Christmas Fayre

The English Christmas goodies have started to arrive, I shall have to hide them, from myself.

Years ago,  it was almost impossible to find English Christmas foods in the U.S. but nowadays with the click of a mouse, or a stroll to the import aisle at Publix, they are easily found.
It surely makes those memories of Christmas in England around the table, feel so much closer.

 

 

Happy, happy Christmas,
that can win us back to the delusions of our childish days;
that can recall to the old man the pleasures of his youth;
that can transport the sailor and the traveller,
thousands of miles away,
back to his own fire-side and his quiet home!

~Charles Dickens, The Pickwick Pap

Making A Start

The Thanksgiving dishes have been returned to the cupboard for yet another year and today I made a start on the Christmas decorating.

A little here, a little there, and before you know it, the house is transformed with the magic of Christmas.

Tthe simmering pot gently bubbles away, filling the air with the heady aroma of cinnamon, cloves and oranges. 

Christmas returns.

Christmas Scents

One of my favorite Christmas activities in early December, when the cold weather has set in and thoughts are turning to decorating, are to make dried orange slices for hanging on the tree.

The aroma is intoxicatingly festive, and fills the house with the fresh smell of oranges.

If you desire you can sprinkle a few with a light dusting of cinnamon, not too heavy an amount as this tends to make the oranges darker.

When they are hung from the branches and the twinkling fairy lights shine through they remind of Nature's stained-glass.

 

 

Two or three Navel oranges.

Preheat your oven to 200 degrees.

Prepare your pan with nonstick spray or a baking mat. ...

Slice oranges into 1/4″ slices or thinner. ... 
Pat dry with a paper towel.

Place oranges in a single layer on the prepared pan, ensuring they do not touch.

Bake for up to 6 hours or until completely dry.
Hang from the tree with jute or ribbon.

                                                                              🎄

Thanksgiving Blessings

Count your blessings instead of your crosses;

Count your gains instead of your losses.

Count your joys instead of your woes;

Count your friends instead of your foes.

Count your smiles instead of your tears;

Count your courage instead of your fears.

Count your full years instead of your lean;

Count your kind deeds instead of your mean.

Count your health instead of your wealth;

Count on God instead of yourself.

~Author Unknown

 

A Blessed and Happy Thanksgiving from our home to yours............

 

Being Thankful

Rain has fallen on and off for most of the day, making for the perfect opportunity to gather my Thanksgiving recipes.

Our Thanksgiving is a low-key affair, since like most families, our little close family, now includes in-laws, and extended family members, and time has to be split between both.

That's ok too,  this way we all have a chance to enjoy family, food and fellowship, and be grateful for the many blessings.

 

 

Snowflakes Falling

 

Our gentle Autumn days have quickly turned to Winter. 
A cold wind blows and snowflakes are falling.

Geraniums are still in full bloom, and transported to the garage for over-wintering, song-birds have retreated to their nests, and darkness falls before the clock strikes five. 
Nesting days are upon us.

November Days

Tonight our semi-annual clock fiddling takes place once again.

An hour backwards from Daylight Saving Time, affording an extra hour of sleep on these colder mornings.

Just enough time to remind us, that the year is winding down, and soon, a long sleepy winter will be our companion.

A time to regenerate our weary souls, and make new plans for the coming year ahead.

A time to dream.

 

 

" It was November - the month of

crimson sunsets, parting birds,

deep, and hymns of the sea, passionate wind-songs in the pines.

Anne roamed through the pineland

alleys in the park and, as she said,

let that great sweeping wind

blow the fog out of her soul.

L.N Montgomery

~ Anne of Green Gables

Trick Or Treat

 We'll leave the light on for you.

 

" By the pricking of my thumbs,
Something wicked this way comes,
Open, locks,
Whoever knocks ".
 
Shakespeare / Macbeth 1606

 

 

 

 

Autumn Muskiness

We had our first real taste of Autumn weather last night, tonight down in the mid forties and snugly blankets will once again return to the beds.

The sound of distant laughter can be heard from giggly school children enjoying their Fall school break, and down on Main Street Oktoberfest's are in full swing.

"When everything that ticked has stopped,

And space stares, all around,

Or grisly frosts, first autumn morns,

Repeal the beating ground."

 Emily Dickinson, Time and Eternity, LXXV

Season's End

The first time I laid eyes on this incredible English landscape painting, was in my hometown museum, I was smitten.

Depicting the ordinary, mundane chores of a gardener, at seasons end.

It reminded me of watching my grandfather, as he put his garden to rest after a successful growing season,  piles of now-spent rhubarb leaves, and endless stacks of  withered flowers.

I couldn't have been more than four years old at the time, but what an impression those days left on my early life.

A season ending, to begin again anew in just a few short months.

 

 

                                                                     Evening_Brockham

 

               Edward Wilkins Waite  (14 April 1854 – 1924)

 

Early Autumn Days

These first few days of Autumn, a little decorating, a little gardening, a little relaxing 

Nights are drawing in fast, dark before the clock strikes seven now.
Our days are still seasonally warm in these southern United States, giving the opportunity to finish those end of summer chores, before Old Man Winter sets in.
Leaves are beginning to gather, hummingbirds are making their way deeper South, the rhythm of life is noticeably slowing.
The smell of wood-smoke fills the night air.

Indian Summer

Indian Summer is upon us. Balmy warm days, and mist-laden nights.

One last chance to indulge in fleeting Summer pleasures.

An early American writer described Indian Summer well when he wrote, "The air is perfectly quiescent and all is stillness, as if Nature, after her exertions during the Summer, were now at rest."

     

 ~ John Bradbury 1817

Autumn

Summer Days have not yet took their leave.

The most perfect of Autumnal days today, blue skies and sunshine galore.
Our rainfall has been little to none for an entire month, many of the trees have already lost their brown leaves prematurely.
The air conditioner continues to hum....

 

"Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness,

Close bosom-friend of the maturing sun;

Conspiring with him how to load and bless

With fruit the vines that round the thatch-eves run;

To bend with apples the moss'd cottage-trees,

And fill all fruit with ripeness to the core;

To swell the gourd, and plump the hazel shells

With a sweet kernel; to set budding more,

And still more, later flowers for the bees,

Until they think warm days will never cease,

For Summer has o'er-brimm'd their clammy cells."

~ John Keats

Autumn Silence

Enjoying a day of quiet time . 

The trees are changing color, and Autumn leaves are making a show, finally.
Some days it's good to do nothing. No deadlines to meet, no chores to complete, no lists to check twice.
Bliss.

Nature's Gifts

One of the perks of my daughter's little farm, are the daily fresh eggs.

She shares them with family and friends alike.

If you've never tasted a farm fresh egg, you are missing out, those store bought eggs are just not all they are cracked-up to be.

*giggle*

 

 

 

 

 

Farm-fresh eggs have one-third less cholesterol, a quarter less saturated fats and twice as many omega three fatty acids, than store-bought eggs.

They also have more vitamin A and E and seven times more beta carotene.

And more important, the chickens are raised humanely.

Egg-gathering always seems to draw a crowd .

The Dog Days Of Summer

Dog Days defines a time period or event that is very hot or stagnant, or marked by dull lack of progress.
The name comes from the ancient belief that Sirius, also called the Dog Star, was somehow responsible for the hot weather.
These early days of September, we seem to have hit that mark.

Hot summer days, no rainfall in sight.
Even the birds have taken to their nests...

Autumn Is Calling

Despite sultry August days, subtle signs of changing seasons are all around.

Summer days are noticeably shorter. There is a cooler rush to the evening air.
Down on  main street the shopkeepers are displaying their Autumn wares, and the feel of changing seasons is afoot.
The Summer's Gold Lantana blooms heartily,  as if it knows Summer's loveliest smile, is fleeting.

September

" September days have the warmth of summer in their briefer hours,
But in their lengthening evenings a prophetic breath of autumn.                            

The cricket chirps in the noontide, making the most of what remains of his brief life.
The bumblebee is busy among the clover blossoms of the aftermath,
And their shrill and dreamy hum hold the outdoor world above the voices of the song birds,
Now silent or departed."-

~ September Days : Rowland E. Robinson, Vermont

'Til They're Clean And Sparkling

Starting off the day with incredible blue skies and  low humidity, as rare as hen's teeth in these Southern parts of the United States.

The  Mr. takes on the task of washing the house today, no small feat I can tell you.

Norseman's blood runs through my veins, after the temperature rises above 80 degrees I'm wilted like a head of week-old lettuce.

The best I can do is be the cold-water runner, when I spot the worker flailing.
*Sigh*

Summer's Waning

Blue skies and sunshine today. Lots of the stuff,  we are slap in the midst of summer with this 95 degree heat.

The flowers are fading fast, we have enjoyed their beauty these past few months, but continued heat and watering tends to take its toll.

School childern have returned to their scholastic lessons, our days now eerily quiet.

The twin fawns are flourishing , sprightly little things, all bouncy and curious. They enjoy a burst of zoomies daily.

Pop-up storms make their way through most evenings, a welcomed gesture to cool the night air.

We'll take whatever help we can get.