Tis Winter Now

Although the temperature has gone up a bit again, and there is no real sign of snow yet, we are having the most beautiful Winter sunsets, all quite fitting to go along with a long bout of flu and a delay in all my Christmas preparations.  Hence my absence from reading and commenting on blogs over the past while.  For ages I"ve been longing to have a day in bed to catch up on reading - be careful what you wish for - I had 8 days in bed and wasn't fit to read a thing.  And still feeling very precarious.   However, there's been lots going on around here, and now that I've finally got the Christmas tree up , I feel a bit more festive.  Time to bring in more greenery over the next few days. 

Around Here - the Holm Oak

I write often about stuff going on in the village here - and our latest escapade has been the Tree of the Year Competition.   Remember I asked you to vote for our Holm Oak a few months back?  Well on Channel 4 on Saturday night, it won the Northern Ireland heat - and now goes forward to the European Tree of the Year competition ... so I'll be back looking for more votes :)

Our Holm Oak won the Northern Ireland Tree of the Year on Saturday night.
Photo Courtesy of Light 2000 Community Group

The First Christmas Card

Amy from Love Made My Home organised a Christmas card swap back in November and I was delighted to be paired up with Tracy from Sunny Corner Farm. And this lovely card arrived in right at the start of month bring some sunshine into proceedings.  I love receiving mail from around the world and still send lots of Christmas cards, so it was a delight to hear from her and to hear a bit about her family.  

Amy has also been doing a crafting countdown to Christmas and has lots of really cool simple ideas on her site ... Had I been even vaguely fit, I'd have been trying more of them - as it is I think lights are going to be my limit.  

These delightful koala bears came all the way from Australia
for my first Christmas card of the season.

Happy Holidays 

In case I don't get a chance to post again over the holiday season, let me take the opportunity to wish each and every one of you a gentle, peaceful holiday season - it can be a lonely time for many people and for others it is a time of great devotion.   For me, it's the mid Winter season - the lull before the light starts to come back, the time to rest and reflect and to enjoy the pleasures of winter - cosy fires, the scent of pine trees and spices, soppy movies and time with friends and family.   

I cannot convey how much you all mean to me, those of you who read and comment on these ramblings of mine - I love hearing from my cyber penpals around the world.  

Some music

Let me leave you with some music - first a laugh - I just adore this little girl - I'm sure you've all seen her before but it's worth repeating ...

And finally a carol - in Irish and English 

Oiche Chuin, Silent Night

Muireann Nic Amhlaoibh, Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh, Eleanor Shanley, Geantraí Na Nollag TG4 2009

Happy Holidays.

Fil