Friday and another post - I am on fire with this scheduling business !

Heading into another cold weekend - the winds here today are bitterly cold.

This weekends "to do" list looks like -

Saturday
- work - and somehow a visit to the yarn shop to get some more cotton for knitting dishcloths with.

Sunday - rugby, baking and - GROAN - tidying the sewing room.

In the interests of full disclosure I will be posting Before and after photos - it is a shambles !

Hope you have something fabulous planned for the weekend.

Until next time

Angela

The simple things.......

Without the kids rugby games on Sunday we have managed to reclaim some family time - we have had long family and friend lunches - time to clip the dog so she no longer looks like a badly matted wookie - mov ies - knitting - card games - afternoon teas.....

Only five more rugby Sundays to go and we can reclaim our Sunday for a few more months.

This Sunday I had a well balanced day.  cooking, baking, knitting, heading out to the beach for a picnic - all in all a great way to spend my one day off a week.

Here is the bread I baked quickly on Sunday afternoon to accompany the casserole I put in the slow cooker in the morning before we went out the beach.

I have been utilising my mothers old "warming tray" from the 1970s for bread proving - I put a teatowel on the warmer, put the bread tray on top then cover with another teatowel - it works so well in this cold weather.  Although taking the kid off the slow cooker ( if it is on low) and putting the baking tray on top with a couple of teatowels to cover the bread works as well.....

This week I will be using a fine french flour I have managed to get my hands on for my loaves.

Until next time

Angela

First post since January - oops .....

It really isn't that I have been cowering under the covers - or not doing anything.  I have just as usual not scheduled in the the to blog.

But the new Life Plan Calendar -  should fix that.

I guess we will see.

Until next time.....

Angela

WIF - What if Fridays......

A year of life is like a garden in many respects - you look around and see things as they are now but in twelve months you can come back and some things will look unchanged, some will be taller, wider or will have died, been moved or will have outgrown their allotted space and are spilling over and invading everything!!

My wish for you this year is that you outgrow your allotted space - the one you may have created for yourself or circumstance has placed you in - and that you spill over and reach for everything you have ever dreamed of.  And that along the way you weed out the things that hold you back internally and externally.

So I have decided each Friday will be WIF - What if Friday - and each week I will challenge, remind or coax you to think/do/feel/dream What if.....

This week - What if you did something to day that you have been putting off - get it done, cross it of the list and you can go into the weekend knowing it is sorted.

Professionally it may be a long overdue phone call to a client - or a tough one.

For mums it may be cleaning out the pantry or identifying the grunge at the bottom of the vegetable drawer.

It may be a phone call to say sorry.

A bill that needs paying

Or in the case of one of my friends a dream - he wants to make a start on.

What ever it is - what if you were able to go to bed tonight and say "yep, I have done that.".

If you want to share what you did please leave a comment below.

Until next time 

Angela

Christmas trivia - Boxing Day

The last one in this series - I have enjoyed bringing these posts to you again this year - slowly over the last few weeks I have become engrossed in the traditions and history of this time of year.  I hope you are all having a wonderful day with your family today.

In English-speaking countries, the day following Christmas Day is called 'Boxing Day'. This word comes from the custom which started in the Middle Ages around 800 years ago: churches would open their 'alms boxe' (boxes in which people had placed gifts of money) and distribute the contents to poor people in the neighbourhood on the day after Christmas. The tradition continues today - small gifts are often given to delivery workers such as postal staff and children who deliver newspapers.

Christmas Eve -

Wednesday : Christmas Eve:

These are the lyrics to one of my all time favourite songs. "I Believe in Santa Claus" If the spirit of Christmas leaves you for a moment and you temporarily forget what this celebration is meant to be about just hum this to yourself and think of the words.

Merry Christmas Friends

I believe in Santa Claus

I believe in Santa Claus

I believe there's always hope when all seems lost

And I believe in Santa Claus

I believe in Santa Claus,

I'll tell you why I do

'Cause I believe that dreams and plans and wishes can come true

I believe in miracles,

I believe in magic too

Oh I believe in Santa Claus

and I believe in you

I believe in family, in country and in smiles

I believe in turnin' negatives to positives in life

I believe in lookin' farther up the farther down we get

I believe when someone hurts us we should forgive and forget

And I believe in Santa Claus

I believe in Santa Claus

I believe love should prevail at any cost

And I believe in Santa Claus

I believe in saying what you mean and meaning what you say

I believe a better attitude can make a better way

And I believe in viewing life as a journey that we're on

And lookin' at our troubles as another stepping stone

And I believe that everything in life is what it's meant to be

I believe there is a God somewhere although he's hard to see

I believe I am so therefore I should do all that I can

To be a better piece in the puzzle of God's plan

And I believe in Santa Claus

I believe in Santa Claus

I believe there's always hope when all seems lost

And I believe in Santa Claus

Let the little children sing it

I believe in Santa Claus,

I believe in Santa Claus

I believe in Santa Claus,

I believe in Santa Claus

Let the whole world sing it with us

I believe in Santa Claus,

I believe in Santa Claus

I believe in Santa Claus,

I believe in Santa Claus

I believe theres always hope when all seems lost

And I believe in Santa Claus

Merry Christmas!!!

Christmas Trivia - Christmas in Japan

Shimai Tenjin - 25 December Kitano Tenmangu Shrine, Kyoto The last festive market of the year at this large shrine in north-west Kyoto.

Kotohira-gu Shukiku - Late DecemberKotohira-gu Shrine, Kagawa PrefectureShinto shrine festival featuring kemari, a ceremonial game of kick-ups said to be a forerunner of soccer.

Namahage - 31 DecemberOga Peninsula, Akita Prefecture An ancient folk tradition still observed in villages all over the peninsula in which young men dressed in frightening namahage costumes visit the homes of children to warn them not to be lazy in the coming year.