360 no 40

Entry for December 20, 2007, 360 import, Christmas letter to santa
Dec 20, '07 9:30 AM
for loretta's contacts
 
DEAR SANTA
You probably don't get many letters from grown-ups but there are some things I really do need. You must be awful busy with all those kids but I would be so grateful if you could let me have some stuff too.
Just like all those kids, I spend the whole year trying to be good and ...... well to be honest I'm not that successful. But I do try, so I just hope you can overlook the times when I haven't been that good. It's usually stuff like getting mad and yelling at people, I never mean too but I just find people so difficult at times, I'm a grown up so I know there is no real excuse for getting mad and yelling at people, but I do find it all so difficult. And that brings me to the stuff I really do need for Christmas;
Santa I need to find a way of living my life without leaving this enormous Eco-footprint that seems to follow me around.
I need to find a way of surviving and working that does not contribute to the inequalities and injustices of the world.
I need to find a place to live where there are like minded people who understand why constantly buying new things is not good, who can relate buying fashion clothes at rock bottom prices to sweat shops and child labour, who are thoughtful and considerate toward their environment and who instinctively understand the principles of 'reduce, reuse and recycle.
I need to live some place where there are no racists, homophobics xenophobes, misogynists or bigots of any kind (these are the people I yell at most)
I need to be free of people who deliberately gossip, bitch about and deride others at the slightest opportunity (I think I maybe yell at them more).
I need to find a way of contributing that is valued in ways other than monetary.
I am a grown up and I live on my own. I have no one who depends on me so I really could go anywhere you find these things for me.
This is my Christmas list Santa.
PS............ OK....... sometimes I yell just because I'm bad tempered, sorry for that. Can I have my wish list anyway please. If you manage to stop by my hoose on your way around the world I will have hot mince pies and wee dram waiting for you and carrots n' neeps for Rudolph.
Thank you Santa
MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE
Tags: 360 import, christmas
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360 no 39

Entry for December 19, 2007, 360 import, Friends at christmas,

Dec 19, '07 5:54 PM for loretta's contacts

MERRY CHRISTMAS

Hello everyone it’s so nice to be back even if it is for such a short while, and at this point there really is no guarantee this will even make it to my 360 page but I will do my best. I haven’t managed to replace or properly repair my decrepit old computer but, on a whim, I just decided to switch on and see what happens…… so far so good, the response remains sluggish to say the least but for the time being it appears to be humouring me. So……. Strike whilst the iron is hot as they say.
I just can’t believe its only 5 days to Christmas. My house is festooned in red and gold, the tree is small but brightly lit and my red Christmas candles emit this beautiful scent of oranges, cloves and cinnamon. I have presents all wrapped and ready to go, pink and sparkly for the granddaughters, Bob the Builder for the youngest grandson and a collection of transformers for the older grandson. There are the customary ‘smellies’ for the daughters and their partners and something a little special for my two best friends. Both of my friends are an inspiration to me.



They are both registered disabled. One, a lady just two
years older than me has so many health problems I have absolutely no idea how she finds the strength
to get out of bed in the morning never mind any thing else. She has not had a happy life; she had a miserable childhood followed by an abusive marriage followed by chronic ill health. She lives alone with scant support from her grown up family and I live in the next town so I just don’t get to see her as often as I would like. This year she has become increasingly frail, she has no hope of any improvement in her condition, just a steady decline into the inevitable. Yet this lady never fails to ask how I am, to take an interest in my general well being and to offer support and sympathy when I’ve had a bad day. Compared to her, I never have anything that remotely resembles a bad day but that doesn’t stop her being supportive and saying just the right thing. Many, many thanks and a multitude of Christmas wishes to you Agnes for being my very dear friend. My other friend is a chap who is 4 years older than me. He survives with about ½ of a working lung. He has suffered more bereavements in his life than most of us could imagine and now has virtually no relatives left. He cared for terminally ill relatives, he fought in the army, he saw his comrades blown up in front of him, he brought up his child on his own and now, when he should be free to enjoy what is left of his own life, he is incapacitated and severely limited in what he can do. Does he ever complain?? NO! Does he ever let things get him down? NO! He is funny and makes me laugh when I feel down (which is very often). He spends his life joking and laughing, I must admit his jokes are NOT very PC and if anyone else said the things he says I would be greatly offended. But in his case I make an exception, mostly because I know he doesn't really meant it and partly because he has a heart of gold. If ever there is anything he is able to do to help, he is there. What a great guy, and how lucky am I to have two such wonderful friends? So thank you and Merry Christmas to you too.

Now compare these two wonderful people with my not so wonderful work colleagues. My work colleagues bring whole new meanings to superficial, they plummet depths of superficial I could not, in my wildest dreams have imagined. If asked what constitutes an international disaster I’m pretty sure at least a couple of them would say a bad hair day. They see no irony or sadness in their utter devastation caused by red wine stains on a brand new cream carpet when millions will spend this Christmas without a roof over their heads never mind carpets under their feet! They covert designer labels without a thought to the sweat shop where they are made or the children who live in poverty making the damm stuff. They are not only ignorant of what goes on in the world they are adamantly determined to remain ignorant just in case a little knowledge upsets and intrudes into the orgy of consumerism that constitutes their Christmas. These women are shallow, ignorant, racist, homophobic, xenophobic and mean spirited. I walked in on a conversation that went along the lines of its ‘ok’ to call ‘them’ Pakies because they all come from Pakistan and its just an abbreviation so that’s not racist!! If I hadn’t actually heard this conversation I would not have believed people I work with could say such things. They text each other vile, offensive racist jokes on their mobiles and see nothing inappropriate or offensive in this. They seem to believe people are not really ‘British’ unless they and their parents are white and have lived here for generations. The concept of black British or Asian British or Muslim British just seems to remain outside the realms of their understanding. It seems dear old Enoch’s ‘Rivers of Blood’ speech may be 40 (ish) years old but its essence is alive and well and living on the east coast of Scotland. And what these women think of any gay couple who have the audacity to be seen together in public is not printable!! Oh shame on us!!! I suppose I should be grateful that, of all the men I work with only one springs to mind as an out right misogynist. That I believe, is called being grateful for small mercies!
I have amused and distracted myself from the horrors of my colleagues by getting involved in something called Eco-Schools. In brief; the aim of Eco-Schools is to bring the ideals of sustainability, environmentally sound actions, recycling, energy efficiency etc into schools, to involve pupils and staff alike in making the school more ‘eco-friendly’. Well our efforts seem to have paid off because the School now proudly displays the Eco-Schools Bronze award which will soon be joined by the Silver. The ultimate award, the much sought after Green Flag, may just take me a wee bit longer, but not that long!! I calculate about this time next year we should be flying the Green Flag which is something worth working toward despite what those miserable women think. They relate to Eco-Schools as something that may be useful to them in some way.

Oh how I have missed these pages as a much needed outlet for the frustrations of every day life. Not that I intended this to be some sort of tirade against the wicked, It was meant to be a ‘hello and happy Christmas’. And on that more cheerful note I think I should call it a night. My computer has been kind to me but now I am beginning to feel I shouldn’t push my luck. Time for me to quietly, leave and quit while I’m ahead.

MERRY CHRISTMAS

Tags: 360 import, friends, health, mental health, christmas

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After Christmas

January 12 2012

12th of January already……….and it’s taken me this long to feel ‘back to normal’.  I’ve had my daughter and her son staying, I’ve stayed with my other daughter and her children, I’ve had my grandchildren (plus dog) staying with me AND I’ve managed to find the time to catch up with a couple of good friends.

The grandchildren helped pack away the decorations, we walked along the beach and they spent a while painting on some of my spare canvas. By the time my daughter came to stay I had my newly decorated bedroom ready for her, she was most impressed with my decorating achievements and quite proud to be the first one to sleep in the new room.

I even managed to stay with a friend for a couple of days. We spend one damp and stormy afternoon driving around the glens. It was actually very pleasant in the glens, and beautiful. The colour and light up there at this time of year is quite different to those pleasant sunny scenes you find on calendars. I never find the Christmas holidays much of a ‘holiday’ as such, it’s always a busy time, it tends to be hectic but very enjoyable.

Now every one has gone back to their own homes, I’ve no one staying here and I’m not staying with any one else, so here I am, back to normal, just me, on my own, in my own little flat. Now my house guests have all left I’ve moved myself and my furniture into my new bedroom. My daughters were very practical this Christmas, they bought me vouchers which were used to buy all the finishing touches for my new bedroom, new curtains, a new lamp and a little heater for when the wind is howling and it’s a bit chilly.

I’m back at work, in fact it feels as if I were never away from the place and on my wall at work there is a chart. I made the chart last term but I’ve only just got around to pinning it to the wall. It’s a countdown to retirement chart. I’ve worked out that I have another 14 paydays before retirement and this chart has each payday in a square ready to be crossed off as soon as the pay slip lands on my desk. 14 paydays doesn’t sound very long.

I’m preparing to start decorating again. It’s time to tackle the other bigger room, the one that I was using as a bedroom. That room is my biggest room and will be somewhat of a challenge. Now that my living room is decorated and I’ve moved into the ‘new’ smaller bedroom, the plan is to strip the big room back to plaster, decorate from scratch and use it as a studio. A place where I can store all my painting, drawing and craft equipment and where I can paint without having to clean up and put every thing away after every session. It will also double up as a guest room but that’s ok because most of the time it will just be my studio.
I look forward to retirement but at the same time have become acutely aware of the value of each day.

Every night I realise that one more day of my life is over, it’s a scary thought. Time is something you can’t get back and so even thought I look forward to retirement I want to find a way to value every day between now and then. Some days I wake up, get ready, make the ten minute walk to work, spend the day doing things for other people and then make the ten minute walk home, by which time the day is done and the light is fading. On these days I feel cheated, a bit like when you buy something you can’t really afford only to get it home and realise you wasted your money and have no way of getting that money back. Time is more precious than money and I’m really getting to hate it when I reach the end of the day and feel as if the day is wasted. One more day of my life has passed, a day I will never get back, and if I can’t remember any thing special about that day, I feel cheated. Which is why, even if I only walk from my house to my work and back again, and even if I’m only out of my house for less than half an hour, I’m going to look for something that I can think of at the end of the day that will make me think the day wasn’t wasted. Maybe I will even take my camera with me and make sure I take at least one picture a day. One picture of something good every day could be a balance to the inevitability of life being one day shorter. Because my life is shorter at the end of every day it must also be richer in some way. Otherwise what’s the point??

Art Sunday; Seasonal paintings.

Above
'The shortening winter's day is near a close
by Joseph Farquharson

The Madonna and Child Enthroned with Saints (Young Baptist and Saints Peter, Catherine, Lucy, and Paul), also known as the Colonna Altarpiece, is a painting by the Italian High Renaissance artist Raphael, circa 1504. It is housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York City. It is the only altarpiece by Raphael in the United States.

The Madonna and Child Enthroned with Saints

The collection of Metropolitan Museum of Art also contains a painting of the Agony in the Garden from the predella* of the altarpiece. Other panels from the predella* can be found in the collections of the National Gallery, London, the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, in Boston, and Dulwich Picture Gallery, in London. A preparatory drawing by Raphael for the composition of the agony in the garden is in the collection of the Morgan Library in Russia.

*A predella is the platform or step on which an altar stands, predalla = kneeling stool. In painting, the predella is the painting or sculpture along the frame at the bottom of an altarpiece. In later medieval and Renaissance altarpieces, where the main panel consisted of a scene with large static figures, it was normal to include a predella below with a number of small-scale narrative paintings depicting events from the life of the dedicatee, whether Christ, the Virgin Mary or a saint. Typically there would be three to five small scenes, in a horizontal format

The pieces of the predella were separated from the altarpiece and sold to Queen Christina of Sweden, from where they reached Orleans Collection, while the main panels themselves were eventually sold to the aristocratic Colonna family in Rome, from whom the altarpiece takes its name. The Altarpiece was the last Raphael altar in private hands when J.P. Morgan purchased it in the early 20th century for a record price.

That’s the potted ‘history’ of the piece but to me the appeal is in the composition, the precision and the colour. I’m particularly fond of the green angel ……….detail seen above.

Druids Cutting the Mistletoe on the Sixth Day of the Moon’’,

The next painting is a nineteenth century romantic painting depicting the druid ceremonies of pre history. This was utter speculation on the part of the artist because he knew nothing with certainty of the practices of druids
This painting is ‘’Druids Cutting the Mistletoe on the Sixth Day of the Moon’’, by French artist Henri Paul Motte, who worked mostly in Paris, b12 December 1846 d1922. It was painted  in about 1890.
Henri Motte was a student of Jean-Léon Gérôme, exhibiting for most of his life at the Salon des Artistes Français in Paris. He specialised in historical and mythological paintings such as ‘Hannibal Crossing the Rhone’ and ‘Vercingetorix Surrendering to Caesar’. He is best known for his work of the ‘Siege of La Rochelle’, a depiction of Cardinal Richelieu in battle in the 17th century. He completed this painting in 1881.

The Druids Bringing in the Mistletoe

Next is one of my favourites. A Scottish painting that hangs in Kelvingrove Galleries and one I have stood in front of quite a few times. Its one of those paintings that reveals more to the viewer every time it’s seen.
Title: The Druids Bringing in the Mistletoe
by George Henry, Edward Atkinson Hornel (a collaboration but believed to be mostly the work of Hornel)
Date: 1890
Medium: Oil on canvas
Here we see the rite of bringing in the sacred mistletoe. We see a group of Druids or Celtic priests in decorated ceremonial robes in procession down a hillside. The mistletoe has been cut from the sacred oak by a golden sickle held by the chief druid. The procession ride  home  on the backs of the white bulls.
In the 1890s there was a revival of interest in Celtic art and folklore and  both of these paintings were painted during this revival. This painting, dating from 1890, was the first on which the two artists collaborated and is their most daring composition. This canvas, painted by Hornel and Henry, was inspired by the interest at that time in the archaeological discoveries about Kirkcudbright.

A Druidess, holding a sprig of mistletoe and a sickle,
 standing next to a dolmen’

A third painting, painted at a similar time and sharing the revival theme is ‘’A Druidess, holding a sprig of mistletoe and a sickle, standing next to a dolmen’’ (megalithic structure.) It is attributed to French painter Delaroche, again from the late nineteenth century, (although this is not among his better known work and virtually nothing is written about this particular painting).
If this is in fact a work by Paul Delaroche; he was a French painter, of mainly historical subjects, who had a marked influence on the English painter Ford Madox Brown and on other artists of the Pre-Raphaelite movement. Delaroche's studio in Paris was highly regarded in its day:

sheep in winter

These last few paintings are not so much ‘christmas' or Winter Solstice paintings, they are just winter scenes typical of the area where I live. This is what Christmas / Winter Solstice actually looks like. They are painted by Scottish artist Joseph Farquharson.
Joseph Farquharson, (4 May 1846 – 15 April 1935) was a Scottish painter, chiefly of landscapes. He is most famous for his snowy winter landscapes, often featuring sheep and often depicting dawn or dusk. He was born in Edinburgh, Scotland and died at Finzean, Aberdeenshire, Scotland. Joseph Farquharson combined a long and prolific career as a painter with his inherited role as a Scottish laird. He painted in both oils and water colours. His mother, a celebrated beauty, was an Ainslie. His early days were spent in his father's house in Northumberland Street below Queen Street Gardens and later at Eaton Terrace beyond the Dean Bridge, Edinburgh and at Finzean, the family estate in the highlands. His father Francis was a doctor and laird of Finzean. Joseph was educated in Edinburgh and permitted by his father to paint only on Saturdays using his father's paint box. When Joseph reached the age of 12, Francis Farquharson bought his son his first paints and only a year later he exhibited his first painting at the Royal Scottish Academy.

Winter breakfast

Today his paintings grace the front of millions of christmas cards and this is something I struggle with, I can't decide if i approve or not. It's wonderful that so many people get to see his work, but mass production does seem to devalue it.




 

Mistletoe...... And Amy Winehouse

Above; ''A Druid priestess bearing Mistletoe'', artist unknown.

Mistletoe

The ancient pre-Christian celebration of the Winter Solstice is one of the oldest winter celebrations in the world. The Winter Solstice falls on the shortest day of the year and has been celebrated in Britain from the earliest of times. The Druids would cut the mistletoe that grew on the oak tree and give it as a blessing. Oaks were seen as sacred and the winter fruit of the mistletoe was a symbol of life in the dark winter months.

The Yule Log

It's believed that the Druids began the tradition of the Yule log. The Celts believed the sun stood still for twelve days in the middle of winter and during this time a log was lit to conquer the darkness, banish evil spirits and bring luck for the coming year.

Customs

These customs  have been incorporated into both Christian and secular celebrations all over the world. Prior to the legalization of Christianity by the Emperor Constantine in 313, no universal date or celebration of the birth of Christ is recorded. Roman Pagans used to gather at the hill where the Vatican is now to commemorate the “Birth of the Unconquered Sun” This pagan feast was celebrated throughout the Empire either on December 25th, or January 6th, (depending on which calendar they were using). Most historians believe it was Constantine who replaced the pagan festival with that of Christmas. I find it somehow comforting to know that our ancestors celebrated the Winter Solstice and as times changed, belief changed, customs changed, the Solstice, under one name or another, has been constant through out history.

Christmas Jethro Tull style..................

Christmas Jethro Tull style

The Holly and the Ivy

The Holly and the Ivy!

Paintings are by Joanna Powell Colbert. Joanne is an artist, writer and teacher of Tarot and earth-centered spirituality. Her paintings and mixed media pieces combine her love of symbolic, archetypal art with the mysteries of the natural world. Her work has appeared in many publications since the mid-1980s. Above is ‘St Lucia’ and below ‘The Holly King’, Lucia Bride appears at the bottom of the page


http://clanofdanu.tripod.com/holly.html

Holly

Some stories tell that when winter came druids advised the people to take holly into their homes for it would shelter elves and fairies. There was a warning however to remove the holly entirely from the house before Imbolc eve because just one leaf in house would spell misfortune. The Holly always has been associated with mid winter festivals. Holly was given as gifts during the Roman Saturnila and later mixed with the Celtic traditions celebrating the sun gods birth a winter solstice. Scottish Traditions says that no branch should be cut from a holly tree, but rather pulled free in a method considered fit from sacred tree. It has always been unlucky to fell a holly tree or burn the green skinned holly. Yet luck was increased if a small branch kept from a Yule decoration was hung on the outside of the house where it would protect against lightening. Oddly enough, Holly does not grow in Western Scotland. The holly is associated with the Oak king, the Holly king, Gawain (in Arthurian legend) and Christ.

Ivy

The ivy has been a symbol of fidelity, friendship and affection. Celtic druids considered it a symbol of determination and strength. The Celts also associated ivy with the lunar goddess, Arianrhod, and held it as a portent of death and spiritual rebirth. Ivy has also been associated with the Christian holiday Christmas.

The Holly and The Ivy

The version of ‘’the Holly and the Ivy’’ we are all familiar with was first published by Cecil Sharp. (Cecil James Sharp B 22 November 1859 D 23 June 1924 was the founding father of the folklore revival in England in the early 20th century, and many of England's traditional dances and music owe their continuing existence to his work in recording and publishing them.) It is thought to have Pagan origins dating back over 1000 years and for a pagan song to survive intact for such a long time is very unusual. Rather than eradicate this pre-Christian song the church seems to have kept it, embraced it and then adapted it. Holly and Ivy have always been taken indoors during the winter, originally it was hoped the presence of these ever green plants indoors would enable the occupants to survive the harsh winters just as these plants did. Holly and Ivy grow and thrive outside amid the cold, ice, wind and snow. Their leaves retain their colour while other plants lose their leaves, the ability of these plants to thrive in harsh conditions must have seemed almost magical. The plants were brought indoors to share their special ‘magical’ powers of survival with the occupants of the home. It was hoped having Holly and ivy indoors would protect people from the hardships of the winter months; hopefully these plants would share their apparent magical ability to survive the difficult conditions of the forest.
 

The Holly and the Ivy
Lyrics.

The holly and the ivy,
When they are both full grown
Of all the trees that are in the wood
The holly bears the crown
O the rising of the sun
And the running of the deer
The playing of the merry organ
Sweet singing of the choir

The holly bears a blossom
As white as lily flower
And Mary bore sweet Jesus Christ
To be our sweet Saviour
O the rising of the sun
And the running of the deer
The playing of the merry organ
Sweet singing of the choir

The holly bears a berry
As red as any blood
And Mary bore sweet Jesus Christ
To do poor sinners good
O the rising of the sun
And the running of the deer
The playing of the merry organ
Sweet singing of the choir

The holly bears a prickle
As sharp as any thorn;
And Mary bore sweet Jesus Christ
On Christmas Day in the morn.
O the rising of the sun
And the running of the deer
The playing of the merry organ
Sweet singing of the choir

The holly bears a bark
As bitter as any gall;
And Mary bore sweet Jesus Christ
For to redeem us all.
O the rising of the sun
And the running of the deer
The playing of the merry organ
Sweet singing of the choir

The holly and the ivy
Now both are full well grown,
Of all the trees that are in the wood,
The holly bears the crown.
O the rising of the sun
And the running of the deer
The playing of the merry organ
Sweet singing of the choir

 

A few December photos

Maggie my daughters dog

A few shots taken during december.....
At the start of the month the weather was still fairly mild, then we had howling wind and our first ice. We've also had blue skys and singing birds. Now its almost Chriastmas and I think I'm just about done, ( apart from the food), decorations up, presents bought and wrapped, cards written and posted and my shelf filling up with cards to me.

Bah Humbug I hate Christmas.......

Bah Humbug…………..I hate Christmas.

Why??.........no not because I’m a miserable sod who wants to ruin other peoples happiness;

But because of the constant news bulletins telling us how high street sales are either up or down compared to the same period last year, what the predictions for high street sales are over the Christmas period and what the economic implications are.

There are no words to describe my despair and loathing at the saturation level advertising for an endless stream of hideous, useless, florescent, plastic crap aimed at our children from every shop, street corner and TV channel. This seeps into our childrens minds and when the message is firmly embedded, the children plague their parents into buying things that gobble up energy and resources to produce and distribute; yet serve no useful purpose. These are things no one needs and no one can afford, they are bought by harassed parents terrified of the guilt, using the readily available Christmas credit thrust at them from all directions. Thus ensuring they are slaves to the system for another 12 months at least.
And it doesn’t stop with children; millions of young women will take out store cards they can’t afford to buy clothes that glitter and sparkle and will be worn only once. We will all buy food we don’t want and will never eat. This doesn't stop with children wanting 'toys' and young women wanting 'fashion', we are all part of this madness. Every one is stressed because they feel obligated to spend, spend, spend  ……….regardless of what they actually want or need or can afford.
As if the insanity of that wasn’t enough, most of the trashy goods we buy for Christmas are made over seas in sweat shop conditions, for a wage that doesn’t even cover basic necessities, and with little regard for health and safety of the employees. This is a double whammy of the corrupt system we live in, it exploits the sweat shop employees, it deprives our own workers of jobs and it drives the consumer deeper and deeper into debt.
On Boxing Day we put out the packaging; packaging that cost us energy and resources to produce, energy and transport to collect and then gets dumped in land full sites that add to the pollution of our planet.

By the end of the week we will throw away more food that we usually buy in a week.
And why do we do all of this at Christmas…………..there is only one reason, so that the 99% stay poor and the 1% get richer. I have no idea why we are all so stupid.

I believe we are a truly decadent society, and the myth is that decadent societies fail.

Christmas done and dusted. Happy New Year

Christmas done and dusted,

off to visit my Mother now.

One  downside of Christmas was that my pipes all froze again. But there were so many positives I didn’t really mind about the pipes.

The 23rd was spent with a friend of mine who sadly lost her husband exactly one year earlier. Last your we planned our Christmas meal out together on the 23rd because her husband was dying and she was going to be indoors on her own nursing him over Christmas, sadly he deteriorated at the start of Christmas week and actually died on the 23rd. We have had to wait a whole year for our Christmas meal but this year we had a great time out together. The restaurant overlooks the sea and we had wonderful views of the snow, the sea and the harbour while eating our Christmas meal. We are a whole year on and my friend is doing fine.

Christmas eve was spent with my grandchildren, they don’t worry about frozen pipes, the dangers of falling on ice or the biting cold. They just love to play in the snow.

They were so funny, we walked through the park, they played in the snow, we did a few bits of last minute Christmas shopping and then I took them to a café where they had the most delicious hot chocolate I have ever seen. It came in a huge cup, was piled high with whipped cream, had loads of marshmallow thrown over the top and was finished off with a thick chocolate flake bar balanced in the middle. I’m not sure how they managed to eat/ drink it all but they did.

Christmas day was spent with my eldest daughter in her country cottage sitting by her wood burning stoves ( yes.. plural she has two of then one at either end of the cottage). You do get the most amazing sunsets where she lives and the view out over the farmlands is wonderful, especially when covered in snow and ice. I spend the afternoon watching Avatar on her very large, wall mounted TV screen. WOW………….now I know what all the fuss has been about, I was so bowled over by that film, its more like a religious experience than an animated film. I’m going to get the DVD and watch it over and over again.

Boxing day was the day the entire family came to see me. I had three daughters plus partners, four grandchildren, and one young friend and her three young sons……………great family celebration. We ran out of wine twice and had to send reconnaissance teams out into the blizzard to buy more supplies. There was more food lying around than could possibly be eaten and I ended up packing two grocery bags full of unopened food for my daughter to take back to her family. I also saved a few boxes of chocolates, shortbread and mince pies to take to my mother. By Boxing day my pipes had been frozen solid for over a week and every one of those visitors had to remember not to empty waste water down the sinks for fear of flooding my downstairs neighbour, somehow we all managed and it didn’t detract from the pleasure of the day. My youngest daughter who lives away on the west coast came and stayed overnight on Boxing day.

Yesterday, Monday 27th came and went in a bit of a haze, my youngest daughters ever so obliging partner fixed all my leaking taps before they left and ….’we woke up to the thaw’ !! The ice in the pipes was gone and drainage worked perfectly. Maybe some of you remember the pictures of her dog in my garden back in the summer that I posted? I wrote at the time that her dog had died shortly after that photo was taken and my daughter was heartbroken. This is her new puppy. Her name is daisy and she will never replace Cody, (the dog who died) but this little one, is perfect. She is a bearded collie and was on best behaviour all day.

And here we are on the 28th, I’m feeling a little fragile, have defiantly over indulged and am now preparing for my journey tomorrow to visit my mother. My mother is 80, she lives 600 miles away and I don’t get to see her very often. She recently had a nasty fall and now needs a bed downstairs and nurses in twice a day. We think this is a temporary arrangement she should eventually recover well enough to manage without the nurses and use her upstairs bed again. But I’m very glad I’ve been able to organise tickets down to see her and very grateful that the snow is almost gone and the trains should be running without cancellations or delays.

And so………………..wishing you all the best new Year, enjoy the celebrations and hopefully in the new year I will be posting a whole heap of snow pictures I’ve not had time to post yet.

Happy New Year every one. 

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2010

New Year 2010

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERY ONE

It’s been so long I hardly know where to start. I signed off here for what I intended to be a couple of weeks  back in the middle of November, now here we are already into the New year. This is a pair of small portraits I had for sale in the craft fair.

The Art exhibition I entered returned both of my works, without hanging either of them, with a short explanatory note saying that this year the exhibition was open to the whole of Scotland for both professional and amateur artists. Apparently the criteria for entry changed this year which led to the exhibition being vastly over subscribed, seems for the first time they rejected virtually one out of every three entries. So guess I’ll just chalk that one up to experience and try again next year. The exhibition itself was interesting though and showed me the standard expected so it wasn’t entirely a wasted effort, it was very valuable experience.

Afraid I didn’t do that much better on my craft fair stall either, not a lot was selling that day.  I often go to these craft fairs, they are held in the local community centre, usually in the run up to Christmas, and usually the stalls are hired in aid of different charities. It’s a good place to buy home-made and original Christmas presents. This year was a bit of an eye opener. I have to say; the recession had gone largely unnoticed by me. My job is pretty low paid but I do have a permanent contract AND job security. This, for me, meant life continued to be as difficult, but manageable as it always was. BUT…………..The craft fair was an eye opener, whereas in other years these places have been throbbing with Christmas shoppers and people left laden with bags bulging with goodies, this year there were far fewer people and many of the stalls (including mine) struggled to sell any thing at all. Another one to chalk up to experience, the recession is real and it’s affecting ordinary people in ordinary situations. This is just one of the bags that remained unsold at the end of the day.

And then there was the ‘’Green Flag’’ experience, I’ve already written about that so I’ll not bore you with the details again. I’ll just say that since then our eco group with in the school has been more high profile and more appreciated than ever before. More people want to join our group and more people are willing to recycle more stuff and generally be more aware of environmental issues. (Altogether is moorish experience) We seemed to get quite a lot of press coverage too which was nice.

Once all that was out of the way, work became very, very hectic with all the normal ‘end of term’ demands PLUS the kids did a Christmas Pantomime for the first time. That was great fun; they did so well I think a Pantomime will be expected every Christmas. Any one who has ever worked in a school will understand how hectic end of term is.

And of course there is the ‘’big freeze’’ to contend with. I have lived in Scotland for twenty years and can honestly say I have never known a winter like this. I can’t remember the last time the temperature rose above freezing.
I have been out side on a daily basis checking my fish pond. I think I have lost most of the fish I put in last summer. I know the guy in the pet shop said they would be OK outside, even OK if the pond froze, but no one expected a freeze like this. At one point I could see the fish swimming sluggishly under the ice, they looked as if they were trying to get to the surface but there was no where left for them to get through. I was taking the ice off the top every day and then the ice became so thick it was very difficult. In the end I had to force the huge sheet of ice away from the top because the ice had taken hold of all the plants, the plants froze and the ice seemed to travel through the water, through the plants, into the baskets of earth and extend all the way down to the bottom of the pond. The pond was in real danger of freezing solid. When I finally forced the ice sheet away from the water it was eight inched deep in places had covered all the plants and the baskets they were planted in.
The ice came away with the plants which left the pond half empty, this meant I had to spend more time in the freezing weather carrying buckets of water out to re-fill the pond. Think next year I’ll go for frogs not fish, at least frogs have the good sense to leave the water and live in the ground over winter.  

The shops all sold out of salt because so many people used it on the ice. The bins full of gravel that are provided by the council were always running out.
My driveway was like a skating rink and very dangerous. Fortunately I remembered I had some builders sand left from last year. It took me a while to get the shed door open because the locks had frozen solid but once I managed to unlock the door I had plenty of sand and the grandchildren seemed to enjoy throwing sand all over the place.
Funny how kids have the capacity to actually enjoy what to adults is just another chore to get through. I think most of my lavender will be dead next year, this is just to cold for it to survive outside.
But for some weird reason the parsley is thriving!!! I wonder..........is this some rare form of Arctic parsley??

We did manage to get out a couple of times over Christmas to walk the dogs but even that became difficult because the ground was frozen. We have not had nearly as much snow as other places have but we have had very low tempratures and freezing conditions for what seems like months. 

The dogs ( and kids) were skating  around a field of ice. It was cold, quite dangerous in places but oh was it pretty??...........yes ....very, very pretty.

Christmas itself was good, I had one daughter and her two children here on Christmas day for their Christmas dinner.

On Boxing Day I had all three daughters, and their partners, and their children, and their dogs……………all in my rather small apartment………….great fun though.

New Year was spent over on the West coast in Ayr (I live on the East coast) with my youngest daughter and her family. It was a quiet but very nice family  New Year. From the coast of Ayr you can look out onto the islands of Bute and the Mull of Kintyre which is hopefully where I’ll be heading in better weather next summer.

And that kinda brings me up to now, I came back from Ayr yesterday and intend to spend what is left of today and tomorrow packing away the Christmas decorations, throwing out all the rubbish, having a bit of a spring clean and preparing for work again on Wednesday. Yep…………….Wednesday is the first day of term, time to start all over again.

New Year resolutions?? I have a few …………..the obligatory ‘’ I must lose weight and take more exercise’’, but also things like try to stop collecting rubbish, live a more minimalist life ‘cos all this stuff that seems to accumulate from no where just clutters up my house and my life. I find it very difficult to throw things away, partly because I’m so aware of the land fill problem so If I can’t recycle or reuse or re-home……….it tends to clutter up my house which isn’t really a good thing. In which case; I am going to try to accumulate less in the first place.

Also of course, over the next couple of days, in between packing away the tree, throwing out the clutter, de-icing the pond, spring cleaning the house and preparing for work on Wednesday, I’ll get round to as many of you; my much missed and sadly neglected friends as possible.
For those of you who who I haven’t visited in a while
I SEND ………………… VERY, VERY HAPPY NEW YEAR WISHES AND MANY THANKS FOR ALL YOUR GOOD WISHES OVER THE HOLIDAY PERIOD.