Talking In Their Sleep

"You think I am dead,"
The apple tree said,
"Because I have never a leaf to show -
Because I stoop,
And my branches droop,
And the dull gray mosses over me grow!

"But I'm still alive in trunk and shoot;
The buds of next May
I fold away -
But I pity the withered grass at my root."

"You think I am dead,"
The quick grass said,
"Because I have parted with stem and blade!
But under the ground,
I am safe and sound
With the snow's thick blanket over me laid.

"I'm all alive, and ready to shoot,
Should the spring of the year
Come dancing here -
But I pity the flower without branch or root."

"You think I am dead,"
A soft voice said,
"Because not a branch or root I own.
I never have died, but close I hide
In a plumy seed that the wind has sown.

"Patient I wait through the long winter hours;
You will see me again -
I shall laugh at you then,
Out of the eyes of a hundred flowers.

Edith Matilda Thomas  (1854 - 1925)

Boxing Day Silence

 

Peace On Earth, Goodwill Toward Men

We truly wish each and every one of you, friends and family, near and far, all the blessings of a Joyous and Merry Christmas.

 

May you have the gladness of Christmas which is hope;

The spirit of Christmas which is peace;

The heart of Christmas which is love."

 

~Ada V. Hendicks

 

 

When Christmas bells are swinging above the fields of snow,

We hear sweet voices ringing from lands of long ago,

And etched on vacant places

Are half-forgotten faces

Of friends we used to cherish,

And loves we used to know.

 

~ Ella Wheeler Wilcox

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.

                                                                              🎄

Brown Paper Packages, Tied Up With String

Today I braved the masses and finished up my Christmas shopping, at least I think so.

I've still to do the final list-checking, but for once I've gotten ahead of the game, and wrapped all of the gifts.

I'm usually a Christmas-Eve wrapper, in panic mode no less.

My daughter used to help me wrap all of the gifts, but since she has her own family to take care of, I'm left to my own devices.

 

Tonight I'm taking a little time to relax.

With the winter moon high in the sky, and  the landscape covered in a rain-filled mist, I'm treating myself to an evening hearthside .

Twinkling trees, candles glowing, a lovely pot of tea and Christmas shortbread,  I'm settling in for a date with Dylan Thomas, the popular and much-loved Welsh poet.

 

A Child's Christmas in Wales film, a timeless tale, delivers with gentleness a glimpse of a child's Welsh Christmas and takes you on a journey back to the magic and marvel of boyhood " where no two moments were ever alike, and life was embraced with belief instead of doubt ."

Purely magical !
 

Simple Pleasures

 

"The real things haven't changed. It is still best to be honest and truthful; to make the most of what we have; to be happy with simple pleasures; and have courage when things go wrong."

                                                         ~ Laura Ingalls Wilder

Ode To Autumn

An overnight freeze and ground still warm from a day of sunshine started  our morning with an eerie mist.

By noon, sunshine had returned, and garden chores were undertaken. Leaf-gathering, pot cleaning, and a general all around tidy up, giving one last chance to put the garden to rest for yet another season.

"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

The Turning Of The Leaf

Finally, a little Autumn color has crept in.

Just in time for a blustery wind, to blanket the ground with autumn brilliance.
Raking leaves now sits at the top of the "to-do" list.
And a portly kitty spends her days chasing them.

 

 

 

  

 

 

 


...I see
the turning of a leaf
dancing in an autumn sun,
and brilliant shades of crimson
glowing when a day is done...

~Hazelmarie "Mattie" Elliott, "

 

Fall Back

 

 

Last night at exactly 2 am our semi-annual clock fiddling took 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.

 

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