Merry Christmas!!!

Back from Christmas morning service, husband down the pub (having put turkey in the oven and left everything else ready), daughter and sister moving partly done jigsaw from dining table to jigsaw board so that we can eat later. We didn't go to midnight service as I was too tired but there were a lot of people at the morning service as several families have relatives staying. I was woken at 7, not by my daughter who as a student is not into early mornings any more, but by my sister and niece in New Zealand. It was Christmas Day evening over there and so they rang up to say Happy Christmas and thank you for their presents. Caitlin, at two and a half, was very excited by it all and I do not envy her mum trying to get her to sleep that night.



Holly's campervan teapot!

 We have opened our presents and are snacking on a variety of things prior to dinner at about 3. The weather is glorious - sunny and clear - but Nick's car themometer said -10 on our way to church so I may just look at the day from in here!

Advent has been strange this year without Holly to share in it, I think next year I will try to find or write a set of daily things which we can share even in two different places. I have a service next week at Acocks Green and am thinking I might use the service in Magnet about the kings gifts.

One cello, two lamps and three sets of music.

Feeling very tired now. One of the problems of a lack of oxygen and an excess of willpower is that when I stop, I really stop! On Sunday, the choir were singing in the morning service and the younger children were using clay models they had made to act out the Nativity. This involved Nick making up a long lead to allow Hannah to video the scene at the front but still be connected to the gubbins at the back which then projected it onto the screen. It was very much a 'seat of the pants' service but all went well. Then home to eat a lovely roast dinner - the blessings of an oven-timer and a husband who can operate it.

In the afternoon, Holly and I set out for Acocks Green with one cello, two lamps and three sets of music. I used it as an opportunity to get Holly to drive in the snow and she managed very well. A short rehearsal and then candlelit carols at 4. At 5.15, after a cup of tea and a mince pie (or two) we set off for Dorridge with one cello, one set of music and two lamps. The choir were only singing a few items in Dorridge candlelit carols - we did our carol concert last Sunday - and Holly was going to sit in the congregation. 7.30, time for more tea and mince pies before setting off for home.

There was no Mustard Seed on Monday due to the weather and so I walked into the village with Holly for her dentist appointment. I did some shopping while she was poked and prodded and then back home where I tried to encourage her to start one of the four essays she has to do before January 13th. In the evening she went out to the Solihull Scout Network Christmas do and I drove to Heartlands to sing some more carols around the wards. The roads were OK apart from the traffic jams.

Today I drove us all into town as there were cheques to pay in and Holly was meeting up with some friends to see a film and stay overnight. Nick and I abandoned her there and then went to Tescos to do the final bit of shopping and fill my car with fuel. By the time we got home my body was telling me I needed to stop. Tomorrow's planned trip to Bicester to be a LAM lady that lunches has been cancelled due to weather and illness so I am going to have a quiet day - as long as the buses are running, otherwise I will need to go and fetch daughter!

Right now I think a cup of tea, the Telegraph Toughie and a long hot bath followed by an early bed.

Memories are made of this.

Watching a couple of programs I recorded last week on folk dancing - Come Clog Dancing and Still Folk Dancing. Brings back memories of my time in Petticoats Lost, a female morris dance side based in Thame, Oxfordshire, and makes me want to learn clog. We used to dance at various pubs through the summer and practise in Thame during the winter. The summer after Holly was born (and I was diagnosed with LAM), I danced at Leveller's Day in Burford and I think that was the last time I danced :(
The problem now is that I am on liquid oxygen and if I jig up and down it sloshes around in the backpack and freezes in the outlet tubes thereby stopping the flow. I don't think I could manage morris any more but clog (as opposed to clog morris) might be possible as the upper body stays stiller. Rapper (double-handed swords) looks fun but my backpack might get caught up when threading.
I do still have my tankard and the leather strap to attach it to me while I dance.



Dancing at Ye Olde Leathern Bottle at Lewknor - I'm 2nd from right



In the bleak mid-winter

Today is definitely the bleak mid-winter! At 10 this morning I had to have the standard lamp on in our living room (which has big windows at both ends) to see to read and when I got back in this afternoon at 3, I had to put the light on. Bring back the cold, clear and sunny weather please - but no snow until after I have fetched Holly from college on Thursday. The number of Christmas cards on the side is growing, Nick will need to put the strings up across the room soon before we run out of (clear) flat surfaces - my pre-advent tidy didn't last long.
Yesterday morning was spent discussing the Start! course which we will be running in January at Dorridge Methodist Church and we decided that I should produce a flyer for it so that might be a job for this evening.

This is a tealight stand that I bought in a charity shop in Shirley yesterday. I try to get something 'new' each year to add to the decorations and I liked this.
Another thing to do is make some gingerbread biscuits - my sister bought me a set of russian doll measuring cups for my birthday and I need to work out if they are American (most likely) or English cups before I can use them - for various people for Christmas.

Hoar Frost!!!

The last two days have been very cold and very pretty. I managed to get to Mustard Seed yesterday but forgot the camera and then posted the parcel for New Zealand and bought stamps for the cards. When I got home, I stayed in for the afternoon. Today I got up later in the hope that the car might be easier to defrost (it wasn't) and when I could see out I moved the car to the road opposite where I parked it in the sun and took pictures of the trees.

I stopped on the way to Solihull and took more pictures including this one of the ford at Temple Balsall.

After aquafit I sat in the cafe at the leisure centre with a mug of tea and read my copy of Magnet (which I have had for at least a week) while getting together the energy to drive home. Stopped at Halfords to look for an ice scrapper as Isaac broke mine at the weekend but they didn't have any flexy ones :(

House group tonight and tomorrow really must be spent wrapping presents.

Ready for Advent

Over the last two days I have completed the pre-advent tidy up - upstairs yesterday, downstairs today. A little late I know but now I just need to finish the cards and send them out (before the last posting date for NZ) and wrap the presents!
As a break from that sort of preparation, I have a service at Lyndon on Sunday when we shall be looking at John the Baptist and preparing the way of the Lord. I'm thinking of the need to take time out in order to make sure that we keep Christ at the centre of Christmas, and the fact that we are to prepare the way ie make things easier for people to come to Christ, not put obstacles in their way.

Lots of tea and lots to do!

Today we awoke to a small dusting of snow - not sufficient to prevent Nick going to Buckingham. I was up and out by soon after 9 and heading for Warwick to get the church poster printed. There is a card cum stationery shop which has a copyshop in the back opposite Cafe Nero and they are good value. While waiting for the poster to be printed, I popped into Caffe Chai - a little independent cafe which does proper tea in proper mugs (and very nice carrot cake) - for breakfast. When collecting the poster I couldn't resist a pigmee card about Spine Flu.

(c) Peter Cross - The Great British Card Company

On (or back) into Solihull to Hobbycraft as Christmas preparations are being held up for want of tape pens (two ran out last night!!). On the way drove past a Severn Trent man using a metal detector - presumably to find a stopcock under the snow. Then to Tudor Grange to book into aquafit. Last week there were 27 of us and the pool was a little full so Jo told us to book in early. This week of course there were only about 10. Having booked in, I sat in the cafe with a mug of tea and watched the long-tailed tits in the trees outside whilst trying to pick hymns for my service at Lyndon on Sunday.

Into the town centre after aquafit for some lunch in Starbucks but also picked up a pair of PURPLE LEATHER GLOVES from John Lewis. I wanted some last year but all the purple ones went early on so this year I have got in first and spent my Christmas money before I have got it :0)

Now sitting at home recovering from all the dashing about with another mug of tea - is there a theme there somewhere?

Second morning in a row that Nick has had to defrost the drainage pipes from the bathroom. Yesterday I couldn't have a shower before I went out as he had to take the pipes off and bring them into the kitchen to defrost. Today he had a shower but left the plug in the bath until he had finished in the hope that the rush of hot water would clear any build up since yesterday - no. So it was outside again with the hotair gun! After I had my shower I put the plugs in the bath and sink to see if that makes any difference tomorrow.

Some progress is being made on the 'getting ready for Christmas' front - I have sorted a card list so I know how many stamps to get and have started to make some cards but presents still need wrapping.

I am begining to lose faith in David Cameron. I thought we might have a chance of common sense politics (if that isn't an oxymoron), yet when comments by Lord Young and Howard Flight make the headlines, instead of saying 'Well that isn't a very sensible or polite way of saying it but there is an element of truth in what you say', he makes out that they are living on the moon! Politics is not black and white, or at least mine isn't, and by dismissing what they said he is dismissing a lot of people in this country who think the same. How are we ever to have a sensible debate on things when there are topics - like benefits - which seemingly cannot be discussed. What happened to free speech?

So the government is going to turn education upside down again. Please let the teachers get on with teaching and stop moving the goal posts!!! Yes, I think it is a good thing to raise standards in education but you need to know about how the changes will impact in practical terms and the best way to implement them. I think the Education Minister should have to have been a teacher (a good one, however they define that) and preferably a headteacher. It is much more important that they have experience of leading schools than that they are an MP.  Sorry - end of rant :)

Garlic and primroses!!

This year I have grown two courgette plants, two pepper plants, a row of carrots and some salad leaves. We got a steady supply of courgettes through the season but the peppers suffered from lack of light due to the courgette leaves. Next year I will plant them further apart. Having cleared the bed after the first frosts, I was considering what else to grow. We eat a fair amount of garlic and it sounds very simple to grow, so on Rememberance Sunday, I split a bulb of garlic into cloves and planted them. This is a picture a week later.

Looking round the garden, my primroses are starting to flower. This one keeps being threatened with eviction because my husband doesn't appreciate having to mow round it!

Two lots of choir this week - Thursday night at my church at Dorridge and Friday night at Acocks Green Methodist. We are doing Ding Dong Merrily on High in 5/4 with occassional 6/4 bar - breathing is optional seemingly for us altos as we have the 'echo' at the end of each line! Before I went out to choir on Friday, I managed to get a first draft of my sermon written which was a weight off my mind and Saturday was spent collecting together things for the prayer focus and photographing some so that they could be put in the powerpoint.



Things to remind us of Jesus' leadership and the way he encouraged others to lead.



Things from the crucifixion which remind us that leadership is painful and has no guarantees but should be about hospitality and celebration. The sign shows that whatever we do will be received and valued by some but ignored or rejected by others.

Pause for Thought was good last night , we had quite a wide ranging discussion but I was disturbed that a lot of people had felt that Rememberance Sunday should not include references to conscientious objectors or people who felt broken by the part they played in the war. The idea seemed to be that the worship group should have warned people (how?-with a banner, in the notices?) that this was not going to be a 'traditional' Rememberance. I found Andi very inspirational and uplifting and it was clear that he spoke from the heart and had a challenge for us. Some of us last night tried to explain how we thought he had talked about rememberance and how all the elements of the service contributed to that. We did have the silence (at 11) but not the 'they shall grow not old'. Instead we had the reading ' First they came for the communists, but I did not speak out as I was not a communist' which I have used before and think was a very appropriate challenge for a congregation like Dorridge. Maybe the worship group should not have arranged a sermon series on peace to end on Rememberance Sunday? Or maybe people should be more open to receiving what God is saying to them even when it doesn't come in the expected form.

Today could not be more different than yesterday. Yesterday woke to cold and foggy which cleared to cold and sunny. Today has been wet and grey all day. Porridge for breakfast, jacket potato in Shirley for lunch but healthy diet spoiled by two double chocolate muffins with afternoon tea :)
Still have sermon to write for Sunday but have been thinking about it whilst trying to establish who maintains the website, distributing information on Network weekend and Methodist School of Fellowship and looking for a replacement small table for the children to use at Mustard Seed.
Main excitement for the day is that Sarah has had a baby girl after three boys. Sarah is my husband's cousin's daughter so goodness knows what relation that makes her to me but at 9lb 2oz her daughter is a bonny lass. Dad used to read us funny stories from old Devon and one of them was called 'What relation be I to cousin Emily?' I really must try to find a copy.

This evening is chicken curry (made by my chef with the remains of Sunday's roast) and then Pause for Thought which this week is looking at the sermon which Rev Andi Smith gave us on Sunday. Follow his musings on Saltley Methodist Church.

Let's try again

This is another attempt to start my blog. Now I have been on fb for a while, maybe it will be easier.

Today I have been on a course about churches using social media for mission. I have learnt quite a bit and been encouraged to get involved in the church website which is something I have been resisting for a long time. We heard from Rev Jayne Webb who uses twitter to point people to her blog which is serving as the church website whilst a new one is being constructed. We also met Rev Gareth Edwards who is a Methodist Minister in South Wales and part of the leadership team at the Anglican Cathedral in Second Life. I shall try to include more pictures in my blog.