I’ve managed to free up a bit of space in my media library – not sure how many photos I can add, though.
We went out to see the lights last night.
It was a bit early – not yet dark – but still fun!
In fact – joy(ful)!
The entertainment for that part of the evening was…
Elve-is?
😀
We didn’t stay very long.
Just a walk up the street to the big tree.
I enjoyed being in the lights and sounds…
having a laugh, with the trees!
It was a hard weekend.
Being reminded of the darkness (again)…
The hatred bubbling over into terrible action.
Choices – actions – that are hard to understand –
and some reactions that inflamed rather than soothed.
I don’t know what to say, really.
This is a season that heralds peace. Joy. Hope.
But it has always been in the context of a darkened world.
And so, I will pray.
Because I believe that to be a powerful place to start.
But I will also pay attention to the marginalised, and oppressed. The ones who don’t live in the same level of ease and safety as I do.
I will question the tendency to blame a whole community for the actions of one.
Look for what is true, and challenge unthinking reaction – whether mine, or others’.
And remember the words of One who came as a baby, to bring reconciliation.
This is what Jesus said (quoting Isaiah) –
“The Spirit of the Lord is on Me,
because He has anointed Me
to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent Me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners
and recovery of sight for the blind,
to set the oppressed free,
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour.”
****
There is still light.
Hope.
And peace for us.
Not so much the house (although we’d have to think where we would put more “stuff”).
I went to put together the previous post and found, when I tried to upload photos, that I’ve run out of media storage space!
Just before Christmas – there will be photos to share!!
It’s been 18 years of free space, so I suppose I can’t grumble.
I’ll be looking at a paid plan to upgrade, although I might have to wait till the new year. Possibly delete some of the older media? Not sure yet…
I’ve been a bit off colour the last couple of days – not The Virus (or flu), but enough to feel a bit wonky – not being sure what day it actually is, and randomly falling asleep. Even while reading!
We’ve still been able to get the necessary things done.
I just don’t want to tackle taming my media library just yet.
Thankfully, I can still add some music 🙂
This is for those who have had too much Mariah Carey, but still sort of like the song.
😀
And this is those who are leaning in to quiet joy.
❤
It was a lounge chair, feet up kind of day.
We had nowhere to be today, so I caught up with some work at home.
Feeling a bit weary, although not entirely sure why. The days have not had quite the same shape as they usually do, so I may have been doing more than I normally would.
Today, I slept in. Read a bit. And finally finished off some mending that’s been sitting waiting for me 😀
I’ve done most of the time sensitive things – at least for this week!
We went to our favourite cafe yesterday.
Haven’t been for a few weeks.
There was Christmas in the air…
A tree of lights, a few poinsettias in pots,
and a “sugar plum” flavoured cappuccino
Vaguely fruity/sweet?
It was quite nice.
Tomorrow there will be more errands to run.
Today was a time to recharge.
❤
We finally made it to the Carols Under The Big Tree last night!
It’s something I’ve been wanting to get back to for a while – the last time we went was 12 years ago.
Apparently the service has been run for 50 years now, and the family who owns the land (and tree 🙂 ) has been putting lights on it for 60 years.
There had been forecasts for storms in the evening, but when we got there about 6.40ish it was still fine.
This tree was lit up in my favourite colours ❤
A bit blurry.
Still very pink/purple.
We stayed, and sang (at least, I did!), even though the rain did start slowly, just before the end.
This was our view for the last few songs.
And, of course, the big tree itself…
😀
We left just as the rain was picking up, and got home before the storm.
I rarely go out at night these days.
Glad I was able to get to this!
The smoke alarms seem to be fixed,
so no more overnight vigils for us!
I slept very well Thursday night, but it’s been a bit patchy since then… I’ll keep trying 😀
I’ve finally got the tree decorated,
and the other bits and pieces in the lounge.
It’s snuggled up next to the wifi modem (router?)
My lovely Renaissance angel is back in place.
This is her 32nd year at the top of our tree.
❤
Snowmen hang around the big TV cabinet.
…and gnomes check out some classic mysteries.
Bits
and bobs!
And the centrepiece –
including a tiny nativity scene that fits into a matchbox.
A miniature snapshot of the Christmas story.
Because that’s what it’s all about, after all!
It’s been a busy, and satisfying, day.
Time to slow down…
We’re still waiting for our smoke alarms to be fixed – hopefully tomorrow.
Because we had to deactivate the alarms (to stop them going off incessantly), we have been following a roster of one person staying up (to check for smoke/fire), rather than everyone having a sleepless night.
Yes, the likelihood of a fire is tiny, but we’re in the position of not being covered if there is a fire, since we deliberately turned them off…
It’s my turn tonight.
I have a painful shoulder(blade), which helps keep me awake, but I’ll also be watching shows online, or reading.
Right now, I will while away some time sharing photos I’ve had sitting, waiting to be seen 😀
Firstly – what have we enjoyed at cafes lately?
A hot chocolate and a matcha/pistachio (or maybe matcha/white chocolate?) “cookie” (biscuit, for us Aussies)
I think this was a franchise type cafe, that we wouldn’t normally go to, but we had been chasing down a particular item, which involved driving all over town. We were tired, and this was refreshing.
Last week we tried out a cafe down the road, next to a nursery.
A cruffin…
and a red velvet hot chocolate.
Very nice. I’ve tried cruffins a couple of times. For something that’s covered in sugar, it’s not overly sweet.
This was our dining companion for a time.
…as we (almost) sat under the light of the disco-ball pot.
I have been noticing the different flowers around me.
These beauties by the mailbox.
Most of the petals on this had fallen off, but it still looked sweet. The centre bits almost look like little pink bow ties!
And here are some cheerful marigolds in our church garden, radiating the sun.
❤
Are you feeling Christmas-y yet?
How about a song!
Time to take a turn about the house!
It was a busy/weird week last week, but I’m glad to be back in action for the start of Christmas imaginings…
We had a fractured night last night.
The smoke alarms went off around midnight – for no reason that we could see.
I had not long slipped into a lovely sleep, which was something that has been hard to come by lately.
We got that alarm sorted.
Then it went off again seven minutes later.
My Babe deactivated our bedroom alarm, as that seemed to be the one that was triggering the others.
Back to bed.
And back up around 2ish, when they all went off again.
We were all stumbling around like zombies…decided eventually to deactivate all of them, and waiting to see how soon the electrician can come and fix them – they’re meant to be hardwired into the electrical system, which in turn (I think) is supposed to continually charge the batteries.
Because when the batteries run down, the alarm goes off.
Until they’re fixed, we’re following a roster as “human smoke detectors” – someone stays up all night to check for smoke. Seems like overkill, but even though we think there’s no actual fire hazard, we’re not completely sure what’s setting them off. And we’d all be lying awake wondering.
It’s Sweet Bean’s turn tonight. ❤
Well. In other news – we got the tree up today. I haven’t decorated it yet. I have put snowmen, Santas, baubles, and angels around the place 🙂 I’ll probably post pictures when I’ve done the tree 🙂
Sneak peek!
Yay!
The day was dry, but cool enough to do stuff (not something that’s been common lately).
I potted some plants. Organised some things. Did some washing (which seemed to dry almost instantaneously…)
I got another rainbow tie-dye dress at a Lifeline sale recently.
It certainly cheered up my backyard!
I already had the rainbow throw/cape thing.
You would think that wearing them both together would be a bit too much.
I would say that, in my opinion, you would almost certainly be wrong!
😀
The days are settling into a bit more heat now, and I am catching wafts of Christmas breeze.
This may be partially because we’ve started tiptoeing into “end-of-year” things, but I have also just suddenly tipped into vague excitement. Not sure why. We haven’t even got the tree up yet!
I’m feeling tired, after a few of the afore-mentioned “e-o-y” get-togethers.
Missing the cool rain, these last couple of days!
…as had my unexpected visitor.
Must have crept in during the last rain.
I was checking my pots, and got a bit of a fright.
Had a look today though – no frog. That pot would have been a bit too hot today, I suppose.
I got myself a new mug.
Chunky, floral, and still good to perch a unicorn on!
Happily providing my dandelion coffee 🙂
It also looks sweet with its little “hat”.
I realised a while ago that I don’t tend to drink enough, and that the advent of summer would be a good time for drinking more.
This was a portion of my liquid intake today (I prepare the herbal teas and let them draw for a while)
Coffee, of course.
The herbal teas are mint, and hibiscus.
The collagen powder was a freebie from Market Organics (someone ordered too much, in the wrong size). It’s not something I would usually buy, but I thought I’d give it a try. Supposed to be berry flavoured, I think. It tastes a bit like slightly weak, liquid jelly. Not sure what it’s doing for my health yet.
The mint tea is nice – refreshing, with that little chill in the aftertaste.
The hibiscus tea… I like it. It certainly seems to have health benefits I need. It does have a slight hint of sweetness, but overall is fairly sour (tart?). I don’t mind that – it’s quite refreshing as well. Sort of a fruity taste?
It’s definitely pretty!
The tea it makes is a deep, dark pink.
Almost Christmassy!
🙂
I will do my best to keep hydrated this summer.
And stay excited for Christmas.
Only 11 more days until I put the tree up!
😀
a bit of creativity, a bit of eco consciousness, a bit of inspiration.... hopefully not a lot of pompousness and blathering :D
i'm not entirely sure what's going on here... let's travel along and see...
1000 Fields of Roses 