Monday 25th November - the season of gifts

 has begun early

in that BB came back from an early trip into town with red roses...

I do dislike staring at an unlit fire, so to have a vase of flowers to look at is wonderful.  The red roses - so romantic  - convey a sense of flames as well. I've decided to choose vivid yelkow/orange/red flowers for a vase before the gas coal effect fire through the colder months in future. 

We don't use the fire, indeed haven't done so for years as the house is well insulated and warm enough without the extra heat. Also since I started using oxygen all the time it would be foolish, nay, dangerous to have any kind of naked flames. So we have changed all the candles to battery ones over the last couple of years for the same reason. 

I gave my father his Christmas present now. When your parent is older and frailer and with underlying health problems it makes no sense to hang onto gifts... especially if it is something he would enjoy right away.

I sent off for a blanket from the RNLI shop. You can't specify the colour, but it was similar to the second one down in the picture, very light, made from recycled wool. We left him looking very comfortable with it tucked over his legs.

Then a friend arrived with an early birthday present. I opened it right away so she could watch (or maybe so I could enjoy it all the sooner?) It is a lovely nature-through-the-year art journal which I shall really enjoy using. It is full of interesting and inspiring quotations like this...