The tree is up!

Is your tree up? 😀

Mine it is. Oh happiness. We always put our tree up on the first day of December and also the Crib.

We begin decorating the walls and everything but we will do it for some days, not just everything at once.

To tell you the truth, this year we began on the 30 November because it was Sunday.

So, if you didn't put your tree up yet begin NOW.

Maybe you are tired and can't imagine the efford of doing it all at once. It's ok, maybe now you will just bring the tree and decorations. 

Tomorrow you will put the tree up. Just that. The day after you begin putting some decorations and tassels on the tree. 

And so on. With calm. You are not proving anybody  that you can, not even to yourself. Justenjoy the process and then the aftermath.

Be calm and happy.

Happy Thanksgiving

One of my favourite illustrations of Thanksgiving

I'm not American or Canadian so I don't do Thanksgiving, except in my heart, because many years ago, my husband, who lived in America for some years, wanted to invite me to have luch with him and decided to make Thanksgiving lunch just to invite me.

Less than a year after we were married.

So I do like Thanksgiving.

And now to the First Thanksgiving.

"Blaring trumpets and thundering serenaded Don Pedro Menéndez de Avilés as he waded ashore on September 8, 1565. The Spanish admiral kissed a cross held aloft by the fleet's captain, Father Francisco Lopez, then claimed Florida for both his God and his country. As curious members of the indigenous Timucua tribe looked on, the 800 newly arrived colonists gathered around a makeshift altar as Father Lopez performed a Catholic Mass of thanksgiving for their safe arrival in the newly christened settlement of St. Augustine. At the invitation of Menéndez, the Timucuans then joined the newcomers in a comunal meal.

Some Florida historians have argued that this feast - and not the one held 56 years later by the Pilgrims and the Wampanoags in Plymouth, Massachusetts - was actually North America's First Thanksgiving. It was the first community act of religion and thanksgiving in the first permanent settlement in the land", wrote University of Florida Professor Emmeritus of History Michael Gannon in his book The Cross in the Sand".

(https://myfloridahistory.org/frontiers/article/140)

Anyway, have your turkey with your family and have a happy Thanksgiving.

Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal - 27 November

 

https://www.chapellenotredamedelamedaillemiraculeuse.com/langues/english/apparitions-et-la-medaille-miraculeuse-gb/

Did you begin wrapping ?

So I've been all happy shopping for Christmas. 

One thing that I remind you, dear reader, is to be careful with the wrapping or you will find yourself in the days before Christmas panicking because you didn't wrapp enough presents - or any of them.

Don't do that. If you have the strength, wrapp at least one or two, or three presents a day, avoid big sessions, unless you have the time for it.

On saturdays in the afternoon I try to wrapp for one or two hours and then stop, or I will  be very tired and the pleasure of this activity will go off.

Please, please, do some wrapping now while is not too late. You will be so pleased with yourself if you have control on it and in the days before Christmas you look back and see how much you did and that you may breathe with relief.

Do it, ok?

I bought some new wrapping papers. I still have lots of the previous Christmas but I can't avoid buying some more every year. 😃

Now I can't but as soon as I can I will post about me wrapping and my Christmas papers.

Oh this blessed time. We give thanks.

Have you got everything you need for Christmas?

 

Have you got eveything you need for Christmas? Food, ingredients, last things ?

Christmas is quickly arriving, we have only 33 days till Christmas. What? 33 days?😲

So let's think.

• Have you the list with names of people you want to give presents?
• What do you want to give to that people?
• Is already bought? 
• If not when will you buy?
• When will you wrap the presents?
• What about the food, do you know what you will make for Christmas?
• When will you buy the ingredients?

Now seat down and think on those questions. Take a paper or a notebook, even better, and write the answers to those questions. Plan and plan. And then do it. Do something. Do at least one thing. And tomorrow do another thing. With a happy heart. Don't be anxious, just think, plan and act. Begin now, you still have time. But don't dilly dally, just do something everyday.

Missing England

Something in me really likes England. I must say that there is not just one England, there's plenty to each one's taste.

My England belongs to years past, even if I truly like the present one, the roofs, the streets, the houses, all the landscape is a bit of Heaven.

Today I will post some pictures of everyday's England.

Just some eye candy. 😉

Are we there yet?

Christmas Day

Almost there !! Just 40 days till Christmas.

May Our Lord gives us a happy and peaceful time in our homnes and hearts in this joyfull season, all the way till Christmas.

Remembrance Day

My great grandfather was there too.

He is the father of my mother's mother.

Thanks God he came home but so many didn't.

The war is going to end; but if people do not cease offending God, a worse one will break out during the pontificate of Pius Xl. When you see a night illumined by an unknown light, know that this is the great sign given you by God that he is about to punish the world for its crimes, by means of war, famine, and persecutions of the Church and of the Holy Father. 

- Our Lady in Fatima, 13.July.1917

And so it was, that war ended and some years later a worse one came.

It's raining and raining

It has been raining a lot, with days of interval, but yesterday it was too much with thunder and all.

Sometimes is the worry that it can rain too much on our way to Mass or back,

and then we arrive at home all soaked, being it that we came from church or work.

Sometimes it's just that we can't do our laudry properly.

But never mind, it's the time for the rain and we must thank God for it.

How many days till Christmas

Days till Christmas

We can say that truly there are 49 days to Christmas because we don't count today neither the 25 of December. 

Don't forget to plan so things will run smoodly.

• - How many more presents do you need  to buy?
• - To whom are those presents?
• - Think of everybody that you want to give a present(s)
• - Make a list with the names and what you bought for them
• - The ones you dind't buy yet, you need to see if you know their sizes 
• - What about money? Are you spending too  much?
• - And the food that you will have, it's already bought? when will you buy it?
• - What about the clothes that you will wear and what you will use on the table?

All those things need to be thought and written. Think and write. Plan so you will be calm in all this time.

If you do Thanksgivining make plans also for it: what you need to buy for the lunch of the day and what you need to do before.

Everything thought and planned so you will be calm.

And we carry on in this beautiful time

Oh I like so much Christmas and the days before. And by days before I mean the months starting on the final days of October, officially, and non officially in September. That is, in my mind I begin thinking of Christmas, of presents to buy, on all the good things that come with the wonderful season.

This year it has been of the Will of God that we have a serious health problem, not in my house but with someone of my family. It's difficul to endure but we must accept it and I make all the effort I can to carry on living and savouring the beauty of this time: Autumn and Winter and the preparations for Christmas.

Our Lord never leaves us alone so we carry on living and trying every day to be happy.

Getting cooler

It's now begging to get cold. Cold for our standars but truly it was rather warm for weeks and it was not time for that, so thanks God now it's gwtting a little cold.

Yesterday I didn't bring a coat yet because I thought it would be one more day of no Autumn - other than the deluge, as it rained so much. But in the late afternoon I began feeling that it would have been a good idea if I had brought one.

So, today I didn't risk and wore one. That felt so good, the coziness of the coat, the conscience that yes, we are in Autumn gave such a comfort to my sore soul. I am at a time of the year that I like so much and brings me happiness but life is not easy is some aspects, being rather painful sometimes, so that little pleasure was so good.

Let's hope that the Autumn is here for real.

It's open Season

I'm all happy and singing Rudolph the Red Nosed Raindeer.

Why is that? It's because in mylife I always begin Christmas time on the 28 of October.

I will tell you why. In October we have four birthays: first my nephew, then one of my girls, then mine and in the end, on the 27, it's my uncle's.

So, till his birthday, it's not time for Christmas - well, officially, because I don't tell anyone that in September I'm already strolling in all the shopping sites I can looking for signs of that blessed season.

Anyway, now we arrived at Christmas time !! 🎄

So, what am I doing now?

Besides singing Rudolph on top of my lungs, I will make a list of presents - that I have already some bought since September it's a thing that nobody needs to know. 😄

I will go fetch all the wrapping papers left over from last year - oh joy  - and the ribbons and tags also. 

That way I can begin wrapping the already bought presents, which is an activity that I like so much, while listening on youtube to all the Christmas songs I can find, mainly the more vintage ones.

This one is my favourite for the wrapping activity: 

It's Beginning To Look a Lot Like Christmas 

Then I will beging thinking about the food for Christmas, the Eve and the Day. 

I will make a  list of the groceries, the cod, the meat, the potatoes, cabbage and pumpkin for the soups, the flour, sugar and all the trimmings for desserts - lots of them! 😀

(no, I never made these ones but who knows?)

And I will make a list too for the non perishables and non food related, like nice Christmassy napkins and some more little decorations that I can't resist to buy every year. And I say little ones because I think I have enough decorations.

And another thing that I want to do is a good overall cleaning and I will make a list for it too.

What's more? Oh so many things to think and do. I feel like dancing.

Partying at:

Grace Filled Moments

Remembering my Mother

 

It was my birthday some days ago.

My mother on the last years that she was still well, she would always give me this as a birthday cake.

It's made with the yolks of the eggs and I am absolutely crazy for it, so my mother would give me this joy.

Later she became a little sick and even the flowers that she used to give me in my birthdays she then would ask my father to buy me. The first time it was a rose, on the years after could be roses but also other beautiful flowers.

On the last year before they got really worse they got me chocolates, another thing that I like so much.

I remember hearing my mother's voice on the phone saying that I needed to go there, to their home, to take the present. Obviously I went there, I always did it on  my birthdays.

And there it was, the box with a heart on top. I still have it and I always will.

How I miss my mother and my grandmother and my father too.

The only thing that helps is to know that they are well and happy now. Thanks God.

Windy days and other good things

 

So we are in Autumn.

Some days are quite fresh and nice, the sun barely picks truth the clouds, some other days it's rather dark, which I really like. Yes, some are sunny with blue skies.

It's so good to be in the Autumn, to feel the relieve of past days of heat, to forget the Summer and just to indulge in this feeling that Autumn brings, the fresh air, the leaves falling from the trees, the colours, the nice sound of our steps on the fallen leaves, the fog.

Most people would say that I'm mad for liking so much Autumn and Winter but I do like it.

Even the wind, that I can't stand and depresses me in the Summer, I like it in these days, I think that the wind belongs to these seasons. And I don't  mind and laugh about my hair all in the air.

But I don't care. Bring me the cold days, the scarves, the coats, the gloves. And the umbrellas.

But for now I must accept that some days are so nice and promising while others are still, regretably, quite summery which I don't like. I had enough of Summer, now I just want to forget him till next year.

Where is the Autumn?

Nah! Autumn took a break.

That is not right. Here we were so happy with the falling leaves and fresh breeze, making us feel cozy and nice and thinking about the pleasures of Autumn and Winter and... of Christmas time.

But no, he decided that it was not time yet.

I remember years ago when it happened the same. It was my birthday - it's in October - and my mother gave me as a present, among other things, a very nice nightgown all summery, so fresh, pale green with embroidery. It felt so good to have a new nice and fresh nightgown in those hot nights.

Now it's not my birthday yet so I hope that, this year, that day will be cooler.

I will keep you posted about the weather's humor. 😊

October is here

 

So here it is October, one of my favourite months.

I do like September even if in my life I had very serious things in Septembers but even so, I keep liking it so much for what he means: the end of Summer, which I don't like at all, the new begining of life, of intentions and dreams. And September always makes me think of my mother and grandmother and how they were such amazing women as persons and homemakers, so feminine and whole. And to think of them makes me feel so encouraged to live, to take care of me, of my house, to fight for my dreams, for my life.

They were such a good example to me in everything and they keep helping me, that way, even after they are gone for a better and eternal life.

And so comes October. I feel energized, I truly want to carry on and do things with my life and home.

Even the weather, I like it so much, the fresher days, the softer sun, the people more covered and modest clothed. The comfort of a nice cardigan, even the rain, mainly when I am at home and better still if it is saturday afternoon and I just seat and watch a film or I read a novel of a better time, when there was more respect for people and God and things were nicer in every aspect of life: the clothes, the houses, the decoration, the way people used to live.

And I feel that everything is right.

It's Autumn

It's Autumn.

Thanks God.

So many years it happens that the dreaded Summer lingers till the middle of October, if not later, but not this year.

When the air turns fresher and the signs of Summer go away, my soul feels more alert and I want to live.

The tiredness of hot days becomes, day by day, a subtle energy in the soul that goes to the whole body. 

The leaves turning yellow and brown and falling and then building up near the sidewalks. The fresh air in the morning, the will to get up early and going wild doing things.

And I feel that I want to go back to blogging. I feel that I want to go back to do everything that is related to my identity.

I feel more organized and alive. I want to take care of this home that is me and my house.

I think you will see me more often in blogland now.

See  you soon. 😊

Winter in those times

It's quite amazing how most things were more beautiful in the past. Even the wind and the cold of winter were so beautifuly portrayed on the magazine covers that is a deleight to see.

Watch the clothes, all the ambiance, the faces, the houses and cars, the natures, the streets.

Oh, there she comes with all that nostalgia, some people may say. It's not nostalgia or wanting to live in the  past, it's the true, the facts. 

As we can't live in such beautiful times because we must endure the ugliness of most  things now, we can at least try to incorporate in our lives, in our mind, in our way of living a little of the preciousness of those times.

Let's delight  ourselves and get some inspiration from these images.

And let's amuse ourselves too.

I quite relate with this one :D

😁

This one is the best for me!

Partying at :

Grace Filled Moments

Costal Bohemian

Esme Salon