Christmas 21009.

Good Morning Friends,
As I have been browsing all my friends blogs I can see that most of us have had a lovely Christmas and that sure is something to be thankful for. I was especially excited this Christmas morning as Mary and I had been houseound all week due to the local roads being what are regarded as secondary roads not being gritted or salted consequently they were like an ice rink. Now I may be brave..sometimes...but foolhardy I am not so we just stayed put. Thanks to friends and family who braved the icy conditions we were never without the necessities of life. However Christmas morning I woke around 6.30am and peeped out to see NO FROST...well I was so excited I got up at once, If you could have seen me dancing around you would have thought I had lost my marbles altogether....I even rang Mary at 7.30 to tell her to get up !! We had only got to bed around 1am. as we have a tradition in the Wilson household of opening our gifts around midnight and this is year we did'nt get finished until about 12.20am !! It was the first year that Peter our neighbour joined us in this mass present opening....mainly as he wanted to see our faces when we opened his present to us.... He has lived alone for many years and it was actually the first time for a long long time that he saw what is the true meaning of Christmas, ... no, not Mary and I surrounded by lovely colourful gifts,....But Mary and I surrounded by so many loving friends....We had some wonderful gifts, and Peters gift ? We both had a painted portrait of our beloved pets. Mary had Amber and I had Dee. He is wonderful at thinking up all sorts of wonderful surprises and I woudl never ever have thought if that, he sure kept us guessing. They are beautifully painted and after today I will get Dee hung on the wall !! As we were frost free we were able to get up to Church for the early morning service that is always a nice service. After we came home and had another look at some of our presents it was soon time to go to Sarah and John's for Christmas Dinner. This year as well as Mary and I we had Peter with us and also Muriel another neighbour who had been unable to drive up to her Mother for her usual Christmas due to the bad roads. What a wonderful meal we all had. I started with something I had never had that was smoked mussels a bit salty but delicious, this was followed by the usual Turkey, stuffing, roast potato,carrots, brussels, parsnips, swede,cranberry sauce..that is all I can remember !! sure there was more though ! after we had enjoyed that, we all retired to the sitting room whilst Beth(my niece and her husband Max) and John cleared the table and relaid it for the "sweets" This gives time for the first two courses to "go down" before we start again !! we all had some champagne as opened fun presents that Sarah always has for everyone under the tree, then it wae back to the dining room for the next course... Sarah got there first and had the Christmas pudding lit and blazing away merrily....the choice of puds..was the usual Christmas pud, Trifle, and a yummy chocolate tart. I started with a small portion of Christmas pud. which was soon surrounded in ..single cream...the lake, then dusted with sugar..the snow, ...then a few dollops of thick creams brandy and also bransy butter...the islands !! see how daft we all are !! I followed all that by a small slice of the Chocolate tart with a few layers of various thick creams on top !! as someone who really does not "do" puds as a rule I think I did very well..... We did not stay to late as I was afraid that it might freeze again and the damp roads would become skating rinks again. What a lovely family day we had full of love and warmth...How blessed I am to have such a wonderful family. Boxing day found Mary and I over at Maragret and Mitch's...my other sisters home is lovely and so beautifully decorated it is just a delight to be there and enjoy yet another meal. This time we had roast beef and all the trimmings and during the afternoon we played the new Susan Boyle (is that her name ? ) CD that she had as one of her presents from Mitch. It is a great CD and Susan is a great ambassador for anyone who has had a label around there necks for years of being " a slow learner" the politically correct words !! I hope any Mother who has a child with that label will give thought to what can happen if only they believe....
And so here we are the last day of 2009 I just cannot believe we have had 10 years since we had all the celebrations for the Millinnium. what changes we have had in these ten short years.
I will end here with my new year wish for you all.
May each and every day of 2010 be one of contentment, good health and someone to love.
If we have these three things we will be blessed indeed. God Bless you all

NEVER FORGET TO LOVE ONE ANOTHER

Christmas Love

This comes to wish you all a very very happy Christmas and every blessing in the days ahead.

Hi Friends,
I have been so lax in writing I am almost ashamed...However there has not been a lot happening so not much news. We are having a real cold winter spell with lots of snow mainly in the South East of the country,.... a friend of mine has been cut of in her village for 4 days now.....Thankfully we have not had so much snow until now...Mary has just gone home and reports heavy snow at the moment. I am praying that it will all have gone by Christmas day, so that we can drive safely up to my sisters for Christmas dinner.... I was wondering what I was going to say about Christmas today and just as I was awondering I had the following story from a friend. So I copy it now as my Christmas gift to you all
.

The Truth About Santa Claus
I remember my first Christmas adventure with Grandma. I was just a kid. I remember tearing across town on my bike to visit her on the day my big sister dropped the bomb: "There is no Santa Claus," she jeered. "Even dummies know that!" My Grandma was not the gushy kind, never had been. I fled to her that day because I knew she would be straight with me. I knew Grandma always told the truth, and I knew that the truth always went down a whole lot easier when swallowed with one of her "world-famous" cinnamon buns. I knew they were world-famous, because Grandma said so. It had to be true. Grandma was home, and the buns were still warm. Between bites, I told her everything. She was ready for me. "No Santa Claus?" She snorted... "Ridiculous! Don't believe it. That rumor Has been going around for years, and it makes me mad, plain mad! Now, put on your coat, and let's go." "Go? Go where, Grandma?" I asked. I hadn't even finished my second world-famous cinnamon bun. "Where" turned out to be Kerby's General Store, the one store in town that had a little bit of just about everything.. As we walked through its doors, Grandma handed me ten dollars. That was a bundle in those days. "Take this money," she said, "and buy something for someone who needs it. I'll wait for you in the car." Then she turned and walked out of Kerby's. I was only eight years old. I'd often gone shopping with my mother, but never had I shopped for anything all by myself. The store seemed big and crowded, full of people scrambling to finish their Christmas shopping. For a Few moments I just stood there, confused, clutching that ten-dollar bill, wondering what to buy, and who on earth to buy it for. I thought of everybody I knew: my family, my Friends, my neighbors, the kids at school, and the people who went to my church. I was just about thought out, when I suddenly thought of Bobby Decker. He was a kid with bad breath and messy hair, and he sat right behind me in Mrs. Pollock's grade-two class. Bobby Decker didn't have a coat. I knew that because he never went out to recess during the winter. His mother always wrote a note, telling the teacher that he had a cough, but all we kids knew that Bobby Decker didn't have a cough; he didn't have a good coat. I fingered the ten-dollar bill with growing excitement. I would buy Bobby Decker a coat! I settled on a red corduroy one that had a hood to it. It looked real warm, and he would like that. "Is this a Christmas present for someone?" the lady behind the counter asked Kindly, as I laid my ten dollars down. "Yes, ma'am," I replied shyly. "It's for Bobby." The nice lady smiled at me, as I told her about how Bobby really needed a Good winter coat. I didn't get any change, but she put the coat in a bag, smiled again, and wished me a Merry Christmas. That evening, Grandma helped me wrap the coat (a little tag fell out of the coat, and Grandma tucked it in her Bible) in Christmas paper and ribbons and wrote, "To Bobby, From Santa Claus" on it. Grandma said that Santa always insisted on secrecy.. Then she drove me over to Bobby Decker's house, explaining as we went that I was now and forever officially, one of Santa's Helpers. Grandma parked down the street from Bobby's house, and she and I crept noiselessly and hid in the bushes by his front walk. Then Grandma gave me a nudge. "All right, Santa Claus," she whispered, "get going." I took a deep breath, dashed for his front door, threw the present down on his step, pounded his door and flew back to the safety of the bushes and Grandma. Together we waited breathlessly in the darkness for the front door to open. Finally it did, and there stood Bobby. Fifty years haven't dimmed the thrill of those moments spent shivering, beside my Grandma, in Bobby Decker's bushes. That night, I realized that those awful rumors about Santa Claus were just what Grandma said they were: “Ridiculous..” Santa was alive and well, and we were on his team. I still have The Bible, with the coat tag tucked inside: $19.95

May you all in the comming days find that you are in Santa Claus's team.
Blessing to you all and all those whom you love.... Sybil xx
REMEMBER
Loving one another....is not just for Christmas

Bath Christmas Market,

Hello Friends, This has been a very wet couple of weeks here in Box and the surrounding area so as Mary and I have not been out very much there has not been a lot to write about, but just in case you have forgotten me thought I had better make an effort to pop in and write a few lines. Thanks to "Ma" I have been able to change the top picture (and even maybe how to include some photographs in between the print!!) The picture is of Bath Abbey in the background with the Christmas Market in the foreground. It was a picture taken by my friend when she went into Bath last week in the evening. This is about the 6th year that Bath has hosted a Christmas fair and what begun with about 25 stalls has now increased to well over 100. They are clustered all around the Abbey courtyards and the surrounding square and narrow streets. They are really quite magical at night when all lit up. Of course Mary and I can't get there at night as there are so many people there and many hazzards for crutches and wheelchair !! However last Tuesday when we awoke it was to the first sharp frost of the year and also SUNSHINE...as soon as we had breakfast we got in the car and drove to Bath and we were lucky to find a place to park the car not to far from where the action was taking place. Although it was very cold we did manage a good look round in all the stalls...again it was difficult getting around with the wheelchair as most had a little step around them so preventing me from getting a really good view of all their goods....maybe it was just as well as there were many tempting things from all over the West Country and beyond...but the prices.....a bit out of my purse strings...however as there were quite a few craft type stalls I did collect some good ideas !! Bythe time we had wandered along I began to freeze ! so we popped into the Bath Pump Rooms for hot chocolate with cream and marshmallows...also a Bath bun with cinnimon butter....yum yum...it is so grand in the pump room sitting there whilst the quartet play lovely music in the background. The room was also decorated with Christmas Garlands and a lovely tree...I will have downloaded some photogrphs taken there for next time to share with you. Once we were suitably warmed up off we went again for a second round and ended up buying between us a lovely wooden advent calander..It was expensive however we decided to buy it between us as it was 1/2 price !! .again photo's will be added if and when !!
Today I had a busy morning as it was our last table top sale of the year at church and like last month my friend Pam and I were selling on the "new goods" stall. We did not to badly making almost £50 towards church funds. everything we had left on our table plus some extra things that were donated from the WI stall..are taken over to Bath as Christmas Gifts for those folks with very little over christmas in an area of Bath the church always tries to help out especially at this time of the year.There was a beautiful Christmas Hamper the best I have ever seen worth about £60 one of our members won the prize and she promptly donated it to the Soutdown Project in Bath...so that will go a long way to help some poor family. ALso another member had a stall with many many soft toys and dolls all that were left over are also going over to Bath. My friend Pam (who lives quite near the area that is in need) will have her car full to the brim tomorrow when it is all loaded up after church for her to take over to Southdown.
Well I am going to stop now as one of my favourite programmes are being repeated and I want to sit and TRY to concentrate on them. They are all stories written by Alan Bennet. Good night Friends....
LOVE ONE ANOTHER.