Music And Magic

Busy day today, as we have an event over at the chapel. Bob's doing the PA, and I am providing the drinks. More importantly, Nick, our minister, is the Magician and Graeme and Clare are making the music. He's an accomplished keyboard player, she plays lots of instruments, and is also a composer [winning the BBC Radio Carol writing competition a few years back]

 

It is a free, family event for the village - we hope it will be well attended! FRIN is the local charity which supports those in the village who are in some sort of need. They work all year round, not just at Christmas. 

The Silent Stars Go By

Often I will make a special tree decoration to mark the year - the year of lockdown, the year of the Raised Bed, etc. This has been The Year Of The Kitchen. I had a whole stack of IKEA instruction booklets - every item comes with its own A4 manual, about 8 pages long with pictures of how to assemble the flatpack furniture. I had a crazy idea about some sort of paper sculpture decoration.

Using my die cut machine, I produced lots of 3" circles, and carefully folded and glued a 'honeycomb' ball. But although it was suitably round, the honeycomb turned out very uneven and I was unhappy with it. I found a pattern for folding a 5 pointed star. This proved much better.

I found an excellent online TUTORIAL , offering both words, diagrams and a video - so you could choose which instructions suited you best. You begin with some very clever folding of a square of paper, and then make one cut, which gives you a perfect pentagon. This is then folded into a pretty star. 

Whilst watching University Challenge, I folded my stars. I've given them a thin coat of PVA solution to protect and stiffen them, and help them stay folded. I have chosen the best one to hang on the tree. On some you can read the different languages, on this one you can see screwdrivers and hammers!

I may add this line to my 'reworked carol lyrics' collection

"Westward leading, still proceeding
Folding the Kitchen Star"

One Potato, Two Potato...

Wednesday dawned bright but very cold. Bob was organising the Shed Christmas Mardle [A 'mardle' is an informal get together to chat - it is an old Norfolk term] So out early, to put up the big gazebo, and another bring-and-share event. Bob had his little gas BBQ stove, and was warming up mulled wine, Another guy had an extension cable and an airfryer- and was heating up sausages, arancini and cheese balls in the back of his SUV!  I was too cold to take any pictures. Louise invited me to the farmhouse to show me her front door.

She'd been to a workshop and made a decoration with foraged greenery [holly, ivy, rosemary, bay etc] Years ago, people got moss and wired it to a frame, or wrapped a wire hoop with straw, to make the basis for a wreath. Then everybody bought 'oasis' floral foam and it was easier. Then this plastic, non-bio degradable product rightly fell out of favour

I was intrigued to discover that this decoration is made with a potato at the centre. It was placed with its flattest side down on the table and then holes were made [with a bbq skewer] and gradually more and more greenery was added. What a clever, moneysaving idea- and it can all go straight into the compost bin after Christmas! Here's a video showing you how to do it. Louise's daughter had also used a spud as the base for a lovely table centre [ easy to bore a hole for a candle if you wanted to]

Wreath Lecture

For reasons beyond my control I arrived rather late at my Craft Group Christmas Social. Everyone else was well into making their cinnamon stick trees. I was giving slightly misleading instructions and there seemed to be a limited number of fabric strips available. So my tree doesn't really look as it should.
I was told 'tie your strips all round to make a tree shape'  but you are supposed to put all the knots at the front so it is a flat tree - like this one

I will know next time! But there wasn't time to retie everything, because we were onto the second craft. Janet, our host, has this brilliant idea for repurposing the IKEA scarf hanger from her wardrobe. She only ever uses a few of the rings, so she cut off the bottom 16 rings. They were natural string colour, she dyed them brown with ox gall.

We were each given a ring, and selected greenery and trimmings from the baskets on the table to make mini wreaths. Our trees and wreaths were all hung at the window to make a pleasing display whilst we ate our bring&share lunch. We had a really good time together and lots of laughs

I was much happier with my mini wreath and that is now hanging up in the hall under my Mum's picture! I was glad I took my tin of little bells - quite a few friends used one for their wreaths.

I really should tidy up my scarf hanger. I am afraid I pull out a scarf and wear it, then just push it back in later. They look so much tidier when hung properly.

Have you made any new decorations this year?

Sweet Smells Of The Season

A while ago I put an autumnal display on the coffee table - a wooden platter, lined with fabric maple leaves, with piled up with various cones and some shiny conkers. I moved it out of the way when I put up the Christmas decorations. Then last week, when I felt I needed some Vitamin C, I ate loads of 'easy peelers'. I left the peel to dry out on the window sill. I cut some star shapes [and threw the trimmings into the compost bin] I used it to make a seasonal pot pourri.

There were bits and pieces from my spice drawer, and from the garden. Cinnamon sticks, star anise, cloves, rosemary sprigs and sage leaves.

I lined a small bowl with four leaves, adding conkers and smaller cones, scattering all the other herbs and spices over, and finally tucking in rosemary sprigs and my golden citrus stars. So much nicer, cheaper and prettier than a chemical air-freshener!

Why Don't They Read And Write More Carefully?

First rant: three people have spoken to Bob this week about our Nativity Tableau. Specifically the signs along the main road with arrows pointing "To the Manger". All three said they thought they said "To the Manager" [hospice contributions now at £240 for which we are grateful]

Second rant: we treated ourselves to a box of cereal this week. Porridge is a good, warming breakfast, but sometimes sweet crunchy stuff is fun. But surely somebody at Sainsbury's should have proof-read the blurb on the back of the packet? Oats, cornflakes, peanuts, honey... but what are cereal cripsies? [it's wrong on their website too]

Third rant: if you are sending out an important document, do check what you are saying is sensible. My dad said that during WW2 he saw a sign about what to do in an emergency. At the bottom it said "If you can't read this, ask a policeman". I asked Dad how someone who could not read would work that out... 

Bob had a letter from the NHS on Saturday.  Halfway through, top of page three...

Please address all complaints to the Manger...

Gaudete!

 Rejoice- I bring good news of great joy! said the Angel. I can joyfully announce my voice is back, so I can go out to preach this morning. The church to which I am going has asked me, not surprisingly,  to take Joy as my theme. Some far right groups have recently been suggesting that the churches in England have not "put the Christ in Christmas." The Churches 'Joint Public Issues Team' have some helpful comments on their website. They have also re-released the materials from the 'Bus Stop Nativity' Poster Campaign.#JoyForAll  This is the poster going up outside our chapel

I hope someone has pointed out to Tommy Robinson/Stephen Yaxley that

• Jesus was not a white Englishman
• Jesus and his parents had to flee as refugees to Egypt to escape Herod's soldiers
• Jesus always respected women, whether Jew or Gentile. This cannot be said for some of the people TR/SY holds up as role models

The angel said “Don’t be afraid. I’m here to announce a great and joyful event that is meant for everybody, worldwide: A Saviour has just been born in David’s town, a Saviour who is Messiah and Master. This is what you’re to look for: a baby wrapped in a blanket and lying in a manger.”

At once the angel was joined by a huge angelic choir singing God’s praises: Glory to God in the heavenly heights, Peace to all men and women on earth who please him.