Stuck.

Each day in Advent I hope to highlight those positive moments when my spirits are lifted and for which I am thankful. Today I came into the kitchen to be greeted by blasts of sunlight through the windows and it made me feel so good. Although I don't do well in unremitting heat and sun to see the sun is like a pleasure shot straight to the brain. It gives me energy, makes me smile and I am ready to face any task. So I am thankful for the winter sun creeping over the top of the hill and lighting up the front of the house.

Being the weekend I feel I can take a bit more time to relax and today I finished another library book. I'm thankful for our libraries where, so long as I remember to return them on time, I can borrow books for free (there is a charge for dvds and cds). I read a lot, often light reading and there is no way I could afford to buy several books a week nor would I want to fill my book shelves with more books. We already have a large collection of paperbacks, mainly SF as well as many reference books reflecting our various interests. Some books are there for sentimental reasons, books from my childhood or from my mother including one printed in 1706.

All the recent heavy rain has had the usual effect on the drive (much steeper in reality than in the photo) and I spent time raking back the gravel that had been washed into ruts again. Somehow there never seems to be enough gravel to fill up the ruts so I have started on my plan to dig up gravel from the stream and put it in the drive. Stones and gravel are always being washed down the stream from further up the valley so there is a never ending supply. I am only limited by how much digging I can do. Even though it is sometimes frustrating to think that my sons could fill a wheelbarrow in no time and heave it up the drive the reality is that they are not here and I am still fit enough to put stones in a bucket and then shift it in a wheelbarrow. That may take longer but it will get done eventually. All day long water was pouring down the other side of the track but there is nothing I can do about that as it is seeping out of the ground half way down the drive and it doesn't wash away the stones on that side.

Peter went out rowing in the middle of the day. They were rowing hard in the middle of the river and getting nowhere."'Another 10 strong strokes", called the cox, "Why aren't we moving and why are our oars bending?", came the reply. "Oh dear, we're stuck on a sandbank." responded the cox. Whereupon several members of the crew had to jump out of the gig, stand on the sandbank, in the middle of a wide river, and push the gig into deeper water. Red faces all round.