Good morning Mick and all GN's from a very dark North Yorkshire. Cant see anything from the window, but it doesnt feel too cold, and I cant hear rain, which is good as I want to get the bedding washed and on the line. Today our womens group are going to Barkers, our local quite posh store, which has a pleasant cafe with views out over the park at the end. So we are booked in for coffee and having a quiz and also arranging various bits about the organising of the hampers, and what we are doing and where in the next few weeks etc. I nearly forgot about it, but fortunately called in yesterday at Upfront, or I would have been arriving at our normal meeting place with no one there and not a clue where I was meant to be! I want to get a bit of shopping early and get the washing out with hopefully a chance of it drying while I am out. So it will be a more topsy turvy day, with me getting showered and dressed up, then returning in the afternoon to catch up on jobs I have left undone.
Yesterday was a bit wearying, but did tick off a few things. I did a bit of the never ending sorting of the dresser stuff, got shin beef from the freezer to make my favourite casserole with, cleared up and then it was off on the yellow peril to the market and shops. It was so mild that I didnt even have a coat on, but had my mac with me as a precaution. The market was busy and lots of people out and about. I am glad to see the market being used and appreciated . I managed to get my favourite bread from the shop, found the lovely Tesco chocolate ginger bisciuts , on a stall I visit who sometimes has good bargains. They had had some very good crackers - that you have with cheese etc - and I had gone for those but then saw the gingers and also have risked another christmas pudding to try. I do usually buy a christmas pudding but do not use it on this christmas but have one from last year. That usually works well as keeping it I find, makes it richer for storing.
So carried on in and out of the stalls, called at the bank and ended up , of course, arriving at cafe Nero, for a much needed coffee, where their latest little offering for paying on your phone app is this cracker that appears. When you open it, it is either a rubbish joke and you havent won, or you can win a free coffee, which is what I did, which added pleasure to the taste to know I hadnt paid for it!!
I am now happy to look at christmas windows and enjoy them. I get a chance to look at them more closely , being on the buggy, and some shops have made a real effort to decorate them and put some real effort and artistry to their work. Others seem to me to have just shoved as much as possible in their windows with endless labels suggesting that these things are absolutely the best present you could buy, with as far as I can see not the least connection to christmas, thoughts of people, or anything than wanting the most money from you that they can get. Anyway never mind I got the majority of stuff I needed, and returned home for a rest, before stashing all the stuff away and putting all the washing out to dry. Left the buggy uncovered and ready to go down to collect the washing. I made up the casserole which smelt lovely and put it on for a slow cook, sat down to let my back ease up a bit, thinking I must go down to see how the washing was doing , and promptly fell asleep. When I woke up it was raining, the buggy was soaking wet as I hadnt covered it up, and the washing had had a rain water rinse and was hardly any drier than when I had put it out. So will try again later today!!
I dont know about you, but I have a funny attitude to routine. Whilst some things are governed by others, such as what day the dustbin men come, or a group you go to, so your option is only to go or not go, I like to have , as the irish would say, a routine that I dont have to take any notice of!! When I am not feeling well or have a headache, the routine is great, as you can do things on almost automatic pilot, which allows your mind to slowly get to work, thinking about any extra or special things you want to do. Common sense tends to decide that obviously you would bake first and then sweep up not the other way around. So at home it is natural that much of the things you do are routine, but at the same time, I am always ready to throw away routine with gay abandon, if anything better comes along! At this time of year, the weather is definitely a routine breaker, as any sign of sunshine or a mild spell means that shoes are donned and out to enjoy whatever there is to enjoy, a bit of gardening if I can bend or walk about and if not a little ride in the car or on the buggy to enjoy the autumn colours. My little acer has been beautiful, wonderful colours but yesterday morning there was hardly a leaf left on it and think that by the end of the week , much of the trees locally will be bare. Winter trees are still lovely, where you can see their graceful outlines against the sky , and I love having this tree outside my window, and it gives me my information every morning, are the leaves out or falling, is there signs of spring etc and what are the squirrels and pigeons doing today. I enjoy visits into cities, love going to art galleries, museums and looking at architecture and often look up at roof level in towns and cities where you see wonderful carvings and gargoyles and all sorts worth looking at. But the countryside is my real love, and gives me so many delights with the changing scenery, the long views all the signs of the year moving along, which you can see without looking at a calendar, by seeing how the crops are doing, what fields are ploughed etc etc. So whilst I accepted that for health reasons, and to remain independant as long as possible I needed to live in a town, being in a quiet cul de sac, with lovely silver beech trees in the front and the neighbouring tree which I see from the back window from the other side of the fence, give me that country connection and I am grateful for them. The tree at the back is like my weathercock. I tell by the movement of the branches and which way it is swaying what is happening. I also sit here writing and watching the dawn arriving so even have a sense of time passing etc. Hope they never have to take the tree down!
Mick good to know that you have put on a little weight. For anyone else they would not want that but for you that is showing you are doing well and keeping going. Hope you have a good trip to Bicester. GrandMattie well done with the cafe, kept you busy no doubt. I wish there was a Tai Chi class near me. It looks the sort of thing I could do and would be calming having to keep your mind on your movements rather than your worries! Bellasnana well done getting your engineer there and stuff sorted. You sound as though you could do with a rest today after a busy day yesterday.
Hope everyone can do something they enjoy today amidst the list of need to do jobs. Take a leaf from my book and abandon your routine for a little while! Have a happy day everyone
