Showing posts with label Christmas. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Christmas. Show all posts

Tuesday, December 24, 2019

Christmas Eve 2019

My front door wreath.
A knitted snowman and crocheted red wreath cover.

Only two blog entries for this month of December. It was difficult to choose what to
include and what to leave out!

Well I have been taking a great many photographs
and also been crocheting a lot too.

At the beginning of the month, we went to stay in the city of Zürich
where they had very pretty Christmas lights and a lovely Christmas Market.

Many of the stalls had beautiful handmade items.

There were beautiful decorated braziers dotted around the big square.
Perfect to warm our frozen hands!
We drank mulled wine which we put into thermos mugs to keep warm!

I got my Christmas mail off early and chose my prettiest stamps
and reviewed my Christmas card list.

I hung up some Christmas baubles.
This one was bought in Zürich.
I liked the snowy scene with trees.

A collage of this year's Swarovski star.
They come out with a new one every year.

The first Amaryllis plant gave four beautiful blooms

The details are so beautiful when I use my macro lens.

A while back, I started a giant granny square couch throw. I used chunky yarn to make it snug.
I was using up some balls that I had lurking in my huge stock!
I still needed two new balls to get the size I desired.
Teddy is wearing his new orange jacket too.

Here is the finished throw.
It measures 136 cm square. I could make it a bit bigger, but it is very manageable this size.
Teddy also got a new blanket to match his jacket!

The different crocheted elements I made for the garland above.

The Christmas cookies have been made and stored in a tin.
They are melt-in-the-mouth Viennese Crescents, made with ground almonds and vanilla.
The angel was made a few years' ago.
She usually tops the small Christmas Tree!

Here she is in her place of honour,
bathed in golden light

My tiny tree, just perfect for the space I have available!
This year, the decorations are mostly white with a discreet touch of red here and there.
There are butterflies and birds and tiny angels.
Everything with wings this year!

Luckily, there were some beautiful sunny days with pure blue skies
 and fresh snow on the mountain peaks.
This was taken from the upper part of my neighbourhood with my biggest zoom lens.

Christmas stars waiting for the Christmas tree!

Candlelight, a crocheted Christmas doily and tiny elf set the seasonal atmosphere!

A crystal Gingerbread House
lit by candlelight.

A Christmas collage which includes the tiny Gingerbread House,
A Christmas Carol, the classic by Charles Dickens
which I shall be reading over this Christmas period.
The cookie tin with an English snow scene
and a Christmas card.

There was a beautiful projected Sound and Light show in the centre of town
on the facade of the lovely old Town Hall.

This was my favourite projection

This was the last scene of the continuous scenes we saw during the fifteen minutes of the show.

The bauble I chose as my blog header for the month of December.
I also found this one in the Christmas Market in Zürich.

As a last photo, I include this one taken of the Lausanne Cathedral
tower and spire in the early evening.

All my very best wishes to all the friends and family who come here to visit
highlights of my life in photography.
Your visits and kind comments are so heart warming.
Thank you!

Saturday, December 22, 2018

Midwinter 2018

On Friday 21 December
it was the Winter Soltice, also known as Midwinter.
The next day was a full moon although the sky was not clear enough for me to see it.

It's also the time of the year when candlelight brings in a warming cosy atmosphere
and there is a wish to decorate with delicate seasonal things.
This tiny crystal snowflake is perfect!

This festive red candle represents the return of light which has just begun
with each day increasing by a few seconds!
The reflection can be seen in my window against the night sky!

The same window in the daytime brings in softness created by the winter's sky.

There have been rainy days and sunny ones and even snow flurries which didn't settle for long.
A few leaves hang on and make pretty silhouettes against the sky.

Like fingers which hold
fuzzy balls against the sky
touching tenderness.

Whenever the weather is dry and not too blustery, I go walking to be
amazed by nature in this wintry season.
These catkins tell me that spring will follow in good time.

I take one of the dried hydrangea flowers from my plant on the balcony.
It remains beautiful even as in this state of maturity.

Now we're leading up to Christmas which can be a little overwhelming
with the stores pushing us to buy and then buy some more
with lights that are a little over the top and a bit too bright!

I do love to keep things rather simple and really liked this elegant balsam wood
hanging decoration with a shiny crystal ball.
The night sky shows up the details the best.
I saw them at the Christmas Market in Lucerne when I visited at the beginning of  December.
You can see it here

A Christmas tree bauble speaks of Christmas which will be in two days' time.
It's a time when families like to be all together.

This year, I made a Christmas garland to hang up in my living room!
It looks very festive!

You can see them better here.
The different patterns have been collected over time from different sources.
The four blue snowflakes on the bottom row are a smaller version of the one here:
The yellow stars are from here:


Remember,
whatever this present moment holds for you, embrace it,
enjoy it or learn from it.
As often as you can, keep smiling - it can make someone's day
and it embellishes our whole attitude to life
and the world around us!

***
Note:
Please click on each photo to enlarge them so they fill the screen!