December 6: Make. What was the last thing you made? What materials did you use? Is there something you want to make, but you need to clear some time for it?

The last thing I made (apart from Fajitas on Sunday with good beef) was probably two Christmas Holly Garlands last Christmas 2009 - Lulu was away travelling at the time and Spence was determined we would decorate the same as usual even though Lulu drives the Christmas decorating in our home.  One of the garlands is always for our front door to greet our festive visitors during Yuletide and one for my beloved mum's grave.
Spence and I use materials gathered from Shuttleton Farm, occasionally with the addition of some holly lookalike bushes with berries from Hill View Nursery where we buy our Christmas Tree.  We always have plenty of our own holly but it usually has no berries. We use ivy as well.  Last year we actually wound on some wired plastic berries I found in a florist shop - very useful actually.   We add cinnamon sticks and nuts and try to make it as good as we can though we are not artistic or imaginative.

I do enjoy home-made things for our farm and I know it is fashionable now anyway (think Kirsty Allsop!) but it is a real pleasure to make things oneself (and with the family).  Lulu made home-made Gooseberry Jam last Saturday - oh boy it was a real treat.

The next thing we are going to make (apart from the Holly Garlands this Christmas - we must be in our fourth or fifth year of manufacture) is Christingle Oranges.  The St Mary's Hemyock Christingle Service took place yesterday and we didn't go.  Lulu said we should do something at home and she needed holly for her hall decorations.  So the three of us gathered holly from around the farm in the freezing cold - it was most invigorating, as Mr Darcy would say.  I love those family therapy sessions.  Magically, for the first time ever, our own holly had one or two precious red berries - how exciting!

Anyway we are going to make our own Christingle Oranges - I have no idea how but I know they each have a candle and a ribbon, not sure what else but no doubt I will find it on Wiki.  I will also help Lulu make some Christmas spicy pomanders to scent the house of wonderful evocative festive scents.