AFTERMATH ..........

I'm feeling a little bit full and bloated at the moment and I think that I'm in need of ..........
.......... some of this ..........

.......... and a touch of this, 'cos I've had too much of ..........

.......... THIS !!!!! ..........

.......... AND THIS !!!!! ..........

.......... AND THIS !!!!! ..........

and rather too many of these, nice as they were, so I'm in need of some of ........

.......... THIS ..........

..........AND THIS although,

we will be counting down the minutes to midnight tomorrow and there will be ..........

.......... Fireworks and , OH NO ..........

.......... more of THIS !!!!! Detox will have to wait a few more days !!!!!

Wishing all of my blogging pals everything that you wish yourselves and your families for 2010.
Many thanks for all of your wonderful comments and your support and I look forward to reading and commenting on your posts in the coming year.

HAPPY NEW YEAR


Jackie

CHRISTMAS at ' HOME '..........

Welcome everyone to a little glimpse of Christmas at ' HOME '
Come on in and make yourselves at ' HOME ' !!

This is the hall. Every year I always decorate the stairs with eucalyptus, a few baubles and, this year, a little bit of gypsophila ...............

Here's a bit of a closer look .........

.......... this is the hall table ..........

............... and now, come on into the lounge..........

This is my favourite fireplace. All of the fireplaces in our house are Art Nouveau and they are all original too.........

I must try and hide that wire. Not very attractive. These chandelier cystals have lights in them but I'm not sure if I like them lit up. I rather like them as they are. What do you think ?

This is our breakfast room. This room is next to the kitchen and breakfast room was a term used by the Victorians.

This is our dining room........

.......... and finally, a glimpse at the Christmas tree..........

I can never seem to take a decent photograph of the Christmas tree. Can anyone help me with this ? It always comes out too dark, the lights never show up and it looks much better in real life !!!!

I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone for their wonderful comments on my posts over the last few months and the chance to get to know so many of you.

Wishing you all a Very Merry Christmas and many happy times in the New Year.

Jackie

X

SNOW at ' HOME ' ...............

After telling you all that we don't get snow until at least January or February ......... look what we got today. A light dusting of snow, turning our world into a Christmas card.
I wish that I could say that this was my house but, unfortunately it's not !! This house would cost a few million !! It's about 10 minutes away and it belongs to a member of Parliament. I was going to the pub for lunch and had to stop to take this photograph as it looked so pretty. The pub is just around that corner. I got a lot of abuse from a van driver, but it was all for the love of blogging !! This was my garden this morning. My lovely statue looking all Christmassy with her snowy dress on.

................. and finally, a glimpse of Christmas at my ' Home '.

Jackie

TREE TROUBLE !!!! ..........

Well, we decided that it would be Monday that would be T-Day. The dreaded getting of the Christmas tree. Mr. Home arrived back from work in what was possibly the worst downpour of the century and it didn't look as if there would be any let up soon. Mr. Home's car was in for a service so, off we went in mine.
It was tipping it down and, for someone who likes to drive fast, I was going at a snails pace as, even though the windscreen wipers were on mega-speed, I could hardly see but, we finally arrived at the garden centre without any mishaps. We beat the Olympic time for the 100 yards to get to the entrance and were finally in the dry. Our garden centre is pretty brilliant. I couldn't take any photos of the outside because of the hurricane that was raging outside but, take it from me, it looked beautiful, even through a sheet of water !!We sauntered round, having a look at each section. About 10 years ago, they had someone who was brilliant at display but , she obviously left because, although it looks good, it never looks AS good as it used to.

Baubles .............

wreaths, pine cones ..........

.......... artificial trees ..........

.......... polar bears ..........

.......... topiary ..........

.......... displays ( I thought that Laura @ 52 Flea and Carole @ Maynard Greenhouse would like this one)

Oh, and then I see the sign to the ice rink. Dragging Mr. Home we head outside where, luckily, the rain has nearly stopped.................

.......... passing the displays again (that was my way round the fact that I loaded the same photo and haven't got time to fiddle about getting rid of it !!!! ) ..........

...... and there it was. Bigger than last year and, worryingly, rather empty.

Usually, it's packed and because it is so popular, most people book online. It gets so busy that you can't skate unless you've booked...... very strange........ Oh well. We were just sauntering over to the Christmas trees when there was a Tannoy announcement, ' Ladies and Gentleman, We would like to thank you for visiting Van Hages Garden Centre and would like to inform you that we will be closing in 5 minutes' !!!! Oh my God. I can't choose a tree in 5 hours let alone 5 minutes. We ran to the trees. The man who's there every year look fed up, cold and disinterested and was obviously thinking about being home, in the warm and having his dinner. He was not very helpful, to say the least and said wouldn't it be better if we came back in the daytime. The 7 footers didn't look all that good. They were a bit bare at the top and didn't pass the 'Jackie' test in any way............ and when he said that they were £95, we both nearly knocked over another display !! I think that we paid £60 last year. I know they said they might be more expensive this year but ............... We decided to leave and try somewhere else. Well, after sorting through quite a few trees, as is our wont, at another nursery, we finally settled on one. They netted it up and it was paid for (under £50) but , all of a sudden there was a stirring in the grey matter and I realised that we had my car. An Audi TT, which isn't quite the mode of transport for getting a 7 foot Christmas tree home !! We asked about delivery---- £30. We only live 10 minutes up the road , so Mr Home bought some rope and..............

Ta Da .....one 7 foot tree in an Audi TT and a very slow drive home. Goodness knows what will happen next year on the search for our Christmas Tree.


Jackie