Empress Wu Designs with Wilma

 Every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end… as 2022 comes to a close, I look forward to a bright new year. I hope 2023 brings you opportunities to walk new paths, to experience new adventures, to learn and teach new wisdom and to love and live fully.  Happy New Year 

Laugh joyfully, eat and drink heartily,hug warmly  and  share generously  May the spirit of the Christmas fill your home with love and peace today and throughout the coming year.   

#23 : Flowers ... It doesn't seem like Christmas in our garden until the first of the  Corymbia ficifolia ( eucalyptus) flowers bloom. To me these beautiful gum blossoms  just say " Christmas in Australia"  Petunias In the garden, other red flowers bloom like geraniums and petunia  which is such a summer favourite that it is easy to associate it with Christmas. During a storm earlier in the year, we lost our iconic NSW Christmas bush.  We miss having this flowering at this time of the year in our garden, but a friend gave me a huge bunch of NSW Christmas Bush from her garden. It really wouldn't be Christmas without Christmas Bush!   NSW Christmas Bush  Corymbia ficicolia - red flowering gum  An all time festive favourite is the poinsettia, which I have in the house in a pot... I always think of poinsettia as the flower on Christmas cards!  Poinsettia #24 : Less popular Christmas flowers.  Oriental lilies are more likely to be chosen for weddings than for Christmas. Ho

  Christmas Countdown #21  ... A few weeks ago, when I first started talking about Christmas, I raised the issue of a multicultural Christmas...   It is a joy to behold - a Christmas tree decorated  with colourful cultural items and flags from different countries. This tree was sponsored by the Refugee Hub, (Newcastle NSW)  There is such a balance here between traditional Christmas  ornaments as well as patterns and colours representing different ethnic groups.  To me, being inclusive means respecting  and celebrating different values and beliefs - just what the Christmas season is about.  Bei #22 Dragmas Christmas Photography  In a local shopping centre, instead of photos only with Santa, the management are implementing their inclusivity policy  by offering Christmas photos with Timberlina , Drag Queen extraordinaire and friends. I imagine some are offended by this, but I saw it as a bit of fun and spreading some Christmas cheer.  It is  acknowledgement that we are not all the same, b

  Christmas Countdown #19  Another double post to catch up for the days missed  ...  I was on a mission to find two "difficult to find" graphic novels  for a Christmas present in a book store in a shopping centre ( Westfield Kotara , near my home)  and I didn't want to stop, but I did -  to listen to a choir singing Christmas carols. Harmony is so good for the soul!  Stopping for a moment to enjoy the sights and sounds is even better!   Last Wednesday night, the sounds of carollers, lots of laughter and fun  were also heard drifting in the breeze  at Wallsend when we were passing by - you might remember that I wrote about the  festive activities in the Wallsend Rotunda in a previous post   And please turn up the volume and  join in ...  Aussie 12 Days of Christmas   #20 Carols by Candlelight ...   In our neighbourhood, Carols by Candlelight is an annual event in Lambton Park and there is no better setting ... this year, there were lots of festive events held in the park 

#17 Neighbourhood by day ... In my street and in a few surrounding us, there are amazing festive sights. I have chosen just a few images which I have been taking while out on my daily walks. Some neighbours obviously believe in celebrating Christmas with an Australian theme, while others retain the traditional approach. Some of the improvised decorations really make me smile when I go past - it's lovely to see the effort of making our neighbourhood sing with Christmas spirit.  #18 Neighbourhood by night.... a couple of nights ago I took a walk along our street after dark.... I admit I do love Christmas lights, so it gave me such a warm feeling to see so many houses  adorned with twinkling lights. I think it's true that Christmas lights make you feel like a child again!     By the time I got home, I thought our house looked rather dull, but we always have lights on in our garden  to welcome guests.... Christmas lights every night!  from https://wishesmagazine.com/christmas-light

Here is a flashback .... I wrote the following in 2015 ...  Each year, I try to blog a visual advent calendar . This year, my mother turned 90 and I am dedicating this series of blog posts to her because this year, it's all about Christmas Cake, and of course I am starting off with my mother's much loved Christmas Cake - moist, delicious and  intoxicatingly rich.  For more years than I can rem ember ( probably about 40 years) , my mother has been sending me Christmas cakes, so I don't remember ever making a cake for Christmas! You might think that this is not such a significant gesture, but my mother lives  interstate 1593 km ( 990 miles) away, so she has had to depend on Australia Post or adding to the luggage allowance of visiting relatives.The longest distance Christmas cakes have had to be sent is when we were living in Bombala, NSW  which is 2393 km (1486 miles) away from Townsville, Queensland. Throughout the years, it has never been just one cake - there is always on

Christmas Countdown #15  Here is another tree in the display of Trees and Art for Charity ... blog posts    #7  and #4 in this series feature some of the other trees. The tree was decorated by the Georgetown ( Newcastle NSW ) Junior  Girl Guides and I was immediately engaged by this hand drawn bauble I spotted.... obviously favourites amongst the guides - cupcake, pancake, smor and Fred the Owl! Nothing pretentious or commercial about  these Christmas decorations - they come from the heart. There were delightful  naive drawings of a warm home, a guide t-shirt, Christmas motifs and  more favourite foods and activities.  Their pure simplicity won my heart. Perhaps the Girl Guides movement may seem outdated to many, but communities needs groups like this even more in current times to promote well being , provide support and empower girls and  young women.  Congratulations on your beautiful tree and for your contribution to our community.   

  Christmas Countdown #13 -  Rotary Club of Wallsend-Maryland whose Tree of Joy project was already covered in #12 )   Yesterday ,  the Rotary Club of Wallsend - Maryland had the Christmas breakfast which celebrates another year of community service. In 2022, the club has been active in service projects locally  including catering, flood relief, feeding the homeless, graffiti removal, support of neighbourhood centres and the establishment of a neighbourhood hub in a nearby suburb  Tuesday's festive meeting was a good opportunity to reflect on the year's projects and have a bit of fun.- games, gift sharing and photo shoots!  ................................................................................................................................................. Christmas Countdown #13 : Wednesday Makers Group at Timeless Textiles  Today,  the Wednesday group presented the Newcastle Domestic Violence Court Advocacy Service a Christmas donation of $1,000 - early proceed