I've started Christmas!

I told you wrong, Gerd, it was the Korean fir I dug out from this spot, pines have twin needles and this tree hasn't, but it does have lovely cones. It was a struggle in the fierce winds, at one stage it blew me over with the heavy tree and I fell into that hole! No harm done though and I eventually managed to drag it into the sun lounge.
This is where it stood, opposite the conservatory:

The tree had grown a lot since it last served as a Christmas tree, it's gone right through the ceiling and into my studio .......... no, it hasn't, I had to do quite a bit of lopping and thinning at the top. Below right shows how far I've got with the decorating:

I've not managed to get the train going yet!

When I went back outside to fetch in my spade and saw, I took a couple of snaps of the ducks who spend nearly all day down there by the big pond, and also to show that I've got the concrete foundations out of the old greenhouse and carried all but three pieces to store next to my oil tank behind the house. My nice neighbour Michael fetched all the struts I had taken down and those I'd left up. The hole left now the greenhouse is gone will take some filling - and then grassing over.

Other news: It's my lovely brother's birthday today, HAPPY BIRTHDAY once more, Gerd! I'm going to the theatre tonight to celebrate his birthday, he's been down south celebrating with family. Susi and Mark took them to a great farm and I've pinched one of their photos:

I was pleased to see Gerd wearing the new jacket I bought him,

far too large initially, but he managed to exchange it:

On Tuesday 1st December I went to a big Christmas Party organised by the Coleorton Beaumont Trust at the Lyric Rooms in Ashby. They were beautifully decorated, the tea dainty and delicious and plentiful, Our Heritage Group treasurer Mike and myself sold some more of our beautiful Memories books and I finally received some more photos from the launch evening:

Looking through my Picasa files for photos to put in here I was struck by how much knitting and crochet I'd done since I last posted a picture with knitted squares:

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Today, Sunday, I busied myself with outside lights. I was absolutely amazed that those on the pergola - unused out there in the wind and rain for over three years - immediately came on when I plugged them in. They're "blinking" ones, I couldn't get them to show all at once in the photos.