Getting Christmas-ey

For most of my adult life my Christmas tree was a table centre decoration made out of pine cones. It was enough for me when I was single and not really that into Christmas except as a time of the year to get jolly. Then when I got into a serious relationship we didn't bother with a tree then either, we were a working couple with no children, I guess I thought that we'd do the tree thing when kids came along .. they never did so I still didn't have a tree.

When I met my husband the first year that we were married he did the most wonderful thing .. he went and bought me the biggest tree that would fit in our tiny house. I think I cried. I guess I didn't realise that I wanted a tree for Christmas time, or that I really wanted one of my own to decorate and enjoy. I love that tree, but last year we weren't going to be home for Christmas so it just seemed silly to put up this huge tree when there wasn't really going to be any reason for it. It felt a bit bah humbug.

This year we are going away again but I really wanted to do something to make it feel like Christmas. I've been talking about doing a Christmas wreath and I will but it has to wait til a bit closer to Christmas as I want to use native flowers and plants from our garden or the river if there aren't enough flowering round here.

The jam.

I did make a pastry wreath that was filled with home made raspberry jam. It was hard to make actually and I'm not normally good with bread at the best of times but it tasted pretty darn good even if the look wasn't quite the same as Donna Hay's.

I panicked and took it out of the oven a bit too early so it isn't browned on the top like it should be ...  Terry loved it as you can tell by the fact that I couldn't get a pic of it before he got his bit with ice cream.





 

It was gone in a day, no wait I tell a lie, there's still two bites left, isn't it funny how that last bit of something yummy gets left behind, like you don't want to be the one who took the last bit, we'll share it later with ice cream I think :)

I had heaps of jam left over, so Terry used some on toast then I couldn't work out what else to do with it. I figured it wouldn't last long if it wasn't in a jar so I wanted to use it up. I made some Jam Drop Cookies. They were delish and probably the reason that there's still some wreath left. Oh well the diet can start again next week.




I still don't really want to drag out the big Christmas tree and try to fit it into our over-crowded lounge room so I decided to do a minimalist tree this year. In keeping with the native Aussie theme I seem to be having this year, I decided that my home made tree would be a bit of bottlebrush out of my back yard. I went and chopped a branch off one of the red bushes in the back yard then stuck it in a pot I made years ago when I was having a go at pottery. Then I decorated it and put the few presents we have got so far under it.

I Love It!!

Then I found another thing for my Christmas decorating spree .. not quite as Aussie I know, but just too cute to pass up .. the red front door mat.