Winter in the garden

My little world is currently shivering through the coldest day of the year thus far. Can you hear it? Old snow turned ice crackles under my feet, a magical shroud of deep silence has descends upon the garden, and as a faint sun sets in the horizon, trees and bushes are crowned with tiny winter jewels like diamonds.

This is dusk in the garden... this is my world before total darkness envelopes it. Wild things (most likely just birds and a cat) have left queer prints in the winter snow. I love to study them. Footprints in the snow reminds me of art, of a painting smeared upon the land and of leaving our own marks for those who wants to read the true nature of our heart. They’re all dissimilar in their uniqueness, and they all carry the distinctive nature of its creator—like art.

The darkening sky looks like a new blanket, and is to the silent land as a beautiful memento of God’s presence in nature, discovered as silently and delicately as a foot-print in the snow.

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Daydreaming

It’s -3 degrees outside. White is the color that pervades the eye and rivulets of dead leaves scuttle along the garden’s floor. Sunlit makes the ground and tree branches sparkle, and birds are busy around the birdfeeders. I can imagine the glowering clouds in inky sky dispatching faint rays of sun; warming up my window.

TODAY I SIT at my desk, here at the office, thinking of all these things, looking out with my mind’s eye at the blizzard of wild garden-swirling-snows and birds, and my comfy chair by the bedroom window.

My soul is trapped. I yearn for freedom.

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Show Off Your Cottage Monday

Welcome to “Show Off Your Cottage Monday”, a blog party I host at the beginning of each week to celebrate the things we love about our homes and how we live.

Today, I'm celebrating friendship and dinner parties as a gesture of comradeship and happy moments together.

Have I mentioned lately how stressed I get when having people coming over for dinner? Maybe here and here too. Oh yes, I am something of a perfectionist, a quality that would seem at odds with my ability to keep on throwing dinner parties… stay calm while cooking for a number of people is hard for me. Somehow, and despite my constant worry, I always seem to succeed.

Ah yes, we had to have dessert too!

The big key for me is planning ahead. Understanding what can be done ahead for any and all recipes, is crucial. Make sure you have all the needed ingredients, do all the chopping ahead of time, and maybe even have all your desserts ready the night before, that way you can concentrate on the main dish and forget the extra worries… Easy to say, right?

Now that Christmas is approaching, get your pantry and table ready, and start planning for a memorable get together with family and friends. Invite people who don't know each other, and don't forget the lonely and needy.

What are you celebrating today?
Now it’s your turn to tell us what you’re celebrating.
If you have something to share with us on your blog, then add your link below.
Just please be sure to:

1. Add the permalink to the specific blog post, not your general blog address.

2. Link back to the house in the roses from your post so that your readers can come and see what everyone else is celebrating today!

3. Copy and paste our little logo on your blog so your readers can also join our celebration.


4. And enjoy your home!

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Saturday

6:15 am.

I’ve been awake since 4:45 am.
Lighting some candles and
turning on some lights here and there before I start my day
seems to be the right thing to do.

The house feels cozy, and wonderful....

Warning: this post is bound to frequent updates. Stay tune!

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8:19am.

Today is a different kind of a Saturday.
Today we have friends coming over for lunch right after church....

It's not the first time. I love hosting dinners, and we do this often; still, it happens every time....

Cooking and hosting a dinner party become a culinary nightmare.
Do you get stress over hosting friends for dinner?
Inviting friends round to share a meal should not be stressful, but I do get stressed.

It's not so much the thought of my guests not enjoying themselves,

as the fear that my dishes will go wrong...
Oh, the thought of it just makes me tremble!

Putting on a number of courses is stressful, and I find it hard to cope,
but the vegetables have been prepped beforehand,
the table is set, and the chef is putting together the few final elements.

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