No tree!!! ... but swap goodies yes

That's right no tree!!!  

I must be the only blogger in all of blog land who hasn't got their Christmas tree up yet....at least it feels like that )-:
Its going up tomorrow or bust even if I have to stay up all night to get it done!!!!
I am running so late with everything......I've had to help my daughter ( she has a nasty bout of flu) with the last accounts and paperwork at the school before closing for the Christmas holidays....and finally at 11:30pm this evening its sorted...more or less....phew!

Over to nice nice things and to show you what Gracie from One Saylor's log has sent me in her snowflake swap parcel which I received mid week.

 

She has been so considerate and thoughtful and also very observant too as I have received some goodies which I can definitely relate to and most particularly to this Winnie the Pooh pack.

Going to look forward to opening this..... this weekend

 I've always been fascinated with Winnie the Pooh and loved to read his stories when I was a child. I think I like to cling to this little bit of childhood and dreamland so much so I made sure that Winnie-the-Pooh was very much present in my daughter's childhood and of course in my grand-daughter's too.

I am very much a tactual-visual learner and person, by that I mean I rely on the sense of sight and touch to take in information,understand it and remember it. Therefore that Gracie has sent me this pack of beautiful postcards of her area of Oregon gives me a lot more information than just a pretty picture although pretty is somewhat an understatement as I would say these views are fabulous and I would love to see them in real life.


She has also sent me a beautifully made delicate snowflake which I will put on my Christmas tree and tell everyone that this snowflake has flittered in from overseas. That isn't all and a lovely red friendship bracelet which she made herself and that means everytime I wear it I'll think of Gracie :-)

Everything was accompanied by little holly notelets describing each item .....so very thoughtful. I also received a post card of the Saugerties NY where Gracie used to live with her husband...again its a visual aid which gives me more information and ignites queries and thoughts about that part of the world. I can see Gracie has really thought about me as a person and not just a contact and I appreciate that tremendously and I agree Gracie we do have a lot in common. Thank you so much.

Oh! no I nearly forgot a handmade dishcloth and BUTTONS yes buttons ....a really nice selection of different buttons!

 In my next post I'll be showing and giving you details about my Christmas cracker goodies that I have received from Tracy at Mad about Bags.

I'm off to decorate a tree!!!

Amanda :-)

The spirit of Christmas

Lost but now it is found

 Big sigh of relief!!    I thought I had lost it!  

I was so happy to find Gracie's snowflake which I couldn't find last year when rapidly setting up my Christmas tree the day before Christmas Eve. This year as I have all the time in the world I was determined to find it.I searched high and low among the boxes and bags which I use for the Christmas decorations and finally I found it scrunched up in a corner of a box. I have washed it and blocked it and it looks as pretty as a picture. Gracie from One Saylor's Log sent this to me in the Snowflake swap we shared back in 2012.   

"I found it Gracie and as you can see from these photos taken today it is there on my tree once again 🌲😁"

Christmas with a few differences.

Understandably every country celebrates Christmas in their own way .In the case of Spain the religious influence is very evident throughout. Spain is traditionally a country of Nativity scenes more than Christmas trees. 

 

The Nativity Scene set up in the town of Villena, Alicante province.

 I have in the past posted about the different customs here but there are a few other customs the Spanish enjoy over Christmas and are very much a part of their culture too.

 

 

 The National Christmas Lottery 

Millions of Spaniards buy a lottery ticket or two,  all eager to try their luck to win the big jackpot, known as El Gordo (which literally means “the fat one”).  If you’re thinking that the Spanish Christmas lottery seems to be a much bigger deal than most other lotteries you’re familiar with, you’re not wrong.One important thing about this lottery and the reason why it is so popular is that it is shared. It becomes very much a family affair, one coupon can be bought per family and each member of the family pays their part of the coupon. Businesses or groups of friends also do the same they buy a cupon which is divided out between all, again each person paying their share. Everyone is glued to the TV on 22nd December to hear who has won the first prize which is "The Fat One"   

 I have just checked my two lottery coupons and we weren't lucky this year but that is the way it goes. Next year we will try our luck again!😁

 

The sweet stuff 

 

Pastelitos de Gloria

 

 

 

Delicious Gloria cakes,full of marzipan.

 

Roscon de Reyes

The traditional sweet roll with little gifts inside eaten on the Night of the three Kings...Twelfth Night.

and

Turron (nougat) famous the world over. I even saw it for sale in Brisbane when I was visiting my sister in Australia.

 

Sr P absolutely loves it and always buys for Christmas.

 

Main dish

It  has to be of course the traditional "Cocido" main meal chicken soup which is served on Christmas Day.   I posted about this dish way back in 2014. You can see the recipe for it here.  

 

 

 Ms Christmas Angel:

 She continues to be with us. She was sent to me by a friend in the UK about 10 years ago. You can read more about her here in this post I wrote in 2015. She does look a little worn after all this time so I have cleaned her up cut off some of the straggles and added a new sparkling halo (I cut if off an old Christmas card ages ago and kept it thinking it would come in use ...and it has!) 

 

The Christmas spirit 

 

                 Merry Christmas                

wishing you all peace,health and happiness.

 

 

and at the same time I am posting this very christmassy photograph of Minehead, my home town in England. 

Church steps up to St.Michael's Church,Minehead,Somerset,England

FABULOUS VOICES!!

 

            Amanda :-)

 

Compendium

Hello and welcome to my new followers Vicki on Vintage Vicki and  Aleksandra G.D. (sorry Aleksandra I can't make out which is your blog link,please send it to me and I will visit).
thank you so much for visiting my blog... the more the merrier I say!


News!!! Have you heard Madelief has a delightful giveaway on the go...... Madelief of the beautiful blog, full of gorgeous photos of beautiful gardens,tea parties,yummy cupcakes and doilies....pop by when you have time you won't be disappointed. :-)

My friend the Yarn fairy has been bopping around energetically in this part of the world again and low and behold I have purchased a little bit more yarn to add to my stash. Curiously I also discovered something about her Ladyship the Yarn Fairy she is also partial to tempting one with sewing supplies too.....

Not quite sure how those spools crept into my purchase when I was buying more buttons and bells!!!

OH! but my hands have been itching to get hold of my bright new sewing machine this week but as always work has got in the way....however I have focused on my first project which is a makeover of this grotty item here :

It has been on my mind for quite sometime now that I needed a new cushion cover for this large cushion which is on my grand-daughter's bed. It looks so drab! As the colour scheme on the walls in the bedroom is light apple green I thought I would look for some nice bright contrasting colours like green and purple and my plan is to make an envelope patchwork cover. I'll repeat that's my plan but we'll see just how it turns out. There is a wealth of information on the internet on how to make patchwork cushion covers and that's how I am going to learn how to do it. I've hand sewn cushion covers in the past but never patchwork. Lets hope I don't botch it up.

Last Monday Gracie from One Saylor's log ,my swap partner in the Snowflake swap hosted by Kate at  Granny taught me to crochet blog received my parcel all the way over there in Oregon.

 I was really pleased with the Christmas tree fabric I bought and I've kept some back for myself.....now I have a sewing machine he! he!

This means of course I can now show you what I made and what I sent to her:

The  pièce de résistance was this teapot cozy the basic pattern of which comes from Leah on Why didn't anyone tell me blog  beautiful teapot cozies, with a bit of tweaking I added holly to make it a bit more Christmassy.

I was very pleased with how it turned out and have had requests from other members of the family for one. However I have told them....so very sorry its haute couture range, unique piece each time.

Buttons as well ...of course














and

some snowflakes

except the sweeties because its too risky....I didn't want customs to open the parcel!

one of my wonky Christmas trees and a bell. I used the yellow yarn that Alessandra from homemade @myplace blog sent me in her last giveaway, to make the bell because it was nice and bright and being a firm yarn it kept the shape of the bell.
 Once again I thoroughly enjoyed making and preparing the goodies for that swap parcel and I am so pleased Gracie received it safe and sound.

Thats all for now folks

Enjoy your weekend

Amanda :-)

Heavan is packed tonight with all those angels who have gone there far before their time.

My heartfelt sympathy goes out to the Connecticut families who have lost their loved ones.

I am shouting

GRACIE 

YES I AM SHOUTING BUT....... ITS just ARRIVED 

ALL SAFE AND SOUND

excuse me while I do a jig ........

my Snowflake swap parcel is here all the way from Gracie in Oregon....USA!


photos later  when I get back from work :-)

Weirdy and wierdy ....!

I feel despondent,dispirited,depressed,crestfallen (love that last word)!  booo......hooooo!!!

In fact I feel in a funny weird mood, a bit unsatisfied and tired. I also feel I'm not winning my battle to keep up with my blog-mates.
It shouldn't be like this as I do enjoy blogging ........so much!

Lets put it down to the weather shall we as the forecast is for more storms and the temperature is dropping, as you can see it does look as if its going to pelt down:

storm on its way in......

 coming from Valencia way over the Aitana mountain


Spain is not synonymous with sun and heat , 12 months a year ...it gets cold here and we have a winter. You don't get the cold rough weather like in the North of Spain and it never snows here in the city. However Alicante is on sea level.....and the damp and humidity really seeps into your bones when it gets cold.

I have nothing crafty wise to share with you that is completed except the massive amount of endless threads which I gave you a glimpse of in my last post and they have increased.!!!   grr!!!
I have some crochet makes done but they are to go in swaps and I really can't show them off until the recipient receives them. I am participating in two Christmas swaps, the Snowflake swap hosted by  at Kate at Granny taught me to crochet     and the Christmas Cracker swap hosted by Tracy at Mad about bags    .

As I have nothing completed I thought I'd give you a few glimpses of bits and bobs I never got to use or I've put to one side to use for a future make which I don't know about yet.
They are those bits and bobs one sees and just have to make to see what they are like completed.
I am sure you know what I mean!

Enjoy your Sunday!!!

Amanda :-)