Good Morning Saturday 23rd December 2023

Good morning Mick, you’re a very early bird today!
It’s dry here in south Gloucestershire, quite chilly too.
Yesterday was housework and a good tidy up. The dog and I enjoyed our afternoon walk despite the cold wind.
Today I have a pile of ironing to tackle and I want to carry on with an online colour pencils course. I’m enjoying the slower pace using them and I like doing fine detail.
I hope you enjoy the weekend everyone 🌹

Morning Mick, morning All. Can’t see out but can hear the wind, the forecast is for another grey day.

Pleased to see you mick. Been awake since 2.15, no I don’t know why either.

A quiet day yesterday after Thursdays excitement. Mr C washed the mud from the car while I sorted Christmas gifts. He had a long afternoon nap, I settled on the sofa and caught up with emails. A much less fraught day.

Taking the wretched car to have the dash cam checked this morning. Will allow extra time as reports yesterday were of gridlocked roads. Hope to make the table we booked for lunch in our favourite little garden centre.

Have the best day you can everyone. Hope Saturday is kind to us all.

Good morning from a mild Bristol.
How nice to see your nephew, Mick, enjoy his visit.
Had a bad day yesterday, emotionally. I also was very tired and had over an hour’s nap after lunch.
I’m going to spend the afternoon at DD’s, after a surprise invitation. I’ll go straight from the church coffee morning.
I hope today is quiet and kind to you all. Carpe diem 🦩🦩🦩🦩

Hope today is better grandmattie .

Good morning from a cloudy and still corner of La Sarthe.

Today was my parents' wedding anniversary on which we always went out for lunch after they’d move closer to me. We continued this tradition for a further 20 years after my mother was widowed.

I hope you have a better day, grandMattie; being with your family should help.
I expect you will enjoy catching up with your nephew, Mick.
I hope your dash cam is easily put right, cornergran.

Happy weekend to you all! 🦩🧑🏻‍🎄🎄🎅🏼🦩

Good morning from Cornwall where it's dry and mild and, if anything like yesterday, too warm for my winter coat. A morning of shopping after breakfast in Wetherspoons was followed by much rearranging furniture in anticipation of my sofa delivery next week.

Today is the glorious spectacle of the massed male voices as they walk through my town stopping in various places to sing carols. The sound of While Shepherds Watched sung to the tune of Lyngham is spine-tingling (Google 'Fishermens Friends singing Lyngham' if you're interested. I don't know how to add a link here). After that I'll make a start on my workroom so that my six-year-old grandson can come and use my Workmate and tools in the new year.

In the night my taxi-driving son turned his ankle over on a step and sent me an alarming photo of one very swollen foot. Single dad/self-employed so I'm hoping it's not broken!

Oh, Mizuna, how awful for him. I hope it gets better quickly.

Morning all from a still dark West Oxfordshire.

I hope you have a brighter day GM with your family.

Younger son and daughter should be arriving today. I need to check timings. Their rooms are ready and bangers and mash is on the menu tonight! Something plain before we start on the feasting tomorrow! Elder son and his family arrive on Christmas morning.

OH and I had lunch at our favourite restaurant yesterday- the last of our weekly lunches for the year.

Have a good day everyone.

Dry and still beeezy I think in N Surrey.
Grandmattie you need to pencil in 2 days when you do nothing apart from long baths if you have one in your new bathroom and taking care of you. Some gentle time. Listen to the radio, read, watch a film. A 2 day holiday with your favourite food. Pencil it in on your calendar once Christmas is done.

Good morning, it is set for a dull and windy day, not nice and not uplifting

I cleaned and did a little water of all my plants yesterday, all 72 of them. It is not a jungle, they are mostly sansievieras crammed together in pots and they only need some water every two months in winter. My two year old christmas cactus has fat buds on it, right on cue, I read that they can last sixty years.

The house is clean and quite tidy now, not much to do today, just the en suite but I will get myself out for a walk around town.

Have a good day

Thank you gM. He's terribly accident-prone. 🙄

Good morning from the NE where the gale force winds persist, it was a very noisy night.
Wrapped the gifts for GDs and did some tidying up but also spent some time setting the recorders for Christmas day and boxing day.
Sister and BIL will visit this afternoon but the rest of the family will not be calling as they will be busy with preparations.
Have a good weekend and stay safe in this dreadful weather.

Good morning all from the Scottish Borders. Still dark.
I learned that the Scots Gaelic for the Solstice translates as the night of the seven suppers
Because it's so long there is time to eat seven meals😮

I saw the physio yesterday who has given me a raft of exercises and a club to join of fellow sufferers on NHS waiting lists for hip and knee surgery which is currently 2 to 3 years

I shall decorate my tree today and a df is calling for a cuppa.

Enjoy your nephew's visit Mick.
Enjoy your DDs gMattie you needed that power nap!
I'm off to listen to the Fisherman's friends Mizuna while I drink my tea
Have a lovely day everyone.

Mizuna: I much prefer the tune of Lyngham for While Shepherds Watched, which others may recognise as used for O For A Thousand Tongues. Apparently, it’s commonly heard in Methodist and mining communities. Here’s the link:-

www.youtube.com/watch?v=HJ8BIRxh9ao

Thank you, Helter; no bath, too scared of slipping - but the metaphorical bath is a good idea.

Ashcombe

*Mizuna*: I much prefer the tune of Lyngham for While Shepherds Watched, which others may recognise as used for O For A Thousand Tongues. Apparently, it’s commonly heard in Methodist and mining communities. Here’s the link:-

www.youtube.com/watch?v=HJ8BIRxh9ao

Lovely tune. I know “Oh for a thousand tongues” in a completely different tune!

It's still Friday night here in British Columbia. Drizzly and damp for now, but high winds are expected for tomorrow.

I have plans to pick up some sewing supplies with my 8 yr old grand daughter. I enrolled her in a beginner's sewing course that starts the first week of January. Since we are going away on the 28th, I wanted to do the shopping together before we leave. A bit of last minute wrapping and I'm pretty much ready for Christmas.

Have a good day everyone.

Good morning, Michael and all GNs. Have a nice day with your nephew, Mick. It’s dry, but cooler this morning in South Yorkshire - thankfully the wind seems to have dropped. I walked to the supermarket yesterday and it was heaving. Fortunately I only wanted a few things. My plans to make the mince pies were postponed as I decided to make gingerbread men instead. I will ice those today and if they don’t look too much of a dog’s dinner, give some to the little ones next door. Mince pies today, then; sausage rolls tomorrow. They should cool in time for me to take them to DD’s, where I’ll be staying until Boxing Day.
Have the best day you can folks.

Good morning from our hotel in Madeira.
Yesterday we got the hotel shuttle bus into Funchal and then took the cable car up to the top of the hills. What a view, stunning. We watched people get into the baskets that would take them back down. Not for me, we went back down the same way we came up.
Today is the start of a special Christmas programme here at the hotel.
We may have a swim later, I believe DH wants to try the steam room.
Hopefully a better day for you GM.
I hope everyone has a lovely day xxx

A very subdued good morning from a dry and windy Northampton.

Terrible news for our family; my DBrother-in-law (my late sister's husband) had a massive stroke on Wednesday evening, was rushed to hospital, had surgery to remove a blood clot; sadly the damage to his brain was too great and he passed away yesterday evening. We are all in a state of shock at the suddenness of it. He leaves a long-term partner, (my sister died over 20 years ago), a daughter and two teenage grandchildren. I had known him since the late 1960s, when he first started dating and then married my sister. He was 77.

Will just have to carry on today, and do what I had planned, but with a heavy heart.

Good morning all from rainy South Lanarkshire.

Enjoy your nephew’s visit Mick.

gM hoping for a better day for you.

The wandering choir sounds wonderful Mizuma, everything crossed for your son.

Hoping *Marydoll is feeling a bit better.

Today will be spent at home getting organised for being away for a couple of nights at DD’s house.

I’m off to listen to those YouTube links.

Have the best day possible everyone.

How lovely. Thank you. I've never met anyone outside Cornwall who's heard of the tune!

I’m so sorry BlueSapphire

Oh BlueSapphire, so sorry.