Christmas Eve

 

Little cyclamen on my balcony under the snow!

A walk in the higher part of my neighbourhood to enjoy the delicate colours

in the sky with a hint of pink in the mist.

You can just see the lake below.

Some pale green leaves still hanging on with a little drop of ice on their tips.

Orange and pink spindle berries brightening up the leafless trees.

Now we go downtown to see the barrel organist playing cheerful music

and singing along!

I met a friend here to do some shopping.

As I was waiting, I saw this lady set up her stall with wreaths

and candle arrangements and mistletoe hanging on her striped parasol.

I went to the craft market here full of beautiful handmade objects.

I really liked the coloured crocheted blankets on the chairs outside.

A florist was selling seasonal plants displayed in the street.

I went to the hairdresser's and he greeted me in this amusing

Christmas outfit! Look at his sweet little dog called Jack

who is looking at us with a surprised expression! I liked his Christmas kerchief!

The church, called St. Laurent, with part of some Christmas lights zigzagging across.

I crossed one of the big bridges in the town and took a photo of Lausanne Cathedral

through the spokes of a big wheel put up over the Christmas period.

You can see the words 'Bô Noël'

Bô being the phonetic form of 'beau' meaning beautiful

Noël is Christmas!

Back home again and my velvety red Amaryllis plant has eight blooms

flowering at the same time!

There is one more stalk still growing and that will certainly give me another four flowers.

I can already see the red buds bursting out of their layer of green.

Such beautiful plants.

Little Miss Mistletoe

hanging against one of my snowflakes.

My tiny Christmas tree with fairy lights and smiling angels.

I have been crocheting tiny red bells with a silver edging.

They're so gratifying to make!

I had all my Christmas cards sent off by December 16th - and it would seem

that they have all arrived safely. 

I love the pretty Christmas stamps.

I put a sparkling snowflake into certain envelopes for a little surprise!

I baked some traditional Viennese Crescent Christmas cookies.

They seem to be everyone's favourite.

Here is half a batch cooling and some of them will go into the little robin tin.

In this Christmas season where many people spend lots of money on buying gifts

and luxurious foodstuffs, there are many who cannot do this.

I had the idea of making little cellophane packets containing some pre-wrapped chocolate

and a crocheted snowflake or star.

I made eleven of them with a little message inside saying:

'Celui qui trouve ce paquet,

C'est pour toi!

Joyeux Noël!'

This simply says: 

The person who finds this packet.

It's for you!

Happy Christmas!

I went out into my neighbourhood discreetly placing the little packets in 

easy to find places!

I really had fun doing this.

Some I placed near potted plants in local shops, in the post office,

pharmacy, even one yellow star next to yellow packets of coffee!

I think I giggled a little as I went around until my bag was empty!

I really hope that people will pick up these little gifts and that they will give them a smile!

To finish this pre-Christmas blog post, I give you lots of happy baubles

which I photographed in the shops when I went downtown.

I hope you like my festive antlers and big green bow!

I wish you all a very Happy Christmas!

The Last Day of October

The month of October has been glorious this year with lots of sunshine

and very little rain.

The autumn colours are becoming more beautiful each day.

This house in my neighbourhood so beautifully covered in Virginia Creeper.

I walk down to the city park very often as I enjoy the tall trees and the seasonal plantations.

I saw these pretty leaves on the way down.

It only takes me fifteen minutes to get to the park from where I live.

It takes a bit longer to get back home as it's all uphill!

These elegant pots have already been planted with autumn chrysanthemums.

In the background, we can see the golden Tulip Tree.

I stood under the branches of a small tree to capture the wonderful golden bokeh.

Through the archway under the bridge, the Ginkgo is turning yellow.

The shape of the leaves is so lovely against the blue of the sky.

Chestnut Tree leaves.

One day, I took a train with a friend up higher to a village called St.Cergue

which is at an altitude of 1.041 metres.

We did a really lovely walk in the woods.

Another scene on the way back.

It's so delicious to walk on the fallen leaves!

Where the forest opens up, we can see the poles put there to measure the height

of the snowfalls to come!

A charming little hut at the end of a garden.

On the front, there was a sculpture of four horses drinking from a trough!

A little chalet with yellow shutters and door.

What a lovely place to stay in the middle of nature.

A mixture of evergreens and autumn colours against the blue of the sky.

Back to the park again to see the maple leaves change colour

Spindle Berries in striking pink and orange

Mighty Beech Trees out on a walk in the country

I love their smooth, straight trunks and how the leaves turn to a rich copper colour.

A mossy tree trunk with fallen leaves

... and the roots of a Beech Tree 

A day spent in a spa centre with my daughter in Lavey-les-Bains surrounded by mountains

and autumn colours.

These two photos were taken from the adjoining park which runs along the River Rhone.

Closer to home are the last strawberries on my plants.

The leaves turn such a pretty red colour in the autumn.

On Saturday mornings, I like to go downtown early to do my marketing.

This was taken on Saturday morning when the sky turned beautiful shades of pink and red.

The silhouette is of the Gothic Lausanne Cathedral.

The construction began in 1170 and continued over a long period

of about one hundred years.

The Cathedral, called Notre Dame, was consecrated in 1275

by Pope Gregory X.

***

My next blog entry will be in the month of November - as it will be here tomorrow,

and on Saturday we put our clocks back an hour which makes it dark very quickly

in the afternoons and early evenings.

I believe there will be some new crochet pieces to show very soon!

When Autumn Turns to Gold

 

The month of November this year is one of the most beautiful I have ever known!

The temperatures have been milder than most other years

and the leaves are lasting longer.

This particular vision of sunlit leaves took my breath away!

These two images are the wonderful colours in a Tulip Tree.

I love their easy to recognize shapes.

Two burnished leaves connect against the blue of the sky.

Every autumn, I look forward to visiting one of the city parks, the one nearest to me,

to see the Ginkgo biloba Tree turn golden.

It's also know as the Maiden Hair Tree.

A golden carpet of fallen leaves forms as the wind brings them down to the ground.

 I was lucky enough to see them fall when I was standing there.

Children were playing in the leaves and the air was full of laughter!

Aren't they just beautiful?

Their fan-shape is so special.

I took a few to put them in my flower-press

A branch hangs down against the deep blue sky.

Look how next spring's buds have already formed...

Taking a closer look to see the sky behind the openings and the beautiful structure of the leaf.

I have to include the pond

The lighting was beautiful in the late afternoon.

There's a bench by that pond - and I've sometimes taken a picnic

and a book to read to sit right here!

A collage of my favourite leaves and autumn hues.

Right at the end of this month, I'll be posting the last leaves of November

I still find them in protected places

shining in the sunlight like golden jewels!