One Misty, Moisty Morning, When Cloudy Was The Weather

Beautiful misty morning here yesterday. 

Whirlwind went out early to fly his new red kite from the Red Kite association.

We don't have gorillas in the mist, we have chickens in the mist!

I love cobwebs in the mist, with dew drops glistening on them.

Our road as we headed off to school.

A Rainy Day, Yarn and Tea - Again!

Raining again here today. Actually thunder and lightning and heavy rain this time, not the lovely drizzle of last week.

I do love listening to the thunder rumbling, but driving in heavy rain is not much fun. I will be heading out to do the school pick up soon.  It is always a relief to be home, tucked up nice and warm and safe. 

It reminds me of two of my favourite childrens books. (I even love books about rain!)

You Can Do It, Sam was one of Miss Butterfly's favourites and is now one of Cuddlepie's. Oldest to youngest! So I have been reading this one aloud for about 10 years now.

I just love the imagery the sentence on this page evokes - 'and they wriggled their toes in fat socks, enjoying their cakes with cocoa.' I don't know what it is about the word 'fat' with 'socks'. It just gives the perfect feel.

In this book, they enjoy hot chocolate - same thing!

Gorgeous illustrations! I can always be tempted by a beautiful childrens book.

Knitting wise, I have been working on the school's Knitting Club project for this year, Knit The Nativity. I was assigned the three shepherds (I have completed two so far; I'm a bit behind!)

Kneeling shepherd

Standing shepherd who still needs his crook!

Here we are at Knitting Club

The stable in the book is made from cardboard, but I think you will agree that The Men's Shed here in Hamilton did a fabulous job of constructing a wooden stable for the Nativity.
And aren't those Wise Men amazing?
It was a wonderful project to work on, particularly as the children are so proud of their work. They have such ownership of the Nativity now and you hear them telling people which part they worked on.
I wonder what we will do next year?!

My own knitting is coming along slowly. I have finished the main piece of Puss and need to do the sleeves so I can join it all up and knit the yoke.

I am reading Teatime For The Firefly by Shona Patel. It is about the tea plantations in Assam during and after World War II. I have always had a fascination with India and so love books about India. I am enjoying this one so far. I am only about a quarter into it and it is moving quite slowly. But I never find that to be a fault as I'm a slow and steady person myself. 
One of my all time favourite books set in India is The Far Pavilions by M.M. Kaye.
And boy, do I love a Bollywood movie! They are just so much fun, so colourful - you can't help dancing along to that music! Pure escapism.

Joining today with Small Things for Yarn Along.

And just a photo of a visitor to a hole under our cubby house. I will miss all the wildlife here when we move.
Can you tell from the photo? You can see how well they can blend into the leaf litter around them when they bury their heads. Lovely little echidna - our dog has learnt the hard way to leave them alone!

Laternenfest - and a Shepherd

And we did have fun! It was a great night of brass bands, German singing, beer gardens, market stalls, Bratwurst and sauerkraut, kids rides, a lantern parade and a 20th anniversary fireworks display to top it off.

As I was an organiser and busy on the night, of course, I got next to useless photos. So there are no photos for me to post of my little one singing Mein Gott Ist So Gross (My God Is So Big) or Legoman dancing the maypole. Totally horrifying for him, I can tell you! Heaven forbid, he had to skip! And hold a ribbon! The only consolation, he said, was that at least his ribbon was navy blue. So it can always be worse.

As part of the leadup to Laternenfest, our community decorate hay bales. And there was some magnificent hay bale art this year. This was my favourite:

Some other great examples:

I don't know if you had the TV show, Mr Squiggle, in the US, but I have been singing the theme song for weeks, since that hay bale went up.

There were so many great hay bales - snowman, angel, maypole, vintage caravan, ladybug, cockatoo - google Tarrington Laternenfest and you can see them all!

After sharing the wonderful creativity of my local community, this is some of what I have been working on - the Nativity for the school and church.
We have been using Knit The Nativity by Jan Messent. 
I am on shepherds! This is the first one, the kneeling shepherd.

His headband is a bit wonky and I think I will add some ears to the sheep (don't you agree it needs some?) But other than that, he turned out well. Now I need to do two standing ones, quick smart!

Now that is all over on to Christmas knitting!

Linking with Frontier Dreams for Keep Calm Craft On.

Conformity - Or Not

When I read this post at Darling Downs Diaries, it really spoke to my heart. I feel exactly the same, and have done for most of my life. I even feel that way in my marriage at the moment. 
The post asks what crowd do you run with? Should we attempt to please and fit in with the people around us, regardless of their values and outlook? Or do we separate from people who do not represent our values?
It is a tricky question, as obviously common manners requires some level of acceptance and interaction with others. And I am definitely not advocating that we all become hermits! But where is the balance to be found?

Of course, the Bible tells us:

 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

Romans 12:2

But how does this look when you are different to most of the people around you?

My boys started school this year after homeschooling (long story) and I see the changes, particularly in my 10 year old. They are attending a lovely Christian school so this in no way reflects on the school. It is just the way of kids; a Christian school will just lessen the worldly impact, but it is still there. I'm not sure what the percentages are, but not all the students are Christian. Many parents are sending their children to this school as it is just so wonderful compared to the public schools in the area. So my son has started swearing, doing rude gestures, being very competitive and argumentative, is reluctant to spend time with younger siblings and wants to watch all sorts of terrible shows on TV. A lot of this I can see as an outcome of the need to fit in with the other kids. Coming into school for the first time (for which, I admit, I didn't prepare him as I didn't know it was coming), he is trying really hard to fit in and maybe it will settle down as he becomes more used to the school environment.

I don't want him to be the lonely child in the playground. I can tell you, the first few months he was at school and I happened to be there at lunchtime, I would see him sitting by himself and it nearly broke my heart. I had this with my oldest daughter every time my hubby changed work and we had to move and it was heart rending. Every day I would make her lunch, knowing she would be eating it alone, and as soon as they left for school, I would be in tears for ages. But I also don't want the boys to put what other kids think of them before what God thinks of them.
I can tell you, lots of praying in this area for me at the moment!

Even worse though, I sometimes find myself doing it as well. You know how it goes - you are in a group of ladies and they start discussing something unsavoury that makes you uncomfortable, then someone makes a dirty joke and you join in the laughter so you don't look like a prude. I am then disappointed in myself and think what would Jesus think of me laughing at that joke? 

It is a hard road to follow, so much easier to be the same as the rest of society. I find it hard as I am the only Christian in my whole family, not a single one in my own house or extended family. So I am definitely the outsider. With the miracle of Christmas upon us, I find that I cannot celebrate the birth of Jesus with the open joy that the event deserves. That is difficult.

But I keep praying and following the road the best way I can, sometimes in the grass on the edge, sometimes on the road, sometimes miles away in the bush. I think as long as I know where the road is in my heart, then I will keep coming back to it, even if I stray for a while due to outside influences. And God always knows my heart and can lead me back there. He sure sends me lots of sign posts every day. It is amazing how He does that for His children.

'if I find myself half-carelessly taking lapses for granted,
"Oh, that's what they always do,"
"Oh, of course she talks like that, he acts like that,"
then I know nothing of Calvary love.'

if by Amy Carmichael 

Linking with Good Morning Monday at Darling Downs Diaries.

When Your Meal Plan Goes Out The Window!

The last week; well, let's just write it off and start afresh!

The meal plan was out the window for most of the week. I managed to do Monday and that was it due to a lovely present from my boys' school of a gastro bug. Thanks! And it went on and on and on . . . . 
Luckily, I had some meals in the freezer and I'm a bit of a prepper so always have cans of various types on hand. We managed to muddle through without needing any trips to the grocery, thank goodness! 

So this is a new week and I will just be recycling last week's menu that was never used.

Everyone's Thanksgiving menus looked delicious! Especially the pies - I really love pie. I wish I could have come to visit you all! 

So as I didn't need a new meal plan, I have been browsing for Christmas baking ideas instead.

First up, Mary Berry's Christmas Collection. What can you say about Mary Berry? Just that she is AWESOME! I don't know if you can read it, but see that little red circle to the right of Mary? It says 'In Mary We Trust. Delicious Reliable Recipes Everytime'. And that sums it up. If you have never heard of Mary, check out the British Bakeoff series of books. I have her AGA Bible put away for when (please!) I am able to install an AGA. Which one is the big question? 

From the Mary Berry book, I am thinking Christmas Cake Bites or Christmas Chocolate Log.

Another cooking guru, Delia's Happy Christmas. The Creole Christmas Cake sounds divine. It has rum, brandy, cherry brandy, port and Angostura bitters. You won't need to have any wine with that lot!

12 Days of Christmas by Margaret Fulton. Margaret Fulton is Australia's queen of cookery. Her granddaughters are now publishing cookbooks. The first cookbook I ever received was the Margaret Fulton Encyclopedia of Cooking when I first moved out of home (dare I say, that was 23 years ago now!) and I am still using it. Christmas Trifle is always welcome on a hot Christmas Day, as are Pavlova Nests, although I still do a pudding. I think I am the only one who likes it though!

Christmas Cupcakes. Oh my, there are some absolutely gorgeous creations in here. I am loving the Advent Cupcakes, Fat Penguin Cupcakes, Flurry of Snowflakes Cupcakes and many more. 

And The Primrose Bakery Book. Not an actual Christmas book, but how about the Christmas Pudding Cupcakes with Brandy Buttercream Icing? Sounds delicious, right?

Only 24 days to go - how are your Christmas baking plans coming along? Do you make ahead and freeze? Or have a big baking session closer to the day? I'd love to hear what you are planning!

Linking today with At Home With Mrs M for Meal Planning Monday and Organizing Junkie for Menu Plan Monday.