Hello and welcome to The Compost Bin. I'm Compostwoman and I live with my family in rural Herefordshire. We have nearly four acres of garden and woodland, all managed organically and to Permaculture principles, which we share with Chickens, Cats and assorted wildlife. We also grow a lot of our own food, run courses in all sorts of things and make a lot of compost!

I am a Master Composter and have spent more than a decade as a volunteer Community Compost adviser with Garden Organic and my local Council.
I'm a self employed Environmental Educator so I run workshops and events where I talk about compost, veg growing, chicken keeping, cooking, preserving and sustainable living. I also run crafts workshops and Forest School/outdoor play sessions in our wood.

We try to live a more self sufficient lifestyle here, as best we can, while still having a comfortable life and lots of fun.


To learn more about us click on the About Compostwoman tab and remember to click on the photos to make them full size!


Monday 22 December 2008

Yule decorating and musings.

Here are some of the decorations I have made to celebrate Yule and the 12 days of Christmas.

Here is my beloved Green Man. He lives in our dining room and is crowned with whatever is appropriate for the festival. He DID have a chaplet of home grown hops for the last month or two , but he now is resplendent with a twined Ivy wreath!


These are from a conifer in the garden, I have been cutting back the very bottom branches and used the greenery to make these decorative bunches. With some ivy and (reused) ribbon and trimmings from presents I have been given they look rather swish I think.


Well actually *I* think they look splendid! They are hanging either side of the wood burner and the scent they are giving off into the sitting room is AMAZING!





I am lucky enough to have an almost limitless supply of ivy, various conifers, pine cones, holly, weeping birch and willow for wreath base weavings etc etc , in fact I have already supplied 40 odd children with the raw materials to make wreaths like this at our December Eco club meeting.

This wreath is a base of weeping silver birch, twined with ivy and with grrenery tied in at various places with ( more ) reused or recycled bits of ribbon, fabric etc.


Life has been a bit grim here for the last few months, illness, various difficulties and a punishing amount of "stuff" which must be done has left us all feeling rather less than festive at this moment in time.

To be honest, I have only just put up the cards we have received and I have only sent 10 cards (to close family and friends) instead of the more usual 30 or more.

Part of this cut back in cards was a conscious decision to reduce the "stuff" we consumed during the festive season, as even though all our cards are made from 100% recycled card and support charities we believe in, they STILL use resources in their manufacture and in their delivery.

So, I have made more use of e cards this year AND also just not sent cards at all, preferring to email, write or telephone the people instead.


However, during the making of my simple, green, decorations I finally managed to get into the festive spirit. I have also been putting together a hamper for a good friend who has recently moved house, just some small home made gifts but again, it has got me more connected with the real meaning of this time of year.

So with real feeling I can say to all of you out there in Blogland....

SEASON'S GREETINGS!!

and a VERY happy 2009!

6 comments:

  1. I love your green man! I have a silver green man (seems like an oxymoron) pendant that my daughter gave to me that I wear. Your greenery is certainly festive. We've been having trouble here getting into the holiday spirit as well.
    Season's Greetings!

    ReplyDelete
  2. *I* love my Green Man, too!

    He is wonderful!

    He cost me a lot of money but given the fact he is unique! I felt he was worth it....He was made by an oh so talented ceramic artist called Rachael Padley, a local to me lady..who is as lovely as she is also talented...


    I wish I had loads of money so I could buy ALL her wonderful stuff...and I don't often wish for money...

    Glad you are feeling more festive...

    Have a good holiday...

    Cw xxx

    ReplyDelete
  3. Your decorations are beautiful - I love to use natural things to make the house look festive! Well done on all your handmade gifts too - I've almost finished making my gifts - just one hat left to crochet then I'm done! It seems like a bit of a marathon - think I started in June! Time seems to slip by so quickly these days....!
    Have a wonderful festive season and a very happy new year.
    x

    ReplyDelete
  4. Happy Festivities of the non-commercial kind :)

    That kind are so much more fun, aren't they?

    ReplyDelete
  5. Kittyboo and Blue Witch

    many happy festive season greetings to you both!

    Am feeling even more seasonal, now!

    Cw xx

    ReplyDelete
  6. Thank you for the season's greetings! And I hope you remain in festive spirits now that you've got into them.

    Your conifer hangings are lovely and I can almost smell them too.

    Happy holidays to you!

    ReplyDelete

Hello! Thank you for reading my blog and for commenting. I try to reply as quickly as I can and I really appreciate your interest in my life and doings here in The Compost Bin.

UA-40361266-1