Twelfth Night - Epiphany.

Quite a sad day today as we take down the Christmas decorations, un - decorate the Christmas trees and pack everything away again for another eleven months.

I know many of you did this chore last week but I always like to wait until Twelfth Night - Epiphany, the Christian feast which marks the visit of the Three Kings to the baby Jesus.

google image

I think it harks back to our time spent living in Bavaria when on this day a group of children from the village, known as the Sternsinger, would visit our homes

 dressed as the Three Wise Men collecting donations for children's charities.

They would sing us a song or recite a poem before inscribing

the year, C + M + B in white chalk above the front door. 

 " 20 C + M + B 15".

For a long time I thought the letters represented the names of the Three Magi

 Caspar, Melchior and Balthazar 

but they really stand for the Latin phrase

Christus Mansionem benedicat 

 "God protect this house"

As a treat on this special day I thought I'd take the opportunity to sample some delicious
Downton Abbey tea with a slice of "galette des rois", the traditional French cake eaten on this day.
The tea was a recent gift from my lovely friend Sarah who like me is a big fan of Downton Abbey.

Will I chose "butler's pantry blend"  -premium black tea with essence of honey.
a favourite of Mr Carson and Mrs Hughes or
mrs's patmore's pudding tea - with caramel and vanilla which Mrs P & Daisy prefer?

A delicious confection of puff pastry and frangipane the cake of kings
 contains a small porcelaine figurine and whoever finds it in their slice becomes king for the day.

The Senior Partner and I don't care for frangipane so we ordered a galette des rois with an apple filling, well we are in Normandy after all!

Are you a tea drinker or would you prefer a cup of java with your slice of galette?
I'd love to know.

A cold day in January.....

During the cold grey days of winter this small group of daffodils, always the first to bloom in a warm and sheltered corner of the garden, add a much welcomed splash of sunshine
and remind me that spring will soon come again.

So instead of gloomy Normandy today let's go back for another visit to Edinburgh and take a stroll around the historic Palace of Holyrood, HRH Queen Elizabeth's Royal Residence there.

The Palace of Holyrood is steeped in history, from the moment you go through the huge wooden doors you can feel the ghosts of Scottish Kings and Queens surround you.

Click here to meet them all...................................

The ruined cloisters of Holyrood Abbey

An Augustinian monastery was first settled on the site in 1128 by King David 1. Other buildings, including these now ruined cloisters, were added over the next century and a royal residence was also maintained here.

Perhaps the most famous (infamous?) resident of all was Mary, Queen of Scots who left the French court to come and live here in 1561.

As we toured the Royal Apartments I could hardly believe at one point that I was actually standing in the very room where Mary's jealous second husband Lord Darnley and his friends brutally murdered her secretary, David Rizzio.

Sadly, photography inside Holyrood House is not permitted so I urge you to visit it for yourself if you ever have the opportunity.

The inner court yard.

After touring the Palace and gardens we sat for a while listening to a lone piper playing the bagpipes somewhere in the distance beneath Arthur's Seat, a perfect way to end our tour.

Our visit to Edinburgh coincided with the 2014 Ryder Cup Golf Tournament which was being promoted all over the City.

We stayed at the Glasshouse, one of Marriott's Autograph Collection of boutique hotels, there were quite a few golfing enthusiasts staying there too.

We were lucky enough to be upgraded to the Macallan Suite and really enjoyed the access to the rooftop garden which this gave us.

A beautiful tranquil oasis  in the middle of Scotland's Capital City.

I wonder have you ever been to Edinburgh?

What was your favourite thing to do there?

Linking to Sunlit Sunday with Karen @ My Little Home and Garden
and
Mosaic Monday with Judith @ Lavender Cottage.

Bonne année et bonne santé !

We will open the book. Its pages are blank. We are going to put words on them ourselves. The book is called Opportunity and its first chapter is called “New Year’s Day” ~ Edith Lovejoy Pierce.

(1904-1983. 20^th century peace activist and poet)

Breaking with our New Year's Day tradition of walking on the beautiful beaches of Normandy our footsteps today led us down a small country lane which we hadn't explored before.

a first glimpse through the wood

Although the village of Castilly is just a few minutes drive away from where we live we did not realise that the beautiful 18th century Chateau Castilly and the even older l'eglise Notre - Dame de Castilly were waiting there for us to discover.

The Chateau is surrounded by a moat and has a magnificent park and gardens.

It is a private residence and sadly not open to the public.

Come, walk down the lane with me............

The Chateau of Castilly dates from the 18th century and is listed in
the "l'inventaire des monuments historiques"
which corresponds to a UK Grade ll listed building.

A pair of information plaques standing by the church wall briefly describe the area's history.

These plaques, part of the "Mon Village se Raconte" tourist information initiative launched several years ago, can be found in most of the small villages in our region of Calvados.

In every village you will find a Memorial such as this one 

to those who lost their lives in the two World Wars.

This old house next to the Church is empty and neglected, a great little "fixer upper" perhaps?

Do you like the net curtains that the previous owner left behind?

Quite a lot of work required before this home is habitable once more.

The Chateau visible through the trees in the overgrown garden.

At the church we turned to retrace our steps - pausing for a moment to gaze upon this statue of an unknown Saint which stands alone in the midst of this peaceful and tranquil place.

Happy New Year to all my friends in blogland.
May 2015 bring us all Peace, Good Health and Happiness.

Pausing by the sea shore

After a week of being virtually house bound due to illness (tummy bug) and bad weather (it's been raining, a lot) it was good to go for a drive, on Saturday, to a nearby beach.

The sun was shining, finally but there were plenty of clouds in the sky and not all of them had silver linings.

There was definitely a grey underside to some.

The wind whipped the waves and created some fabulous white tops as the the tide rushed in.

It also cleared my fuzzy brain of the fogginess that always descends in December, not my favourite month to be honest.

Although there were no fishing boats as far as the eye could see it was obvious that some enterprising sailor has been out earlier if these discarded scallop shells at the base of the pier were anything to go by.

When anxious, uneasy and bad thoughts come, I go to the sea,

and the sea drowns them out with its great wide sounds,

 cleanses me with its noise,

 and imposes a rhythm upon everything in me that is bewildered and confused.

Rainer Maria Rilke, Poet.

Good company helps, too.

Joining Angela for A Pause in Advent 

and

Judith for Mosaic Monday

First Sunday in Advent 2014

Advent, from the Latin word adventus which means arrival, 

is the beginning of the Christian New Year.

Like many others around the world one of my favourite Christmas traditions is to prepare evergreen wreaths to decorate the front doors of our home.

Over the years I have decorated many different styles of wreaths, some with fresh greenery cut from the garden and also sometimes faux.

These are the two very simple ones welcoming visitors to our home this year.

The faux fir wreaths were purchased at IKEA
the berries and other faux greens came from my Christmas decorating stash.

I was inspired by a wreath featured in the LL Bean catalogue
and made copycat versions.

In 2009 the wreaths were created using fresh greenery and tree bark from the garden,
 pine cones & faux berries from stash. 

The double front doors lead straight into our home's entrance hall
which has also received a small seasonal makeover this weekend.

I may add a runner to the top of the chest of drawers and perhaps a Santa or two?

But, at the moment I'm liking the clean lines with just the smallest touch of glitter and gold.

The mantle piece in the library is also one of the first areas to be decorated for Christmas.

This year I'm using cherished antique pieces to decorate the mantle.
Gilded cherubs, a gift from a dear friend in Bavaria many years ago;
two engraved glass German bier steins, also a gift
and in the centre a French clock.
The silver and glass angel is a modern piece
bought whilst shopping with an English friend a few years ago.

 Every year a small amount of tweaking usually takes place before I'm completely happy with it.
I'm thinking that the two miniature Christmas trees may have to go,
 or be embellished somehow.

It's looking a little dark during the daytime
but really comes alive in the evening 

when the table lamps are on and the candles lit.

In 2009 I used a shot of  the decorated mantle as my blog header.

In 2010 the theme was silver with gold accents.

In 2011 I went back to my favourite combination of red, green and gold.

and finally, one last vignette before you go.
I changed out some of the objects displayed on top of my desk to reflect the festive season.
There is something so simple yet classic about silver and white with a dash of green.

The  Court China trio on the left
was manufactured by
William Lowe of Longton, Staffordshire, England.
circa 1912.

Linking to the following blog parties this week
A Pause in Advent hosted by Angela.
Christmas in the Country with Brooke
and
Mosaic Monday where Judith is our host.