Monday 23 December 2013

Christmas cheer and those flooding pictures



We finally bought the tree on Friday, and when T arrived on Saturday, we dressed it.  When we used to get our tree from a Christmas Tree farm, they always had some fabulous Christmas tree decorations for sale and the children would choose one each.  These are the rather OTT ones you can see.  The little flat x-stitch decorations are ones I stitched years ago when the children were smaller.  I keep meaning to sew a few more, but get distracted by other projects.


This little fairy teddy came from the same source and is a far cry from the little plastic fairy of my youth, with her stiff glittery paper skirt.  We used to have little painted tin candle holders which had a crocodile clip to attach it to the branch, and then you LIT the little candles.  OMG, 'elf and safety would have a field day with those nowadays, as well as the GLASS baubles we used to have and which shattered into dagger like pieces when dropped.

Quite what a dragonfly has to do with Christmas I don't know, or the little handbag on the branch above, but the children tought they were lovely and they are now part of Christmas.

Even Good King Wenceslas on the mirror over the sideboard gets a little bit of tinsel come Christmas, although I think I should have dusted him first . . .

The tinsel bag is irresistable to cats . . .  Theo in residence.


I can finally share some of the blocks for T's quilt.  Purple is her favourite colour . . .



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 I have also found some of the flooding photos I wanted in my Photobucket account.  Here is what normally passes as a stream, beside Monachdy, Pontargothi.




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When it reaches the Cothi, it helps bring levels up until the pub at Pontargothi  is nearly awash . . .


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Further downstream, the Cothi has joined forces with the Towy and spread across the flood plain.

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Our own River Cothi, with an autumn spate.

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Sometimes it freezes (it was minus 17 in our river valley that year.)

Anyway, it's blowing a gale and lashing down with rain out there, so somehow I don't think we will be having a White Christmas in our neck of the woods.

Keep safe everyone, and have a wonderful Christmas.

9 comments:

  1. That flooding looks terrible-I would be heartbroken if that was my pub. Very pretty image with the frozen river, I shiver just thinking about minus 17. Love the purple star shapes for the quilt and lovely Theo...who seems to be contemplating something serious like how to steal the Christmas turkey!
    Have a very happy and safe Christmas.

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  2. Merry Christmas to you too Suzie. I think the flooding didnt get INTO the pub that time, although you couldn't sit in the beer garden without an aqualung! Minus 17 was something else, believe me. Theo has spent the morning sat on the draining board, occasionally bouncing off the window as he tries to catch one of the wild birds I'm feeding!

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  3. I love little ted on the top of your tree, we've just got a woven gold star that came free with a Christmas mag about 15 years ago, every year i think -- must get something more interesting for the top of the tree, then everything gets put away and I forget for another year!
    The icy river picture is brilliant - but cold!

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  4. Your tree looks lovely and I do like the Teddy Angel/Fairy on the top!

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  5. Simplesuffolksmallholder - ah, but you have affection for your gold star I'm sure. The river ended up just a tiny strip about a foot wide of the fastest flowing water and all the rocks down by the mill were turned to ice boulders. It was sooooooo cold down there.

    DW - it would have looked better with the lights turned on! Angel Ted looks like she is having flying lessons : )

    More flooding here tonight - the river was across the bottom lane by mid-afternoon, and probably will stay high now unless it dries up completely in the next 24 hours.

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  6. Bad floods but VERY good King W Mirror!

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  7. Greetings from a new reader in Australia - where (having spent a Christmas in Switzerland) I do still light real candles on the tree. Very carefully and for short spells! I love your photos of the floods and your header is wonderful but I do hope you don't get too many more opportunities for such photos this winter. Happy Christmas! Jean

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  8. Hello Jean and welcome. I am glad to hear that SOME Christmas traditions (real candles) are enjoyed still. The header photo is the view from the top of the hill behind the house - on the zoom that is. It's actually about 15 miles away as the crow flies and is Black Mountain - the last of the Carmarthen Fans in the Brecon Beacon national Park. I hope you will visit regularly. Merry Christmas.

    Em - Glad you like the mirror. We bought it when we first moved here for £28, but it cost us another £100 to replace the broken mirror! I hope you are safe down there tonight - I know the forecast is dire and it's pretty bad here.

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  9. May your holiday be complete with heat to warm you, food to satisfy you and the love of those about you. Your pics are amazing-flooding can be very scary and unpredictable.

    Happy Happy to you all.

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