Christmas cards, cake and catching up.

Life at the Presbytere has moved into the slow lane this month.
Not for us the hurly burly of Christmas shopping, bright lights and parties, we’re hibernating indoors where it’s cosy and warm and the air is scented by wonderful aromas of baking cakes and pies, mingled with the delicious smell of wood smoke.
Instead of an elaborately decorated Christmas cake, this year, I've opted to bake a lighter, less dense Dundee cake.

Packed with cherries, currants, raisins, cranberries and orange and lemon peel, (soaked overnight in Scotch Whiskey) and simply decorated with whole blanched almonds it will be the perfect light bite to serve for afternoon tea.
Delia’s recipe of course.

We recently had two new wood burning stoves installed, one in the sitting room and the other in the library/tv room.

The SP is in charge of keeping the home fires burning and he has named them Big Bertha and Mini Me.

Outside, a winter’s worth of logs stand stacked and ready.
Cards from family and friends wishing us “Happy Holidays” & “Seasons Greetings” are arriving daily.

I always enjoy catching up with their news if there’s a letter included with the card.
Whose daughter or son has married this year, who has become a grandparent for the first time, or the seventh in the case of one set of friends! Vacations enjoyed; homes bought and sold, sitting quietly with a mug of hot pomegranate tea and a bite of spicy Lebkuchen, whilst listening to a CD of Christmas music, I'm content to absorb it all.
Not all the news comes via La Poste.
I catch up with the younger members of my extended Northern family on Facebook.
Cousin Kay who was diagnosed with breast cancer in May of this year, she had her final chemo last month, posted this on her Facebook page on Friday.

Love you, Kay.

Linking this post to Mosaic Monday with Mary @ the little red house 

and Floss at Troc, Broc and Recup for a Pause in Advent.

Tis the season to be jolly........................

I'm linking to some of the seasonal blog parties happening this week in blogland.

"Deck The Halls" with Susan @ BNOTP

"The Christmas with Victoria Party" with Kathy @ A Delightsome Life

Marty's "Christmas Cloche Party" @ A Stroll Thru Life.

Thank you ladies one and all for hosting these wonderful parties.

Although our Christmas trees are not yet up I have played around with the mantles, and created other little vignettes around the house.

The Byers Choice Salvation Army Carolers are out, singing merrily, of course.

St Nicholas is due to visit tonight. so I decorated the dining table to make him feel at home. I'll make sure that the candles are lit in time for his appearance!

This is last years dining table with my white Bavarian Santa, as you can tell this is the image that I'm using for my header this month.

I've been struggling with the light exposure whilst taking these pix.
The ambient light means everything looks too dull, and the flash makes everything look cold, so bear with me, please!

Last years library mantlepiece was my blog header image for December 2009.

This year it has proved difficult to get the whole mantle in the shot without featuring in it myself.

The theme in the library is white, with silver & gold.

The red, gold and green tree will be continuing the theme in the dining room this year.

The dining room buffet, featuring The Old Curiosity Shop and Tutbury Printer from the Dickens Village Series by Dept.56, 1990.
Both cherished gifts from my Dad & Joyce (my stepmum).

I hope you have enjoyed the tour around the Presbytere and do come back soon, to see the trees, won't you and don't forget to be good....................

First Pause in Advent 2010.

As today is the First Sunday in Advent I'd like to share a little of my story with you, and introduce you to a wonderful friend of ours.
In 1984 Mr B's career took us to Bavaria, Germany.
We left all our family and friends behind in the UK to start a new life in a new country. Scary.
We threw ourselves wholeheartedly into our new surroundings, making many German friends in our neighbourhood and amongst his work collegues, but the most important friends we made were our landlords and next door neighbours Herr & Frau Wilde.
Over the years we shared many wonderful times with the Wildes, celebrating not only high days and holidays but also day to day life in Pöcking, a small town on the shores of Starnberger See.
Frau Wilde (never Traudl, never "du") sort of adopted me as the daughter she never had.
She taught me many things, like how to play bridge, she is a fanatical bridge player and to this day, if I ever get the chance to play, I always find myself bidding in German! (Vier pik!)
We spent many an afternoon sitting in her "winter garden" as she helped me improve my embroidery, knitting, and German conversation skills all the time enjoying her "kaffee und kuchen".

From top right: Our house
 a favourite woods where we walked our dogs,
Feldafinger Strasse.

The snow season in Bavaria starts around the beginning of December and during our first winter in Pöcking she taught me how to cross country ski on the local golf course in Feldafing.
Did I mention that the lady was born in 1918?

Frau W & me 1991

Perhaps the one thing that Frau Wilde taught me which touched me the deepest was how to celebrate Christmas the Bavarian way,
Her Weihnachts Plaetzchen (Christmas biscuits) such as Zimtsterne and Springerele were legendary.

And so on this First Sunday in Advent and in honour of a much loved lady, I'd like to invite you to "kaffe und kuchen" my way.

My Adventskranz 2010.

Sadly, fresh evergreen wreaths are not easily found here in rural Normandy and so once again this year, a "faux" wreath decorated with white poinsettia flowers and silver pine cones surrounds four classic white Church candles.

The china service is Rosenthal's "Classic Rose" in white, which with its silvery grey design and gold trim complements the Adventskranz beautifully.
Napkins: Spode Christmas tree. (was sonst?)

For you to enjoy during the Adventszeit old fashioned mincepies (click here for the recipe) and lebkuchen, a very simple iced biscuit, similar to gingerbread.
(Note to Floss: I'm going back to Delia!)

With this post I'm joining

Floss @ Troc, Broc and Recup for First Pause in Advent.

The Tablescaper for Seasonal Sundays.
Marty @ A Stroll Through Life for Tabletop Tuesday.

The Lady Katherine, for the first time, and Teatime Tuesday.

Click on the links above to see who else is joining in this week.