Happy Christmas 2012

Happy Christmas, one and all!

If you need me, I'll be eating this, watching this and this, and hanging out with my loved ones.

Have a good one!

XX

Boxing Day

Warkworth, Northumbria.
Wild and windy. Somewhat bracing.

It must be Christmas time

Peace on earth and good will to all (wo)men...

Hope Father Christmas is good to you!

My First Christmas Cake

One fruity and boozy Christmas cake, baked, fed, marzipan-ed, iced and be-ribboned by my own fair hand.

Oh alright, I cheated with a Delia pre-weighed mix... And on the icing... But hey. I made this.

Cool Yule, courtesy of Louis Armstrong

Quite possibly the best Christmas song ever?

Making a list and checking it twice

Waxing festive around the house.

Well, it's far too cold to go out, and puss has absolutely the right idea ...

To Paraphrase Noddy Holder, It's (Not Quite) Christmas

To paraphrase Noddy Holder, it's (not quite) Christmas, but I've been busy listing lots of gorgeous vintage greetings cards on Etsy.

My grandfather worked for a greetings card company in Preston, Lancashire, UK for forty years. When the company closed, he bought the original sketches and drawing that the cards were printed from. Most date from the late 1940s and early 1950s. Sadly, the drawings are largely anonymous, being done by commercial artists employed by the company. He gave me an old suitcase full of these, and a good many more, from sentimental mottos to tall ships in full sail to kitschy cottage gardens.

Fab, aren't they?

In the bleak midwinter

13:365
Originally uploaded by ByBlanca

Because it's Christmas Eve, because it's -2oC outside, and because I have just completed the first draft of my Christina Rossetti essay:




In the bleak midwinter, frosty wind made moan,
Earth stood hard as iron, water like a stone;
Snow had fallen, snow on snow, snow on snow,
In the bleak midwinter, long ago.

Our God, heaven cannot hold Him, nor earth sustain;
Heaven and earth shall flee away when He comes to reign.
In the bleak midwinter a stable place sufficed
The Lord God Almighty, Jesus Christ.

Enough for Him, Whom cherubim, worship night and day,
Breastful of milk, and a mangerful of hay;
Enough for Him, Whom angels fall before,
The ox and ass and camel which adore.

Angels and archangels may have gathered there,
Cherubim and seraphim thronged the air;
But His mother only, in her maiden bliss,
Worshipped the beloved with a kiss.

What can I give Him, poor as I am?
If I were a shepherd, I would bring a lamb;
If I were a Wise Man, I would do my part;
Yet what I can I give Him: give my heart.

Photo is from ByBlanca's lovely Flickr photostream.

[http://www.thisbutterflymind.blogspot.com]

Must be nearly Christmas ...

 This weekend’s baking, courtesy of the lovely Kirstie and Phil’s Perfect Christmas show…

Gingerbread

6 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup shortening, melted and cooled slightly
1 cup molasses
1/2 cup water
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Sift the dry ingredients together
Mix the wet ingredients, and gradually add dry.
Chill dough for 3 hours.
Roll out and cut with cookie cutters.
Bake for 10 to 12 minutes at 350F /175C / gas mark four

Very yummy, although I think I’ll up the ginger content next time to make them super-spicy!