* I've got my tree up

I have not had a tree for many years.  I couldn't face it.  Last year I collected a group of gorgeous bare branches and decorated them with birds. After the season was over, they all went in the tip!  This year, I decided to bring home a huge poinsettia.  Very symbolic, and I love it.  It's a great place to begin again.  Next year I will begin to replace the decorations and ornaments I had to let go.  Perhaps I will bring the first one home from San Miguel.  A symbol of my first big solo flight.  Good idea! Sometimes one simply has to have a new beginning and change absolutely everything.  It levels the playing field.

I don't know what Christmas means to me in the here and now.  Certainly not the same as it used to.  Life takes its' toll, and I have to adjust my thinking.  I guess the meaning of Christmas for me will evolve over time - beginning this year.  The season is still about celebrating my faith, reviewing and renewing my beliefs.  It's still about friends.  It's still about gratefulness and counting my blessings.  My new challenge is being in the here and now - not allowing myself to drift into the past.  That is painful and I'm exhausted from the pain.

I have done some Christmas shopping.  I am planning the Christmas Breakfast table .... thank goodness I found my white linen table cloth!  It's my basis for everything.  I'll take a photo of the table setting and share it with you.  I'm looking forward to creating a gorgeous table. Oh, and I did purchase some lovely Christmas music.  Guess what it is????  It surprised me.  Elvis Presley!  It's a great album and I get a kick out of it.  Brings back so many memories.  The other one is "Celtic Woman".  Did you see their concert on PBS the other evening?  It was AWESOME.  Filmed at Powerscourt House and Gardens, County Wicklow, Ireland.  I pretended I was there.  The energy was palpable.

What is everyone out there in blog land doing for Christmas?  Anything really off the wall?  I'd love to hear about it.  Leave me some comments.  It's always delicious to receive comments!

"What is Christmas? It is tenderness and respect for the past, courage for the present, hope for the future. It is a fervent wish that every cup may overflow with blessings rich and eternal, and that every path may lead to peace."
~ Agnes M. Pahro 

                                                    WHAT MAKES MY HEART SING

COLOURED PENCILS!  They inspire me.  I adore all the different colours - can you believe how many colours there are?  I like the feel of them in my hand.  I like the different marks you can make on a page with them.  I like to see lots and lots of coloured pencils in a pot together -- it's a marvelous statement of abundance.  Coloured pencils encourage creativity in all of us - from the very young - to the very old.  What comes out of us when we are given coloured pencils to work with is amazing.  Coloured pencils make my heart sing.