Countdown to Christmas!

"Maybe Christmas doesn't come from a store.  Maybe Christmas perhaps, means a little bit more."
  The Grinch by Dr Suess

Despite spending my childhood growing up in New Zealand, I am not sure I will ever get used to having Christmas in the middle of summer - it feels oddly decadent - like we get to have our cake and eat it too!  I do miss the snowy winters I experienced in the US and the cosy, wet ones in England, but I really can't complain right now because the sun is shinning and the garden is all in bloom - bliss!




My wildflower meadow in the back garden - a bit scruffy but oh so lovely!

Today I am busy playing Christmas carols and wrapping up the gifts I bought which need to be posted overseas to loved ones in England and America.  This year I was determined to buy as many hand-made or NZ designed gifts as possible and I found some real treausres:

A gorgeous hand-made monkey for a darling little niece...

A pretty bag for a sister-in-law who adores anything that is green, floral or vintage...

A whimsical, pretty pot-mit and matching tea towel for a dear friend...

I'd better not post anymore of the pressies on here - people might be peeking! 

For me (and many others on the planet) I can find this time of year to be a bit nerve wracking.  There is always so much going on!  So I am making sure I take some time out when I can just to focus on the simple joys in life and realise that this time of year is not about 'keeping up with the Jones's'.  I love pottering around in the garden and have just planted some lovely young salad veggies, which I am hoping will be ready to eat by Xmas:



My lovely lettuce babies all tucked into the raised bed - grow babies grow!!!  Oh and please excuse the 'weeds' in the background - I just love sunny little buttercups and dont have the heart to hack them all to bits with the weed whacker!

 

Right, enough time on the computer - I can hear the washing machine beeping and nagging me to go and hang all the freshly washed linen on the line!  Then I am off to do some baking and make some more home-made Christmas gifts - individual yummy little fruit cakes, jars of jam, chutney and fudge (okay not all in the same jar - that doesnt sound good at all!). 

 

Hopefully I wont leave it so long before I post again...life seems to be especially busy this year, but I do love dipping into blogland and seeing what everyone is up to.  Becks xxx