The foraged swag is done ...

I love to have fresh foliage on the wreath on the front door. These are some of the previous ones 

2011, 2012, 2016, 2017 , 2018,  2019 , 2022 

Then there is a small matter of the wreath for the front door.  It is tricky because our door is black & the fresh greens don't show up very well. 

We ventured to one of our local woods to forage for some greenery.  No one mind a few branches being taken for a wreath so we are always mindful to pick up branches or only take what we need. I love the soft woodland floor, spongy from all the fallen leaves over many years. It is a joy to just wander around & find some suitable greens. 

My enthusiasm doesn't match my wreath making skill - I really need to do a course on how to do it properly. However, it all seemed to be ok in the end. I fortunately had picked up some pinecones too that I wired in place. This overly generous pink ribbon & bows had been a recent charity shop purchase with the door wreath in mind & so it was a relief to have something ready. 

I think it looks just fine - the plants in the planters by the door will get ribbons & baubles so it will all look rather festive soon. 

I hope your thoughts have turned to the advancing festive season too. Thank you for your time, do stop by again & share your projects & websites with me, 

Dee 🎄

Twelfth night - time for the decorations to all be down ...

Hi everyone

Are you still in the state of limbo between getting all the Christmas things down, going back to work & returning your homes to its pre-festive state?

My late grandmother was a stickler for traditions & always insisted that all the decorations were down by the night of the 5th of January. There is always a debate in the media about whether twelfth night falls on the 5th or the 6th of January, we have always observed the 5th as our night to have it all down.

Our door wreath is always the last thing to come down - it was again a welcome gift from the lovely Linda, a students Mum & it has been much admired since it went up. This year I had battery lights wrapped around it & it looked so welcoming.

The two topiary also had lights & those have come off, along with their present decorations ...

The door wreath always gets repurposed to the shed doors where it still looks lovely for a few more weeks, & the birds love pulling the moss out of the wreath for their nests.

A very cold & crisp day in the Shire as I repurpose our greenery - the second gifted wreath has been on our chimnea & it will stay there for a bit too  ...

I will miss the battery lights by the front door flicking on for 6 hours each night with their twinkling lights, but traditions must, so they are packed away for another year.  (The dark shapes on the facias are just shadows from the large bushes .... )

However, these  battery lightbulb lights have been in our living room - their batteries are still going strong so they will stay in the dining room for now as their lights flick on for a couple of hours each night ... aren't they pretty?

I took off our lovely fireplace garland in the week & replaced it with calm bunting & some lovely birds & hearts ... the Christmas card string was still up, that is now down ...

A lovely lavender bag which I bought on the markets in Dorset - handmade by a lovely lady - it is in the centre of the bunting

It looks much plainer & I always find the transition from the glorious Christmas decorations to January really difficult ...

As evening sets in, I light a gifted candle & think back over the Christmas period & the 12 nights since Christmas - it was a blessed time with friends & family!

I hope your Twelfth night is blessed, thank you for stopping by & taking the time to read & comment,
Dee ~♥~

The four Advent candles are lit ...

Hi all,

My pledge this past year has been to embrace life & travel more & that I have done, just returning from Christmas markets in Salzburg, Munich & Innsbruck.

While travelling pre Christmas, I saw the traditions & observances they hold dear - many of my ancestors came from that part of Europe & in many ways, I have observed similar ones so they feel familiar to me - familiar as I know them in various forms.

My Austrian hairdresser advised me on where to visit in Salzburg, one of her favourite places outside of Vienna where her Mother still lives. She always has an Advent candle in her salon & this is hers ...

Germany & Austria had some beautiful Advent candle holder on their traditional Christmas markets. There were Advent holders with space for the candles all over & it is something every home will have.

The Cathedral in Salzburg had a hanging wreath above its entrance, with the traditional market just opposite ...

 In the Salzburg Cathedral, on a rope so it can be lowered to be lit ...

The ceiling of the Cathedral in Munchen / Munich

The traditional Advent wreath in Munich Cathedral ...

The stunning green topped copper domes of the Munich Cathedral ...

The Heilige Geist Kirche in Munich

The Advent wreath, a Christmastime, elegantly lit & the traditional Christmas scenes ...

While visiting these amazing churches, I took the time to light a prayer / remembrance candle for my Mother who was born of Christmas day.  Her ancestry was very much of this region so it seemed appropriate to remember her in Cathedrals there ...

 This one next to the Frauen chapel in the Munich Cathedral

For the Mother’s who won’t be with us at Christmas ...

 In Salzburg, at the Cathedral ...

Another prayer for our Mum’s ...

As we approach Christmas, give thanks for all the blessings you do have & I think this is how we should all approach the festive season  .... 

Be blessed as we approach Christmas, stay real, keep Christmas special & above all, be kind to one another ... 

Dee ~💕~

My front door wreath is lovely as always ...

Hi everyone,

I have been away on a little girlies jaunt with a friend to Riga. I realised that I have not shared my beautiful front door wreath with you.

It is always a gift from a lovely students Mum Linda. I shared some of the previous ones on a post last year - my-door-is-ready-with-gift-from-heart so pop along & see the others on the links.

This year, once again, my special door wreath arrived. I am always excited to add ribbon & put it up because it represents the start of Christmas for me.

I use warm white battery powered LED lights on the bushes by the door, they come on for 6 hours each night then go off again, perfect for just adding a welcoming touch. 

I hope your festive preparations are going well. Do you have fresh garlands & wreaths in your home at Xmas? Thank you for stopping by & taking the time to read & comment, 

Dee ~♥~

Twelfth night traditions ....

Hi everyone,

I hope you have followed tradition & managed to get your decorations down in time for Twelfth Night or Epiphany. My late grandmother was a stickler for traditions & we used to be amused by it but as I have got older, I have come to appreciate how she ingrained these in us &  in turn my late Mother & now myself follow them too as they are our traditions too.

My decorations came down last a few days ago for practical reasons, however,  I still find odd decorations tucked away that I missed & I have to gather them up or 'leave them up for the year' according to my Grandmother's mantra ...

This weekend,  I realised I had not bought in a Christmas cake as no one else eats it, so I bought a single slice at the farm shop - beautifully baked & something to be savoured.

I made a cup of tea in my lovely Royal Albert set (used too seldom as it needs hand washing .... ) and settled down to enjoy the tea & cake while surveying the changed sideboard. Mmmm the silver deer need to be packed away still ...

I realised that we have also not managed to eat through the bowls of nuts in their shells I always buy because my Dad always cracked nuts for us at Christmas. In spite of my best intentions, I find that some shells are just too hard to crack so they remain in the bowl in January ...

Our front door garland, made & gifted with love each year by a students Mum, is always the last thing to come down.

The clusters of big red baubles are taken down from the topiary tree & the sets of twinkling battery lights are removed from the topiary on each side of the door & the tree.  I will miss their pretty glow at night ...

I always leave the door wreath up till Twelfth Night, then the large bows & decorations are taken off before it is moved to the garden where the birds enjoy the leaves & moss for a few weeks still.

It is lovely to look at the wreath from the house for a bit still as the birds flit in & out stripping off bits for their nests.

Our inglenook fireplace always looks so bare when the green garland comes down & each year I find the transition difficult ... 

While finding the pink fabric heart, I found the paper music bunting I had made - perfect

The bunting was made from music instruction pages from an old book.  I cut the pages to make bunting then laminated for strength ... 

The fabric heart was bought some years back at a local Christmas fair

The red coffee table runner has given way to a simple IKEA runner. My special bits are back 

The pink hyacinths I bought in the Christmas week down south are now blooming - welcome colour& a glorious scent ...

The hyacinths I planted in October will be ready - sometime soon! I am absolutely hopeless at getting them to flower at Christmas hence the bought ones ...

I know - decorations away but .... after my Indian adventure with Ms M, I bought her one of these decorations then my friend Ellie & Godsons bought me one & the girls gifted me a second one because they know how I like symmetry. However, I am reluctant to pack them away ...

I know - I kid myself that if the deer family loose their red ribbon they might stay too.  What do you think? There are some brass deer on the top of the fireplace which need company ..... 

The dining room now has its glass candlesticks & some bright pink tea light holders, along with a favourite brightly embroidered cloth which looks a lot more cheerful. I can see the shed wreath from the window.

A wonderful basket of plants gifted by a visiting cousin are the perfect colours & the greenery is welcome.

While getting out the tablecloths, I found a TIME runner I had from a previous setting -  I know, it still needs a hem so if it is where I can see it, I will remember to do it.

Delicate lilac plants on the table which is now set with an overlay cloth to brighten it up - I know I will enjoy having tea there while looking at the garden wildlife ...

Daughter collection of vintage cameras are back on top, along with the candlesticks.

The bright pinks are a welcome change from the reds of Christmas.

Christmas is done for another year, but my collection of Ethiopian crosses will symbolise the religious celebration of Epiphany or Twelfth Night as we celebrate another Christmas over.

I hope you have managed to get everything put away for another year. Thank you for stopping by & for taking the time to comment.
Dee ~♥~