1 J did a last bit of decorating, hanging all the wooden ornaments onto a picked-up branch – plenty of those around after the rough weather.
Decorating the branch
2 The next tranche of family have arrived. Hooray!
3 Everybody is busy in the kitchen cooking dinner together, Ham cooked in Coke and glazed with Honey and Ginger and served with creamy mash, broad beans in a white sauce and sweet corn. Delicious. We are blessed with sons-in-law who love to cook.
Preparing the meal together
1 What a delightful surprise! The primroses have started flowering in this cold and damp December. What little beauties they are!
Primroses, one of my favourites
2 This little Jester is part of J’s Christmas present of a castle with figures.
Delightful little Jester
3 The first tranche of the family will be arriving any minute having driven for 5-6 hours and hopefully avoiding all the floods throughout Cornwall.
1 Clearing out Mum’s desk for the polishing the other day, I found this letter destined for Father Christmas circa 1982. I can’t imagine why it wasn’t burnt with the others so that the message could go up in smoke to Father Christmas. Like my parents before us, we always added a bit of salt to the folded letter to ensure it burned with a blue flame. Then it would come true!
Letter to Father Christmas c1982
2 Sausage rolls always disappear fast once the family arrive. This is the first batch – more tomorrow.
First batch of sausage rolls
3 We all love the chocolate pennies which appear at Christmas.
Tangerines and golden pennies
The first four of the family are arriving tomorrow. If I don’t manage to blog over the next few days, I hope you all have a Happy and a Peaceful Christmas.
1 A very quiet pottery kind of day putting up a few more cards. This delightful one which arrived today has been made by the young son of a very special friend.
Beautiful hand-made card
2 I love these very colourful decorations that should be safe from toddler hands as the fireguard will be up. (No fire will be lit!)
Colourful cane decorations
3 Three of the hyacinths that I brought out of the dark on 3rd December are already in flower! They smell so lovely. Click on the red link if you missed that post.
Hyacinths beginning to flower already
Happy Winter Solstice Day to you all. The days get longer from tomorrow; the sun is coming back!
I’ve gained a couple of hours today as I have a nasty throat so couldn’t go to a meeting, didn’t want to give such a horrid Christmas present to anyone! I haven’t a deal of energy either but enough to finally get to the Awards fellow bloggers have been kind enough to find mybeautfulthings worthy of.
Thank you very much to Sofie of http://sofiesdiary.com/ who has nominated me for The Very Inspiring Blogger Award. That is really lovely of you, Sofie. For this I have to follow these rules:
The Rules:
1. Thank the person who nominated you.
2. List 7 things about yourself.
3. Nominate 15 bloggers and inform them.
Next I have to thank Purple Rosemary at http://purplerosemary.com for an aptly named award for my blog – The Beautiful Blogger Award, given in October. Thank you so much!
The rules are the same as above so now 14 things and 30 other bloggers!
Now the lovely Renee at http://www.positiveboomer.net has nominated me for ‘The Sisterhood of the World Blogger Award’ and this I am very proud to be a part of. Thank you Renee. For this I have to follow similar rules but nominate only 7 others! Now I’m up to 21 facts and 37 other bloggers!
Coreen of http://pictureperfectmemoriesforlife.wordpress.com/ has been kind enough to nominate me for The One Lovely Blog Award, again, it is a pleasure to accept. The rules are as the first two – now 28 facts and 52 others! I can see why it’s sensible to do these as they come in!!
http://schmoozelfleugen.wordpress.com/ nominated me last September for the Versatile Blogger Award. Thank you again, schmoozelfleugen and sorry for the delay in passing this one on too. The rules are the same! Now -35 facts and 67 other bloggers.
Lastly I have to thank Renee of http://positiveboomer.net/ for my first nomination for Blog of the Year Award and http://dearkitty1.wordpress.com/ for the second! Thank you so much, Renee and DearKitty!
And here are the rules:
1 Select the blog(s) you think deserve the ‘Blog of the Year 2012’ Award.
2 Write a blog post and tell us about the blog(s) you have chosen – there’s no minimum or maximum number of blogs required – and ‘present’ them with their award.
3 Please include a link back to this page ‘Blog of the Year 2012’ Award – http://thethoughtpalette.co.uk/our-awards/blog-of-the-year-2012-award/and include these ‘rules’ in your post (please don’t alter the rules or the badges!)
4 Let the blog(s) you have chosen know that you have given them this award and share the ‘rules’ with them
5 You can now also join the award’s Facebook group – click ‘like’ on this page‘Blog of the Year 2012’ Award Facebook group and then you can share your blog with an even wider audience if you choose to
6 As a winner of the award – please add a link back to the blog that presented you with the award – and then proudly display the award on your blog and sidebar … and start collecting stars…
Yes – that’s right – there are stars to collect!
Unlike other awards which you can only add to your blog once – this award is different!
When you begin you will receive the ‘1 star’ award – and every time you are given the award by another blog – you can add another star!
There are a total of 6 stars to collect.
Which means that you can check out your favorite blogs – and even if they have already been given the award by someone else – you can still bestow it on them again and help them to reach the maximum 6 stars!
Thank you again to everyone who has nominated me. Do check out their blogs as well as the ones I shall be nominating below. All the blogs I follow have something special about them. They make me laugh, they make me think, they give advice, I learn so much about other people’s lives and about customs in other countries, friendships across the miles have developed through this world of blogging and I am delighted that I became a Blogger!
There is no order in the list below, they are all well worth visiting and I do know that one or two of them do not in fact accept awards. There is no obligation on any of you to accept. Nevertheless, I want you all to know how much you are all appreciated. As for the facts about me, if you are reading my blog you’ll be picking up lots of bits of information!
Meme at http://mixandmatchmeme.wordpress.com/
Noeleen at http://wordsfallfrommyeyes.wordpress.com/
Lesley at http://lesleycarter.wordpress.com/
Uru at http://gobakeyourself.wordpress.com
Renee at http://positiveboomer.net/
Don at http://candidpresence.wordpress.com/
Russell at http://russelrayphotos2.com/
http://applepieandnapalm.wordpress.com/
Bernice at http://realisticcookingideas.com/
Lou Ann at http://onthehomefrontandbeyond.wordpress.com/
Patty at http://thoughtsfromanamericanwoman.wordpress.com/
Penny at http://thewhyaboutthis.com/
Nia at http://photographyofnia.com/
Yvonne at http://aweebitrandom.com/
http://pillowsalamode.wordpress.com/
http://saymberblondi.wordpress.com/
Tazein at http://transcendingbordersblog.wordpress.com/
Elle at http://daysofourlivesjapan.wordpress.com/
Claire at http://promenadeplantings.com/
Kathleen at http://corningnystepbystep.blogspot.co.uk/
Valerie at http://valeriedavies.com/ who has actually stopped blogging for the moment but whose writing I really appreciate
Heidi at http://lightlycrunchy.wordpress.com/
Veronica at http://agujasblog.com/
David at http://dhphotosite.wordpress.com/
Linda at http://lindawillows.wordpress.com/
Sam and her daughter, Holly at http://childtasticbooks.wordpress.com/
Pam at http://pablam.wordpress.com/
Judy at http://petit4chocolatier.wordpress.com/
and last, but by no means least http://anelephantcant.me/
I don’t think I’ve ever written such a long post and I’m fast running out of steam so I’m going to do something a little unconventional! Please choose which of the above awards you feel most appropriate for your blog and then copy the relevant badge and the rules!
Happy Christmas to you all!
I include here the thumbnails for the Blog of the Year Stars so that you can have the one that’s right for you. I borrowed them from Renee. Thanks!
1 Choir-baby T, in her Christmas party tu-tu, is happy to be cuddled at the splendid Christmas lunch put on for us by the lovely staff at Miss Peapod’s cafe.
Choir-baby T at the Christmas lunch with a good friend
2 Outside the cafe were these gorgeous, somewhat unconventional Angels.
Flying Angel at Miss Peapod’s
Cycling Angel at Miss Peapod’s
Angel with a pasty
3 It was quiet and still in Falmouth after yet another very wild night.
Seagulls in a blue dinghy
1 I love it when we get the cardboard boxes full of decorations out of the attic and open up them up to release memories as powerful as smells! So many of the decorations carry a person or a place with them and each is revealed in turn.
2 Truro is beautiful even in the rain and we had a lovely afternoon buying the last few presents and going into the Museum for a few moments’ respite to see the current exhibition, 100 Years of St Ives Artists.
3 All three of Claire’s choirs met up in Truro Cathedral for our feast of Christmas carols. One hundred or so of us sang our hearts out and the Cathedral was full – standing room only! It was a beautiful evening for everyone
1 I love the way the beautiful white cyclamen fold their delicate petals back and survive despite the cold winds. They are part of my purple, white and green garden honouring the Suffragettes.
White Cyclamen
2 The pretty little Vanilla Flowers are doing well too; they’ve been in flower for months.
Tiny Vanilla Flowers
3 We spoke to J and T today on the phone. J, just four, is sounding so grown-up and T, 20 months, said, “Hello Granny” and “Hello Grand-grand” for the first time!
1 I’ve mentioned before in this post about the beautiful poem, ‘Afterwards’ by Thomas Hardy, that my parents chose together to be read at each of their funerals. My lovely Dad who died 8 years ago today also chose the beautiful voice of Paul Robeson singing The Ballad of Joe Hill to be played for him and every 17th December, I sing the song along with Paul Robeson in honour of my Dad. Do click on the link and listen and sing along too if you’ve a mind to.
I dreamed I saw Joe Hill last night,
Alive as you and me.
Says I, “But Joe, you’re ten years dead”
“I never died” says he, “I never died” says he.
“In Salt Lake, Joe,” says I to him,
him standing by my bed,
“They framed you on a murder charge,”
Says Joe, “But I ain’t dead,” Says Joe, “But I ain’t dead.”
“The Copper Bosses killed you Joe,
they shot you Joe” says I.
“Takes more than guns to kill a man”
Says Joe “I didn’t die.” Says Joe “I didn’t die.”
And standing there as big as life
and smiling with his eyes.
Says Joe, “What they can never kill
went on to organize, went on to organize.”
From San Diego up to Maine,
in every mine and mill,
where workers fight and organise
It’s there you find Joe Hill, it’s there you find Joe Hill!
I dreamed I saw Joe Hill last night,
alive as you and me.
Says I “But Joe, you’re ten years dead”
“I never died” says he, I never died” says he. I never died” says he.
I grew up hearing and loving Paul Robeson’s voice and in the year that my Dad lived in Cornwall before we were able to join him (I was only 6 years old) Mum played ‘Just a Wearyin’ for you’ every evening and it can still bring me to tears as I remember how much I missed my Dad and it’s only now that I realise that she wasn’t playing it for me but for herself. How they must have missed each other that year. They’d already had 5 years apart during the war and now Mum had three of us to look after and a fourth on the way who was born just 10 weeks before we eventually moved to Cornwall and were all together again and living by Pill Creek as I wrote about here.
2 This beautiful thing is a day or two late but we have the CD that our choir, The Ingleheart Singers, have made and it’s good! Copies are now winging their way to Hawaii, to Atlanta, to Munich and to London to my far-flung family
A Celebration of Christmas by The Ingleheart Singers
3 A super rehearsal tonight ready for our gig in Truro Cathedral on Wednesday evening and for our singing at a wedding on Saturday.
Usually all my beautiful things are from the day on which I post but we’ve just had a wonderful weekend away so today’s post covers Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
1 We had a trip up to Plymouth to see the amazing Jools Holland who just raises the spirits of all who are near him! He is so talented, so generous and clearly enjoys making so many people happy. He smiles his way through the whole performance! It was just fabulous to be able to watch his hands on the big screen. To my delight K T Tunstall was his surprise guest. His drummer, Gilson Lavis was just brilliant!We spent the night in a hotel and next day …….
2 We met two of our lovely daughters, M and L, for lunch in a country pub and then went home with L to her new home where the bird life is just amazing. It was very hard to get photos as they were all so busy going back and forth. There were Nuthatches, Blue tits, Willow tits, Great tits, Coal tits, Robins, Siskin, Chaffinches, Bullfinches, Pheasants and Jays.
3 A walk in the nearby woods this morning with L and T and T’s parents and their five Black Labradors was an utter delight.
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