2024 is almost done & dusted ...

... and just like that, another year winds down quickly & it is always a time to just take some moments to reflect on the year & how it has been. Do you find yourself evaluating how your year went? I think it is natural to review your year, mentally at least. After a year of highs & lows, striving & surviving, breathe & sit with the passing year.  

Resist the urge to hurry this year out before its time, let it linger a little longer while you think about all the lessons it has brought with it; at least 365 lessons, which is only one a day in the greater scheme of things.  Take note of the missed opportunities, the challenges, the things that did not go as planned.  

It is important that you weathered the storms with resilience & fortitude. Life will always be a series of adventures & misfortunes & none will define us indefinitely, they are just natural bumps & delays requiring adjusting to the unexpected. 

Life is meant to be experienced, not controlled so it is in the quiet moments when we catch our breath that we learn. 

Some chapters don't need revisiting, you don't need a reason for everything that happened, you don't need to untangle it all - just let it go. 

I will once again enter the new year with intent  rather than resolutions, to invite growth & knowledge in to the coming year, to ease gently in to it all.  There is no rush, it does not have to be hurried along, just a little movement towards a new day. 

As time marches on, I am aware that I have less time ahead than the time I have already lived to it is natural to guard my time & energy more.

There is a need to make sure that friendships & other relationships are on even keel & that you are not always giving more than you are receiving.  Carry the ones forward to those who loved & stood by you, who believed in you even when you didn't. They are your people, your tribe. 

Let the others go, release what no longer serves you out of courage not defeat. 

Life is never perfect, it is not meant to be; no one has it all figured out, we are all just making it up as we go along so don't let comparison be the thief of joy in your life.  Carry only the lessons forward, not the weight of them. 

I am joining a daily journaling group to give focus, reflection, & curiosity to another year, hoping it will bring clarity, freedom, purpose & understanding to my life.  Some chapters will end, because they are done, the lesson is delivered & not every thing is meant to go forward with you each year.  

Make peace with the year that is ending & look forward to the new year, trusting that you will figure it out, one day at a time ... 

Thank you to each & every one who visits my blog, however briefly & for whatever reason. May 2025 be good to you, 

Dee ⏳🕰️🥳⏰

A very special & beautiful hand beaded book ...

 I am so blessed with a lovely neighbour who is also a good friend.  We bonded over our shared love of house rabbits & looked after each others lion head rabbits when the other went away.  

Tea with Di is always special because she is a lady of many talents & is generous with her help. 

She took special beading classes for some years & her work is so intricate & beautiful. It really is something that is special to follow complicated patterns with tiny beads. Many of the items take 20-50 00 tiny beads in specific colours & she works away with a magnifying lamp & glass. 

Over the years I have been gifted some really special items & over tea this week, she popped a tiny box in my hand & in it is this most exquisite little book that is smaller than a standard match stick. 

It is the 12 days of Christmas - a miniature that is perfect. The little printable book comes with the beading pattern. You can (with glasses) read the pages & marvel at the detail. 

The book has a little gold clasp & tiny gold beads. "I pushed the boat out & ordered gold clasps" she confided. 

I feel so thankful to receive the gift of her time & her considerable skill. It is something I will treasure for ever. 

I lit the Advent candles that are still burning down & arranged my beaded ones together, giving up a thank you for friends who make you feel special & whose friendship I value highly. 

I can do many things but do not have a particularly special talent like this & pattern reading has never been my strong point. However, the gift of time is very special & I feel abundantly blessed by her immense kindness. 

I hope you have friends that embrace you with their love & thoughtfulness too, 

Dee 🎁🧵🪡🙏

And an update - the other little beaded books that Di gifted but I didn’t want to share before Christmas. Are these not adorable? 

Peaceful & Joyful Christmas wishes

Before the busyness of Christmas day, I just want to thank each & everyone who stops by, reads the updates & comments - you are all much appreciated & very welcome. 

I would love you to invite others to join my blog too - that would be a wonderful blessing for me. 

I have visited many amazing National Trust homes this December again & marvelled at the glorious decorations & trees that fill every room & space. The space that always excites me the most is cosy libraries with seats that you can sink in to & with shelves lined with the most beautiful leather books.  

However, as lovely as those are, I never lose sight of how blessed I am to have a lovely home of my own that is a motley collection of a life lived in many places, now far from where I started but I keep traces of it all about me. It will never be a show home because my life is lived with all that entails from various countries & cultures ... 

So this Christmas, be thankful for those who have made it to the festive season with you, those who will find it difficult & those who lend you their wings when yours have trouble holding you up. Not everyone wears their heart on their sleeves but everyone has things they don't speak about & that weighs heavily on their minds.  Special wishes to all with health niggles that will follow them in to the new year.

I always toast absent friends & family - they are never far from my mind & especially my Mother who was a Christmas babe. She is missed greatly at Christmas. However, there is a party up there that will be amazing because my parents are reunited ... 

I toast the land I live in & the one I came from - grateful to both for the richness in my life. 

I toast friends & family, especially the lovely daughters & their partners & family - may they always know my love goes everywhere with them. 

Have a blessed festive season, and thank you for stopping by & visiting with me. 

Dee 🌲🕯️❤️

Festive pancakes on a peaceful Advent Sunday ..

Do you find it is so hard to co-ordinate schedules of various friends this time of the year? 

Get togethers are very random - a pub for lunch, a quick mooch with lists, a breakfast if lucky & even pancakes first thing on a Sunday morning so you can both complete the festive lists. 

It is the last Sunday of Advent & the fourth candle for PEACE will light our breakfast. It will burn alongside HOPE, LOVE and JOY, important symbols this time of the year in a world that is still in turmoil. 

The table was set the night before so the fruit can be prepared & the pancakes made first thing in the morning. The poinsettia table cloth & red chargers go well with the things already on the sideboard.  

Early morning pancakes made (I didn't do a photo as we all got talking) but tea, fruit juice, pancakes, lots of fruit & a choice of yoghurts made a healthy choice ahead of the festivities. 

The 4th Advent candle was lit alongside the other three & it was time to catch up with each others busy lives.  The hyacinth in the green vase will not be ready for Christmas but then the pleasure in watching it is something I enjoy. The greenery came from our lovely walk in Wales last weekend & it is perfect for winter when it is traditional to bring in greenery - the words of the famous carol - The Holly & The Ivy comes to mind ... 

Have a blessed last Sunday before Christmas, 

Dee 🎄🕯️🥣

The light returns on our Winter Solstice ...

Today marks our shortest day & longest night - the Winter Solstice marks the turning point when our light will slowly return from our deep midwinter. 

I like to celebrate this change & this was previous years ...

2011 

2012

2013 

2014

2017

2018

2020

2022

2023 

It is the time when greenery is welcomed in the home - holly, ivy, mistletoe, logs all signify the connection to nature in the deepest winter nights. 

It is a time to hang garlands on the door & bring greenery & light in to the home, a time for log fires, candles, comfort & joy. 

In times long gone, winter was a time to reflect & be thankful after a busy summer & harvest. The short days signalled to animals to conserve their energy by hibernating & it felt as if time is suspended. A bad harvest for our agrarian ancestors would have been disastrous so they gave thanks for any blessings that came their way, acknowledging their dependency on nature & its fickle ways. 

Our busy lives have little time to rest, reset, restore so this is time to do just that in the lead up to the busy festive season with all the expectations & emotions that brings. Embrace the sleeping, glistening landscape, the pure snows, the quieter times, the warmth of steaming bowls of soup or indulgent hot chocolate wrapped in gloved hands, with steaming breaths in the cold air.  Take in the smells of woods or forests that bring a natural stillness & calming when things start to overwhelm you, when memories become raw ... 

             

Some Anglo Saxon & Norse cultures celebrate Modraniht, Mother's night, the long line of Mothers who came before us & their influence on us. They are the wise & benevolent women ancestors whose wisdom guide us. Stories of grandmothers, great-grandmothers & other women in the family are shared & passed on so their spirit lives on. It is both a solemn & joyous time honoring them. 

My winter simmer pot is ready to give the home a wonderful natural scent of cloves, cinnamon (for success, wealth & abundance), star anise (for healing, luck & clarity),  juniper berries,  rosemary (for protection), sage, lemon grass, lemon & orange (happiness & prosperity & symbolises the return of the sun)

May you welcome in the light again with candles & positive thoughts; in the dark of winter, we make  the light

Dee🕯️🌲🕯️🎄🕯️

Morris-mas at Wightwick manor

It has been some years since I stopped in at Wightwick Manor house & I convinced my visiting cousin to join me on another festive house visit, promising her that the festive decorations would be fabulous, and it was. We had visited Attingham Park's Myths & Legends display recently too ... 

The impressive half timbered Wightwick manor house was built by the Mander family just over 120 years ago. It is impressive as you approach with the detailed wood work & standing high on the upper terrace. The black & white façade is striking & imposing.  

The name of William Morris conjures up immediate images of his instantly recognisable designs. Wightwick manor near Wolverhampton showcases many of his amazing designs about the house even though he did not design for the house. 

All the wallpapers, curtains etc were ordered through his shop for the house & William Morris did not actually visit the home at all that showcased so much of his designs. 

 The house features many Pre Raphaelite drawings & paintings & highly collectable art dotted about the beautiful panelled rooms. 

The house was decked out in festive finery - fabulous trees that glistened & welcomed visitors in to the various parts of the home. 

Like many National Trust homes, it was decked out in beautiful trees, garlands, bouquets, & delights welcoming in every room. The house really comes to life with the glow of lights & the beautiful William Morris patterns decorations, many made by the fantastic volunteers. 

 

The De Morgan gallery on site showcases the designs & art of William De Morgan, the acclaimed ceramicist & artist as well as the work of his wife Evelyn De Morgan. Her sister Wilhelmina Stirling donated much of the ceramics & art  of the De Morgan's to the gallery at Wightwick.

The interview with Wilhelmina some decades ago showed a beautiful woman bedecked with jewels on her hands & multiple strands of pearls around her neck, speaking in a lovely clipped voice about her sister & brother in law. 

Much of the items in the gallery were donated by her. I think she would have been a fascinating person to be sat next to at dinner ...   

Some of the clipped topiary in the gardens feature the well known 1883 Strawberry Thief design of William Morris with a large fabric strawberry in the birds mouth. 

Talented volunteers had done banners for the garden with the initials WM & images of the strawberry thief in various positions & some of the patterns too. It is a familiar pattern that is more than 100 years old but still fresh & in demand. 

What a fabulous time in this gorgeous house & gardens, perfect return visit (my 5th) to lift the festive spirits. 

Do you not think that the huge wreath by the door is just so beautiful & welcoming?  I loved the pair of ball topiaries that had a white topping to look like a puddings, such a fun thing. 

Thank you for your visit, for liking, sharing or commenting. It is greatly appreciated. 

Dee 🎄🎁🕯️

#12 Circular Stitching - Sparkling frost finishes it off ...

 Thank you to all who have followed my Circular Stitching since January. 

The 11 previous ones are here with links .... 

The last one was Sparkling frost & I went a bit off piste & did not add enough sparkle which I will do this coming week with beads & silver threads. It can be done even though it is now bound. 

Paula has kept us all on track with the Facebook group offering support & encouragement. 

When I joined the challenge in January, I thought I would see how it goes because like many, it is not always easy to see something through to the end over a year. However, by releasing each project at the start of the month, you don't feel overwhelmed by it all. 

Because it was going to be a uniform 6x6 inch square with a 4inch circle on each, a back fabric with  a stiffener between the front & back layers then blanket stitched together, I cut all the parts plus a few extra & put them in their own plastic container.  I added the large roll of creamy white thread & needle for the blanket stitch edging & so each month, I just needed to get out the fabrics & I was ready to go. 

This preparation was essential for me because some months were busier than others & it helped to keep me on track. The completed ones were then kept in the same container. 

Some in the group embroidered the names on each one, I used the machine letters on my sewing machine & then glued them on the back. With hindsight, I should have done it on white fabric with dark lettering. 

When the last one was done, Paula shared how it was to be bound. 

The pages were going to be overstitched with blanket stitch, going through just the previous stitching, not the fabric. It was actually a really good way to do it & it is a neat construction. The idea is that the 12 pages forms 6 double pages in a star shape but it can be folded flat for storage. 

The final stitching was really quick to do in the same thread as the previous edging. I made a band to hold it together with a large button & some ribbon to wrap around the button. I am tempted to do a bag to drop it in to - I might still have time ... 

I feel I have accomplished what I set out to do & that is a good feeling of satisfaction. Some are better than others but I have stayed the course & that is important. 

My life long learning ethos embraces all things & this has been a great learning experience. Thank you for looking in on the process & leaving a comment. I hope you will be motivated to take up a challenge too in 2025.

Dee ❤️📍🧵🪡

Kinkeeping at Christmas ...

I learnt a new phrase recently Kinkeeping Kinkeeping 

Noun - [kin-kee-ping] 

The labour involved in maintaining and enhancing family ties. 

Kinkeeping is a term coined by sociologist Carolyn Rosenthal (McMaster University) back in 1985, stating that it’s primarily a female activity. Yet, over the past 20 years, nothing has changed: 91% of kinkeepers are still women.

Kinkeeping is a form of work that is devalued; it’s feminized and women are culturally expected to do more of this emotional labour. And yet it’s essential because it allows our families, communities and societies to run.

It is a phrase used to describe the unseen & often undervalued contribution women make to keeping traditions & observations alive in families.  The kinkeeper looks after both sides of the family doing cards & gifts, keeping track of birthdays, anniversaries, events, occasions etc. 

The festive season means trees to be decorated, sideboard to be changed, menus to be sorted for the shopping needs, gifts to be bought & wrapped, cards to be written & posted etc. It is a busy time ... 

My grandmother & mother were our kinkeepers - making, baking & doing so many things that it all just happened. My grandparents used to visit a jeweller in the centre of Johannesburg to buy the silver charms for the Christmas pudding which was then baked weeks in advance. There was a joyous anticipation of finding a silver charm. 

It is a role that is carried on with great love, trying to maintain old traditions that hold memories while creating new ones for a new generation - traditions evolve but there is a warm glow when some old ones are sill observed by another generation.

I baked at the knee of my Grandmother & Mother & it is a tradition I have tried to uphold with the next generation - the smell of baking & the special time together is one I value. 

This role passes unseen & without fanfare at some point in time; it is the glue & love that holds it all together. 

However, some are so organised that they take on some roles, not because you don’t want to do it, but because someone else has a talent & ability to do it well & that is how traditions pass on ... 

Kinkeeping, especially over holidays, can be tiring keeping on track of multiple lists of things & little wonder they feel rather frazzled at the end of it with the decorating, shopping, gift wrapping & giving, cooking & setting a beautiful table ...

The magic of Christmas is not in the things, it is in the people who make it special.  

Who is the kinkeeper in your family? What traditions are special that will be carried forward? Tell all & thank you for your visit, it is appreciated. 

Dee  📝🎶🎄🤷‍♀️

The advent candles are being lit ...

 I like to light the 4 Advent candles in the weeks up to Christmas - it is a gentle reminder, a nudge even, that time is moving on & the preparations need to be on track. 

The quiet times when they burn - first the one for HOPE, then LOVE, followed by JOY & finally PEACE is a time to just reflect on the year & on Advent. 

I lit the first two with the Advent ring just decorated with baubles because I had not got to bringing in some greenery. 

However, today, while on a trip to Wales I came across a fallen tree in the forest & it had the most gorgeous branches scattered on the ground. 

I always have a fold up bag in my crossbody bag, so we gently picked up a few pieces along with some beautiful lichen & moss & I popped them in my bag. The red bag & the silvery branches looked very festive. 

Is that not a bag of absolutely beautiful foliage? 

Once home I could not wait to add them to my Advent ring. I am trying to get a hyacinth bulb to flower in the green glass hyacinth vase. I put the branches on the ring then added the beautiful lichen / moss to the hyacinth vase & lit the candles in the order they have burnt - first HOPE which has burnt the longest, then LOVE & finally the third one for JOY. 

They will join the last candle next Sunday so they all burn down together on the last Sunday before Christmas. 

It is these little rituals we adopt that punctuate out lives & give us time to reflect on the year.  On the last Sunday I like to remember those not with us who passed just before Christmas (a beloved grandmother & an uncle) and my Mother who was a Christmas baby. They are always missed at special times, especially as my close family are not with me. 

May you have HOPE, LOVE & JOY this Advent Sunday, 

Dee 🌲🕯️❤️

A little Welsh trip ...

We live close to mid / north Wales & I try to visit it several times a year because the space just feeds the soul. I grew up with lots of space so I love the vastness of the space, the mountains & the scenery in Wales. 

Today, on a whim,  we decided to revisit Lake Vyrnwy. We stayed there 5 years ago for Ms M's big anniversary & it was lovely looking out over the Lake, then covid came & locked us down for ages & we realised we have not been that way in a while.

    

After parking up, we followed the walk along the river, crossed over to the park & were by the dam wall with its castle like turrets & details.  A recently fallen tree was carved with both Welsh & English sayings, a reminder of the importance of the native language here. 

     

It is always a thrill to drive over the dam wall with its look outs, turrets & details set in stone. It is a reminder of the importance of water, a natural resource we take for granted because we can just turn on a tap. Many of the places we visited across Africa value it much more highly as it is carried up from the river on a head, collected from a solitary tap in the middle of a village - a scarce life giving resource that we are largely disconnected from. 

 

     

Dampness set in as we crossed the bridge again to return to Shropshire, the drive around the lake closed due to fallen trees from the storms this week.

You can feel the openness, the need to put the windows down & take in the fresh air, the trees, the bleating sheep ... 

The walk along the river under the lake & look up at the stunning Victorian architecture is special - the Victorians could have built something ordinary to move the water from Wales to Liverpool but they built this stunning dam  with its road over the dam wall, the towers standing proud & across the lake, the most beautiful fairy tale turrets on a tower that is the utilitarian straining tower. 

The green copper roof & turrets is right out of a fairy tale & I love it, I loved it when I first set eyes on it more than 20 years ago. It is  just a magical space. 

Look at this previous blog post from 2014 for the background to the dam .. 

Amidst the busyness of December, it is good to step away from it all & just get back to nature. 

I had it in my mind that I still need to add greenery to my advent candle holder & while walking in the little forest with its towering trees, a fallen tree was surrounded by beautiful fallen bits of spur branches. The blue / silver branches caught my eye & I just knew they would be perfect. I always have a fold up bag in my crossbody bag & so I picked up a few fallen pieces along with a few bits of lichen / moss to do my holder. I have always been drawn to nature & so it is perfectly natural for me to be connected to natural foliage. 

I will show that in another post. Thank you for spending time with me, for leaving a comment or sharing the blog. It is very much appreciated. 

Dee 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿🌲🕯️