Winter Solstice

When we went walking in the wood a few weeks ago a small branch of holly "fell" off a bush just as we walked by! How strange was that?
The holly is now indoors with bay and rosemary from the garden for the Winter Solstice and candles will be lit tonight for the first time.

 The older I get the more I look forward to this day when we know the days will slowly lengthen and spring will come around again, looking forward is the only thing to do.


I'd not come across this poem until recently, and now I can't remember where I found it.


The Shortest Day
by
Susan Cooper

And so the Shortest Day came and the year died
And everywhere down the centuries of the snow-white world
Came people singing, dancing,
To drive the dark away.
They lighted candles in the winter trees;
They hung their homes with evergreen;
They burned beseeching fires all night long
To keep the year alive.
And when the new year's sunshine blazed awake
They shouted, revelling.
Through all the frosty ages you can hear them
Echoing behind us - listen!
All the long echoes, sing the same delight,
This Shortest Day,
As promise wakens in the sleeping land:
They carol, feast, give thanks,
And dearly love their friends,
And hope for peace.
And now so do we, here, now,
This year and every year.


Back Soon
Sue

PS The charity shop came up trumps with something to put the things I'm making for the hampers into. A Christmas tree shaped box and small gold filigree basket thingy with lid. Both on their Christmas table and reduced to half price. Excellent.

Things can only get lighter

December 21st - The shortest day, from now on things get lighter and colder. The old weather saying " As the days lengthen so the cold strengthens" is usually right. The weather man on Countryfile said it's more likely to snow at Easter than Christmas, and I read somewhere about how few Christmases have actually been white since records began and it's not many at all, although I still like to send Christmas cards with snow on them.

Today the 3 largest vases/jugs I have, have been filled with a mixture of greenery from the garden. We are so lucky to have lots of different evergreens growing here ranging from Rosemary to huge conifers. As predicted, the berries have all gone from the Holly. The blackbirds that arrive from the North soon cleared the Pyracantha and Holly but they are not so keen on the Cotoneaster Lactis berries.

I've decided my favourite things about Christmas Season are

Decorating the Christmas Tree

Bringing in lots of greenery from the garden on the Solstice

Laying the Christmas dinner table

  While I was fiddling about in the dining room, getting out all the "best" stuff ( which was actually bought at a car boot sale for the bargain price of £10 about 7 or 8 years ago) and giving everything a wash or wipe,  C has been cleaning the conservatory. There were  black mouldy spots on some of the plastic roof struts. So doing it bit by bit with a sit down in between he has got round the whole lot and cleaned the window sills and hoovered up. Job well done. We are going to heat the conservatory on Christmas day and spread ourselves around as there just isn't room for 12 to sit in the living room.

Yesterday we delivered presents to Cs sister and their family. We went via Snape Maltings and called in at the Christmas Food and Drink festival. It was free to get in unlike the bigger version in September . There were several local producers there and we sampled a few bits but I always feel guilty trying lots of stuff with no intention of buying - silly I know. We did get a big bottle of local apple juice for Christmas dinner.

So Sundays jobs from the list have been done and I shall be back tomorrow after finishing the Monday job list.

Sue


P.S.Welcome to pensive pensioner, a new follower on Google and thanks to everyone for comments

Greenery for the winter solstice

Many thanks for interesting comments  by Gill at Frugal in Derbs, Angie, Dc at Frugal in Norfolk, Em on Dartmoor, Sara at A frugal Wife, Buttercup and Michelle H. after my number crunching blog yesterday.( Edited in - Whoops forgot AlisonB43 - sorry)


 My way of doing a winter arrangement is to just plonk a few bits in a jug. So from the garden I cut some variegated holly, a bit of bay and box, some cotoneaster  and a bit of conifer.

This planted basket was a present from my sister and we wanted to put it somewhere we could see it from the kitchen window. So Him Outside has wired it to a bracket and to the fencepost where it can catch the sun and be at eye level to be seen by us from indoors.

I will also be lighting some candles tonight to see us through the longest night of the year and to look forward to spring, just a bit of pagan country thing!

There is a saying " As the days lengthen, so the cold strengthens".  Proper winter weather will be on the way in January!

I've been looking for an interesting way to sign off the blog.
 Ilona says Toodle Pip, Lots of people do kisses xx, but I'm not really a kissing sort of person!, Frugal Queen signs off with Love Froogs and even more kisses, lots of people just end abruptly - like I  usually do.
Then I remembered that sometimes I say "Back Tomorrow"  and at the end of Strictly they say" Keep Dancing!"

So how about

Back Tomorrow - Keep frugalling!
SSS