Greetings lovely friends & readers 💕
Just getting in a final post as the year draws to a close. We are getting good rain here today ... December rain is always such a blessing & the garden is just drinking it up.
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Vases of sweetpeas & dahlia's picked this morning between showers.
Christmas came & went again for another year. We had two get-togethers ... firstly on the Saturday as eldest son & family were travelling down the Island for Christmas, & then another one on the 25th.
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I always enjoy watching my Grandsons open their stockings - it brings me great pleasure 🎄
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The week prior, I did some baking & packaged it up for friends ... just my usual Gingernut Bites & chocolate Fudge Slice ... a creature of habit I am!
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My dear friend Sandy posted me The Most Delicious chocolate Christmas cookies, all the way from the South Island. And look Willie ... I made Scroggin Slice !!
I always enjoy "the twixmas days" between Christmas & New Year. After all the hectic-ness that Christmas brings I love the slow, leisurely pace of these days. I have been drinking Christmas Tea in my new-to-me Mug & eating delicious Christmas Cake.
Eldest son & his family gifted me this wonderful book. The Topp Twins are New Zealand icons ... my dear Mum would've loved this book as she so adored their music & requested their songs be played at her funeral. I am enjoying reading it a great deal.
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We live on left-overs this week - so the only cooking I have been doing is harvesting & cooking up beetroot from my garden & blanching broccoli to freeze. The Mr is growing cucumbers at the farm this year & is having a wonderful crop ... which is great because my plant produced One Single Cucumber before shrivelling up & dying !!
I packed All the Christmas decor away! It took me two entire days but this was largely due to the fact that a certain Ginger Furry Being kept going to sleep in my containers, thus stopping me from using them ... being the soft touch that I am, I waited for her to wake up! 😉
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| GlassHouse Candle "Dancing Sugar Plums" gifted by my dear friend Sandy - such a gorgeous fragrance |
As the year draws to a close, I light a beautiful Candle & remember all those loved ones we have lost this year. I include in this a special furry friend - sweet little Poppy Q who left us in July & who we all miss very much here in blogland 💗
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| From Donna Ashworth Words on Instagram |
Though this verse brings tears to my eyes I LoVe it & think it is very true indeed. Grief has been a hard thing to navigate this past year.
Wishing you a wonderful New Year dear friends. Hand-on-heart I want to thank you all most sincerely for following along on my little journey here. Your presence warms my soul more than words can ever express. For those that comment or email, or even just take a moment to read my ramblings ... thank you all from the bottom of my heart.
Sending much love & friendship out to you all,
Julie & the furry three x0x0x0 ❤❤❤
Lovely blog post Julie. I had a furry helper today packing up Christmas, well by helping she slept amongst all the decorations piled on my bed. :) :). Happy New Year. xx
ReplyDeleteHappy New Year to you and yours, Julie. Can't wait to see what beautiful crafts you produce in the coming year.xxx
ReplyDeleteWonderful post Julie, I have tears from both those sayings! Good to see Miss Pippi is helping in her way! Lovely flowers and veg from the garden, my cucumber plant died without producing anything and the tomatoes are looking very sad! Looks like the boys had a wonderful time opening their stockings. Happy New Year to you and your family Julie, looking forward to your creating next year. xx
ReplyDeleteForgot to say the book looks wonderful, off to see if they have it at the Geelong library!
ReplyDeleteSounds like a wonderful Christmas - best wishes for 2024. xx
ReplyDeleteoooooO! Yes! Julie...my daughter brought me down a
ReplyDeleteScroggin Slice, about that size to...HeHe! I've cut it
into slices and there resting in the deep freeze, for me
to consume at my leisure...I share it, with no one...! :)
A lovely colourful post Julie...love the photo with you
and the boys...goodness..how there both growing...!
So glad you all had a happy time...and still thinking of
Mum...times you'll never forget..Bless!x
Love the two proses...especially the one by Donna
Ashworth..very meaningful that,,,! It's this time of year
that it ALL means much more...Bless!
Well..must be due another lemon tea, honey and lemon..
Home to~day, and l never bother with New Years Eve...
One thing l don't do, and really hate is fireworks..."Nuff Said".
So...Julie, All the very best to you and your lovely family for 2024..
Lots of lovely Blog posts to...HeHe! :)
AND...Not forgetting XXX's and strokes and pats....for the furry three,
when there awake of course..HeHe! Bless them...Love them to bits..! :).
💥🔥🎇🧨🕛🥳🎉💥🔥🎆🧨🕛🥳💥🔥🎆💥🔥🎇🧨🕛🥳🎉💥
My, your grandsons are growing up, Julie. The joy of children opening their presents at Christmas is a joy to behold. May you and your family have a wonderful new year. I know you will have a wonderfully creative new year. I look forward to seeing all the pretties you dream up.
ReplyDeleteYour blog posts bring so much pleasure, Julie, and always leave me with a lovely warm feeling. I wish you and yours a happy, healthy and peaceful 2024.
ReplyDeleteBless you my darling Kiwi friend!! That's the most JOYOUS photo of you and the boys! Oh Julie, how did our grands grow up so fast?? Sending biggest hugs as I think of this 'first' Christmas without your mum. Two days to pack up and you blame the furry ones?? Ha ha!! It would take me a week to pack up all your marvellous festive vignettes and decorations! ;-) Happy New Year!!
ReplyDeleteA lovely post, love your photo's. Thank you, Happy New Year.
ReplyDeleteHi Julie, it's 3.30am and you made me cry thinking of my precious Poppyq. I missed her dearly these holidays, as the house is empty and quiet without her.
ReplyDeleteHapoy New Years to you and all of your family love julie xxxx
Happy New Year! Your smiling faces tell me the story of Christmas at your house, terrific! And I am smiling at the home grown fresh veggies. Just came back from my weekly grocery trip and mostly bought veggies and fruit, but the prices go up every week. Glad Miss Pip was getting an un-decorating nap there. I just had a cup of Lady Grey tea and it would have been nice to sneak a bite of your sweet treats to go with it. Lynn and Precious XX
ReplyDeleteHappy New Year to you too. Of course Miss Pippi would sleep in the containers - cats always like to be in on the action! Good words to think about as we start a new year.
ReplyDeleteBest wishes
Ellie
A Very Happy New Year to you too Julie. It sounds like you have had a lovely Christmas and twixmas - I hope 2024 is just as great, one way or another!
ReplyDeleteAnother lovely post...or should I say toast to another year gone by. Neat photo of you and your grandsons. I had to watch via a video my daughter sent of my grandkids opening their presents from me. Gosh do they get so many things now? Pippi finds the most interesting spots to sleep. That baking sure looks beautiful. I look forward to your beautiful and inspiring posts in 2024....xoxo
ReplyDeleteHappy New Year to you & your furry family Julie. I just love all that you share with us & look forward to your posts for the coming year. Keep on the wonderful job you are doing xx Penny in USA
ReplyDeleteHi Dear Julie, happy new year and to your furry ones,I am lucky to have been a recipient of your baking, yuumm, lovely. So glad you had your family time at Christmas and now hopefully you can have some gentle R&R.My Dahlias have not flowered yet, but today I see big fat buds so go out and talk to them. I have some mojo back for simple stitching again and enjoying doing it in front of the fan when it gets very hot. I need to take the christmas decorations down but John said you do it on 12th night (Jan 6TH) so superstitious me will wait.Hope you have a great twixtmas. Hugs.
ReplyDeleteHappy New Year to you to Julie, I had my 3 boys for Christmas eve this year, so Christmas day was ever so quiet.
ReplyDeleteA very Happy New Year Julie! Your lovely parcel arrived on the 2nd of this month. Thank you so much.
ReplyDeleteA rather belated happy New Year from across the Island a few kilometres... I so enjoy my visits to your blog, and hearing all the things you do.
ReplyDeleteCucumbers certainly can be fickle plants... glad you have got a backup crop. We were veRy late getting out garden in, but the cucumber plant has survived and is thriving this year.
Blessings
Maxine
That is a lovely photo of you with the two boys. xx
ReplyDeleteHappy New Year 2024! Rain is indeed a wonderful blessing for the garden. Wishing you a lush and vibrant start to the upcoming year.
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