Gillian Monks's Blog, page 6

Wassail, Wassail!

Here we are, already at the last Friday in January. The year is picking up apace! Birds are singing their pre-courting solos, staking early claims to territory for the mating season, snowdrops are in bud, the snow has almost disappeared from the mountains. I sense that the land is almost holding its breath in this […]

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Waste Not, Want Not!

I have just seen something which has greatly distressed me. A neighbour’s Christmas Tree, complete with lights, decorations and stand, put out at the side of the road for the refuse collectors to take away. My husband tells me that when he took some stuff to our refuse/recycling centre last week, there were several Christmas […]

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The Pros and Cons of January

After my flurry of posts through November and December, some of you might be wondering about my sudden silence this month. The simple answer is that just after the start of the new year, I succumbed to a ‘flu-type lurgy and spent ten days languishing in bed, unable to do much at all except cough, […]

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Is Christmas Just for Children?

“Christmas is just for children.” How many times have I heard that said? Not nearly as often now as when I was young. Thankfully, I suspect that most of the population under the age of forty would be totally horrified if you tried to suggest that to them. Judging from the many adult themed seasonal […]

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Merry Christmas!

Greetings to all my dear ones and friends in both real time and via electronic devices – each and every one of you is deeply appreciated and cherished. Early Christmas morning, and outside all the world is still and quiet – apart from the rain which occasionally spatters against my window. But I know that […]

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Greetings On the Solstice!

Greetings, all my dear friends and readers on this, the morning of the shortest day! We have a day full of thoughtful and joyous celebration ahead of us here in the Snowdonia mountains of North West Wales. As a little Solstice gift, I am including a short guided journey in this post. Unfortunately, I haven’t […]

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Sugar Mice!

I have just made my first ever sugar mice! Not very P.C. as far as good diets and dental matters go, but, oh, SOOO reminiscent of my own childhood when (along with an apple, an orange and some shiny coins) I always found a sugar mouse nestling in the toe of my Christmas stocking! These […]

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The Extra Ingredient

There is something tantalisingly magical about a bulging Christmas stocking stuffed with enticingly anonymous little packages, or piles of colourful gifts of every indescribable shape and size piled higgledy-piggledy beneath the glow of a bedecked Christmas Tree! What makes these gifts so special? Yes, of course there is the obvious anticipation and surprise – even […]

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Pots and Pans and Puzzlements

Buying an electric implement for the kitchen will not automatically make you a good cook – or produce tasty food. Do not be fooled! Every pre-Christmas, I notice that advertisements for electric accessories, tables and chairs and tableware proliferate, as if by owning these items your ability to produce perfect seasonal fare is then assured. […]

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My Own Little Tree

I have my very own little Christmas Tree! Yesterday, my son and his partner went Christmas shopping and came back with more than I could have imagined. Because I knew that they were squirrelling Midwinter treats and surprises away after their trip to town, I didn’t realise just how furtive they were being until after […]

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