Christmas is coming

23rd December 2020

Christmas will be different this year. I'm planning to take advantage of the technology we have discovered in recent months and meet as many people as possible over the Christmas period. I have 22 cousins who in turn have children and grandchildren! So I will start by trying to meet as many of these as possible, plus a few other parts of the Family Tree, over two sessions using Zoom.

I am still waiting to see the first snowdrop! The last Cosmos petals have fallen off, but hopefully it will seed to give me even more joy in November next year.

I was surprised to find roses still in bloom in a nearby park.

My neighbour has a small tree in the front garden tht is already in blossom.

This is a time when we remember the Holly and Ivy, but I cannot find any holly with berries in my garden and fear that I have removed the bushes that carried the berries and spread holly throughout the garden - I hope that some of the new bushes will carry berries in time.

When I first moved into our house - 40 years ago - I tried to plant some daffodil bulbs, only to find that every bit of ground seemed already to have a bulb! Now there are a lot of bulbs pushing up shoots. This year I am not sure whether these are from bulbs I planted in the Autumn or from previous years. Though the occasional distinctive daffodil shoot must be from a previous year and I cn identify the irises from my Autumn planting.

The cyclamen are slowly coming into flower and I suspect I will have daisies of one sort or another through the whole year.

Shopping is not my favourite pursuit and I particularly dislike running around trying to find presents for the grandchildren at Christmas, which are not needed or particularly wanted.. This year would have been particularly difficult and not worth the risk. However there are lots of children in Zambia who I know who would not normally be able to celebrate at Christmas. I have been able to send money on behalf of each of my grandchildren to children of friends in Zambia. Maybe the grandchildren will take an interest and link with the children over the years to come.

I hope that you have a Christmas full of love and that you are able to safely meet with you friends and family this year.

 

With love and prayers,

Chris