Sunday, December 23, 2012

Merry Christmas to All!

 


С Рождеством Христовым!

    Happy Christmas!     

to all my friends bloggers
who visited my blog this year, read and commented 
on my posts (despite my some mistakes in English),  
who advised me on my comments, 
you are my friends from many countries:  
Finland, Poland, Germany,  
Bulgaria, USA, Canada, Spain,  
Greece, UK, Australia,
Malaysia and  Japan.
 
I wish you a happy Holy day, health and peaceful New Year!




Satu, my friend blogger from Finland gave me "The Beautiful Blog" Award, I appreciate this award, Satu!





Now I have to write answers about me:

1. I love nature  
2. I dream about big comfortable summer house.
3. I like  flowers, thujas, pond, water lilies
4. As my hobby in winter I love to embroider 
5. Prefer to travel in Fall, when gardening works are over

I would like to gave this  "The Beautiful Blog" Award to bloggers:

1.Prairie Rose's Garden
4.La Vie en Rose
5. Gardening With Grace

Congratulation! 

Wednesday, December 19, 2012

Coasting Down the Hill



Frosty is the morning;
But the sun is bright,
Flooding all the landscape
With its golden light.


 




Hark the sounds of laughter
And the voices shrill!
See the happy children
Coasting down the hill.


 



Eyes with pleasure beaming,
Cheeks with health aglow;
Bless the merry children,
Trudging through the snow!



 



Now I hear them shouting,
"Ready! Clear the track!"
Down the slope they're rushing,
Now they're trotting back.


 





Full of fun and frolic,
thus they come and go.
Coasting down the hillside,
Trudging through the snow.






Wednesday, December 12, 2012

Winter in Downtown

Finally winter came in. I wanted to go into the Saint Petersburg downtown to look at my favorite places in snow.



I went through the small park to the Mikhail Palace (Russian Art Museum). The Palace and its fencing was in snow and I turned my mind to cast iron flowers. They were expressive. 



I came to the Griboyedov Canal. My friend blogger Jason wrote a post about his visit to St. Petersburg, named "Venice of the North" and told about canals. I liked his post and photos.



Opposite the Cathedral of the Savior on the Spilled Blood is the entrance to the Mikhail Garden. Beautiful forged garden fencing was covered by snow too. If you carefully look at its design, you can see the tulips and roses. 



There were the mosaic pictures of flowers and birds on the columns near the garden gate.



I decided to go into the garden and take a picture of the fencing and the Cathedral on background. 
I had the post 'Autumn in Downtown' with the similar photos, which I took in fall. 



Then fog has appeared. Temp dropped up -8 C (14 F), the walkers hurried to their warm homes. Here's a view of the Cathedral and the Griboyedov Canal in the fog. 



I stood on the bridge over this canal, and paid attention at the bridge railing. It was very delicate, light, with a few flowers. Flowers looked like climbing roses with opening buds.



When I'd taken pictures on the river Moika, I loved beautiful bridge railing with golden flowers and leaves looked nice even in winter. Perhaps the poet Pushkin drove home here, his apartment had been not so far, now hidden in fog.



I looked at the other side. What a show! In a distance the huge Mikhail Castle disappeared in the fog. Castle’s dark red walls were vaguely visible.



The railing of the nearest bridge over the river Moika looked dark in fog.




I hope the weather will be sunny and clear the next time!

Wednesday, December 5, 2012

Scent of Christmas



    I was offered by Satu, my neighbor from Helsinki to tell what Christmas means to me. What the scent of Christmas is for me. I respond to this challenge, thank you, Satu!.
    The calm forest, frozen trunks, light colors in depth, all of these are scent of coming Christmas and New Year.


Feelings of Christmas are different in childhood and in adulthood.
As a child, we are waiting for gifts from Santa and as the adults we are happy our gifts to bring joy to loved ones.

  
    Now the four questions are:
1. What is my favorite flower at Christmas?
Poinsettia (Christ Star) is sold before the holiday. I've read the story of this flower and now I usually buy Poinsettia with bright red or pink top leaves to decorate my home.
2. What preparation for the holiday, do I never miss?
Of course, buying gifts, I always try to please the close people. The Christmas Tree. It is nice to decorate it, especially to get the old Christmas decorations left over from many years. By the new tradition I put the Advent candles on my window sill. 


3. What the scent of Christmas is for me?
It associates with traditional Christmas food, champagne and red wine.
As usual the mix salad ‘Olivier ‘(meat, potatoes, vegetables and mayonnaise), hot turkey or baked fish, sometimes caviar and cake or pudding there is on the holiday table.
In the morning people go on the frosty air, many fireworks, lots of laughter and joy.


4. Which song does make my Christmas?
Some years ago I saw the movie ‘Love Actually’, I really liked it. I love the song ‘All I want for Christmas is you’ that the girl Joanna (Olivia Olson) sang at the school on holiday.


 I now challenge to share what Christmas makes for the blogger:

1.         Rosemary 'Tales from my garden'
2.         Ash 'Houris in the Garden'
3.         Giga 'My piece of nature and adventure'
4.         Betty 'Gum leaves'
5.         Lucia 'Glass, eye and heart'
6.         Jason 'Garden in a city'
Tell me, please:
what is your favorite Christmas flower,
which preparation for Christmas you never miss
what is the scent of Christmas and
which song makes your Christmas!