A gift from the heart ....

I  gave up mainstream education nearly a decade ago to enjoy a better work / life balance & I love my job working with children who are educated outside mainstream education.

I work with children from the ages of 5 - 16 & no two days are the same - always various ages, stages & work to be done. I see the same pupils each week & many will be students for years so I get to know them & their families well.

This week, when I arrived, one of the Mum's had been up half the night making holly wreaths for sale in various markets & she had one set aside for me that she had made.

I always have a fresh wreath on my front door so I am greatly touched by this genuinely generous gift.

She did not add any decorations so I can customise it because they know me too well ....

I love unexpected & genuine gifts from the heart & this one symbolises everything that is good about the festive season.

Not enough ribbon so a large bow is needed for impact .... much better!

Do you welcome the season in with a fresh garland, wreath or tree? Do you, like me,  find unexpected but thoughtful gifts bring a lump to the throat because that is what Christmas is all about - being thankful!

Thank you for stopping by, I always enjoy your feedback & links, 
Dee 

A girlies night out in Birmingham

My awondering star daughter bought some tickets for her & her sister for Green Day's An American Idiot American_Idiot_(musical) but was unable to use hers so we took StacySparkle  instead ....

The girlies decided to make a night of it - do supper & some browsing too as we don't get to Birmingham that often.

We based ourselves at the iconic Mailbox & enjoyed the lovely setting along the canals as they were lit up with lots of cafe's & bars open.

Once we got out of the theatre & back to the Mailbox, most things were shutting up so we enjoyed a late night Nando's meal. Nando's originated in South Africa during the 1980's in a suburb called Rosettenville & I visited it in their early days when it was run by Portuguese immigrants who had fled the civil wars of Mozambique & Angola & I immediately fell for the wonderful peri-peri spices & flavours. Nandos Story

They have fortunately come to the UK & so it is always a taste of 'home'

 We all loved the curtain of lights & the feel of the quiet building once the crowds had left

 I loved the reflections of the nightlife on the canals at the Mailbox

Then headed home on the M6 at midnight only to find ... several miles of tailbacks because the road was closed overnight for repairs & so we chugged along before we were eventually directed off along the diversion, past dark, sleeping streets while we wondered about the residents looking out of their windows on a quiet Saturday morning & wondering where all the traffic came from.

A short journey home turned into a marathon 90 min trip back but our spirits remained high ...

Not often we get out at night in the big city with the girls & my fast-growing-up daughter so we enjoyed it.

Thanks for stopping by, I always enjoy your feedback & your links enable me to return the visit.

Take care,
Dee ~♥~

My photos in print ...

My regular visitors know of my love for photography - I am completely self taught & as my camera's have improved, so have my skills (or so I like to think)

I know I have a good eye because I did Art as part of my teacher training but my talents tend to be more on the creative side. I know if a photo looks good or if a composition works & am developing the skills needed to improve my photography!

Some weeks ago, I was contacted via my flickr deirdre to ask for permission to use some photos by  St Mary's Stafford to ask if they could use my photos taken in their church for Christmas cards for fund raising.



A friend & I had sheltered in the church on a visit to Stafford & having a camera handy, I did some photos & put them in the collage above.

Having been advised that the cards are now printed & being sold, I made a return trip to purchase some.



What a thrill to see my photo in print on the card - with the image that they used as well - the carved angel on a pew end.

It was fitting that our visit co-incided with the church being decked out for the first Sunday of Advent with the purple banners, cloths & candles ...



I am honoured that my photos have been used to raise funds for this very beautiful church.

I found these words on the St. Mary's website & they perfectly mirror my thoughts about the commercialisation of Christmas that is worth thinking about:

Advent is a season of waiting and anticipation. In this age of instant gratification waiting has largely been lost. We pre-empt everything: Christmas cards on sale in the summer; hot cross buns as soon as Christmas is over. By the time Christmas arrives the decorations in the shops are looking tired and the carols stop on Boxing Day when the sales begin.

Let us return to learning the meaning of waiting, to give time and not get caught up in the mad frenzy of commercialization, but to stop and think what it is really all about, to prepare ourselves for the coming of the Christ child.

I wish you all a blessed first Sunday of Advent ....

Thanks for stopping by
Dee

Counting down to Christmas

The year has flown & we are now at the start of the festive season.

Do you have traditions in your home?

24 years ago, when eldest was facing her first Christmas as a toddler,  my Mom started a tradition by giving her a rather nice chocolate advent calendar from a specialist shop in Johannesburg, South Africa.

Advent calendars were not common, certainly not on every supermarket shelf & so it was very special.

We also lit an advent candle each night when we had our evening meal & so our tradition was born.

My Mom was born on Christmas day so her birthday was completely entwined with the festive season & these traditions were totally unselfish.

While the girls grew up in Africa, Mom always made sure they had their advent calendars - she scoured the continental shops to find them & it is something we have always continues.

Three years ago, having left it rather close to December to find the calendars, I found none so we switched to two fabric ones which now grace our inglenook fireplace - ready for the count down.

Our fireplace has a set of angels wings as a central part in honour of a beloved mother who we lost earlier this year ....

This was our lounge last Christmas .... as a family we always only decorate our tree & house after the first Sunday of Advent because the decorations will stay up until Epiphany / Twelfth Night.

The lighting of the candles signals the start of our Christmas season at home
What are your traditions over the festive season?

Thanks for stopping by & leave your link so I can return the visit,
Dee ~♥~

Decorating with maps

My earliest memories of maps has to be my parents pouring over huge roadside maps on their many travels around Africa.

They were also an integral part of my schooling because all the classrooms I can remember had massive maps on the walls - the type that are now highly collectable: maps hung on a mounting stick & in a prominent position.

I was always drawn to their features - physical features like rivers criss-crossing their surface,   mountains & vegetation in various colours; interesting names & shapes ....

We have some of our old maps of Botswana, Zimbabwe,  Namibia & South Africa, Ethiopia - some worn along their crease lines, evident of their usage. This was most definitely pre satnav time ...

We have been using some rather generic IKEA storage boxes in the study but they don't really fit in well so one evening, I had an inspired idea to map them. I found some old Pears encyclopaedia books at a charity shop with loads of A5 size maps in the back which were perfect.

It was a very easy job: I used a craft knife to get the maps out of the books, unscrewed the IKEA boxes then glued them on with pva glue & left it to dry.

 The sides were too white against the aged maps so I used some of the other pages to glue onto the sides too  & it looked just right.

 They are stored on top of a book case in our small, personal study where they look perfectly at home amongst the books ...

This is a close up of the boxes - mapped & interesting now ...

 LONDON on a lid ....

Do you like the boxes? Are you a fan of old maps as decor items? Do you even own maps?

Thanks for stopping by, please leave you link & I will return the visit.

Dee ~♥~