21st Wedding Anniversary and Christmas Spirit Award

This day 21 years ago Mr Margie and I got married in Antwerp. It was a chilly morning and about twenty five of our family and friends were there to witness the occassion. Mr Margie swept his hair back in a pony tail, wore his grandfathers coat with white shoes and I wore a floral dress purchased the day before, I was seven months pregnant on Leiny. Mel wore an Oilily dungarees, handknitted jumper (I finished it the week before) and stole the show with her blond hair, blue eyes and cute smile.










I woke up this morning to discover that I have been awarded the Christmas Spirit Award by Sharon at ManaMoon. I am honoured Sharon to be included in your recipient list. Thank you very much.

Well I have to let you know that this time last week I was a right Grinch, did not feel a bit like celebrating the festive season, was even considering cancelling it. I have Leiny and Mr Margie and all of you in blogland to thank for putting the Christmas spirit back in Margie.





In accepting the Award I have to give five reasons why I love Christmas


Giving and receiving gifts especially handmade ones (anything handknit, vintage or bags)





Friends and family being together and eating together



Holiday food (mince pies, chai and bread stuffing)






Home time decorating, crafting, bloging, wood fires




Santa (who was out in force yesterday at the first Santa Tractor run in aid of a local hospital)




Now to choose who to pass this on to before the twelve days of Christmas are over,

I want to award to you who have inspired me to celebrate this festive season

Veronica at Ulliga Gulliga Saker whose felt work and knitting keep me inspired
Deborah at My Moms Work who has a wonderful devotion to knitting and crafts and who knows the value of family time
Karen at a Scrapbook of Inspiration
for her art, books, devotion,inspiration, bringing people together and reminding us about Pink saturdays.
Louise at The Whispering Poppies for the most beautiful jewellery and photos
Lotta at My Lovely Four Seasons (once My Lovely Christmas Home)who inspires and creates daily and maybe even hourly
Stephanie at My Calico Heart a crafter extraordinare
Elly at My Everyday Things I want to live in her sisters shop and on her blog
Annie at Every New Writers Journey who created beautiful dragons for the first novel writers
Lulu at Coastal Sisters for exciting ideas and great music
Vale at Les Cotrions art and music inspired postings are fantastic
Michele at Cowboys & Custard for keeping her Christmas spirit alive through the flu (mr c was very entertaining)

Thank you one and all

Happy New Year

A very Happy New Year and may 2009 be the best year yet. Thank you to each and everyone of you for inspiring me through my visits to your blogs and also for visiting Margie's Crafts in 2008 and leaving all your lovely comments. Wishing you all creativity and inspiration in the future.






Leiny and I finished making the New Years cards and got them in the post just before Christmas.

Happy Winter Solstice

Christmas style books are a great inspiration for home decorating over the festive season. These two are my favourite. A Nantucket Christmas by Leslie Lindsey and Ruby & Begonia's Christmas Style by Sara Toliver and Jo Packham.

For us here the celebrations begin on the night of the 21st December at Winter Solstice and continue until January 6th when we celebrate Drie Koningen

Leiny and I put the garland across the granite pillars in the kitchen and put a pot of gluhwein on the stove.




The beds all had a festive makeover too. New covers and a gingham heart add a touch of cozy warmth, an inviting space to rest after all the cleaning and cooking.



The stove in the living room is really the heart of our home and Mr. Margie spent some time chopping the firewood for the holidays.



A choir of Dickensian Knitted mice spread some festive cheer. I knit these little mice about twelve years ago and each year they have pride of place among the decorations.



Mr. Margie, Leiny and I went up to the Christmas tree farm yesterday and picked up two Nordmann Firs, the smell in the house is enchanting.

Whats's in the bag challenge and two more awards

Jacoline (Lien) at Lovely Living set me a challenge when she wondered what was in my bag, her own pretty bag was full of practical and special items. I have to admit to being bag obsessed (a true bag lady). All my family and friends give me bags as gifts. I collect all types of bags, I can never have enough bags and sometimes I make bags. This is my new Cath Kidston bag, a Christmas gift from Mel (my daughter) at Mel's Living.




Inside my new bag is my old Irish handmade handbag (yes a bag in a bag), my purse (purchased in Boston), Burts Bees lip salve, two packs of Cath Kidston tissues, sunglasses, tin of mints, work keys with memory stick, my Land Rover keys, mobile phone, two pens, Ulster Weavers shopping bag, which Lein (my daughter) at Just a Minute gave me as a gift this summer (another bag in a bag), umberella, wool gloves and Cath Kidston passport wallet.




In passing on the challenge I am curious to know what Vicki at French Essence has in her bag, I wonder if she would like to show us.


I am also the proud recipient of yet two more Awards in the last few weeks, Sharon (Thank you very much) at Manamoon gave me a very special award "The Spreader of Love Award" I am delighted to receive it. Sharon and her husband work together to create exquisite jewellery. Very special, modern and classy pieces. Visit her blog and her new website where you can see what I mean.



I truly believe that love is at the core of our beings, and that a little time spent sharing love or sending love is time very well spent indeed. I would like to award Beachy at the Whispering Poppies with it as she hosted a wonderful Home Sweet Home Holiday Blog Party and Giveaway last friday, complete with music, stories, memories and inspiration, a great recipe for spreading love in my book. Thank you very much Beachy.

I also received a "Wow I love your blog" award from Veronica (Thank you very much) at Ulliga Gulliga Saker I am pleased to accept this award. Veronica's blog is full of her felt work,knitting,ideas and creativity which are amazing. Call by her blog,and you are sure to be inspired, her work is inspiring.



Everyone on my blog roll can consider themselves awarded this one, as I love all of your blogs.




I received the Kreativ Blogger Award a few weeks ago and awarded it to bloggers who were working hard at Christmas Fairs. I have two more recipients for this award. Lein at Just A Minute, who had a sale at College and Vale at Les Cotrions who had a get together and sale with some of her friends.

Pre-Christmas Christmas

Beachy at Whispering Poppies is hosting a Home Sweet Home Holiday Blog Party and Giveaway. Head on over and look at the great photos full of Beachy's Christmas Cheer and dont forget to join in the fun, there is great Christmas music and lots of people linking up on the Mr. Linky.


Two weeks ago we had our family Christmas celebrations as Mel and her fiance Chris will spend Christmas and New Year with Chris's family in Connecticut. Our first ever Christmas apart. So we set about making the best of it and got the tree up on December 1st. Mel put all her decorations up and we had a Christmas dinner with all the trimmings.



Mel, Lein and I made our own wrapping paper using wallpaper lining, stamps, glitter, sequins and ribbons. A special time for me, crafting with my two daughters. It is not often we all get to be together.




I finished Leiny's cardigan in time for our family pre Christmas Christmas and she was so happy to receive it.

Vienna

Last weekend I went to Vienna with 34 people who I work with. Thomas, a work colleague, and husband of my dear friend Ana at Boladeberlin had lived there for a number of months a few years ago, knew his way around the city and our first stop was a wool shop where we bought german wool for socks and needles for Ana and Leiny (who has begun using them already) at Just A Minute. I think Leiny's recent postings, particularly the one of the Christmas Fair, are fantastic and I want to award her the Kreativ Blogger Award, in keeping with the Fairs theme.


Thomas and Ana's good friend Julia took on the role of our tour guide. We did some sight seeing including a tour of the Opera house,

a visit to Hotel Sacher for hot chocolate, a trip to Schonbrunn Palace on the sunday morning , a quick visit to the Spanish riding school, a horse drawn carriage tour of the city at dusk, and a spot of shopping at the Christmas markets We still had some time left over for dinner on both evenings, lunch at the Opera house on sunday and a full blown sing song with another group from Donegal on saturday evening. It seemed like we were more than two days there. The nine hours sleep I got over two days left me pretty tired on the monday, when I was back at work.

The next post will inlcude a challenge I received from Jacoline (Lien)at Lovely Living and an award I received from Sharon at Mana Moon.

Dont forget to join Beachy at The Whispering Poppies for a Home Sweet Home Holiday Blog party on December 12th, sounds like it is going to be a lot of fun.