The only thing sadder than a silver reindeer on Twelfth Night

... is a pair of silver reindeer. Yes, it's that time when the glitz and tinsel of Christmas must be packed away for another year.

Here is my entrance hall tonight, baubles all packed up in cartons to be stacked away in the storeroom, and the weary Christmas tree ready for the 'little men' to come and take it away.

What a difference between that and our entrance a couple of weeks ago!

Three Wise Men?

Twelfth Night, 6th January. is traditionally associated by Christians with the visit of the Magi, or Wise Men, to the baby Jesus.

But did you know this probably occurred a couple of years later, and not 2 weeks after his birth when we celebrate it? What's more, nowhere in the Bible does it say there were three of these characters. Could have been two, could have been five!

My friend Andrew even goes so far as to speculate that they never existed at all! What do you think?

I need a good talking to!

I don't know what's possessed me. While I should be devoting all my attention to completing The English Quilt, with its gorgeous roses and scrappy blues.....

...I find myself dividing my time between The English Quilt and Bonnie Hunter's Double Delight Mystery Quilt, an opportunity to use up some of my oldest and ugliest fabrics by chopping them up into tiny snippets and hiding them in a quilt of thousands of pieces!

Bonnie's been posting each step of the Mystery on her Quiltville website since New Year's Eve, but only the most determined quilters - and those not given to such frivolous diversions as eating and sleeping - could have kept up with her.

Here are some of my fabrics ready for sewing part 1. Not my favourites at all, but Bonnie's website holds out the delicious promise of creating a silk purse out of a sow's ear (so to speak)!

Am I being ever-so-sensible and budget-conscious in clearing out these useless over-stayers from my stash?

Or have I just been swept up in the enthusiasm of hundreds (thousands?) of quilters world-wide, all working on Double Delight at the same time?!?!

(Lynda, Marilyn, La Vella, Pennie, Jane, Prue, Gail, Stephanie, Julie, Jeannie and Pamela are doing it too! - to name just a handfull!)

Back to my sewing machine....

Taking the ozone cure

Is anyone else, like me, feeling totally lacking in 'oomph'? My get-up-and-go has left town and I'm sadly in need of a boost. January, much is expected of you!

Today was spent with friends at my favourite beach beside the cool, clear waters of Sydney Harbour, breathing on the ozone and soaking up vitamin D. Can't do any harm.

Some people are so clever!

My little friends, Chas and Coco, gave me these cute gingerbread biscuits for Christmas - lovingly made by their very creative mummy, Michelle.

Such a clever idea to make them in the shape of buttons!

.... and they tasted wonderful too!!!!