Tuesday, December 22, 2015

Christmas wishes


The presents are wrapped, the decorations have been hung and I’m about to start packing for our journey tomorrow to spend Christmas with DD and her family. Outside, on this shortest day, the sky is leaden and the ground sodden, and from the forecast we are likely to arrive in Yorkshire with a very clean car.

Before I go, I would like to wish you all the happiest of Christmases and a peaceful and healthy New Year. When I come to look back over 2015 on New Year’s Eve, I will have to admit to having become a somewhat erratic blogger this year, but I am still extraordinarily grateful for this wonderful activity and all the lovely people it has brought me into contact with. I wish you all everything you could wish for yourselves and look forward to continuing our friendship in 2016.


Image:  Nativity, an illuminated capital from a Book of Hours in Dutch. Walters Art Museum, Baltimore, USA.
Carol:    O Holy Child (Cantique de Noël)
                 Words by Placide Cappeau (1808–1877), translated  by John Sullivan Dwight (1812-1893).
                 Music by Adolphe Charles Adams (1803-1856, arranged by John Rutter.


Posted by at
Labels: , ,

38 comments:

  1. Nancy Wallace22 December 2015 at 09:34

    Thank you for your Christmas good wishes and the beautiful recording. May you have a joyful Christmas and peaceful New Year.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Kathy22 December 2015 at 16:59

      Thank you, Nancy. I hope you have a lovely Christmas. I'll be celebrating Midnight Mass in DD's church - the first time I've celebrated at Christmas since I retired in 2007. :)

      Delete
  2. Patricia22 December 2015 at 09:58

    A beautiful carol, and a fabulous version by Rutter, Perpetua. Thank you for sharing it, and the sweet Nativity. I always like the early portrayals, and have enjoyed looking for one for my blog too. Blogging is indeed a wonderful activity, and it is such a pleasure to have met you this way - and on the other wide of the world! Merry Christmas!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Kathy22 December 2015 at 17:01

      Thanks,, Patricia. I'm glad you enjoyed the carol and image. I always have great fun trying to find something different and appropriate each year. I think it is truly amazing how blogging leads to friendships with people all over the world, whom we could never have met in any other way.

      Delete
  3. Ricky22 December 2015 at 11:41

    Wishing you a safe journey to Yorkshire and a restful & enjoyable Christmas with DD & her family. I suspect it will be a very musical one too so I hope you've got your clarinet with you!

    Some of us who haven't yet retired, have to work at Christmas :-( However, I have got Jack to preach on Sunday 27th & then I'm having a week off.

    As you know, I too struggled during the middle part of the year, to keep my blog going. It's been good to get back into writing & posting regularly in the last couple of months. I look forward to many more 'Perpetually in Transit' posts in 2016.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Kathy22 December 2015 at 17:07

      Thankfully the rain will have stopped for a while by tomorrow, so the journey should be uneventful. Christmas will certainly be enjoyable and musical, but also quite busy as I'm celebrating at DD's church not only at Midnight Mass but also on the Sunday after Christmas Her vicar is on sabbatical and the group of parishes were having trouble finding enough cover for Christmas. I'm looking forward to doing the Midnight for the first time since I retired 8 years ago. :)

      I think quite a few bloggers I follow have struggled a bit this year for different reasons, but it's still too pleasurable and satisfying an activity to relinquish just yet.

      Delete
  4. Bonnie22 December 2015 at 12:11

    O Holy Night...so moving and beautiful. It gave me goose bumps and I was holding my breath. Thank you for sharing this. I hope that you have a very blessed Christmas. Enjoy your family, stay safe, warm and dry. Shalom. Peace, Joy, Hope and Love to you.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Kathy22 December 2015 at 17:10

      It's such a beautiful carol, Bonnie and I think this rendering is particularly glorious. I've listened to it several times and had the same reaction as you.
      Thank you for your Christmas greetings and I wish you too a happy and peaceful time with your family and friends.

      Delete
  5. Penny O'Neill22 December 2015 at 15:02

    Glorious!
    Happy Christmas to you as well, and safe travel. As often happens, we are experiencing similar weather here, with gloomy skies, rain and continued unseasonably warm temps. So it goes, Perpetua -the days will start growing longer. Peace and good wishes.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Kathy22 December 2015 at 17:13

      Isn't it just, Penny! I keep clicking on Play and enjoying it all over again. :) I find it amazing that you with your central continental climate are having the same weather as our temperate little island at the moment. Today has been truly dreadful but thankfully the rain is die to ease off and we may even see the sun for a while as we travel!

      Delete
  6. Helen Devries22 December 2015 at 15:50

    Merry Christmas...and have a wonderful time with the family.
    Take care driving...the weather doesn't sound promising.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Kathy22 December 2015 at 17:16

      Thanks, Helen, and the same to you and Leo.
      I've just checked the forecast for tomorrow and apparently today's continuous heavy rain is meant to ease off and we are supposed to have some real sunshine in the middle of the day. I've almost forgotten what it looks like. :)

      Delete
  7. Susan Heather22 December 2015 at 19:32

    Loved the recording. Have a wonderful, peaceful Christmas and all that you would wish for yourself and your family in the new year.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Kathy22 December 2015 at 22:02

      Thanks, Susan and the same to you. I'm glad you enjoyed the carol.

      Delete
  8. Molly22 December 2015 at 21:08

    Happy Christmas to you and your family. Love Molly

    ReplyDelete
  9. BacktoBodrum22 December 2015 at 22:51

    Safe journey and have a wonderful family Christmas.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Kathy23 December 2015 at 08:33

      Thanks, BtoB. It should be great fun. Enjoy your own festivities.

      Delete
  10. Ray Barnes22 December 2015 at 23:04

    Have a very happy Christmas and a safe journey there and back.
    I look forward to reading your 'life in blog' in 2016
    Blessings. X

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Kathy23 December 2015 at 08:34

      Thanks, Ray, and enjoy your own Christmas services and celebration. I promise to be a better blogger in 2016. :)

      Delete
  11. Dr. Kathy McCoy23 December 2015 at 00:26

    Blessings to you and yours this Christmas season, Perpetual! Hope your journey is safe and the family celebration loving and joyous!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Kathy23 December 2015 at 08:38

      Thanks, Kathy and the same to you and Bob. The journey today may actually be in sunshine, rather than rain, which will make a big change! The celebration will, as always, be great fun. :)

      Delete
  12. Ayak23 December 2015 at 02:35

    Safe journey. Have a very Happy Christmas and a healthy and peaceful new year. With much love xxx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Kathy23 December 2015 at 08:39

      Thanks, Ayak, and the same to you and Mr A and of course all the dogs.:) See you in 2016. xxx

      Delete
  13. carolynnpritchard23 December 2015 at 08:56

    Thank you for your blogs over the year... really enjoy them :) Have a wonderful Christmas with the family. Love to you & J xx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Kathy26 December 2015 at 10:22

      Glad you enjoy them, Carolynn. I love writing them, even though I've been less regular about it this year. Christmas Day was lovely and we're now settling down to a relaxing, if very wet, Boxing Day. xxx

      Delete
  14. Linda P23 December 2015 at 09:05

    Happy Christmas to you and your family dear blog friend. Also wishing you and yours a peaceful new year.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Kathy26 December 2015 at 10:24

      I had a lovely Christmas Day, thanks, Linda, and hope you had the same. Now for a quiet Boxing Day, spent playing games. :)

      Delete
  15. vic23 December 2015 at 13:40

    I hope you have an enjoyable Christmas with your family and safe travel there and back.

    Merry Christmas

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Kathy26 December 2015 at 10:25

      The journey here was fine, thanks, and fingers crossed for the return trip on Monday. Christmas with the family is always great fun. :)

      Delete
  16. Jennifer Hays24 December 2015 at 02:38

    Merry Christmas to you and your family. I hope you have a wonderful day.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Kathy26 December 2015 at 10:31

      I had a splendid day, thanks, Jennifer and hope you and your family did too. We're now settling down to enjoy Boxing Day - a very British holiday. :)

      Delete
  17. Linda Myers24 December 2015 at 07:08

    Merry Christmas to you! Hope the Midnight celebration is glorious.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Kathy26 December 2015 at 10:32

      Thanks, Linda. The Midnight celebration was wonderful. I really enjoyed it. Hope your Christmas was good too.

      Delete
  18. Sally Wessely26 December 2015 at 17:35

    Thank you for you beautiful wishes and for the video of my favorite Christmas hymn. I hope your Christmas season is filled with much love and good cheer.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Kathy26 December 2015 at 18:36

      I'm glad you enjoyed them, Sally. I'm having a lovely Christmas thanks, with lots of fun and laughter over board and card games with the grandsons. :)

      Delete
  19. Anonymous26 December 2015 at 20:56

    A very merry Christmas to you and yours from MM, Mrs Playmo and the gang. I have been an erratic blogger too this year - may 2016 be more serene. Now I'm going to try to post this and hope that it works.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Kathy27 December 2015 at 19:07

      Hi, MM and thanks (waves vigorously from amid the Yorkshire floods). I hope you and your family have had a lovely, warm and dry Christmas. My New Year resolutions list is topped by 'blog more regularly' and 'practise clarinet'! :)

      Delete

I welcome your comments and will always try to respond to them. Thank you for reading.

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)