The End of Project 52!

The time has now come to bid farewell to 2014.  Project 52 has been a wonderful highlight of this year, and has kept me blogging for 52 weeks!!  Although it's been a very quiet, modest year, I have enjoyed it very much.  Thanks to Sue from Thoughts and Ramblings blog for all her comments, and for encouraging me to post throughout 2014.

My final collage full of 12 of my favourite images taken in 2014, a mixture of Oxford and Abruzzo scenes, created with Fotor.com:

I would also like to add this fun image taken in the snow yesterday:

...and finally, wishing you all the best for 2015!!!

Janet, 31 December 2014

Week 52 - Almost the End....

Christmas was a super affair and I went to town on the table decorations!

We had a lovely meal of roast turkey with all the trimmings washed down with our favourite bottle of Montpulciano d'Abruzzo.

Practical  xmas prezzies below of a cockerel stapler and a cat sellotape dispenser, perfect for my office!

Below a collage created with Photogrid, an app on my smartphone.  It is very easy to use and produces nice results:

As you can see, Freddy is on his own now.  He misses his band of loyal chickens very much and has hence doubled his efforts to go for me at any opportunity!!  Especially when I wear my warm red jumper, this makes him chase me even more.  I can't wait for when we buy him 4 new chicks to keep him company.  We went to the local chicken place before Christmas to buy them, but we were told they won't have any young 'layers' til the end of January...... so no fresh eggs at the moment, and I miss them!!

Skype calls to the family made the day extra special and phone calls from a few close friends were also lovely to receive.

Blow a picture of the cats all tucked up, sleeping together outside.  Although we have quite a few comfy cat 'resting boxes' in different places, they all somehow manage to squeeze into this old cardboard box on my potting bench!! 

 

This year has been a wonderful one, but it isn't over quite yet!!
I will write a few words to round up the project, in my final closing post.  Til then, happy new year!!

Week 51 - The Nativity Scene

I finished my Nativity Scene using bits and pieces from the garden.  I used some pine twigs as palm trees and the effect is quite nice, I think!  It's an improvement on last year's nativity, which was far more basic!  Some pebbles from the garden and pine leaves completed the scene!

This year I have added a cow figurine and I will buy a new figurine each year.  I tied some pine needles together and a few glass baubles to bring a bit more colour to the scene...

Cones in the background, freshly picked from the garden:

The kings bringing gifts....

I managed to get some pics of the Nativity scene in the main square in Catignano:

I think it looks really lovely!

The only Christmas card which shows anything religious this year from my very good friend Eileen:

More christmas decorations:

Even the clock gets special treatment at Christmas time!

Only 4 more days to go, and I am looking forward to a bit of free time to relax over the festive period!

Project 52 - The Countdown to Christmas

More house decos up bit by bit - I enjoy taking xmas things out of their boxes.  They are kept in a storeroom which is a bit damp, so  not sure if I will keep them for next year.  I may recycle them to decorate the trees outside and then add them to the plastics waste centre nearby....

Below some decos of angels ( picture 2) I will keep forever, given to me by my sister as a Christmas present in  1999, 15 years ago. 

 

A watchful owl hanging on one one of the pine trees:

Freddy in the garden and a cone from one of the fir trees, sprayed with silver paint for decorative effect:

Another Christmas ornament chime hanging on one of the trees:  

The Christmas wreath has been placed high up next to the door this year, to stop the furbies from bringing it down in their mad scramble before their food trays are carried out of the door!

This week it has been a bit sad as  the one and only chicken we have seems to have suffered a stroke, or been severely traumatized by something, probably while we were out and about the last few days.  She literally seems to be on her last legs and can't walk any more and when she does, she is slow and painfully unsteady.  We have lifted her up and placed her in a more comfy position in an old bowl, under the very watchful eye of Freddy, who seems to be a bit lost.  

Chick News Update: 
Sadly this chicken is no more, and Freddy is on his own, very forlorn.  Last night he was up until very late, hovering round the poor chicken who was completely unable to move or even walk to her pen, so we put her in a special box with water and plenty of sawdust to keep her warm, but this morning, as we feared, she had given up the ghost.... This is the way of nature, and usually people don't get attached to their chickens, but we have and did, so now we need to think about Freddy and the fact that he is on his own, is not a good thing.  Do we buy new chicks, as soon as possible, but as he is much older than them, will this be a problem for the new chicks to settle down with him??  Lots of questions in our minds! This website seems to have some good tips :  

/http://rurallivingtoday.com/livestock/pros-cons-keeping-rooster/

Fluffy
Fluffy has disappeared....  It is now almost 3 weeks since he was last seen, after an almighty cat fight with one of the other Toms.  He once disappeaered for a whole month, and came back, a bit worse for wear.  We took him to the vet's and after a course of antibiotics, he recovered fully, thereby using up one of his 9 lives.  Hopefully he will suddenly re-appear, and we would be very relieved to see him again, so fingers crossed......

Only two more weeks til the end of 2014 - hardly seems possible how time has flown!

Week 49 - Christmas Tree!

Our christmas tree was bought a bit earlier than usual this year, as last year it was done too late.  We managed to get a very nice tree for just over 10 Euros, from Obi, the local garden centre, which is pretty good!  I intend to nurture this one afterwards in the garden, and try to keep it going for next year.  Let's see if I can do this!

I brought the tree in and this is how it looked before I started dressing it up.

I enjoyed adding all my bits and pieces!

I will be decorating the house next week, so it will all be done gradually and this will be great fun.  All my special decorations come out, and each year I can think of family members and friends who have given me special decorations as gifts in the past.

A pretty quiet week in all.  A new carpet was bought and it will add an extra touch of warmth underfoot, as we don't have any central heating installed.... just gas 'bombolas' and lots of extra jumpers in winter!!  It is ok, I don't mind, as I see it as character building!!

Christmas is drawing nearer and I still need to send a few more cards, and gifts.  

Roll on Week 50!!

Project 52 - Week 48

A very nice relaxing week with online moderating and working in the garden, helping to chop wood, and collecting lots of leaves. 

I used the leaves in my Christmas card making as seen below.  This card with the leaf needs to be finished...

I usually try to recycle all my old Christmas cards from previous years.  I enjoy making new cards out of them and embellishing them with stickies, which I buy from a local shop.  It takes me some time to create new ones, but it is a relaxing process.

I made some apple sauces with the numerous apples from the orchard, and started one of the home made mulberry jams I had stored.  It is quite delicious, I have to say :-)

I had bought the jazzy jam jar labels on my last trip to England and I think it makes the jam jars look more interesting now..

We have named one of the kittens 'Tiny Tim' as he has not grown very much, due to the fact that at feeding time, he often gets left behind in the frenzied foray into the food bowls.  We have allowed him into the house, and he is getting lots of tlc.  Here he is sitting on my jumper, in the garden.

We were out and about in the week and on the motorway I noticed this large poster advertising the wonders of motorway travel!   It reads 'You are in a wonderful country.  Explore it with us.'  I love the way English is used in the middle of the sentence beneath the picture!

Finally, I have got my Christmas calendar ready for tomorrow, December 1st.  There is a little chocolate behind each numbered box.  I wonder who will be up first to open door number one!!

We hope to get our Christmas tree in the next week or so from a local garden centre.
 
I have been reading all about the mad shopping frenzy that occured in the UK on 'Black Friday,' and I am so glad that I was nowhere near any of those shopping centres that day. 

Living here in Abruzzo, I have learned that I don't need much for a simple and happy life.

Week 47 - All About Abruzzo!

It's been a very quiet week, so not many photos, I am afraid!  I took some photos when we went to the local DIY store.  Here you can see the sliding door at the entrance which says' Now is the time to do / make something!!' There was a DIY promotion week, with some low prices on many items.

Below you can see a shelf full of Abruzzo wines.  

Hard to choose which one to buy really as they are all quite reasonably priced!  We bought a bottle of Montepulciano d'Abruzzo 'Miglianico' and it was very nice indeed.

 Bottles of wine from Abruzzo are usually quite expensive in the UK, but of course, they are much cheaper here, where the wine is actually produced.

Below in the distance (yellow/orange colour of the grapevines), you can just about make out one of the many vineyards near our home, which produce this special wine.  There are many 'cantinas' in the area, where you can buy bottles straight from the producer.

K took the photo above and I took the one below, both of the same view.

I introducd myself on an online course I am doing, and below is a collage that I included:

Still on the theme of Abruzzo, I have 2 copies of a magazine called 'Tesori D'Abruzzo'.  It is published 4 times a year and for 5 Euros, you get fabulous articles about Abruzzo's history and heritage, and also some wonderful photos.  I have numbers 30 and 32.  I wish I had bought all of the numbers as they came out, as to have the whole collection would be fantastic, but at 9 Euros for a back copy, that would make it 279 Euros for the whole set (gulp!!), which is way beyond my very modest means.... 
This magazine was first published in July 2006 and below you can see some of the early copies available to buy.

I decided I wanted to subscribe for a year, and it was a very simple process.  I downloaded and then printed off the online subscription form, filled it in, then paid 19 Euros at the Post Office, and now I am waiting for the first one to arrive which should be in January.  I can't wait to get it!  However, not sure how it is going to arrive as the postman is still not delivering to our house, so we will probably have to collct it from the PO.

Whilst reading one of the 2 copies that I have, I noticed this absolutely stunning video, highlighted on the main page.  It is called Twofold Nature - Abruzzo Sublime and Beautiful, from Alessandro Petrini.  I think this will certainly encourage a lot of visitors to come to Abruzzo!!


Twofold Nature - Abruzzo Sublime and Beautiful from Alessandro Petrini on Vimeo.