admired. 

I have shared my hand beaded wire & bead proteas that I have at home. 

I first saw the beaded proteas in a magazine then later visited a market with my late Dad & we chose these together for my home in England. 

Almost 2 decades ago, a friend was selling some of the hand beaded ornaments from Natal in her shop in Shropshire & I bought some. 

My parents added to the collection,  & each time we have been back, we have bought some additional ones. They are a link to my heritage. 

This past week, the little tree that usually goes in the conservatory was repurposed on the dining room sideboard. 

It looks right with the small beaded ornaments & I pass it several times a day so enjoy looking at it. 

I  put the beaded ornaments on there, along side the random deer who come out over the festive season. 

The  deer are mainly supermarket ones - Sainsbury's - some years back & they are really sweet. 

The little tree with its beaded ornaments is unique; it is personal & it is very much enjoyed. 

I hope your festive planning is going well too. Thank you for stopping by & spending time here. 

Dee 🕯️🎄🎶🔔

The second Sunday of Advent brings LOVE

 It is a grounding time to light the Advent candles at home on a Sunday & to just have time to pause amidst the rush of December. Everyone you speak to has lists & things to do so a calm time is reflective. 

The second candle is for LOVE - love for life, for people, kindness to strangers, just a softer way of life.

LOVE can take many forms; the friends who text you a link to a post they know you will enjoy,  a cup of tea when you need it, a note to say 'thought of you', the shopkeeper asking how you are, the coffee shop knowing what you like, a morning text before you all go on your busy ways ... 

The second candle of LOVE joins the first candle of HOPE as they burn together for a while.

Spread ripples of love & kindness, 

Dee ⛪️🕯️🎶🔔

The Advent candles need a bobeche ...

 I love candles at home, especially with meals for friends etc when we chat late in to the night & the candles burn low & no one wants to move. 

However, so many candles seem to drip wax that runs down the candlestick & on to the tablecloth where it almost impossible to remove. 

Some of my candle holders have glass wax catchers / bobeche that gets around this problem but many do not. The Advent ring, although brass, is prone to having the candles drip so I had a thought to get around this issue. 

The idea comes from my teaching time when students would make Christingles & carry them to a local church for the service. They were lit when they got to church & to stop the hot wax dripping on them, a paper round was used to catch the wax. 

While out dropping off surplus Christmas things at local charity shops (yes, I am still on a mission to reduce my Christmas stash) I spied some sheet music & had an inspiring thought. It would be easy & pretty to make paper wax catchers from sheet music. 

I duly purchased 3 lots at 20p each; a perfect find. 

I used a glass to draw a circle for each one - 4 for the Advent wreath & one for the centre candle. 

After cutting out the circles, I made 6-8 small snips to the centre large enough for the candle to go through. 

I did a gold border on each circle with a sharpie pen before easing it over the candles so it rests on the candle holder. 

They look pretty as well as being functional & that is a great way to protect the table cloths from drips. 

I hope this inspires you to do something similar - it is a quick but satisfying make that only took a few minutes. You could use pretty Christmas cards to do this too. 

Thank you for stopping by at this busy time, it is always appreciated. 

Dee 🕯️📖🎵🎶

Looking more festive …

 

 

A message on the local ‘kindness’ group last week spurred me into action: Decorations needed for a local care home looking after dementia residents. 

I have had it on my mind to declutter sort through the accumulation of years of Christmas decorations & this was the nudge I needed ahead of doing my own tree. 

I have kept the last few years ones in the garage but in previous years the packed boxes went in the loft. Out of sight but also not easy to access in midwinter when it is really cold up there. When the girls were at uni or working away, it was easier to grab new decorations rather than haul boxes down the ladder from the loft so the things that went up didn’t always come down. 

However, the wanted / needed request spurred us to bring down the loft decorations. We put them in the hallway & I checked in what was needed. ‘Wreaths, garlands, decorations, anything’ was the reply & so I checked through the containers, taking out just a few bits, then they were collected for the care home. 

What a relief to have sorted it out & so relieved that they were going to a good home. 

The conservatory sideboard was changed as the family were stopping by & Advent Sunday was upon us. Old favourites that will be well used over the festive season, many of them gifts over the years & they are on hand to enjoy a mince pie or treat on a nice plate without digging around for them. The sideboard works well for us at home. 

A really wet day today nudged me to bring the tree in from the garage & do the living room tree. I decided that white, rose & old gold decoration combination will prevail again. 

I tested the lights (we have all had the failed light experience) wound them on then set to decorate while catching up on recorded programmes. 

Some additional ones had come down with the loft stash like the ‘peace, joy, Noel’ ones & some delicate angels. The tree nestles in the corner next to the clocks & is a joy in the dark nights.

Our inglenook fireplace gets a large garland that only just stretches between the 2 hooks. 

It had graced the smaller fireplace at previous house where it draped over it but it is fortunately just right here. 

Lights adjusted & plugged in, it’s twinkly lights matching that of the tree. 

Baking is part of my Christmas preparations. 

 I like to put out some of the cookie cutters on the windowsill, alongside the glass candleholders; the plug in lights that stay up all year round are especially pretty in the winter when the candle holders come from various corners of the house to rest on the window sill. 

It is very handy to have candles readily available for when they are needed or when you want to  have one burning while you cook. 

I love passing on the joy of making something imperfect for the festive season. 

I am not yet sure what the festive baking will be - I looked at the long list of ingredients on some of the mince pies & they put me off. 

I know commercial baking is different but I prefer something without all the additives. 

I think mince pies will be on my baking list - any good suggestions are welcome. 

Still things to do about the house ahead of the festive season but I enjoy preparing the space, as my parents did for us growing up. 

Do you also like to take your time with festive preparations so you can enjoy them & the cosy feel at home? 

With various meet ups with friends at local pubs & coffee shops ahead of Christmas, I feel more organised with the major things done. 

What is your strategy for the festive season? When do you get started? Thank you for stopping by, it is always appreciated, 

Dee 🎄⛪️🕯️