Knitted Xmas trees and wild Wales!

Up late last night having supper with our Dutch friends from further up the valley.  It's always good to see them and catch up with the local news and we sat by the log stove chatting into the early hours. Woke up this morning to the sound of a howling gale.  It was so dark I thought it was still night-time - couldn't believe it when the clock said nine-thirty!  Looking out into the garden is like being at sea, with the trees at 45 degrees and rain lashing the windows!  I'll spare you the photos.

Not a very good day for gardening, but great for getting lots of knitting done.  Would get a lot more done though if it wasn't for two marauding kittens - yes they are kittens (5 and 10 months) although I concede they're alarmingly large.  Arlo, the cheeky ginger one, defies all efforts to keep him off the counters - he could teach his own course on assertiveness!

Surprisingly there's still a few brave blooms out there in the garden - a gorgeous rose just beyond the edge of the terrace, still a couple of blossoms on the fuchsias and the hydrangeas obligingly always keep their flowers through the winter.  In the front garden there are tiny cyclamen peeping through the grass and the hellebores and camellias are looking tantalising with their big fat buds.

Only the odd brave bird is venturing out. I suspect they've all been holed up on their nests recently - it's been SO cold. Even the rabbits haven't been tempted out to scrump any of the precious few remaining greens.  Decided I'll have to abandon any ideas of tidying up till next time, using the convenient rational that the plants will be better off having the leaves on and around them to keep them warm and cosy through till February at least.

On a more festive note I was stopped in my tracks recently at the Harrogate Knitting & Stitching Show when I saw this Knitted Christmas Tree.  An incredible piece of work, over fifteen feet high, it sports over 4,000 knitted leaves, nearly 2,000 knitted decorations and the tub, bark, grass, parcels and star are all knitted.  Fab-u-lous!

A veritable army of knitters from across Norfolk and beyond helped to make this amazing tree to raise funds for John Grooms Court in Norwich, which provides accommodation for 20 physically disabled young adults. Help them to continue by donating here.