Happy New Year

Credits: Cute Colours

Cindy at My Romantic Home is having a party called 2009 A year in Review. So I'll join now.

January
A month of cooking and flowers. And my little girl's birthday.

In this picture, a rose plant my mother gave me.

February

Valentine's Day. Some red roses my husband gave me.

March

More cooking.

April

My oldest one birthday: 18!

May

Flowers everywhere.
June

Another birthday. It's like that in a big family home.

And summer it's here.

July

My husband's birthday and summer holidays.

August

Still thinking on our wonderful holidays, I posted about Oporto.

September was a month almost without posting. My computer was not well.
October

A nice month full of birthdays: my nephew, one of my girls (15 yo) and mine.

A month when I could look to summer and feel it was in the past. Cooler days began and it was crumble time.

November

Planning Christmas, buying presents and wrapping them.

December

Christmas time.

This Christmas

Since 21 December I don't know what is to go to the Internet.
Tidying and cleaning,

(isn't that shining?)

buying more presents, wrapping them, buying food of all kinds, making things... A bit of a stress.
My family came to my house to the Consoada, the Christmas Eve dinner, very important here.

They came also for Christmas lunch. I didn't tale any pictures of the dinner or the lunch. I completely forgot.

The only thing I can show you is my husband preparing the quailes and the goose.

I hope next Christmas will be better and more peaceful - we had some problems - but, in the whole - it was good.

Praise the Lord.

Happy Winter

Comments and Graphics - Winter Layouts - Photobucket

It's 21 of December, Solstice Day. Happy Winter.



Comments and Graphics - Christmas Layouts - Photobucket

Wednesday, outdoor and indoor

Yesterday was a good day. My girl sang very well with her frieds from school and, as her class is very international and multicultural, the music teacher choose some music from countries where some children came, por instance, Romenia and China. There is also a gipsy boy that performed the most wonderful drum solo - he played with his hands. It was amazing as it was played by his own heart with absolut freedom. In the end the audience was clapping and shouting.
Very nice.

Today, for A Souther Daydreamer who usualy has an Outdoor Wednesday and that, in this month of December, wants also inside, because of Christmas, go these pictures of today's post.

So, I have an outside full of rain and a Christmas inside with my tree, once again, today taken at night and with no flash. I'm still strugling with my new camera but in the end it came out nice.

A normal day

Today is sooo cold for our standards. Yesterday was quite chilly but today is even more. Looks like tomorow it will be milder because it will rain. Let's see. My litlle one is waiting for rain because she wants to take her frog umbrella to school. Maybe she will have the luck.

Today in the evening I must go to my other little girl school - this one is 10 and the other is 5 - because she will sing in the choir - yes, she too.

Well, see you tomorow. I have so many things to so and so little days until Christmas.

I leave you with two pictures, one of my Christmas tree in the dusk and other of my new lavender.

A trip to the garden center

Yesterday it was lovely at my little one's school. There was she, singing in the choir, very proud of her.

Today I was a bit in a strange mood, as my husband said - not related with yesterday, I was just tired and irritated. So my husband decided we would go to the garden center. Poinsetias, rosemary, evening primrose and lavender, it was our choosen plants.

And for dessert he made cheesecake.

Not bad, hum ?!

Busy weekend and lovely flowers

Just a quick post to say hello.
I'm quite in a hurry because I have a lot to do and in the begining of the afternoon we must go to my little one school for her Christmas party. Looks like she will sing with other tots. She must be dressed with a red plain dress, have red tights and red shirt. Let's see what it will be.
See you tomorow, then.

PS: this wonderfull rose it was my mother who gave me. It's so beautiful.

Other thing: my bougainvillea is still flowering so much. Just look at that.

The sun is coming in

The sun is coming by the Christmas tree after some days of rain and fog.



It's a good time to hurry up and put the washed clothes on the line to dry.
Here you go, laundry wooman.



Good time also to tidy up the laundryroom

and after that make some more wrapping and planning all that baking that needs to be done.
This is a nice season.

Bolo Rei

Bolo Rei means King Cake. We eat it at Christmas times in big quantities. No Christmas is Christmas without Bolo Rei. It's like Christmas Cake and Christmas Pudding in England.

It's made with yeast, like bread, and it takes candied fruit and nuts, hazelnuts, pine nuts, raisins and that kind of stuff.
Many times, as the tradition says to do, it has a little present inside and a broadbean. That means that the person who gets the slice with the bean inside must buy the cake next time.
Well, that was some time ago. Now, with safety measures, most times the cake hasn't the bean or the present.
Even so, we keep eating it a lot.
When I was a little girl, in our home, it was my grandmother who made ours. It was an adventure to me to see the whole process. The smell, then my grandmother putting a cloth on top of it and leaving to raise, later on tending the dough and putting in the oven...
And then the smell of freshly baked Bolo Rei...
Now we buy it.
That's ok, it's still good anyway.

Done

The tree is up.
We always decorate for Christmas since December, 1. The Nativity is done too but, as the tree, it has a lot to improve.

Later: I just want to share a comment I made at Mountain Moma about the spirit of Christmas at her post Simple Joys of the Season.

I wish I had snow here. We only have it in the North so, no chance for me. Some 2 or 3 years ago it snowed in Lisbon – Sintra belongs to Lisbon – and it was such a hapiness. The television programs stoped to announce that!I like Christmas so much. As here there’s no Thanksgiving, I dream about Christmas since October. Well, ok, since September but stronger since the end of October. In the day 1 we put the tree up and do the Nativity. Then everyday we improve the decorations and put the garland on the door. I wrap the presents – whatever the number, that doesn’t matter, and make lists. I plan and dream. It’s my favorite time of the year.