Operation Christmas Child

In the run up to Christmas - or Yule - most of us will be frantically preparing: organising feasts for our families, buying gifts and even going away on a winter holiday. 

Image from www.germany-tourism.de

Mum and I are making a trip to the Christmas Markets in Hamburg this year in the few days before the holiday and I am sure we will spend our time there buying presents to bring home, enjoying steaming mugs of hot-chocolate and 'gluhwein' and sampling local delicacies. I am so excited - I absolutely cannot wait!

For me, Christmas is a time of year to celebrate with family and loved ones. Whatever your religious beliefs or faith, I think that is important. It is so dark outside that we need to symbolically let the light back in - be that through a warm Yule fire, or candlelight; through the glittering baubles and tinsel on a Christmas tree; or, most importantly, through the love and laughter we share together.  

As we lead up to this special time of year, I am also mindful of those less fortunate who may not be able to spend it with family; may not be given any gifts and may be struggling through the most trying of circumstances. At school we are currently encouraging our kids to take part in the 'Operation Christmas Child' campaign, run by the Samaritan's Purse international relief charity. They make up a shoe-box of little gifts to be sent to a child somewhere in the world who would, otherwise, have nothing to open on Christmas Day.

 

Images from www.operationchristmaschild.org.uk

There are 'drop-off' points all over the UK, as you can see here and they are open until Thursday 18th November. A fantastic way to encourage little ones to think of others less fortunate than themselves and have fun creating a gift for someone else.

Winter Solstice Seasonal Swap

Beautiful, thoughtful Faerwillow over at To Fall or Stumble Upon has set up another exciting Seasonal Swap!

For those creative, artistic ones amongst us, what a wonderful way to share your handicrafts; for everyone else, a chance to reach out and greet another like-minded spirit. 

Nene Thomas - Queen of Owls

Look no further for an enchanting way to celebrate this most magickal of seasons with friends. Take a peek into Faerwillow's wintry wonderland here. 

Gifts

Almost every day I am encountering a new face or page here in blogland and I am so touched that more and more like-minded people are stumbling over to Hearthwitch Cottage by chance, and sticking around to see what is happening. I know, I know...not much of late...but it is half-term so hopefully - hopefully - I will be here a with a little bit more regularity.

It is, however, with great cheer and gratitude that today I post of the wonderful gift of knowing that someone has read my humble little musings....and acknowledged them with a fantabulous award - or three!

Aine over at The Deepest Well and Aelwyn down at Hedgewitch Hollow (both beautifully named ladies with absolutely stunning blogs) have been kind enough to bestow these three thoughtful awards...

With these awards comes the challenge to list 7 things about oneself that other bloggers may not yet know.

Here goes...

1. I teach English to secondary school children (aged 11-18).

And, oh, I wish it was with a proper blackboard and chalk!

Doris Day in 'Teacher's Pet'

2. I love dystopian literature and film

(helps me feel marginally better about the world we live in today)

3. Currently, I can't get this off my record player...

Find them here...This is the Kit and watch their awesomeness on video here.

4. I have travelled all over the world but my favourite trip was when I journeyed through China, Mongolia and Siberia by train and stayed in a ger in the Mongolian desert.

(I'm getting itchy feet as we speak)

5. Over the years I have had several tattoos and piercings, which surprises a lot of people because I don't think I look the type!

6. I love drawing, but I haven't done any for a long time...this is starting to make me a little sad.

7. I am a currently a bit obsessed with cookery programmes, espeically Masterchef. In fact, B and I are going to the Masterchef Live Show in London next month, just to revel in our culinary geekiness!

The rules that came with these awards were...to link back to the bloggers who nominated me....Check.

To list 7 things about myself that other bloggers may not yet know....Check.

Pass these awards along to 15 other bloggers.... Hmmm. The way I feel about this is that I cannot possibly choose 15 blogs. I love following and reading the blogs that I follow and read because I think they are all stylish, versatile and lovely! So if you are reading this, please feel free to take these awards as directed to you and take part in the fun bit...sharing lots of cool facts about yourself with us all.

Blessings. 

Fruition...

...can only come from nurturing and time. This is the case in all areas of life. When I returned home from my holiday I was delighted to find an array of treats waiting for me - all fruits borne from that special combination.

The first treat was found in my post-box...

...a package of surprises from the wonderfully generous Mother Moon.

What delights I found within!

A very dainty pair of earrings. These pretty, delicate ones are just my style.

A set of hand-decorated notecards - perfect for thank yous!

And last but by no means least, a fantastical card, with such a sweet message which went to the heart of how I feel about blogging. 

We are part of a community here and I am loving reaching out to meet like-minded people and hope to get to know you all better over the forthcoming months. These treats are a reminder that with nurture and time, friendships can grow. 

Many thanks and brightest blessings, Mother Moon. 

...

The second treat was a wonderful reward for a lot of patience and care over the past few months.

When I first moved in to my cottage, a year ago, a friend bought me a beautiful orchid as a house-warming gift. After several months in bloom, the flowers sadly began to drop one by one until I was left with an empty stem. This happens with all orchids, whose flowering life is limited.

However, I did not want to discard the plant. I had heard it is very rare that an orchid will flower again, but I did not want to give up. I cut the flowerless stem right down and moved the orchid to a shaded, cooler spot.

About five months later I noticed a new stem had appeared. A few weeks after that there were buds on it. I was delighted! And when I walked into my living room on Monday, this was what I saw...

The orchid has triumphed against the odds! Blessed are we with little rewards given for nurturing and having the patience to allow time to work its wonders. 

lus·cious [luhsh-uhs]

Etymology
1375–1425; late ME lucius, unexplained var. of licius, aph. poss. variant of delicious

-Adjective 

1. highly pleasing to the taste or smell: luscious peaches.

2. richly satisfying to the senses or the mind: the luscious style of his poetry.

3. richly adorned; luxurious: luscious furnishings.

4. arousing physical, or sexual, desire; voluptuous: a luscious figure.

5. sweet to excess; cloying

Alt. – lushious 

1. Originating from ‘Lush’

2. Having the qualities of a ‘Lush’ product

3. Created from the ‘Lush’ values

This treat made me squeal with glee. Not only is it from LUSH, a shop with which I am obsessed (both for its sumptuous smelling products and ethical merchandising) but it is shaped like.a.spring.flower!

Buddy, I may not know who you are, but you clearly know me. 

One small problem though: I find myself torn. It smells so delicious I cannot wait to have a bath with it; yet it is so pretty-pretty I don’t want to use it! What to do?!

Escapism

Secret buddy you are an angel! Not only did I have a little packet of treats at the start of the week but today I found a copy of 'Country Living' in my pigeon-hole with a little note telling me to enjoy my weekend.

Which I undoubtedly will. Earl Grey tea, chocolate chip cookies and a magazine filled with gorgeous images of cheerful Spring gardens and beautiful country kitchens. Bliss.*

* What cheers me most is the fact that this doesn't really count as 'escapism' any more as my current surroundings are so quaint they may have been torn right out of this magazine's pages.

A Taste of Elizabethan England

This fantastic recipe has supposedly been passed down from the fifteenth century and is the simplest of sweet-treats to make. To me, these honey-roasted almonds taste of Christmas markets in Prague, the warmth of the hearth and traditional sweet shops, all rolled into one deliciously sticky, nutty package.

You will need:
450g whole almonds (with the skin left on)
50g sugar
2 tbsp honey
2 tbsp Water
2 tsp almond oil
½ tsp salt

Spread the almonds in a single layer in a shallow ungreased baking tray and place in a cold oven.
Bake at 180°C (Gas mark 4) for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the nuts are light brown in colour.
Set aside the roasted almonds.
Thoroughly mix the sugar and salt in a bowl.
In a saucepan, mix the honey, water and oil and bring to the boil over a medium heat.
Add the roast almonds to the honey mixture and stir constantly on the heat until all of the liquid has been absorbed. This should take about five minutes.
Transfer the almonds to a medium-size bowl into which some sugar mixture has been sprinkled.
Sprinkle the remaining sugar mixture over the almonds and toss until they are evenly coated.
Spread the almonds out onto baking paper to absorb any excess moisture.
When cool, store at room temperature, in an air-tight container.

These honey-roasted nuts should keep for up to two weeks but I can guarantee, if your friends and families are anything like mine, they won’t last that long!

Secret Buddy

I am the type of person who enjoys giving gifts. I love choosing them, making them and wrapping them decoratively.

These beautiful ribbons caught my eye when browsing at my local garden centre and, in all honesty, they are lovely enough to be a gift themselves rather than just the wrapping. They brought to mind an idea that I recently introduced at my school; an idea that has its roots in the joy of selfless giving.

Towards the end of last term, my faculty at school was experiencing quite a bit of change which made for an uneasy atmosphere with several people seeming worried, stressed and sad. First and foremost, I dislike seeing anyone upset or gloomy so I wanted to do something to bring a little cheer back into our workplace. I also firmly believe that we are more productive, creative and inspired in our teaching if we are happy and supporting each other.

With this in mind, I set about arranging a little system by which we could all look after each other. I invited everyone to fill in a form which looked like this...

...fold it up and put it into a box. The idea is that everyone draws out someone’s piece of paper in secret and then has to ‘treat’ that person, using their list of favourite things as a guide. If at any time they think that person is feeling down, having a difficult week or just wants to make them smile, they buy them a little gift and anonymously leave it in their pigeon-hole or on their desk at work.

Already it has sparked everyone’s enthusiasm, with people giving and receiving all manner of thoughtful treats.  I am a ‘buddy’ for a member of our faculty who works in an office with no window. I thought she would like some tulips, much like these, as she cannot see the spring blooming from her workspace. 

There’s little in the world more satisfying than knowing you have brought a smile to someone’s face.