Christmas Eve 2019

My front door wreath.

A knitted snowman and crocheted red wreath cover.

Only two blog entries for this month of December. It was difficult to choose what to

include and what to leave out!

Well I have been taking a great many photographs

and also been crocheting a lot too.

At the beginning of the month, we went to stay in the city of Zürich

where they had very pretty Christmas lights and a lovely Christmas Market.

Many of the stalls had beautiful handmade items.

There were beautiful decorated braziers dotted around the big square.

Perfect to warm our frozen hands!

We drank mulled wine which we put into thermos mugs to keep warm!

I got my Christmas mail off early and chose my prettiest stamps

and reviewed my Christmas card list.

I hung up some Christmas baubles.

This one was bought in Zürich.

I liked the snowy scene with trees.

A collage of this year's Swarovski star.

They come out with a new one every year.

The first Amaryllis plant gave four beautiful blooms

The details are so beautiful when I use my macro lens.

A while back, I started a giant granny square couch throw. I used chunky yarn to make it snug.

I was using up some balls that I had lurking in my huge stock!

I still needed two new balls to get the size I desired.

Teddy is wearing his new orange jacket too.

Here is the finished throw.

It measures 136 cm square. I could make it a bit bigger, but it is very manageable this size.

Teddy also got a new blanket to match his jacket!

The different crocheted elements I made for the garland above.

The Christmas cookies have been made and stored in a tin.

They are melt-in-the-mouth Viennese Crescents, made with ground almonds and vanilla.

The angel was made a few years' ago.

She usually tops the small Christmas Tree!

Here she is in her place of honour,

bathed in golden light

My tiny tree, just perfect for the space I have available!

This year, the decorations are mostly white with a discreet touch of red here and there.

There are butterflies and birds and tiny angels.

Everything with wings this year!

Luckily, there were some beautiful sunny days with pure blue skies

 and fresh snow on the mountain peaks.

This was taken from the upper part of my neighbourhood with my biggest zoom lens.

Christmas stars waiting for the Christmas tree!

Candlelight, a crocheted Christmas doily and tiny elf set the seasonal atmosphere!

A crystal Gingerbread House

lit by candlelight.

A Christmas collage which includes the tiny Gingerbread House,

A Christmas Carol, the classic by Charles Dickens

which I shall be reading over this Christmas period.

The cookie tin with an English snow scene

and a Christmas card.

There was a beautiful projected Sound and Light show in the centre of town

on the facade of the lovely old Town Hall.

This was my favourite projection

This was the last scene of the continuous scenes we saw during the fifteen minutes of the show.

The bauble I chose as my blog header for the month of December.

I also found this one in the Christmas Market in Zürich.

As a last photo, I include this one taken of the Lausanne Cathedral

tower and spire in the early evening.

All my very best wishes to all the friends and family who come here to visit

highlights of my life in photography.

Your visits and kind comments are so heart warming.

Thank you!

The Spirit of December

Here we are in the last month of the year!

How did that creep up on us?

The days are so short now and night comes earlier and earlier.

The lighting is sometimes so grey and dull that photography becomes a challenge.

Candlelight sets the scene early mornings and early evenings!

There have been sunny days with blue skies and I always go outside to take in the beauty.

There have been many rainy days too and walks with my umbrella.

The park benches are collecting fallen leaves

The leaves in my basket of strawberry plants have turned beautiful colours.

At the beginning of the month, there were still tiny flowers and green strawberries

that will not longer ripen.

One day, I walked down to the big park Mon Repos

and did capture these beautiful beech leaves before they joined all the others on the ground.

Next year's buds have already formed as the last leaf on a young tree still holds on.

In November, I took a very interesting course called:

30 Days of Perception

with Kim Manley Ort.

One of my favourite exercises was to go out with our camera and take a photo every ten steps.

The above collage of four photos is part of one such outing.

It was raining and I was holding my umbrella.

The photos are as follows, going from the bottom left clockwise:

A wall at eye-level with ivy and fallen leaves

A Sequoia tree trunk which looked amazingly like a man's profile

The wet road as I crossed to go to the park with car lights shining on the wet surface

Drops of rain still clinging to the wire barrier as I left the park.

The exercise suggested stopping after every ten steps and observe

looking up and down and all around.

I was fascinated to see this lovely green moss and how it had even grown a little

green 'button' in the hole of a piece of metal on the paving stones.

I was preparing some Christmas decorations and noticed this out of focus golden glow

out of the corner of my eye.

I turned my head and took the photo with the soft focus as I had seen it.

The golden glow came from tiny golden bells put onto a little silver dish

so they wouldn't roll away.

One morning, I walked into my bedroom to see tiny and magical dots of light and shadows

playing on my bookcase and wall and on the miniature chest of drawers

a souvenir from my father.

I just love moments like this for they're so fleeting.

I have been busy making crocheted gifts.

These are envelopes made for paper napkins.

More candlelight to observe as I noticed the twin flames reflected in the glass front of

my chiming clock.

That little angel moves around, doesn't she?

But now she's permanently on the small round table next to my couch

next to the candle holder in the shape of a waterlily!

You can see them both in the very first photo.

Can you see the tiny little heart that formed on the candle wick when I blew out the candle?

When we take the time to look around us and notice tiny details

we bring joy into the moment.

Lucerne in October - Part 2

Now we are going to glimpse parts of the old town of Lucerne.

The water which separates two parts of the old town

is called the River Reusse which joins the lake.

Here is a close up of Chapel Bridge with colourful flowers arranged along the whole length.

The well-known tower attached to the bridge.

The building with the arcades underneath is the Town Hall

with the clock tower behind.

This is the view that I had from my hotel room.

It's a very old pharmacy with lovely stonework and an exciting turret.

The small fountain which can also be seen from my room.

Looking towards the other end of the River Reusse at the opposite end to the lake.

After crossing one of the bridges,

there are beautiful decorated house facades to be seen.

This is one of my favourites.

It's part of the Waage Hotel which is steeped in history

which dates back to 1199.

The famous facade murals are among the most photographed in Lucerne.

I love the coloured tiled roof as well.

Here is a close-up.

I've shown this particular red and white building several times,

but taken from different points of view.

It was particularly lovely on this sunny day with deep blue reflections in the water.

This is the Jesuit Church which can be seen on several different photos

on my visit to Lucerne last December 2018.

Part 1

and 

Part 2

This is the interior of the church in the Baroque style.

More architecture with turrets and an old lamp

Another interesting detail.

Maybe you can just read the words below the middle window:

"Festina Lente"

which means: 'Hasten slowly'!

The sky was so pretty here

The saying goes: "Mares' tails and mackerel scales."

In the days of large sailing ships, these kind of clouds in the sky meant

a storm would be approaching soon and the sails should be lowered to protect

from accompanying high winds.

A close up view of the reflected flowers.

On our last evening, I left the dinner table right after the first course

to catch the setting sun.

We can just see details of the fortified wall leading up to the tower.

Next time, I'm going to walk up there!

An old lamp against that sunset sky.

It was a lovely stay in a beautiful town on the lake.