Monday 24 December 2012

Happy Christmas!

Christmas Eve is the time for one of our small family rituals.
Anna, Grandpa and I go hunting for the best piece of holly we can find to decorate the top of our Christmas Pudding (which must of course, be served with custard).

Happy Christmas to all my family and friends in 'blog-land'. It's a great time of year with an amazing thing to celebrate; I pray that you all have a fantastic time!


 
The holly and the ivy, when they are both full grown,
Of, all the trees that are in the wood, the holly bears the crown.

Oh the rising of the sun and the running of the deer,
The playing of the merry organ, sweet singing in the choir.
 

The holly bears a blossom as white as lily flower, and Mary bore sweet Jesus Christ to be our sweet saviour

The holly bears a berry as red as any blood, and Mary bore sweet Jesus Christ to do poor sinners good.

The holly bears a prickle as sharp as any thorn, and Mary bore sweet Jesus Christ on Christmas Day in the morn.

The holly bears a bark as bitter as any gall, a
nd Mary bore sweet Jesus Christ for to redeem us all.
I can't resist also sharing this piece by Anna that she did for her art course-work.
She was given the title "Ordinary Extraordinary" so she chose to use the score of The Holly and the Ivy for her background and use her felting skills to create the ivy leaf & acrylics for the holly.
The little doorway flap with the woodland scene behind was inspired by
Sue Blackwell and Arthur Rackham. Anna's had quite a week first hearing she achieved grade 7 harp with distinction then a few days later, distiction for her singing grade 6,
proud Dad time :) !

30 comments:

  1. Looks like your holly hunt was very successful. Jerry, wishing you and your family a wonderful Christmas holiday.

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  2. Merry Christmas to you as well, and your family.

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  3. blessings to you and yours, dear jerry! may your hearts be full.

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  4. You found some beautiful holly! I wish you a very Merry Christmas with lots of good cheer!!

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  5. Dear Jerry, I wish you and your family a very Happy Christmas and a Happy and Healthy New Year. Thank you so much for being such a lovely blogland friend and for allowing me to share some enjoyable glimpses into your delightful family life throughout the year :-)

    A lovely post again, many congratulations to Anna on her achievements....such a talented family!

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    1. Jan, the best thing about blogging has been making such wonderful new friends. Thanks for taking an interest in the (sometimes madcap) things we have got up to. Yes 2012 has been an amazing year for us as a family and also for the UK; I wonder what 2013 will bring? Enjoy tomorrow!!

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  6. Wishing you and your family a very Happy Christmas and New Year :)

    Congratulations to Anna - you must all be so proud of her :) A wonderful piece of art-work and so seasonal!

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    1. Thank you so much Ragged Robin, by the way I forgot to say on your blog how much I enjoyed your first highlights of the year post - I'll definitely keep looking in to see the follow ups!

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  7. Dear Jerry, how nice to see the holly hunt! Anne's art work is full of poetry and imagination. You have good reason to be proud as father!
    Congratulations on the musical talent!

    Merry Christmas to you and your whole family so talented!
    God Bless.
    Warm hugs, Rita.

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    1. Dear Rita, I'm glad you liked seeing the pictures. Looking for some holly is the easy thing - Karen has the big task in preparing our feast! Enjoy tomorrow!

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  8. Merry Christmas to you and your family , dear Jerry ! Ann's work is lovely . xx

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    1. Thank you Jane I hope you have had a lovely Christmas break too.

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  9. Merry Christmas to you and your family, Jerry! Ann's work is beautiful, of course you are a proud Dad!

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  10. Anna's work is really lovely. Best wishes.

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    1. Glad you liked seeing Anna's work Ann. Best wishes to you too.

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  11. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you and your family, Jerry. Anna's art is lovely and you have every reason to be a proud dad with all her accomplishments. I know that the love and support of her family inspires her singing, harp playing, and artwork.

    Thank you for following my art blog. I always enjoy hearing from you.

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    1. Thank you Mary, Anna has enjoyed being able to read everyone's lovely comments. I can't wait to see what she and Thomas get up to in 2013.

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  12. Jerry, you have every reason to be a proud papa!! Wishing you and yours a wonderful 2013! blessings ~ tanna

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    1. Thanks Tanna - Happy New Year to you too!

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  13. I wanted to say thank you so much for the lovely comment that you left on my blog - I couldn't find an email address to reply to.
    You must be very proud - Anna's artwork is fantastic! I love how she has captured the waxy sheen of the holly.
    Happy New-Year to you and your family :0)
    PS. My husbands Aunty lives in Surrey. I wonder if you are close :0)

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    1. Hi Sandra - Happy New Year to you and yours. I'll try to email you but my address is j.blumireATntlworld.com

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  14. Thank you Jerry for sharing Anna's wonderful work....Happy and Healthy New Year to you and your wonderful family!!!

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    1. Thanks Hilda, I hope you are begining to get things back to some kind of normality now and that 2013 is much kinder to you and your neighbours!

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  15. Hi Jerry: Just dropped in to wish you and your family a Happy New Year and wishing you lots of lovely things for 2013. Take care. xx

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    1. That's so kind of you Laura, I hope you and yours all have a great year too; I'm looking forward to seeing how your new portfolio continues to grow in 2013.

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