Christmas is in the Air!


Christmas preparations are underway, I don't put up the tree or decorations for another week at least but so far I have one cake made (awaiting decoration).
I mixed 2 plum puddings this evening, well I put the ingredients together and D. Michelle did the time honoured chore of mixing the puddings and making a wish , she mixed with serious intent so I wonder what she was wishing for?!
I used a Rachel Allen recipe which I had saved from a magazine at some stage, lashings of Guinness and whiskey!
The mixed puddings are 'standing' in the bowl and will be divided into 2 smaller bowls and steamed tomorrow.
I also made 7 small jars of Cranberry sauce, bought the cranberries and added brandy,orange juice and cinnamon to the mix, the smell around the kitchen was divine.I will post a photo when I get suitable seasonal labels and covers for the jars.
Photo is of my open fire burning turf and logs, smelling beautifully too while throwing out heat!
I had a gas fire in place for years but after our arctic weather last year and spending nearly 3 weeks without heat I had it taken out and reverted back to an open fire as I realised having the option of an independent heat source was more important than the convenience of so called 'clean instant heat'
Some Christmas cards are on display on the mantelpiece which brings me to the reason I took the photo.
Lots of blogs do giveaways etc, I thought it would be nice to send Christmas cards from Ireland to any bloggers out there who would like one for their mantelpiece this Christmas.
In the spirit of Christmas you don't have to subscribe or follow my blog, there are absolutely no conditions other than send me your full postal address.Leave a comment if you wish but DON'T put your address in the comments unless you want more junk mail than you get already, just email me at
peggymmurray@gmail.com
Last postal dates for places other than Europe are coming up soon so the sooner you contact me the sooner I can have your card in the post.
Last Tues evening I attended a garden talk given by Kitty Scully who graced our screens during spring and autumn with Peter Dowdall when they designed gardens in Fota in Cork.Peter did the shrubs and flowers and Kitty did the veg garden.
The topic was making preparations for next year other than glancing through seed catalogues!
It took place in the Blarney garden centre where we were treated to tea and home made scones and got a lovely goody bag of magazines etc to bring home.Elke who organised the evening is a member of Cork Slow Food and was taking photos during the talk.
Slow Food is one of the blogs I follow and I was surprised to see the photos on it this evening . I am in there, see if you can spot me!

Comments

Kathleen said…
Fire looks great cannot beat the real thing!You have cards already,just wrote mine last night,still to post them though!
December 3, 2011 at 9:54 PM
Anonymous said…
Hi Peggy, love your header and the fireplace (the lamp to the right of fireplace is beautiful). I would like to send you a card too...will send my address via email. Has your hair grown? Are you the lady in purple in the photos? Have you heard from Ann lately? I worry about her sometimes when she doesn't blog...Christmas Greetings, Theanne
December 4, 2011 at 2:33 AM
cathy@home said…
What a lovely fire place.
all festive i love the orange glow of the lamp.
December 4, 2011 at 6:13 AM
Betty said…
It sounds like you have been very busy, but this is the season that we all do that. Your mantle looks lovely. I would love a christmas card from you. I will send you my address. Thank you so much.
December 4, 2011 at 11:28 AM
PeggyR said…
Great fireplace! I don't have many decorations up this year.
December 4, 2011 at 5:16 PM
Kelli said…
U've alot of christmas cards already. Your card sending is a great idea. I put my decorations up at the weekend, tree and all.
December 6, 2011 at 11:51 AM
A Colorful World said…
Love the look of your hearth! And all that Christmas cooking had to make the aroma in your home heavenly! I hadn't thought about adding brandy and orange juice and cinnamon to cranberry sauce and then canning the results. I just made the standard sugar and water and cranberry version for Thanksgiving. Canning it for gifts too is a wonderful idea! I have never had a real plum pudding. Would love to try it someday. Anyway, it sounds like you are off to a great start in getting ready for Christmas!

Thanks for commenting on my blog! Yep, I keep my camera in my pockebook at all times--just in case. :-)
December 7, 2011 at 6:52 AM
Ann said…
Good idea with the fire, we did the same and now have a wood burning stove, you just never know these days. It doesn't half give out some heat!
December 8, 2011 at 5:04 PM
Unknown said…
LOVE the crib scene on your header!!
December 11, 2011 at 6:12 PM
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