An Unexpected Christmas

Hello dear friends

as you relax after all the

cooking and eating

talking and laughing

over Christmas...

I would love you to watch

this little video

performed by the children

of St Pauls Church

in Auckland, New Zealand

where I live.

enjoy!

Joyeux Noël

Shane ♥

Christmas

Christmas Day has dawned

in the southern hemisphere.

It's not hot and sunny as I expected

but there is a gentle rain

making me think of

'new life'

as when our Christ child was born

in the stable in Bethleham!

Christmas Blessings to you all and

thank you for being a part of

my blogging journey this year.

Joyeux Noël

Shane ♥

Christmas Cards from afar....

Christmas cards from France

Hello dear friends!

Today I thought I would show you
some of the Christmas cards our
darling daughter has sent us
over the twelve years
she has been living in France.

The card above is this years one.

 It is difficult for her to find
Christmas cards in the country
town near her.

There are no boxed sets
so each year I send her a box of
'Save the Children'
cards in one of the parcels!

She made this little angel card
from a crossstitch she worked
it's one of my favourites!

"Magic at Midnight"

A very beautiful card
depicting the essence of

CHRISTMAS

I hope you've enjoyed seeing
a few of my precious cards.

Today

I'm linking to Claudia for
A Favorite Thing Saturday
Please pop over and have a look
at what other bloggers are sharing.

and

Mary for Masterpiece Monday
please drop by to join in the fun!

WELCOME 

to my new followers!

Thank you to everyone for visiting
my blog and leaving all your
very kind comments over the
past year.

Be kind to one another
Christmas Blessings

Joyeux Noël

Shane ♥

Snowy images for Christmas...

I'm sure most of you know by now

I live on the other side of the world

in New Zealand.

You may be wondering why I am

posting these wintry images

when it is actually

Summer here!

As I am linking today's post

to Vee's Note Card Party

I thought some of these images

could make lovely

Christmas cards!

What do you think?

Summer scenes don't

seem very Christmassy

even in the southern hemisphere!

A snowcat maybe?!

If you're a bird lover

like me - the cat photo was taken

 in a different location to

the blackbird picture!

I love Bing Crosby's version
of this old Christmas song!

Today I'm linking to Vee's

December Note Card Party,

the last one for 2012.

Do pop over to see some

beautiful card images.
Thank you Vee for hosting
this friendly blog party!

Are you still sending

traditional Christmas cards

to friends far away, like I am?

Many of my friends don't bother any more.

I think that's sad.

I love keeping the old traditions alive

for our future generations to enjoy.

WELCOME

to my new followers

I will be over to visit you soon!

"Pohutukawa" 

Thank you dear friends for visiting

my blog - especially those of you

who are kind enough to leave

a comment to tell me you've been!

Be kind to one another

Joyeux Noël

Shane ♥

A WOODEN CHRISTMAS TREE...

I photographed this
Christmas Tree
a couple of years ago

A very innovative design
made out of
tongue and groove
timber boards 

with beautiful baubles

and Christmas words

Christmas slippers
(mental note to me to make my granddaughters
a pair each for next Christmas!
Would any of you have a pattern or maybe
you can recommend where I may find one???)

Wishing you all a
stress free time
in the lead up to
the most wonderful
feast day
in the Church calendar.

Thinking of those poor families
affected by the school shootings
in Newtown, Connecticut.

Sending our love and prayers

on behalf of

New Zealand families.



Today I'm linking to
Mary of Mosaic Monday
Becky for Blissful Whites Wednesdays

Be kind to one another
Joyeux Noël
Shane ♥

CHRISTMAS TABLE KIWI STYLE

Hello dear friends.

Today I thought I would share with

you a typical New Zealand

Christmas table!

As many of you already know

Christmas here is in Summer,

so it's quite different to

temperatures on your side of

the world.

Many of us opt to have our

Christmas lunch or dinner

outside - weather dependent.

Fingers crossed it will

be a hot and summery!

Our decorating reflects

Summer too

although many people still

prefer the traditional

red berries and holly leaves.

I'm a white and silver girl

at Christmas with touches

of red in tea light candles.

A summerhouse is the perfect

location for the table

This beautiful one was in

one of the gardens

I visited, see previous post

here

Thank you all for visiting

I hope you take some time

during the business of the next

two weeks to reflect on

the true meaning of

CHRISTMAS.

WELCOME

to my lovely new followers

take care of one another

Joyeux Noël

Shane ♥

Today I'm linking to

Becky at Timewashed and

Mary at Little Red House

Coatesville Gardens visit

Recently I had a lovely day out with

friends visiting the 

country gardens of

Coatesville.

We managed to see six or seven gardens

and the best by far was

'Woodbridge'

a garden of national significance.

It has been lovingly created over 21 years

with an artist's eye for colour and design.

A charming garden shed...

I love the title bestowed upon the

creator of this garden!

Some corrugated iron chooks

to keep Christine company!

...and some real ones too!

The woodland garden was so peaceful

and calming.

I felt the stress of city life disappear

 as I wandered along the pathways

enjoying the inspiring vistas.

Some pretty Alstromerias - I have to

have some of these in my new garden...

A favourite cranesbill of mine,

blue in the garden
has such a calming effect!

I'm pretty sure it's botanical name is

Geranium Pratense - Meadow Cranesbill.

Can someone enlighten me please?

Thank you dear friends for visiting

my blog and leaving a comment.

Most of you are American or Canadian

I thought you might appreciate a

little reminder of gardens in

Summer to carry you through

the depths of Winter!

I would love you to visit

Sandy at

http://aquillcottagechristmas.blogspot.com/

she has created this special blog

to inspire us to make Christmas 2012

full of beauty!

Thank you dear Sandy.

WELCOME

to my new followers,

I'm so happy to meet you - thank you!

Take care dear friends and

be kind to one another!

Joyeux Noël

Shane ♥

Christmas came early for me....

Dear friends, I feel so lucky...

I was one of the winners of 

Marie's  divine 'French Christmas'

Giveaway!

Every time I've visited her blog

Lost Bird Studio

 I've been inspired by

her dreamy creations .

... but when her magical parcel arrived

it was much much more than I imagined.

I couldn't believe how beautifully

everything was presented...

the exquisite angels wings tied on

top of the parcel with ribbon...

this is Marie to a T

the detail is breathtaking.

Also tied to the parcel was such a sweet card

(French inspired - just what I love)

with a lovely message...

The lace detail on the top of the stocking

so beautifully finished with a pearl and rhinestone brooch.

Marie included one of her trademark

soldered embellishments too

it's so delicate

and this sweet wire heart

with a soldered 'Noel' tied with delicate lace

... and these lovely vintage tree decorations

all in silver and white

my favourite colours for Christmas.

Merci Marie

I feel very spoilt!!!

I'm linking to Becky at

Blissful Whites Wednesday

WELCOME

to my new followers and thank you
you to everyone for popping in and
leaving such lovely  comments.

Take care and be kind to one another
hugs 
Shane ♥

Joyeux Noel