I live, I love, I craft, I am me...: chrimbly-countdown

Showing posts with label chrimbly-countdown. Show all posts

30/12/2020

My own choice - walking

31st December : My own choice

This one photo was randomly chosen out many, because of its representation of what 2020 was to me - walking. (I may, or may not have chosen more than one ... but equally you may not have noticed either....)

Walking on my own with this wonderful if slightly mad dog, walking with a bubble group when it was permissible, walking with a friend, walking with Himself and always always accompanied by Moss.

I could have picked any one of the hundreds of pictures of her, but the first photograph - taken in September one late and still very warm afternoon - was the one that did it for me. She found an old stone trough in an empty field. Unusually it was full of clean water and she slipped in like a furry slug and wallowed in the water. She makes us laugh, she knows when I am down, she squishes my feet when they are cold, she begs for biscuits by trying to be cute, she runs 100 miles an hour and can see nothing wrong with a full body mud pack .... her joy for life and capacity to love and forgive is something we should all try hard to emulate (but may be not the mud pack).

Moss and walking helped me through a lot of 2020, and despite all the vitriol, the hatred, the fake news, the scaremongering, despite the restrictions, the lockdown, despite the negativity, the strangeness of it all - this year allowed me to blossom. I was given the luxury of space, of time away from people to still my mind, find my creative mojo and find myself. Good bye 2020 may you just fade to a memory now.

On that note dear ones - have a quiet, safe and loving New Year and may 2021 be just a little kinder to us all xxx

Thank you for being there

17/12/2020

Chrimbly part 3 - Trees link up party

Woop woop - our third Chrimbly count down link up party

Time to share your festive photos

and stories.

please don't forget to link back to my blog,

thank you :)

Chrimbly Count down - Tree

Trees - I decided, rather than share stories and photos of my own tree (other than the one I posted last Friday) I would choose 'street' trees.

Council decorated ones , people's own in their gardens, outside of pubs and churches and the delightfully differing village green trees. I wanted to share the joy and the celebration of these trees - be they simple white lights or hand made decorations or bedecked with so many bulbs that the tree can barely stand and those with just enough to be classed as decorated.

The trees we decorate in our homes have origins haling from a pagan winter festival where the ancients thanked the gods for the harvest by hanging fruits and gifts. It was believed the gifts would also safeguard the following year's harvest, making it as productive or hopefully even more so.

Some time during the 16th century, so the stories go, a poor glass maker could not spare the fruit to decorate his tree as he needed them to feed his children, so he blew glass fruit to adorn his tree. The legend goes on to say that others fell in love with his work and asked him to make more .... however... the same gentleman apparently ALSO did all this in the mid 1800s - he either was an exceptionally long lived glass blower or the story has been woven through history and mislaid the true origins.

Hanging gifts in the trees was believed, by the Druids, to bring rewards to the giver, so leaving coins or fruits in the branches would ensure wealth and a good harvest.

To the ancients, ever green trees had magical properties and were sacred as they remained vibrantly green all year round.

Hanging bells in the tree seems to have various origins too - one is the robust ringing of bells to frighten away deamons and to call back warmer days. Another was to hang small bells in the branches to call the small woodland faery folk, offering them a safe harbour through winter.

Red apples - be they real or glass - are popular in France as a tree decoration, having a strong religious meaning related to the Garden of Eden.

Queen Victoria's consort - Prince Albert, is usually credited with introducing the Christmas tree to the UK in 1840, however, a full 40 years earlier, the German wife of King George lll set up the first tree in the 'Queen's Lodge, Windsor during December 1800.

Many of the tree decorating traditions originate from Germany, the most famous being lighting up the tree. Legend has it that Protestant reformer, Martin Luther used real candles to decorate a tree in the 16th century to recreate a starry sky after he had been inspired during a walk through a pine forest near his home in Wittenberg. Fortunately we have moved on and use fairy lights ( I am lucky enough to have four vintage candle clips and decorate my tree with them, however they never get lit!).

In the Ukraine, trees are decked in spider webs, more something we identify with Samhain or Halloween. However, glittery cobwebs are associated with luck and good fortune. The story goes that a poor woman and her children, with hardly a penny to their name, allowed a spider to decorate their tree. The spider covered the tree with silvery webs and by the morning the webs had turned to gold, saving the poor woman from complete destitution.

In my mind the street trees with their simple lights do have cobweb qualities.

Finland uses twisted straw decorations - rather like simple corndollies in geometric shapes. These rye straw decorations often stay up until Midsummer to help safe guard the following harvest.

One evening, on a whim I took my camera on a walk and just snapped trees knowing my camera would just capture the movement of light rather than the tree.

Have yourselves a safe, gentle festive break - here is to 2021, may she rise from the ashes of 2020 as beautiful as a phoenix - things will get better xxxxxx

Sending love and socially distanced hugs xxxxxx

10/12/2020

Chrimbly count down Link up Part 2

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Wow - it is already our second Chrimbly count down link up party

Time to share your festive stories

enjoy!

please don't forget to link back to my blog,

thank you :)

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03/12/2020

Chrimbly count down - Decorations❅✳❄

4th December : Decorations

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If I had to give up all my decorations and was allowed to keep just the one - it would be this .... my Swedish Angel Chimes.

It is the first chrimbly thing that comes out of the chrimbly deco-box and is set up early in December while everything else (and I do mean everything) waits for another two weeks before being released.

Once it is dark, I'll open the chimes and quietly assemble it, adding the candles and finally lighting them. Whilst the air above the flame begins to warm, I'll switch off all the lights and watch the moving light and shadows on the ceiling, then as the chimes begin to ting ting ting, I listen and know that winter is here and autumn has slipped away.

For those of us in the northern hemisphere, there is only 17 days until the longest night, 17 days left 'til the light starts to return. The wheel is turning and the seasons move on - the light will return xxx

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If you like what you have read - please have a look at the LINK UP POST and see what our Chrimbly count down folk have been getting up to!

30/11/2020

Wot EVERY Friday???

Morning! I have just broken off from knitting to make myself a cinnamon coffee and spend a little time with you.

Firstly thank you everyone who joined in with November's scavenger photo-hunt and took the time to read and comment on our posts - it is really good when we share our stories.

I thought I would reiterate my plans to continue through out the year - with 2020 being a year on it's own, I thought why not? - we won't be having the usual festive parties or the works-do or the friends get-togethers with mincepies. So this December's photo-hunt, although not a replacement, hopefully will go someway to making you feeling a little more festive. Now, here is the plan ....

EVERY Friday we will post a SINGLE** photo and a mini story - all festively inspired, giving you a chance to blog a memory or to share how this year will be different for you.

There are three Fridays in December, with the 4th being Christmas Day. So the final day we will post will be THURSDAY 31st December - a sort of final hurrah to 2020.

edited to add ** From the general reaction it sounds like you might like to post more than one image per prompt! That is wonderful so please do!! the more the merrier!

So here goes ...

4th December : Decorations - a favourite one - was it inherited, did your kids make it or was it one you bought on a whim and love dearly?

11th December : Baking - festive or otherwise and may be share the recipe so we can all have a taste :)

18th December : Tree - a snap shot of your tree, this year's, last year's, the black and white one of you as a tiny tot helping to decorate, the one on the village square, that shiny white one in the shop, a native tree bedecked with lights and bird feeders - any festive tree :)

31st December : My own choice - the door is open for you to choose a photo from 2020, it can be one you have already shared or a new one, but one that you will always associate with this year .... 2020 will be one to remember for so many reasons x

I will post up a link up party page, just add your link and lets have a virtual festive get-together each week, I hope you will join in - even if it is only once or twice - but do join in :)

So - a recap:

Friday 4th December - Decorations

Friday 11th December - Baking

Friday 18th December - Tree

Thursday 31st December - My own Choice

You up for it? Brilliant! I knew I could count on you xxxx

All photos in this post courtesy of Pixabay.

15/12/2018

Festive Advent Calendar doors 16 to 20

Carols

Bow

A small piece of yule cake, wrapped ready to slip into a pocket as we go out for a walk.

Wintery Scene

Tree before and after

At small 'twig tree' before and after :)

Star

Mincepie - nom nom nom

The next five are.....

Sleigh
Nativity Scene
A Christmas Carol from YouTube

A Christmas cartoon from YouTube

Julie of Julie's Journal & Scrapbook

10/12/2018

Festive Advent Calendar Doors 11 - 15

Joining in with Julie of Julie's Journal & Scrapbook's Festive Advent Calendar 2018

Festive Chocolate

Festive Jumper
When you ask your son (who's at uni) to send a photo of his festive jumper,
and he sends 19. It takes all your motherly instincts and restraint to NOT share immediately
but to crop off his face and string them together in a slide show.
For your amusement.
You are welcome!!