Sunday 8th December 2019 - When seasons overlap

Today my birthday over lapped with Christmas, the one running late, the other starting early.

These sweet little lanterns are a late birthday present which was given to me earlier in the week. Today I was able to light them up with the most decadent tea-lights, battery operated, so they can sit among the bits and pieces without fear of fire, and operated by a REMOTE CONTROL.... oh wow!

My birthday flowers are still just about surviving too; I need to add water and remove the roses but everything else looks fine.

So, what's this about Christmas arriving early?

We met up with my brother  and my sister-in-law and my father for lunch today, and a partial Christmas present exchange. Partial, because not all Christmas presents were actually present for the occasion.

My sister-in-law has a real knack for choosing books for me. Previous choices have included a Wendy Cope anthology of poems, and 'Archbishop' by Michele Guinness. Today I have received this

 
which I will start reading tonights, no, hang on, should I wait until Christmas?

The latest knitted mouse is also in the photograph....

Wednesday 27th November - Odd sort of Feast

I've always liked the description of the picnic that Ratty put up for Mole;

‘Hold hard a minute, then!’ said the Rat. He looped the painter through a ring in his landing-stage, climbed up into his hole above, and after a short interval reappeared staggering under a fat, wicker luncheon-basket.
‘Shove that under your feet,’ he observed to the Mole, as he passed it down into the boat. Then he untied the painter and took the sculls again.
‘What’s inside it?’ asked the Mole, wriggling with curiosity.
‘There’s cold chicken inside it,’ replied the Rat briefly;
‘coldtonguecoldhamcoldbeefpickledgherkinssaladfrenchrollscresssandwiches
pottedmeatgingerbeerlemonadesodawater—-‘
‘O stop, stop,’ cried the Mole in ecstacies: ‘This is too much!’
‘Do you really think so?’ enquired the Rat seriously. ‘It’s only what I always take on these little excursions; and the other animals are always telling me that I’m a mean beast and cut it VERY fine!’

-The Wind in the Willows, Kenneth Grahame

I bought a sort of picnic for this evening, of the things I fancied eating and things my father might like, and Himself added some crackers and some boursin and some fine cheddar...

and we took it round to my father's flat for supper.

We had

slices of salmon terrine, chicken satay and peanut sauce, sliced cold topside of beef, quail's eggs and celery salt, red bell peppers stuffed with cream cheese, mini pork pies, radishes, cherry tomatoes, watermelon pieces, orange melon pieces, mango slices and of course, the cheeses and the crackers.

I also bought a little mini port selection box, so that my father and I could have a small glass of port each to finish;

(Himself doesn't really care for port, and was driving).

Excellent end to the day!

Monday 8th April - First day of Easter Holidays

Since my last teaching day was Thursday, one might suppose the holidays to have started on Friday.

But we went to the dentist on Friday. I hardly think of that as an enjoyable holiday activity. Although there were pluses; no fillings, no replacement crowns, no root canal treatments. And they have started using slightly warm water in that ferocious hurty thing they use to descale one's teeth, which upgrades the experience from painful and unpleasant, to merely unpleasant with the occasional bit of 'youch!'.

Anyway, it is nice to have clean shiny teeth again; tea, or coffee, or possibly some of the tablets I take, make my teeth definitely browner over time.

The offspring were here - as I have said before, dentist time is family-get-together-time as we all roll up for one super-long appointment shared between us.

BB and Daughter and I are all a bit droopy and lacking in energy after long working hours, or too much teaching, or getting over a properly horrible cold. So there was a fair old bit of sitting around in shared book-reading or DS playing or knitting, depending on one's inclination. We did go out on Saturday, and a post about that trip will follow soon.

The dentist was one reason for the weekend reunion - the other was a belated birthday celebration, a belated Mothering Sunday celebration, and an early birthday celebration, one each for three of us. Daughter will have to wait her turn for a few months.

Today feels more like the holidays; because it is a Monday, and I'm still in my dressing gown and not teaching anyone... Second cup of coffee? What a good idea. 
 

 

Sunday 24th September - Happy Anniversary?

It is our fortieth wedding anniversary this weekend.

Who would have thought we would have stayed together for so long?

Well, me, for one. Not as in "taking it for granted"way, but as in, for me, "being married to this man is the very best of all options, ever", way.

Anyway, how to celebrate? I'm so glad we didn't plan a huge friends and family party weekend affair. It is three weeks into the new school year, and I am absolutely zonked out. I've also temporarily left the human race and become a - what shall we say - no, I won't type the word that comes into my mind. Just use your imagination; I have a HUGE box of tissues to hand, and the waste-paper bin within easy reach, and am having a long, slow start to today. Me and the cat.

which is a bit of a waste of a beautiful day. I'll get up later and rejoin humanity, maybe. If I can take my tissues with me.

We have celebrated; son and daughter were here last night, and cooked and served a delicious meal, and we played Ank Mpork (and I won, partly because no-one else was concentrating either).

We've had cards and texts and good wishes from friends and family.

And we will be celebrating again; Kind friends have given us a gift voucher for afternoon tea for two at A Very Superior Establishment and I am looking forward immensely to redeeming it in the near future.

I reckon our 40th Anniversary Celebrations, in a sort of on-going, low-key, way, will last for several months to come. Meanwhile, I am, weirdly enjoying today, in spite of snuffles and snorting-into-handkerchiefs. Who wouldn't - in a favourite place, surrounded by favourite people, on a lovely sunny Sunday day.

This is the best kind of happiness.

Friday 22nd July - First Day of Summer Holidays

I did my last bit of teaching on Thursday evening, so my holiday unofficially began on the Friday.

Friday was quite a packed day - routine bits and pieces first thing, take my father to the station, and then,  

why not?

why not indeed?

So we went to Brighton. Lunch in Waterstones cafe - very acceptable tuna melt panini - I'll have that again -  and then to the serious work of shopping. I did have a very specific shopping list of things that I can't buy on-line - things I wanted to see and touch.

Ackermann's music first (BB went for a stroll around the block to see what was going on nearby - and then another stroll - he knows I can spend HOURS in a music shop) and seventy pounds later I had chosen a couple of kilo's weight of music books for next term's teaching. I mention the weight - it was about ten books, but it's the weight that matters when you are walking round and about.

We called in at Adaptatrap where I encountered a Kora

(The kora is a 21-string lute-bridge-harp used extensively in West Africa - wikipedia)

the owner of the shop  was tuning one for a customer - what a lovely, radiant  sound. I've got this playing on youtube as I finish this post.

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hnTDuahaXwg

I managed not to buy one, not to even touch, as I knew that I would just get out my barclaycard and buy one, and we were already carrying too much stuff. I don't even know the price. Let's just walk away....

Then to the Best Shop of all -



where we both spent a good time browsing, circling round and round the displays until we made our final selections.

After that we were pretty much done with shopping, and made our way down to the sea front, and then back to the car, and home.

I wasn't finished with Friday yet though - I went to a staff "do" at a nearby pub noted for pizza and skittles. Oh yay! Skittles is Good Game.

The clock was just about striking midnight as I arrived home... what a way to start the holidays.

Sunday 22nd November - Afterwards

The plans sort of worked.

That's probably because there was no salmon, so no bear was tempted to gate-crash?

No, it's because of so many willing hands making light work. Thank you to all the family and friends who helped set up and clear up,

and to all the family and friends who helped to make it such a great occasion.

The occasion?

My parent's 60th Wedding Anniversary Celebration Tea Party.




Unfortunately my mother couldn't be there, as she was taken into hospital over a week ago with the consequences of a chest infection. There were serious conversations as to whether it was at all appropriate for the party to go ahead under the circumstances. However we decided to carry on, and then, as the day drew near, she suddenly began to show real signs of improvement. She's still in hospital, and has got a way to go yet. But the celebration became a CELEBRATION.

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Excellent.