Earth stood hard as iron, water like a stone....................

In the bleak mid-winter

Frosty wind make moan,

Earth stood hard as iron

Water like a stone;

Snow had fallen, snow on snow,

Snow on snow,

In the bleak mid winter,

Long ago

Hello dearest readers, these words are the first verse of "In the Bleak Mid-winter" written by Christina Rossetti. I scribbled down this verse on a till receipt I found at the bottom of my bag, from The New English Hymnal, hymn 28.

Hugo and I went to a carol service on Christmas eve. We slipped and scrunched through the deep snow to get to church, along with a sizeable number of other people, considering the snowed-in sort of weather.

Squeezed in, at the bottom of the said till receipt is the last verse, verse five of the hymn, which I think is very touching, and I want to share with you.........

What can I give him

Poor as I am?

If I were a shepherd

I would bring a lamb;

If I were a wise man

I would do my part;

Yet what can I give him -

Give him my heart.

  I heard the Unthank sisters sing this hymn the other day, they sang it very, very slowly, and it was beautiful.

Merry Christmas! I hope you had a good Christmas?

We had a lovely meal on Christmas day, with Hugo's family, and have been dodging out and about all over the place, when we should probably have been resting at home, doing precisely nothing.

This cold weather makes you tired don't you think? And the long dark nights too?

I've been de-frosting the bird bath, so the birds have water to drink. The other day, a bird was pecking at the frozen water in the bird bath, and I felt very guilty, it was obviously desperate for something to drink. We've decided that the entire neighborhood of birds is visiting our garden at the moment, it's busy out there in our garden. One thing we both find amazing is this, the birds are fussy eaters!

I'm going to slip away now, and say cheerio till the New Year. Take care, and see you in 2011! Cheerio! Love Vanessa xxx

Comments

[Jenni at Baa-me Kniits]

Beautiful post Vanessa! Loved the photos esp the one of the ice on your finger!!

Happy New Year to you and Hugo and the fur babies, hope the thaw is not too far away :-)

[mlleparadis]

lovely post. yes, the cold is tiring but beautiful. and the poem - your image of the ice rocks was perfect! .....and one has to feel sorry for those little birds.......happy new year to you and hugo!!! xo!

[Ellouise]

Happy New Year to you too! Lovely photos!

[June]

What beautiful photographs and so wonderful with the hymn which used to be my favourite as a child along with All Things Bright and Beautiful.
The snow was so pretty wasn't it. It's all gone here now - back to boring weather - rain, rain and a bit more rain!
June.

[Marion Mitchell]

Happy New Year from Scotland. Your photos are a perfect match for the words. A pleasure to read.

[Laurie Freeman]

What a contrast your Christmas was to mine, we had a hot, humid 38 degrees here in Western Australia, the pool water was too hot to swim in, more like a hot bath. We ate cold turkey and salad and pavlova. I thoroughly enjoyed looking at your photos, I was born in the north of England and still have some relatives there. Lovely figurines you made well done. Happy New Year
from Laurie

[Chez Chouke]

Dear Vanessa, I looooove those pictures! Hope you will have an excellent newyear. If you're intersted, I'm having a fabric giveaway on my blog right now, are you into sewing as well? X

[Andrea]

Happy New Year from a foggy and damp Yorkshire! I love your photos xx

[The Curious Cat]

I sang that song in my singing exam a long long time ago...lovely photos! I hope you had a wonderful Christmas! xxx

[Magic Cochin]

That has to be my favourite carol and the words are so perfect for this year.

Your photos are stunning! Is the snow still there on the grounds all white and crisp and even?

Ours has gone... replaced by mud, mud and more mud. Slippy sliding out of 2010 on the squelchy claggy mud!

Here's to a bright and cheerful New Year! hope yours is a good one too :-)

Celia
x

[greenrabbitdesigns]

That was a lovely post Vanessa, that is a beautiful hymn!
Best wishes for 2011!
Vivienne x

[Carole]

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO YOU AND YOUR FAMILY

LOVE FROM CAROLE IN ROSSENDALE XXXXXXX

[Jacqueline]

Wishing you all the best for 2011, and I look forward to seeing more of your knitting, crochet and artwork, and of course your beautiful dogs.
Jacqueline

[Monica]

Happy New Year!!!

[paintdropskeepfalling.wordpress.com]

Clever post and photo's - Happy New Yr. Claire x

[Judi A.]

Gorgeous photos! Such beauty in what some would call bleakness is cause to stop and reflect on what has passed and what is ahead. :-)

[barbara]

Lovely photos.Happy new year to you and Hugo.At long last my granddaughter has a wobbly tooth so I could give her Dear Tooth Fairy which i had from you earlier in the year in which you wrote a lovely message.She was thrilled with it.

[Liz in Missouri]

Happy New Year to you and Hugo, and a fond "arf, arf" from Lucy to little Douglas and Ellie!
I love the photos here - I was humming the tune in my head as I read. I may be the only one who enjoys the quiet serenity of winter and I think your photos are just beautiful.
Hope this next year is all that you could ever wish for!

[Siobhan]

Hello Vanessa, it's lovely to see you! Hope you and your family had a wonderful Christmas. It's a sleepy time of year now between Christmas and the New Year but it's nearly here now. The time just whisks on by - 2011 already! (Well in a couple of hours or so.) The weather is so appropriate for the words of that lovely carol as your pictures show so well; a huge favourite for me since I was little, the words are really special aren't they? I always like the Christmassy lull of nothingness but before Christmas I found the weather was definitely making me tired too and I found I got fed up of snow pretty quickly and the novelty soon wore off. The days are starting to get longer now though so we can all start looking forward to spring. It sounds like fun getting out and about - I have been incredibly lazy (only one outing the whole of the week). Hope you have an amazing 2011 and that it is all you want and need it to be. Thanks for your lovely blog over the last year, I really do love to come here. Thanks for taking the time to share and for adding much brightness and cheer. Wishing you a Very Happy New year! xx p.s. So happy you are looking after the little birds too.

[Helen]

Such a beautiful post - I love the words to In the Bleak Midwinter too, and always find the last verse especially touching. Thanks for a lovely blog and for sharing your beautiful work with us this year. Sending you warmest wishes for 2011. Helen x

[Val]

Thank You Vanessa for such a lovely post .... the snow and ice have gone now but your writing warmed my heart. Beautiful photos too. I hope you have a very happy and blessed New Year.
Val xx

[Val]

Lovely verse Lovely photos
Have a Good 2011
Many thanks Val

[Fiona]

Happy New Year x

[Frances]

Oh Vanessa, it's already a new year for you, and I send you and Hugo very best wishes for 2011.

Here we are still hanging on to a bit of 2010, and some of its late December blizzard's aftermath.

I so love that hymn, and thank you for posting its lyrics along with your perfectly chosen photos. Going to that service must have been a beautiful experience.

Looking forward to sharing thoughts, words and pictures with you in the New Year. xo

[Planet Penny]

Beautiful post as always, Vanessa. Love to you both for new year, and the doggies, of course! Penny and Higgins x

[Alice and Raymond!!!]

Hello Vanessa!
I thought I'd pop in and see how you were and YAY! A lovely post full of stunning as usual pictures! It looks sooooooooooo cold in the UK, it frightens me!
Have a very blessed beginning to 2011
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

[Veronika]

Hi :)
We went to Christmas service at a near by church and heard the same hymn.
It was all very nice, because my father-in-law sings in the choir.
And believe it or not, the children behaved so wonderfully, that I had people come up to me after to say what angels they were! Yay! :)

We also had a great Xmas. Xmas eve at home and day with Ian's parents and family.
Lots of pressies and lots of fun. And guess what one of my pressies were: knitting needles in a little flowery bag with some extra kit. :) Came from my sister-in-law, who promised to teach me the trade! ;)

xx for now

[Penelope]

Thank you Vanessa for all your colour and inspiration of 2010, just love this post....perfect pictures too xox many happy and memorable times to you Hugo E and D in 2011 xox

[Rachel]

Happy New Year Vanessa!
Just popped by to tell you, I've finally learnt how to crochet and it's all down to you! I followed your pattern for the gorgeous scarf and I managed to follow it! Such detail for a beginner, of exactly what to do and how!Clear photos too! Thank you thank you! You really have made my New Year!
I have sooo many projects whirling around my head now!
Thanks again!
Rachel x

[Janice Perkin]

just to say - Phoebe was really pleased with her signed Father Christmas book

[Beata]

Happy New Year!

[knittingoutloud]

Lovely!!!

And happy 2011 to you.