On the Seventh Day of Christmas......

"On the seventh day of Christmas,

my true love sent to me

Seven swans a-swimming,

Six geese a-laying,

Five golden rings,

Four calling birds,

Three French hens,

Two turtle doves,

And a partridge in a pear tree."

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(7 Swans A-swimming refers to the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit,

the seven sacraments or so its believed?).....

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On the Seventh Day of Christmas my son will soon be married.....He's just walked in wearing part of his suit and his waistcoat, does he look handsome or what. Hard to believe that my son who stands before me is getting married today, where have the years gone....Well I've finished my coffee so off to finish getting dressed myself for the big day.....lol....

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On the Sixth Day of Christmas.....

"On the sixth day of Christmas,

my true love sent to me

Six geese a-laying,

Five golden rings,

Four calling birds,

Three French hens,

Two turtle doves,

And a partridge in a pear tree."

(Or could it refer to the six days of creation?)

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I have not long been home from an evening out with my son Christopher, Jane, Korenza, Charlotte, hubby Andy and my good friend Cheryl & family. We have had a lovely meal and the dress rehearsal went well. After a stressful afternoon (the dress shop was closed so we couldn't pick up Jane's dress!!!!!!, the cake was late!!! and we forgot to get the car ribbon!!!) it was great to see my good friend of over 30 years. Cheryl still lives up in Nottinghamshire and her children I have known since they were born. Her son is a day older than Christopher (24) and his sister 22. Her partner Alan is lovely and it just felt like I had seen them only yesterday, although it was May when we last saw each other. It's great to relax with people who know you so well and you can just be yourself......Just a last few things to do then I'm off to my bed. Lets hope tomorrow is sunny like today....lol...

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"Friendship happens in that special moment

when someone reaches out to another,

trusts, comforts, believes in another,

and makes a special differencethat no one else can make".

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On the Fifth Day of Christmas.....

"On the fifth day of Christmas,

my true love sent to me

Five golden rings,

Four calling birds,

Three French hens,

Two turtle doves,

And a partridge in a pear tree."

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(or does it refer to the first Five Books of the Old Testament, the "Pentateuch", which gives the history of man's fall from grace?)

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Well only two days to go to the wedding. I will be going for a quick drink with Christopher and his friends later and then I will be having my granddaughter for a while....lol... Dress rehearsal is tomorrow at 1pm and then 24 hours later the real ceremony will take place.......lol.....

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On the Fourth Day of Christmas....

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"On the fourth day of Christmas,

my true love sent to me

Four calling birds,

Three French hens,

Two turtle doves,

And a partridge in a pear tree."

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Or do 4 Calling Birds refer to the Four Gospels and/

or the Four Evangelists?

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On the Third Day of Christmas....

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" On the third day of Christmas,

my true love sent to me

Three French hens,

Two turtle doves,

And a partridge in a pear tree."

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If this was a song of Christian instruction, then it was believed that the Three French Hens refered to Faith, Hope and Charity, the Theological Virtues.....lol....

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On the Second Day of Christmas

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“On the second day of Christmas,

my true love sent to me

Two turtle doves,

And a partridge in a pear tree.”

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Continuing on from my previous post
it is thought that The Two Turtle Doves

refers to the Old and New Testaments.....

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Hello from the Hovel on Boxing Day. Not only is it the second day of Christmas but it is also known as St. Stephen’s Day. St. Stephen is the saint of horses and so Boxing Day is associated with horse racing and other sports today. At one time however December 26 was celebrated as a day for the giving of gifts to non-family members. Each family that served the manor received a box of gifts, usually included were cloth, leather goods, food supplies, tools, etc, and was thought to be a part of their wages. Merchants gave boxes of food to trades people, and churches gave boxes to the poor....

Many of us however will be visiting family and friends today. I for one am enjoying vegging out on the sofa watching Christmas films, after the busy few weeks I’ve had its great just to do that. My dogs are laying at my feet, the cats are asleep, a fire is blazing and the Christmas tree lights are twinkling....Bliss!...lol...

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"Good King Wenceslas looked out,

On the feast of Stephen,

When the snow lay round about,

Deep and crisp and even:

Brightly shone the moon that night,

Though the frost was cruel,

When a poor man came in sight,

Gathering winter fuel."

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IT'S CHRISTMAS........

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Ok, I know I said I wouldn’t be back until 2009 but hey a girl can change her mind can’t she!!. I’d had a lovely Christmas lunch and afternoon with my neighbours family, parents and siblings of my ‘adopted’ daughter and friend Charlotte, aka ‘Tiger Charlotte’ after her journey with the big cat (see her pic in the previous post)....Charlotte & I are aka The Nutty Nannies where Korenza is concerned but that’s another story!!!!......but I digress. The reason I had lunch with my neighbours from across the road, literally (not far to stagger back home...hehe...) is because hubby was working until 4am this morning and is working again tonight, so I was kindly invited out for lunch. They are like family anyway so it was nice to relax with them, a dinner and Christmas pud was plated for Andy so he didn’t miss out. I’m cooking tomorrow so he will be spoilt again as he is also working tomorrow night. I don’t really mind as I used to nurse so worked many a Christmas.....but I’m rambling on. Once back at the Hovel I thought I would go through my emails while drinking a nice mug of cappuccino!! While doing so I spotted a comment from last week from Gina of Cat Nap Inn Primitives, oops forgot to answer it and yes I’d been tagged......

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So I thought before my menopausal memory loss kicks in again I would try and think of six random things about myself.....not easy, I struggled last time but I will give it a go......Thank you Gina. If you want to feel Christmassy then go visit her blog. There are some great snow pics and there’s even been a sprinkling of snow today where Gina lives, a white Christmas, how cool is that. You will find the link in my blog list because I have not yet worked out how to put a link behind a name in a post itself, so any help with this would be appreciated.......

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Now with tagging the rules are:

Rule #1 ~ Link to the person that tagged you.
Rule #2 ~ Post the rules on your Blog.
Rule #3 ~ Write 6 random things about yourself.
Rule #4 ~ Tag 6 people at the end of your post.
Rule #5 ~ Let each person know that they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their Blog.
Rule #6 ~ Let the tagger know your entry is up.

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Again who to tag? So I will invite all who visit here to tag themselves and please let me know. I would love to know more about you, so in the spirit of the season please have a go. If I can then I know you guys can too....lol... Well here goes.....

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• I used to be a psychiatric staff nurse when I lived in Nottinghamshire. Loved it but sadly due to an injury at work was medically retired at aged 38.....
• I got married for the first time at aged 41 after being a single-parent for 12 years
• I would have loved a house full of children but sadly had 3 miscarriages
• I am predictably unpredictable, if that makes sense. I have a fantastic mum, hubby, son and friends who understand my neurotic quirky ways (they must do because they are still here for me...hehe...)
• I'm not very organised and tend to leave everything to the last minute but work better under pressure.
• I talk too much & too fast when I’m nervous and also talk with my hands even when I’m on the phone!!!!

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Well there you are, 6 not that unusual things about me......but back to Christmas, one of my favourite times of the year. I have yet to finish watching all of my usual Christmas films. I just may watch ‘National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation’ tonight, this film does make me laugh. And it is the first day of Christmas after all, only 11 more to go........lol....

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“On the first day of Christmas,

my true love sent to me

A partridge in a pear tree.”

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We are all familiar with the seasonal rhythm The Twelve Days Christmas and according to most of the Western Church the first day begins on December 25. So on this First Day of Christmas I would like to wish you all you wish yourselves...
I have always associated this children’s song with Christmas and just that but the specific origins of the song are not known. It is said by some that it began as a "Memories-and-Forfeits" game and suggested by others that it is a song of hidden Christian instruction stemming from the religious wars in 16th century England. It is said that ‘True Love’ refers to God and the partridge in a pear tree is Jesus Christ, what do you think? Regardless of its origin I will always associate this song with Christmas....

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I hope you guys had a great day, lots of pressies and didn’t eat too much!!!! I’ve been doing well with losing weight now I’m back at Slimming World and thought we would have a break this holiday being as the meetings fall on a Thursday....no such luck. There is a class this Saturday morning and one next Friday, our leader has no mercy!!!. I am going because the class is held only across the road from me, so no escape....lol...Until next time, which may be tomorrow on the second Day of Christmas...hehe....

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Christmas comes but once a year,

And when it comes it brings good cheer.

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