Day 348
Prompt 348
"Deck the halls with boughs of hollyFa-la-la-la-la, la-la-la-la'Tis the season to be jollyFa-la-la-la-la, la-la-la-laDon we now our gay apparel"

Is your house all ready for Christmas? YES!!
Tonight we are having a Christmas party. Here I am already and waiting for our guests to arrive and our party to start

Day 347
Prompt 347
"Oh I'm the happiest Christmas treeLook how pretty they dressed meOh lucky lucky me
I got shiny bells the jingleAnd tiny lights that tingleWhenever anyone passes byI blink my lights and wink my eye!"

Here is our tree with new lights but all the other ornaments have been collected in recent years.

Since we moved to our small house we have had an artificial tree. It takes ages to set it up and to take it down but it is worth the time it takes.

Day 346
Prompt 346
"It's the most wonderful time of the year.With the kids jingle belling,and everyone telling you,"Be of good cheer,"It's the most wonderful time of the year."

I wonder if it so wonderful for a lot of people this year?

We went to Woolworths today as it is closing due to the recession and global state of finances. I think is just the start of a lot of people who will be out of work in 2009. I feel very sad about all the companies closing,

Day 345
Prompt 345
"It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas Ev'rywhere you go; Take a look in the five-and-ten, glistening once again With candy canes and silver lanes aglow. It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas, Toys in ev'ry store, But the prettiest sight to see is the holly that will be On your own front door."

Well here is our wreath on our front door, but I cannot take credit for making it, only adding the artificial Christmas roses!!

Our house certainly looks like Christmas now with this wreath and welcome lights, the tree twinkling and other decs.

I LOVE IT!!

Day 344
Christmas is just around the corner, this week lets get inspired by Christmas music!

Prompt 344
The holly and the ivy,When they are both full grown,Of all trees that are in the wood,The holly bears the crown:
- The Holly and the Ivy

This holly in our garden came as one branch from our old house 13yrs ago. It is now a big bush which we often prune back.

But it bears NO berries!

Day 343

Prompt 343

For fast-acting relief try slowing down. -Lily Tomlin

[At this time of the year, we are all guilty of having so much to do and not enough time.]

Well today has been a very busy day but have managed to put up our tree but not much else as I had to get ready for our church 70's night which was a fast acting relief to a stressed day and such funLOL!! The guy I am with is my friend Lynne's husband Ben wearing a shirt and waistcoat which he wore in the 70's!!

Day 342
Prompt 342
There comes a time when you roll up your sleeves and put yourself at the top of your commitment list.
-Marian Wright Edelman

Well this year I am definitely at the top of my commitement list.

Here I an returning from church and visiting family at 3pm in my new gilet which is a tag too small but I will fit into in Feb and will wear next year:) and new trousers and jumper...of course every thing is new!!

Day 341
Prompt 341

These are the magic years…and therefore magic days…and therefore magic moments.
-Anonymous

I always find Advent are magic days when as a Christian I think about the celebrating the birthday of Jesus, Our Lord.

Today we burnt the 2nd candle of Advent. Not long now until we celebrate Christmas day!

Day 340
Prompt 340
"Let us pause to warm both our hands before the fire of life"
-Walter Landor

I used to love warming my hands in front of an open fire. Before central heating I remember sitting in front of an electric fire and burning my shins, this was how we got chilblains too!! In my very cold bedroom I had a 'posh' fan heater when I was in my teens lol!!

All my life we had a fireplace in the homes I have lived in. We downsized 13 yrs ago ready for retirement and this house has no fireplace to warm our hands!! but we are happy with just central heating warmth and able to change the focal point in our lounge in any direction without a thought of where is the a fireplace! and how wonderful not to clean out the fire or relight it, though we did end up in the late80's putting a 'living fire' in our old house fireplace. This photo was taken by going into an electrical shop and asking to take a photo!! Stark raving mad? no I am a 365er!!

December 04, 2008
Day 339
Prompt 339
"If cold December gave you birth, The month of snow and ice and mirth, Place on you hand a Turquoise blue, Success will bless whate'er you do."
Anon

we have plenty of family birthdays this month, Step DD and Step DS, a DGS and niece but I cannot say that any of them have had great success in life. but all I ask is that they are happy and content with their lives.

Day 338
Prompt 338
“How like a winter hath my absence been. From thee, the pleasure of the fleeting year! What freezings have I felt, what dark days seen, What old December's bareness everywhere!"
-William Shakespeare

Oh how I hate these dark, cold days and nights of winter and yearn for the summer warmth already!

Day 337

Prompt 337

“How did it get so late so soon? Its night before its afternoon. December is here before its June. My goodness how the time has flewn. How did it get so late so soon?”- Dr. Seuss

[The end of the year is nigh, our 365 journey is coming to an end, what has changed since June till now?]

Well it has to be ME who has changed in the last 6 months

My foot has mended having broken 5 small bones on June 5th

I am now a size 16 instead of a size 20

I am fitter

BUT more important I am happier and feel more confident and having fun again

Other changes since June

the weather! - it is very cold today with a frost on the car this morning!

the grandchildren Tom is a teenager and he and Amie are now in yr 8.

Matt is in yr 6 and Lewis in yr 5 and Zac in Foundation yr (reception)

made and met new friends especially 365ers

haven't scrapped as much as I would have liked

My how time flies though and each year as I get older the year goes even quicker! There is never enough time in each day!!

DLO for a CJ - Household Planner

I chose the month of July

Day 336
Prompt 336
Embarrassment
Embarrassment is an emotional state experienced upon having a socially or professionally unacceptable act or condition witnessed by or revealed to others

Today I am embarrassed because I missed a long awaited dentist appointment so I am having to phone up and explain.

This is a series of embarrassing moments at the moment, the worst being last week when I went to the hospital and saw Margaret's DIL who I knew was having a lump removed. She looked so different reddish long straight hair that didn't suit, her in fact I wouldn't have recognised her if she hadn't been with Margaret. I kept saying how different she looked and how her hair was so different straight and a diff colour [she was dark and curly last time I saw her and thinner faced!! ] Oh boy was I embarrassed when I realised she had had chemo before this op and has lost all her hair and was wearing a pretty awful hair style!! I had to find her and apologise but she was thrilled I hadn't realised it was a wig!!

Day 335
Prompt 335
Love, loving
Love is any of a number of emotions and experiences related to a sense of strong effection

The obvious photo today was DH who I love dearly but I have chosen 2 photos of me with my grandchildren Matt and Tom. The photo was taken yesterday when they visited. It isn't often I get photos of them. Tom is our first born grandchild and became a teenager 2 weeks ago! Now he is taller then me!! Matt is 10 1/2yrs old

I like to think I am a loving person and of all emotions I would always chose LOVE - "for if I do not have love, I gain nothing" [ 1 Cor v3]. As a Christian I am called to love my neighbour as myself . It is sometimes hard for us to love ourselves but I think I owe it to my Father God who I believe created me in his image to make the best of myself and strive to improve in my Christian walk on this earth, to care and to think about others less fortunate than myself and of course to love God before anyone else.

Day 334
Prompt 334
Cry/crying
The term crying most commonly refers to the act of shedding tears as a response to an emotional state in humans

Interesting thoughts here:

We are all animals but only human animals cry!

Babies cry a lot until they can express themselves in other ways

Some people cry more than others.

Some are brought up to think crying in public is wrong (like my DH)

Memories can make us cry

We cry when sad, when happy, when elated

Today we went to the Crematorium to take some flowers in memory of Peter's late wife who died 25yrs ago and my Father who died 33yrs ago. There were no tears just happy thoughts.

On coming home DIL arrived with this poster to put in our car. This brought tears to my eyes but I didn't cry just felt sad

I am not one to cry often but cry mostly when watching an emotional film! and sometimes during singing worship music in a church service.

Day 333
Prompt 333
Anger, angry
Anger is an emotional state that may range from minor irritation to intense rage

In my job as a SENCO I trained teachers and ran courses for children on anger management.

I learnt that anger is an OK emotion when you can control anger and never hurt anyone else!!

I personally try very hard not to get angry and most of my angers are minor irritations. yes and usually I get angry mostly with myself.

I found doing an angry face totally against my personality and didn't really like doing it either lol!! Interesting how most of us have added the colour red to our photos today!! RED for DANGER!!

Day 332
Prompt 332
Laughter/laughing
Laughter is an audible expression, or appearance of merriment or happiness, or an inward feeling of joy and pleasure

Thanks Shirley for this photo you took of Kathy and I!

Didn't we laugh a lot that weekend? BRILLIANT!! [haven't laughed so much for years]

Day 331
Prompt 331
Sad/Sadness
Sadness is an emotion characterized by feelings of disadvantage, loss, and helplessness. When sad, people often become quiet, less energetic, and withdrawn. Sadness is considered to be the opposite of happiness

This is very apt today as the news of my friend margaret's op isn't good. The operation had to remove more bowel than anticipated and she is very poorly and having no visitors. I will be pleased on Friday when her husband Richard comes for an evening meal.

I am also sad with how my DIL has been over the babysitting tomorrow and would love to resolve it.

I have had a lot of unhappiness in my life through loss of parents, a husband who walked out of our marriage for someone else, a son with an illness which will be a disability to him for life. I feel sad for the world and today for the bombings that have occured in India killing so many people.

Day 330
We are on the home stretch now, with only a few weeks left, before our year long project is completed.
This week we are going to look at our emotions.
Prompt 330

Happiness/Happy
- Happiness is an emotion associated with feelings ranging from contentment and satisfaction to bliss and intense joy

I had to put this photo on my blog today taken by Anna Bowkis during our 365 weekend.

I am very happy with myself, how I am beginning to look and the new found confidence which has come with my weight loss.

I have known happiness throughout my life in relationships, two marriages, the births of my children and dear grandchildren, with various achievements with them and myself and on various holidays with my dear DH.

I also remember the joy in first knowing Jesus Christ and becoming a born again Christian