The last plog of the year

The last plog of the year   

So this will be the last plog for a while on Plogging Plus. Last January I decided when I was thinking of making a New Year's resolution that I would try to make a blog each day mainly to just see if I could do it.

The blog I decided would be about all sorts of things to make it easier to keep it interesting not only for anyone who might want to read it but also for me, so that I would keep doing it.

It did get a bit tedious at times but once I got into a pattern it became easier and I was actually quite disappointed when I traveled that I couldn't get my new tablet to publish my daily blog and so it didn't get written There was also a few days when I just didn't feel up to it as I felt poorly but I did write 331 blogs so I certainly think I fulfilled my resolution.

It also is a good way of reminding myself about 2013, the things I did , the photos I took, the things that I was interested in, the paintings I made, the flowers I grew. It became almost like my diary.

Thank you if you took time to read some of my blogs and comment on them. I know the blog doesn't make that easy. It certainly helped to keep me going to know that someone out there was reading them.

I haven't figured out yet what my 2014 resolution will be but I'll be sure to let you know so I can share it with you.

HAPPY NEW YEAR

Trapeze by Simon Mawer

Trapeze by Simon Mawer

Yet another book I have read at some point during the blogging time when I was really into the Christmas and Thanksgiving season.

It was a while back I read it but when I checked my note on it, I remember it well.It was a “good read”

It is the story of a young English girl Marion who has been brought up in Paris. When World War 2. erupts she is 19 year old and volunteers to help in the war effort. As she has a good command of French and French customs she is trained to become a liaison in the SOE , Special Operations Executive to the French resistance movement. It details her training and her parachute jumps into France and her subsequent experiences.

It is a very interesting book and is based on the actual SOE and the courageous volunteers who served in it.

PS I have a sneeky feeling I have written a blog about this book already but never mind.

After Eli by Terry Kay

After Eli by Terry Kay

This is another book I have been reading throughout the Christmas period. I was reading this on my ASUS tablet as a loan from the North Texas Library Group. It's an interesting way of reading and it makes you read a little each day as you know you have the book for a very limited time. ( 2 weeks) and then it will disappear.

This was just as well as it took some time to get into the story but when you did , you were hooked.

It is a suspense , mystery and murder, fictional novel set in the Appalachian mountains. Into the area comes Michael O'Rear, an Irish man of charm and guile who weaves his way into the life of the community with painful results. He let's the community think he is the cousin of a past farmer Eli and is determined to learn the truth of the mystery of Eli's hidden money. He also plans to take advantage of Eli's wife and daughter and sister in law while doing so.

Michael is not a nice man but a very clever one.

It is an interesting book to read and I'm glad I managed to finish it in time.

Winter of the World by Ken Follett

Winter of the World by Ken Follett

After a great many blogs about Christmas I am ready for a change. Here is a book I read recently which was excellent.

If you like 20^th century historical novels this is one of the best from a very good author,Ken Follett .It is the 2^nd book in a trilogy of sweeping stories about 4 intertwined families from 1900 – 2000. The families are from England, USA, Germany and Russia( Soviet Union).

The first book Fall of Giants covered the period of the first World War , the political changes in all the countries and the rise of the suffragette movement.

Winter of the World covers the rise to power of Hitler and the 2^nd World War . Sounds rather dull you say? It definitely is not. It is a gripping book to read with lots of suspense. Within this background of countries , politics and movements we have great characters and personalities who flow throughout the book bringing that time back to life.

It is an easy book to read but a very long story to read with over 900 pages so give yourself plenty of time to read it.

I finally begin to  understand the world in which my parents lived and although the politics of war are complicated, this book will give you a better understanding of the feelings and opinions of the people from all the countries involved.

I know I will be looking forward to reading the third book when it is issued.

Christmas Flowers

Christmas Flowers

One of the lovely gifts I had for Christmas was a huge poinsettia plant or I should say plants ,because I think there are actually 3 separate plants in the pot. There are 2 red ones and one white one and as far as I know you don't get these plants with different colors on a single plant. It is about 2feet tall so it is indeed a large plant. I do hope I have more success than I have had in past at keeping poinsettias alive. I know some people manage to keep their plants going from year to year but mine usually don't make it much beyond January. I will have to check out the gardening books and do a better job.

Not many blossoms this year

The other plant that I have had success with in the past is a Christmas cactus. This plant was doing exceptionally well up to last Christmas with lots of blooms just at the right time. Over the summer it gradually started to lose stalks and leaves. I couldn't figure out if it was getting too hot or too wet or if it had caught a bug of some kind. So this year it is not so robust as it was in previous years. I am just hoping it regains it's zest for living and comes back to full growth next year.

It is such a beautiful plant.

Santa's coming tonight

Santa's coming tonight

Christmas Eve; a magical night.

Can you remember how excited you got when you were little?

We would go to bed with a pillowcase at the end of the bed -no small stocking for us-and hope that the mysterious old man with the white beard who we had seen around town would somehow actually find his way to our house, climb down a chimney ( which was never used and boarded up) and he certainly couldn't climb down the one in the living room as that had a big fire in it??

He would bring us such lovely toys that we had dreamed of for a long while. No one would have to make us go to bed on Christmas Eve. We wanted to go so the mysterious visitor would come quickly.

Didn't you try to keep awake to see if you could actually catch sight of him and even one time thought you saw him but he sounded rather like your dad and wasn't that you mum giggling and making shushing sounds ? Or did you just dream it?

Whatever it was, when you woke up there was the pillowcase stuffed with all kinds of mysterious packages and Father Christmas Had Come just like everyone said he would.

You'd pull out the toys and packages and even strange things like a piece of coal??? and even an orange and a few nuts and you knew the magic of Christmas had started.

But what of that old man who did the deliveries?

I like to think this card shows how he felt when he got home after doing all his deliveries- tired,content and glad that Christmas was finally here and delivered.

A Very Merry Christmas You'all!

A Very Merry Christmas You'all!

Ask me to choose a favorite Christmas Card and I would find it most difficult. I have shown you many of the cars I have collected throughout the years. Without exception, they all have a thought , painting , photo , design which carries with it the greetings of the season and above all the feeling of the season that Christmas evokes.

This one above is a very special card. One of my favorites.

We have some very good Texan friends and each year they send us a card that nearly always has a Texan theme. This one is a wonderful example. It is a great painting and I certainly could never throw this one away.

Merry Christmas You'all!

My Pet-resistant Christmas Tree

My Pet-resistant Christmas Tree

Photo by MIke

The photo you see here is my Christmas tree. Not a usual Christmas tree for sure.

But it does the job well at my house.

I think I told the story of how this tree came to be in another blog but I can tell it again. Last year Mike was making Laura's circular shoe rack and had lots of triangular type pieces of wood left over. He was going to throw them away. I said “ No we can make that into a Christmas tree “and so we did. It has worked out pretty well.

It is heavy and substantial so it doesn't get knocked over like a regular tree in our house would. It has lots of holes in it to hang all the goodies and I can put lights on it to make it look pretty.

It doesn't look good in the daylight until you look closely and then you can see all the “memory ornaments” collected throughout the years. You will see there are not too many of them. They have all been broken. That's another reason we don't have a regular tree.

A regular tree in my house for years meant a hazard with all the dogs and especially the cats thinking it was a special interest bought in for their pleasure. The dogs would drink the piney water , wag their tails and knock the whole thing down, get caught up in the strings of lights , eat any candy canes or goodies on it and drag pine needles all over the house. I think a few of them( the males) also thought it was a bathroom made especially for them. The cats likewise took great pleasure in the yearly tree. They loved to play hide and seek in the branches and play with the tinsel and those glass balls were just irresistible .Unfortunately glass ornaments don't bounce!!

No wonder we gave up on a Christmas tree after a few years.

Now with my wooden recycled tree we can have the decoration and memories without the problems.... or maybe the pets are just so much older now that they would rather sleep.

Oh Christmas tree, Oh Christmas tree

Oh Christmas tree, Oh Christmas tree

I love seeing all the versions of Christmas trees from the huge ones in public places to the small individual ones in people's homes. We missed seeing the "Light UP ceremony" in nearby Denton square this year and the carol singing  because of the ice storm. The tree are all lovely and bright and say as much about Christmas as all the gifts and different decorations and food we see at this season.

 I especially like the way people collect different ornaments to hang on the tree from year to year as a way of remembering.

They are often on Christmas cards. They all look so different but so easy to draw or design that even the kids can make a card with a Christmas tree covered with lights and presents.

I had so many tree designs to choose from in my old pile of cards it was difficult to choose.

The Christmas Robin

The Christmas Robin  

I think if you get a card from England and you see one of these little perky round birds with a red breast you will know you have a card that originated in England rather than here in USA.

The robin is a favorite character at Christmas and often appears as a photograph or a drawing or painting. They are cheerful little birds with their bright red breasts and so nice to see in the dull winter. There used to be many of them when I lived in England and I certainly hope they are still to be seen in the English country side.

When I first came to Dallas , someone said to me , you'll see lots of robins around here but I never could see any and still haven't.

American robin

 The reason is that little perky robin we have in England doesn't live here .The robin referred to by Americans is the American robin which looks more like an English thrush with a dull red breast. Yes we do see American robins around here, They dig for worms under the trees. But on Christmas cards? Never.

The cardinal is the bird most seen on American cards.

Homemade Christmas cards

card by Sharon

This year I had every intention of making my own homemade Christmas cards. I even went out and bought the blank cards in multiple colors with matching envelopes. Then I started thinking about what I would paint or draw of stick on the cards. I thought I might get some inspiration by checking through my piles of old cards and that's how the idea went adrift. Somehow or other the time went by and before I knew it the deadline for writing and mailing was there. Too late again.

Just no excuse really.

I especially like it when we receive cards from people that have made the cards themselves. In fact I count on certain people to send those each year and look forward to seeing their new card each year.

Sharon in England always does a nice painting or drawing of an English scene and they are really lovely.

Another friend Wendy who lives in Canada send a card that she has painted and it's usually something she has been working on that year.

Wendy's painting on card

Another friend Wendy makes a  print collage. ( Wendys must be very creative!!).

Wendy's card

We love to see all our cards but these are special and we thank the people who take the time to remember us this way.

Next year I'll start thinking about making cards in July and then I might actually do it.

Christmas Bells

The bell that Flo made

I'm not sure why bells are so popular as decorations at Christmas but they often appear on Christmas cards and in carols, I guess it's from the bells that rang from the church steeples at Christmas to let people celebrate the birth of Jesus.

The bell we have at our house has special memories. This lovely red bell covered with pearls and ribbons is actually a music box. When you pull the chain underneath it rings out the  favorite Christmas song, Jingle Bells.

Years ago I sent this bell in a kit to my Mum ( Flo) thinking she would like to make it for Christmas. I didn't realize that each little pearl bead had to be pinned on individually and there are lots and lots of pearls on that bell. I was told about all the work it took to make it for quite a long while !! Every year she would get it out hang it in a place of honor and retell the story of how long it took to make.

Now we have it in our house so every year I get it out and I continue the tradition of how long it took to make by telling you.

Then I play the jingle bells and remember....

That's the beauty of Christmas.

Dances from Yesteryear

Dances from Yesteryear

When I was thinking about yesterday's party blog, I remembered that as we got older and went to bigger parties with lots of older adults the party would almost always develop into what I like to call group dances. I remembered one when I was talking with my friend Ruth at Saturday's party and between us we remembered the wordsand even the easy steps. I bet this brings back memories to some people.

The Hokey Pokey

You put your right hand in,

You put your right hand out,

You put your right hand in,

And you shake it all about,

You do the hokey pokey and you turn yourself around

That what it's all about.

We even managed to perform the actions but couldn't seem to get the other folk interested. The other dance which was very popular especially with older ( middle aged folk was

Knees up Mother Brown  Knees up Mother Brown

Under the table you must go

Ee-aye, Ee-aye, Ee-aye-oh

If I catch you bending  I'll saw your legs right off

Knees up, knees up  Never get the breeze up

Knees up Mother Brown

This was performed in a circle and the circle would sway in and out with everyone high stepping( knees up) and the singing got louder and louder and everyone had a good old time ( as far as I can remember)!

Enjoying the conga

And I can't finish this blog without remembering the Conga.

This was much loved by teenagers and younger adults. In it you form a long line with everyone holding onto the persons' waist in front and then you perform the Conga as the line moves slowly forward. On the beat “cong A” you all stick your left leg out in unison, then at the next congA out goes the right leg.The line snakes it's way in and out tables and chairs collecting people as it goes .

Great fun.

The Christmas Gathering

The Christmas Gathering Then & Now

A party from last year

I went to a Christmas Party last weekend and it was a lovely festive occasion with good friends, wonderful food and we had a great time.

As I sat sipping on a very nice wine, chatting with friends and glanced around at the other guests, all mostly somewhere close to my age or getting there in the next ten years or so , I thought how parties and Christmas events had changed since I was young

I remember the parties at Christmas time when I was young .There would be lots of people mostly relatives of all different ages there. They would all be crowding into the fairly small room with a very hot open fire in the fireplace so it would be hot and noisy. The kids would gather under the table and play with what ever the toy which was popular. The grown ups would be noisy and loud and nearly always there were some who had drunk a bit too much. We kids would then laugh and giggle at the funny things they said.

The party would eventually lead to playing cards at the big table with kids and grown up all taking turns to play. Favorite games would be gin rummy or 5 card brag or trumps and the betting would be in pennies for the winner. I always thought card games were so boring at Christmas and would much prefer board games but my parents and aunts and uncles all seemed to enjoy the card games enormously.

Later on a dart board was introduced and the darts would fly through the Christmas trimmings and everyone had a great time.No one ever got hit by a dart and when I think about it , that wa a Christmas miracle.

Food would be simple fare; sausage rolls, mincepies and for the kids, jelly and custards and creamy cakes and of course lots of sweets.

It was an occasion to remember and I still do but Christmas gathering are certainly different these days.

Paint challenge: Wine glass and Rose

Paint challenge: Wine glass and Rose

my painting in watercolor 7" by 7"

This month's paint challenge on Paint and Draw together I found very difficult not especially because of the wine glass or the rose but painting them with a very dark background was the big problem. This is very true if you are using watercolor paints. To get a dark tone , multiple washes have to be made.

I cheated a little because I left a space for the rose and masked the very white places on the wine glass so the final painting was okay but not one of my best. I do admire the other artists who did great paintings.

Check them out at http://paintanddrawtogether.blogspot.com

the challenge photo

The Three Kings

The Three Kings

We three kings of Orient are

bearing gifts we traverse afar

Field and fountain, moor and mountain

Following yonder star...

O-Oh.....

This was one of my favorite carols growing up and I was always very impressed with the story of three wise , rich men who would travel so far to see a new baby. There obviously was more to this story than we are told.

I didn't think too much about the gifts they bought at that time when I was young and singing out the carol.

Born a King on Bethlehem plain

Gold I bring to crown him again

I certainly knew about Gold not that we had much of it around but even the color gold was a wondrous thing.Frankincense and myrrh were unknown to me but I just thought they must be special if these 3 wise men would bring them as a gift.

Frankincense to offer have I

Incense owns a Deity nigh

Myrrh is mine, its bitter perfume

Breathes of life of gathering gloom

Today I looked them up on the internet and found out they were indeed a very scarce commodity and therefore much desired and expensive in the days of Jesus.

They had been used since about 5000 BC mainly because of their scent and also used in medicines, healing and in preparing bodies in death.If I had understood all the words of the carol I might have figured that out.

Frankincense tree

Both are a form of a waxy resin which is harvested from the trees in the same way as maple syrup is collected. It is then formed into small pellets before it is used and was sold for good profit. It was grown in the hot desert areas of the mid east and considered more valuable than gold at that time.

So now I know why the wise men brought their gifts.

But I think the chorus is really the part I liked the best.

O-Oh Star of wonder, star of night

Star with royal beauty bright

Westward leading, still proceeding

Guide us to thy perfect light

Flo's Santa

Flo's Santa

This little Santa also brings back sweet memories. When my Mum ( Flo) was in her late 70s and came to stay with us from England, she would stay for almost 3 months and one time she came to stay over Christmas.

She was not a person who liked to sit and do nothing but at her age things for her to do were limited to knotting and reading and often she needed something different to do while I was busy.

That year we had seen some Santa's being made on a TV show and she said “I can do that “, so we got the materials and the cotton batting and she set to.

Her Santa turned out fine except she couldn't figure a way to keep his jolly round tummy from falling out the top of his red pants.

We really had a chuckle over that.

He is getting a little worn now but every year he comes out and sits on the mantle shelf and watches over the festivities and still his tummy is falling out!

Christmas Memories

Christmas Memories

After looking at the teddies yesterday I glanced up and there was the very ancient Christmas wall hanging that Trevor, our son, had made when he was in grade one in St Lambert school in Quebec, Canada. So it is now about 45 years old.

It sure looks like it as well. It is pretty dirty and some of the items are falling off.

Most people would have thrown it out years ago.

Not us.

It is one of those crafty things you make in primary school made with cut out cards and pieces of bow-tie spaghetti stuck on a piece of felt. The kids bring them home as a present or a surprise for their parents and you put it up on the wall and think how clever that is. When I was teaching I did similar things with the kids and I remember the fun they had making them and the mess!!

You tell the child thank you and the child beams and then forgets all about it. But the parent doesn't . So every year we unearth it from the Christmas box and hang it on the wall usually beside the fireplace.

This accounts for why it is so smudgy on one side.

The funny Santa decoration in the photo is one Trevor's wife Laura bought for us a few Christmases ago so it has some history as well. It is supposed to be a Christmas card hanger as you are to put the cards on the ribbons hanging down. We tried to do that when we first had it but sadly it didn't work too well so now it just comes out as a decoration and that's just fine with us.

It too is one of our memories.

The Teddies celebrate Christmas

The Teddies celebrate Christmas

I don't collect Teddy bears although I know a lot of people do. 

Who can resist the soft cuddly bear with soft button eyes?

This little trio who sit on my bookshelf get moved to a place of honor at Christmas because they remind us of 4 people who are special to us.

Two of those people have since passed on and the other two are our Granddaughters, Chrissy and Ashleye.

The big bear in the middle was given to us by Bob Billman ,an old and good friend. We jokingly called him the honey man because he worked for SueBee Honey co. Honey bear is wearing his bee sweater and hat complete with antenna.

The little white bear has a heart that used to say I love you when pressed , Sadly the battery has worn out but we know the sentiment is still true. 

The little pink bear has angel wings and a pretty pink rose and is very sweet. Both these little bears were given to their Great Grandmother Nanny Bond by Chrissy and Ashleye .These little bears sat with Nanny Bond and kept her company until she died and she loved them very much.

So then they came to live with  Honey bear and us  and now at Christmas we remember.

This is what Christmas is all about.

Woof and Meow for Christmas

Woof and Meow for Christmas

Photo by Jane Burton sold in Aid of Guide Dogs

I think possibly a third of the Christmas greeting cards we receive each year have pictures of dogs or cats on them . Sometimes they are photos of friend's pets and sometimes just photos of fun looking pets getting into the Christmas mood.They all are lovely and  very much appreciated 

Here are a small selection of my “keepers”

These little chihuahua make cute  pics.

A lovely painting by Eva Melhuish

Let's start the Christmas decorating

Let's start the Christmas decorating

Quite frankly We don't do a lot of decorating. Mike puts up a string of lights outside and is in charge of that. I get to do the inside decorating for Christmas.

In England I remember we didn't do outside decorating but that maybe because it was soon after the war and everything was scarce and expensive. I remember we made paper chains , circles of colored paper linked together and we would link them from all corners of the room to the middle light and think that was great.

Today I don't do much better. I have a few things that I have collected over the years and I find it lovely to bring those out and remember.

In England we would bring in holly and ivy and hang mistletoe branches but here the holly and ivy stays outside to feed the birds with the bright berries and the mistletoe grows high up in the trees and it really a curse as it will kill the tree.

So instead of that kind of greenery I use my house plants. One year I bought a some beautiful red silk poinsettia flowers and I use them each year to decorate. It gives a nice effect.

I usually buy a real poinsettia too but it never seems to lasts to the next year.

A Different kind of card

A Different kind of card

As most of you have heard the frozen North from Canada descended on our area and yesterday and today brought us the coldest temperatures we have had for years. It came in with an icy cold wind and rain and sleet which turned then to snow. Tonight we can expect more sleet and freezing fog which will put another layer of ice everywhere.

The roads and airports are in a mess. I heard on the news they are stopping any vehicles coming into Texas from Oklahoma on the main highways because they are incredibly clogged up with all huge trucks that can't go anywhere.

So I thought it would be nice to remember that usually we have a mild Christmas season but obviously not as mild as this card shows which a friend sent from Florida last year,

Yes this is a Christmas card.

I still think I prefer the seasonable cold Christmases we usually have but maybe not as cold as this!!

Christmas Card scenes, Landscapes

Christmas Card scenes, Landscapes

These are 2 other cards I couldn't bear to throw away. I find them just lovely and wish I could paint just like both the artists who made them.

This card photo is St Pauls in the Snow by Macneil sold to benefit the Hospice of St Francis.

I often get cards sent to me about London as that is the area from which we originally came before we left for Canada. The area has changed a great deal since we left but it is such a great city and has such lovely places to visit that 

anything that reminds me of it is just wonderful

This photo is Winter's Day by Clive Madgwick and was sold as a fundraiser for the Ian Rennie Hospice at Home to support the work of their nursing home.

The second photo is of the English countryside in Winter and reminds me so much of the beautiful country walks we went on in the winter when I was growing up. It didn't matter if it was cold or wet as it often was, going out for a walk in the countryside was very popular and this photo reminds me of the pleasure of those walks.

Remembering Christmas with Christmas Cards.

Remembering Christmas with Christmas Cards.

The card shows an English village scene around a country market at Christmas. This card was a painting by Susan Ridyard and sold as a fund raiser for the British Heart Foundation.

One of the most interesting themes you get on Christmas cards are various scenes showing places of interest , or famous places or just places that are artistic or even just “ Chrismassy”

I especially like ones that are sent to us from Canada and England because we spent many Christmases in both countries and the cards often bring back memories of Christmases past.

I picked these two out from my collection as they have a similar style.

I like these kind on interest/story paintings. They have lots of activity and people in them but above all they bring to mind happy times.

This one shows a typical town area in the evening with the local kids playing ice hockey. When we lived in Montreal , I can't ever remember not having snow at Christmas time. The card is a painting by Nicole Laporte and was sold on behalf of UNICEF.

The Giving of Christmas Gifts

I know Christmas presents have their beginning in the story of the 3 wise men bringing their gifts of gold ,frankincense and myrrh to the Baby Jesus. Alsowe remember and celebrate the gift that God gave to us by giving his son Jesus to the world.

I remember very fondly the gifts I got when I was a child. A large dolls' house appeared at the end of my bed bought by Father Christmas is the one I will always remember. It even had a little light that could be turned on and off and lots of furniture. That was a very special gift for me. I also remember the joy our boys got when they saw the presents under the Christmas tree and the things they had dropped hints for for a while were there in the shiny paper boxes. Their delight became ours and the giving of the present was more fun than the getting.

Now we have no small children around in our family. Most of us buy what we want when we want and so finding presents for everyone has no special meaning and becomes a chore rather than a pleasure. That's really rather sad I think. So we try to regain the fun and pleasure in Christmas gift giving by finding that different thing, the unusual object, the one of a kind gift that will remind us about the fun of Christmases past.

I shall be so glad when there are children around again to share their delight in the gifts.

On the first day of Christmas....

On the first day of Christmas....

Another Christmas card theme you see fairly often is the card that shows the Christmas song , On the first day of Christmas which we have surely all sung at some time or other really peeling out “5 golden rings..... Kids especially love this part.

It's not really a carol as such and I did wonder why only 12 days were mentioned. I thought “Should that really be .”On the 25^th day of Christmas. My true love gave to me....etc etc.? “

So I looked up some information about this and found out that the first day mentioned in the song was December 25^th and this was the start of Christmastide which ended on the twelfth day January 5^th or twelfth night as is celebrated in other places in the world.

It seems according to which Christian community you follow , the birth of Jesus was celebrated in varying ways. This song celebrates one tradition where the first gift was given on Christ's birthday Dec 25 and then a present was given each day after until 12^th night.

Now I am really surprised knowing the state of commercialism around us that this idea hasn't been grabbed up and made popular.

If you want a reminder of this happy Christmas song listen to John Denver and the Muppets on this youtube singing it. It really is good fun.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EDBMzGq1vhs

Checking out the Christmas Cards

Checking out the Christmas Cards

Today we actually got to it and found our lists and excess new Christmas cards from last year and Mike set to to make his yearly poem and I decided which photo to add to our Christmas newsletter.

This is early this year as we tend to procrastinate over this job but today we received the first Christmas card in the mail from my school girl friend in England so that spurred us on. It's always lovely to get news from people who are old friends.

As I was finding the new cards in the cupboard I pulled out my huge paper bag of old cards. I am one of those people who have immense difficulty in throwing out old Christmas and greeting cards and over the years they have built up into a big pile. Some Christmas cards are just so lovely I just can't throw them in the garbage or even put them in recycling. One day I will think of something spectacular to do with them all but I thought it would be nice to show you some we have had over the years during this Christmas season.

Snowmen cards of all sizes and shapes; funny , beautiful, large, small appear which is strange as they really have nothing to do with Christmas. I guess we thing of the weather at Christmas and forget in lots of places the weather has no snow or snowmen but when did you see a bathing beauty or a seascape on a Christmas card!!