Just an old lady?

I ordered a t-shirt from the internet and later discovered the site didn't have good reviews so I was a bit worried but my t-shirt turned up as expected and is, also, as expected. Why do they have so much prettier/crazier clothes on t'internet?

I asked Husband to take my photo wearing the t-shirt (me not him) but I realise I should have been specific. I should have said, 'Please make sure the writing is clear and not obscured.' In case you can't read it it says, 'Assuming I'm just an old lady was your first mistake.'

Finding fairy doors

Having just squeezed past George to get to my desk I am reminded of the words of the dog trainer that I took Harvey to when he was a puppy.

Imagine these words with a slight German accent. 'Never step over and walk around a dog. If he is in your way make him move. You must show him who is boss.'

Yeah right.

How can I disturb him when he's dozing and comfy? Poor little thing.

You can read the full story of the nightmare that was dog training classes here.

Anyway, I went to the woods with Nuora and the grandchildren yesterday. Younger Son was leading a stool-making workshop and cooking pizza. (We went in time for the pizza.)

But when we arrived it was pouring with rain and he had decided to skip the pizza so people could finish their stools and get home. GrandSon4, however, was determined to show me the fairy doors so off he and I set through the mud and very wet rain.

He had only been there once before but he knew exactly where to go. 'Not that way. No fairy doors that way.' And he was right.

Sillier-than-Usual Dream Night

Last night I dreamed that I was back in the house in which I had grown up and was cooking Christmas dinner. One by one all my relatives turned up. When I looked in the fridge it was full of trifles. That's the thing about my relations: they always take food to a party even if they're dead.

Husband meanwhile dreamed that I'd given him a huge bull - in a suit. He was just wondering whether there would be enough grass in our garden for a bull when I turned up with a cow as well. But not in a dress.

It must have been National Sillier-than-Usual Dream Night.

And now I've dripped pear juice all over my desk so I'd better wipe it before it gets sticky.

In case you hadn't worked it out I'm procrastinating. I want to get back into writing my novel - haven't touched it for months - but wanting to is less scary than actually getting down and doing it.

When do you eat your chocolate decorations?

Even though we took the tree down on Sunday it's taken until today for me to get around to returning the lounge to its usual pristine (!) condition. For a tree that wasn't supposed to drop its needles it lost a carrier-bagful.

That might have been because the grand-dog and children kept trying to squeeze behind it. And they might also have been responsible for the paucity of chocolate decorations left on the tree.

I assume I must have learned from my own family traditions that you didn't eat the chocolate off the tree until you took it down. A nice treat perhaps to relieve the post-tree sorrow. Maybe I'll just give in and dole them out on a daily basis next year.

Keeping a separate store hidden for me of course.

Careful what you wish for

First night back at Zac's bible study yesterday after a one week break.

For the past six months or longer whenever anyone has asked how Zac's is going, I've said, 'Good. We're getting the same regular group who want to study and know more so it's been quiet. But it's quite a small group so we could do with some new faces.'

I should be careful what I wish for.

Last night made up for a year of peace.

It's good to be back!

Should have had a haircut

I knew I should have booked a hair cut before going to weigh in today. Two pounds on. Now, on the grounds that a) it has to be eaten, and b) I won't be weighed for another week, I think I should eat some Christmas chocolate tonight.

Yesterday we had a vegan feast for dinner. Younger Son and Nuora aren't exactly doing Veganuary but they're sort of doing it so I borrowed a recipe book from the library and served up Moroccan squash tagine, spiced chickpeas, and sweet potato and coconut curry.

I couldn't be a vegan: I love milk, cheese and butter too much. These dishes were actually things I could have made for vegetarian Daughter without an emphasis on it being vegan. If you see what I mean. There were no strange or specially-bought ingredients. The tagine was supposed to have pigeon peas in it. Not having a clue what a pigeon pea was I assumed I could use a pack of frozen green peas until I googled it and found pigeon peas are a legume more akin to chickpeas. As I was already serving chickpeas I used kidney beans instead. 

But there are extremes in veganism as in any other sort of ism. Some vegans, for example, won't eat honey considering it as being stolen from bees; others are concerned about the trans-continental transportation of colonies of bees for pollination purposes - which rules out a whole load of crops.

But as Younger Son pointed out, if you go far back enough through the food chain you'll find something dodgy about many foods. 

New year, new bra

In exercise class I have a problem with flopping ... I know you're expecting me to say boobs but it's straps. Someone suggested getting a cross-over exercise bra so I went mad and treated myself to one in Tesco's yesterday.

Yes, it stands up on its own and would probably make a better job of exercising than I do. In fact just getting into it has added a whole new exercise program to my regime.

My mistake was trying to get into it headfirst. The secret it seems is to go feet-first. Which doesn't seem entirely natural but works.

New bra, new training shoes, new hula hoop. I'm taking this keeping fit thing to a new level. Or at least I'm dressing for it. The time to worry is when I invest in lycra leggings rather than my Eric Morecambe shorts.

The wonder of you

I was thinking about love and then about music. I don't understand either.

Today we walked part of the cliff path between Rotherslade and Limeslade. I chose this walk because a) parking is free and b) the path is fairly flat, but it is hillier than I remembered. By that I mean there are more slopey bits that George slows down even more than usual over.

If you look carefully you will see one bobbing head in the water. Not a dog but a non-wet-suited swimmer. It's true the sun was warm when it was out but not that warm!

Is it Tuesday?

I made a new year resolution yesterday, a bit late I know. It is: write reminders, witty - to me at least - thoughts, to do lists, blog ideas, etc, in an orderly manner in a notebook. That is instead of scrawling things on odd bits of paper and instantly losing and forgetting them.

One day in and my to do list gets longer and nothing has been crossed off. My notebook is also sadly lacking witty thoughts. 

My to do list mostly consists of phoning people and ironing - two things I hate doing. Since Christmas I seem to have been washing an inordinate amount of bedding even allowing for the fact that we had two adults and two children staying. 

I probably need a soundtrack for hula hooping too. (Add to to do list.)

Big sigh.

But the sun is shining - a bit - and we're going to take George for a walk so, apart from being convinced that it's Tuesday today (Saturday actually) it's not all bad.

And so it begins

Bed by nine o'clock last night. Slept through fireworks even though Husband tells me he got up twice to watch them.

A lovely walk this morning on Mumbles Hill even though it was grey and misty.

Early gorse and lots of red berberis (I think)

A very happy and healthy 2020 to each and every one from Husband and me. And George even though he's not in the photo. 

And I've just completed the jigsaw I started before Christmas. I rolled it up and put it away while people were here but it's still taken me a long time.

How did you celebrate the coming of the new year?