First of the first
The first of January greeted us with clear, blue skies, icy cold temperatures and a world dusted lightly in snow. The clean white surface reflects the winter sunshine perfectly, filling the house with light, so welcome at this time of year.
It seems like a very good way to start the year.
Last night we lit our very first Sky Lantern. This was a Christmas present to the Technical Advisor but he kindly shared it with all of us. The four of us donned coats and hats and headed to the end of the garden, the ground was already frozen stiff and our footsteps crunched through the dark. The moon was large and bright in a clear, cold sky and all was quiet across the fields. After some wrestling (for even on an apparently windless night the flat East Anglian landscape can still conjure up a decent breeze or two) but eventually it was lit and after an alarming false start when this mini hot air balloon lifted gracefully over our fence and promptly settled next door (naturally the side we are not familiar with) and looked set to catch fire for a moment; we nervously giggled and wondered if the neighbours were looking anxiously out their window and wondering why the seemingly normal but rather noisy family next door had suddenly decided to petrol bomb them but thankfully after a long moment the lantern did just what it should and rose, up, up and away.
We watched for a long time, made our wishes and enjoyed. We declared it a new tradition.
Wishing all of you a wonderful year ahead filled with good things old and new. I'll be back here soon with my first knitting of the year.
Please note that Sky Lanterns do seem to be on rather a sticky wicket when it comes to the environment, mainly due to the thin piece of metal wire which could cause untold damage to wildlife and livestock. There are plenty of metal free alternatives, including the product I have linked to which seem to provide a safer option.
*Sorry about the comment system - Technical Advisor is working on it and testing disqus since haloscan is no longer available.
The first of January greeted us with clear, blue skies, icy cold temperatures and a world dusted lightly in snow. The clean white surface reflects the winter sunshine perfectly, filling the house with light, so welcome at this time of year.
It seems like a very good way to start the year.
Last night we lit our very first Sky Lantern. This was a Christmas present to the Technical Advisor but he kindly shared it with all of us. The four of us donned coats and hats and headed to the end of the garden, the ground was already frozen stiff and our footsteps crunched through the dark. The moon was large and bright in a clear, cold sky and all was quiet across the fields. After some wrestling (for even on an apparently windless night the flat East Anglian landscape can still conjure up a decent breeze or two) but eventually it was lit and after an alarming false start when this mini hot air balloon lifted gracefully over our fence and promptly settled next door (naturally the side we are not familiar with) and looked set to catch fire for a moment; we nervously giggled and wondered if the neighbours were looking anxiously out their window and wondering why the seemingly normal but rather noisy family next door had suddenly decided to petrol bomb them but thankfully after a long moment the lantern did just what it should and rose, up, up and away.
We watched for a long time, made our wishes and enjoyed. We declared it a new tradition.
Wishing all of you a wonderful year ahead filled with good things old and new. I'll be back here soon with my first knitting of the year.
Please note that Sky Lanterns do seem to be on rather a sticky wicket when it comes to the environment, mainly due to the thin piece of metal wire which could cause untold damage to wildlife and livestock. There are plenty of metal free alternatives, including the product I have linked to which seem to provide a safer option.
*Sorry about the comment system - Technical Advisor is working on it and testing disqus since haloscan is no longer available.
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