Yule blessings

And the Wheel of the Year turns, and the light will return :) 

Winter Solstice blessings to all,  dear friends.

Yule blessings

And the Wheel of the Year turns, and the light will return :) Winter Solstice blessings to all, dear friends.

Merry Winter festival

Wishing all my readers a very Merry Festive Season!

love from all of us at Compost Mansions

xxx

A bit of a catch up

Having been quite poorly recently, I have not written much about what we have been up to - mainly because I have not done very much.



The strong winds we have had here recently meant we had to " batten down the hatches" and make sure hen house roofs, wheelbarrows, garden furniture, pots, compost bins etc were all well fixed down - even though we did have one compost bin blow over ( it was nearly empty, when I thought it was half full :)  )

The chickens were not impressed by the wind  and grumbled about it. A Lot. Cassi Cat seemed to like it wild and windy, though as she ran around the garden, ears flattened, eyes wide, running up trees and pouncing on whirling leaves.

 

With her help we have managed to finish off re building the compost bin area and very nice it looks, too :)

I have been trying to summon enthusiasm for the upcoming festivities, but am not doing terrible well on that front. I hope to feel more festive as I recover a bit more strength and the Year turns from dark to light at the Solstice on 21 Dec.  

But for now, about all I can manage is to stay warm, read, do some crochet and sit by the fire, resting.

I hope all of you are well and safe and busy :)

Merry Christmas and a blessed Yule!

To all my readers and blog friends, old and new, Season's greetings, A festive Yule and a Happy New Year!




From all of us here at Compost Mansions, the humans, the feathery two legged and the furry four legged ones.







May you have a lovely, lovely holiday time!

Busy busy busy...ouch...

Have been very busy here, despite having a bad back to contend with...

The run up to Christmas was very difficult for me, as I couldn't go to either CG's carol concert OR take her to the school disco...but my lovely CM stepped in and took over, leaving me to rest and recover a little.

I managed to make some Christmas decorations





and also some salt dough figures.



Then we had the sadness of Kitty cat being put to sleep ( see previous post)

However, once the school holiday started we had various friends around to visit, both ours and CG's, so much fun was had by all and we all felt a bit more cheerful. We also had the snowy, icy weather to contend with, with mixed consequences.



On the one hand it made the garden and wood look enormously pretty, the wood especially was like something out of Narnia. And at least the ground lost its swamp like consistency....on the other the hens disliked the cold snowy weather enormously and spent most of the time hiding in the lean to, waiting to mug me for any food on offer.



No 1 Cream Legbar chicklet(must think of a name for her!) contented herself with fluttering up onto my shoulder at every chance...warming her feet I think!



Christmas Day itself was lovely,

Our Beef multi rib was delish, falling apart it was so tender, but rare in the middle and really juicy..mmm...roasties, Yorkshires etc all perfect, and a lovely bottle of wine to go with it..

Dr Who..was..excellent I thought, and then we had fun singing our hearts out ( well CG and I, anyway,) to a Wii Sing disc (from Santa) which she was most surprised to see me belting out Blondie and Meatloaf hits in tune and on time, without looking at the words...

Our lovely cats Tom and Tabitha have decided to become lap cats, which is nice, and with the wood burner going 24/7 at the mo we were all so all cosy!





The decorations and tree were (I think) the best we have ever done and I even managed to tidy up properly beforehand! ( but the Study is a mess...full of stuff I "tidied" into it......!!)

All our presents were lovely, CM got me 40 more hens ! but before you all panic, they were for Save the Children, so he is happy as he doesn't have to deal with them...and I am very pleased by the gift! I have the Sookie Stackhouse novels to read, on which the C4 series "True Blood" is based, so am v happy as we both enjoy watching those programmes.

CM also got me the "Victorian Save All" book which is fascinating and full of good stuff....as was seen on "Victorian Farm" recently.

Boxing Day was quiet but fun, we played/read/used/listened to our respective presents and went for a walk in the wood in the snow. I did the hens etc, and we all settled down to watch Cap't Jack Sparrow on the TV with cats on our laps.

Sunday was going to be more of the same.....but then *I* managed to fall over backwards on the lethal slick ice whilst on the way to feed the hens...landed flat on my back and have made it much much worse....

So...have been laid up in bed for a lot of the last few days...instead of getting on with cleaning out the polytunnel and planting stuff, I am reading my new Sookie Stackhouse books and doing a lot of lying down.

CM has volunteered to do the routine outside stuff, as he says I am not safe to let out....(!)....he has a point....

Oh well..rest and recuperation is the order of the day now, hopefully I can get myself mobile enough to get to the chiropractor again.....

Hope you enjoy the selection of photos from Compost Mansions over the last week or so.

And that you all had a good festive season!

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!

Yule and Christmas!

At last!! The wheel of the year has turned and we have reached the shortest day!! The days get longer from now on ....

"Feel me now as Mother of Air
Mine are the limitless skies and endless stars.
I am bird woman.
I lift your imagination and carry it on soft,
feathered currents to otherworlds.
I am bone woman.
I am the stillness between
death and rebirth.
I am the pause between
breathing out and breathing in.
Rest in that pause.
Feel My presence.
I am peace"


From the Goddess Wheel of the Year by Wendy Andrew.