Christmas 2014

It's here.  Christmas 2014. Goodness I really don't know how.  Exhausted as usual.  

So finally a little bit of Christmas arrived in my home. Better late than never.

Wishing everyone a lovely day. Happy Christmas.  

Christmas 2013

 

 

Christmas was enjoyed this year with a mixture of family from both sides.

 

Just us who had been left at home with the rest of the family in different part of the country and world.

 

A Donna Hay inspired Christmas Lunch - a beautiful piece of rolled pork with a sourdough and sour cherry relish stuffing - roast vegetables, beans with a beautiful lemon and mustard vinaigrette followed with the most beautiful cranberry and raspberry trifle

 

 

Followed on Boxing Day by a day in the office.

 

And then it was over!

 



Christmas..3 days to go

 

 

Goodness, Christmas is here!

 

I can hardly believe that we are about to celebrate this season.  This year has passed in a blur of busyness.

 

 

Finally a little Christmas decorating has taken place as we prepare to begin our Christmas celebrations tomorrow with some of our family.

 

The decorations are streamlined and minimal this year - I just couldn't come at the whole decorated bit this year - the thought of having to put it all away was just too much.

 

 

In some ways I think I am the most organised I have ever been and I started way later than any other year.  It has been an exhausting week.

 

Just a few more little gifts to wrap and all will be complete.

 

 

A little baking has been done.  Hopefully a little more to come. 

 

We do so much at the shop that we just can't hardly look at by Christmas, so it's always nice to have some different bits and pieces to enjoy over the break.

 

With love, Christmas wishes and blessings to all who visit here.  May this Christmas be peaceful and restful for your family.

End of Year Harvest.........

Where to begin with the happenings of the past weeks.  I haven't updated here for weeks - school finished, dance concert over for another (the 10th) year and Christmas has been and gone.

I am now on a 10 day break from work - less than a week left now unfortunately. 

 Christmas was a lovely time shared with family.  It went on for a week!  Busy but lovely - tired now!  I am so enjoying my time at home.  Not achieving anything really - but lovely nonetheless. 

Today I felt as though I am starting to surface - but not enough to have achieved any more than the drudgery of catching up and doing housework - I long for some time for me.

Today I spent a little time picking some lovely veges from my Potager - I then prepared them for the freezer.  So lovely to have some home grown back in the freezer.  My lovely trug was a gift from my Mum & Dad - I don't think anyone "got" it at all - too bad - I love it!

I cut our Christmas cake for morning tea- it was very enjoyable!

The year is almost at an end - I almost feel as though I need to do a catch up post to document some very important family occasions this year - maybe I will get that done in the next few days.

I hope my friends have all enjoyed a lovely Christmas time. 

I'm hoping for a much more enjoyable 2012 - but I somehow don't see it happening!

Christmas Cake...........

It is just so hard to believe the first week of November is almost over.  The year has flown.  I guess changing jobs a few times did not help..........all settled now - thank goodness.

Mitchell has just two weeks of school left.  I can't believe that either.  But I think after 15 years of formal education he certainly deserves to be finished.  It is exciting for him to be finishing off his Apprenticeship in a full time position next year.

Mixed fruit was on special at the supermarket, so I actually got organised and purchased the ingredients required to make some Christmas cakes.

I was going to leave it for a couple of weeks, but today was free to be at home so I decided to make a start.

I just love making rich fruit cakes.

It is just out after four hours in  the oven and the house smells wonderful.  My cake looks great. 

Looking forward to more Christmas cakes! 

Christmas 2010.........

A beautifiul Christmas.......

with family......




Thank you Kent & Karen for a lovely day.

So very blessed this Christmas.........

Hope you have all had a beautiful Christmas weekend. 

With Love to all my blogging friends.

Christmas Decorating.......

Just wanted to share my Christmas decorating with you.



Christmas Wishes.......



Little birds on the sideboard........with



Berry garlands.......



Baubles.........

and

Dragonflies............

Hope you and your family are enjoying your Christmas preparations.  I just can't wait for the time off - if I am ready for Christmas day it will be a miracle!  Full time work tends to do that.

Alexandra and I enjoyed a lovely afternoon at a sweet little Christmas show - princesses, pirates and Santa too!  Much fun!  I am so pleased we at least got to do that together.

Audrey fun.........

Friday night was my work Christmas party with the theme of movies.

For weeks I have tried to come up with an idea without spending too much money.

In the end I went as Audrey Hepburn.

I had so much fun........

Lovely meal and dancing fun,  out with my work colleagues.......

9 1/2 work days until the Christmas break - I can't wait for the holidays.

Christmas Cake

Last night I prepared the fruit to get my first Christmas Cake made today. 

 I just love making my own Christmas cakes.

All that delicious dried fruit and nuts.

This morning the ingredients were mixed and the cake assembled.

This morning as I mixed using my beautiful old spoon I thought again about my dear Nana and Grandma.  I have a spoon from each of their kitchens and I love and use them daily.

I thought about all the cakes that had been mixed by their hands with these very same spoons and the love that had gone into our family by doing so.

I thought about them and how much I miss them and being in their kitchens cooking. 



So with my Christmas preparations finally started, I hope my family will one day remember the love that goes into the preparation of Christmas and maybe one day treasure the very special memories that I hope I have created for them.



Christmas Day 2009......

Decorating

A table ready to share......

Christmas Dinner........

With Family.......

And some fun afterwards........

Hoping all my friends who visit here have had a most wonderful and Happy Christmas Day.

Christmas Eve.........

Christmas Eve has arrived here and I think I might finally be organised.  I have to go into work for just three hours this morning and then our office is closed until the 4th January.  I am so looking forward to the time off.  We are headed to the beach, so long walks on the beach will definately be part of my day as from Sunday.

Christmas decorating began over a month ago now. With Cameron going away, we put the tree up when we had a little family get together for him.  My beautiful boy is well and truly on my mind this morning.  He is headed to New York for Christmas.  With the horrendous weather they have been having and the normal Christmas mayhem, I hope he has arrived safely. 

Christmas decorating has been very much more simple this year.  I really couldn't bear the thought of putting it all away either on Boxing Day before we go away or having it all still waiting for me when we return from the beach.  One tree, instead of five and just some simple bits and pieces around.  I hope next year will be a little different though as we adjust to our new life.

It was still lovely though to unpack my beautiful Christmas pieces that I have made over the years.  Sometimes it feels like it was in another lifetime that I made some of these things.

I finally made some of these very yummy little treats.  A packet of Chocolate Royales with their fluffy marshmallow middles, some melted white chocolate, Red mini M & M's and Green snakes cut into little leaves. Tah Dah - little Christmas Puddings!  My work collegues and the people next door thought these were great!

A roast dinner is planned for tomorrow,  all the shopping is done (I think!), so when I get home today I will start preparing the table decorations, crockery etc.   I am doing main course and my sister-in-law is doing dessert. 

I hope everyone's preparations are coming along well without too much stress.  A very Happy Christmas Eve to everyone..... that is when my friends in the northern hemisphere catch up to us!!

Simple Things Small Joys.........

Yesterday Alexandra and I ventured out into the madness that is pre-Christmas shopping to try to achieve some gift shopping.  First stop was the hardware store to take care of some of the male variety of our family.  After this was achieved we made our way to Highfields, a lovely little village on the edge of the mountain range near our city.  Two lovely ladies have opened a delightful shop there.......

Can you guess who?

Of course, the lovely Cathy Penton of Simple Things Small Joys and the equally delightful Angela Osment of Chelsea Blue Whispers.  What a wonderful way to Christmas shop.  The shop is as I thought it would be - stunning!  When I find and visit truly beautiful places like this my head spins and I find it hard to concentrate - what to choose, what to look at first!!  I am taking BJ back this afternoon to have a coffee at this lovely little centre and of course visit Simple Things Small Joys again!!

Even down to the most beautiful packaging and a beautiful little surprise in my bag when I got home - a beautifully presented postcard.

So really, my shopping wasn't at all stressful.  I chose some lovely gifts from some lovely people and only had to face the chaos of the large shopping centre for such a short time.

Thank you Angela and Cathy for providing such a beautiful shop!  I hope your venture is both successful and enjoyable for you.  Blessings to you both.

Cameron's Day......

Look who Cameron found in Vancouver today.......

A very cool Santa in a little house in the snow.......

He even had reindeer outside the door.

Now that's a visit to Santa!

December so far......

The month is just flying by.  The extreme heat and dry weather we are experiencing here is making it very hard to feel like preparing for Christmas at all.  I have made a little start though.  I made Christmas cakes last weekend and have finally started shopping for some gift.  Alexandra and I are going today, so hopefully we can fight our way through the crowds and find something nice for our family.

Yesterday my day started like this........

Drive-Through coffee on the way to work......

And ended like this.........

Mitchell has been working full time at Woolworths, but had yesterday off,  my beautiful boy cooked dinner for us.  What a lovely surprise on a Friday night.  Thanks Mitchell.

Cameron is having a wonderful adventure on his trip.  So far he has seen LA, Vegas, San Francisco, Seattle and is now in Vancouver.  He has been uploading to his Facebook page, so it is lovely to see him as goes along.  Skype is also a wonderful way we've been staying in touch.

Some bunnies have been made and also a little other stitching which will be gifts for family, so won't share it here.  One is an order and the others will probably be for sale. 

The weekend is stretching out before me, and I am so looking forward to it.  I just pray that we are sent some rain soon and a respite from the awful heat we have been experiencing.