Up, Up and Away.

A friend sent me this in an email.

Dear Santa,

I don't want much for Christmas, I just want the person reading this to be happy. Friends are the fruitcake of life.- some nutty, some soaked in alcohol, some sweet but mix them together and they're my friends.

Love Ya.

Today I am thankful for my friends. I only have a small group of friends, outside of work, and some of them I don't see that often but I treasure each and every one of them.

I spent most of the day in town today, meeting my friend for coffee and cheesecake then gently ambling around the shops and looking for bargains. Lots of things are already on sale but my Christmas presents are all sorted. Most of the things that caught my eye were things I would like for myself but don't really need- like a half price shiny, red metallic mug, but I shall wait until after Christmas before any such indulgences. I did buy some jewellery, one for me and some for presents, because it was reduced by 92%. Bought also for our traditional Christmas eve meal was some spicy marinated herrings which can only be bought from one fishmonger in town. I also bought fruit and veg from a stall in the Pannier Market including a red cabbage and local cooking apples. I have already cooked up a large pan of spiced red cabbage (with onions, apples and bacon). It freezes well and we shall have some with our Christmas rib of beef (no turkey - hooray!) and the rest will be eaten when our visitors arrive.

Out in the pedestrianised High Street, as well as someone playing the violin very well, was this chap promoting his balloon flights. I took a leaflet and shall leave it in a prominent position as this is something I would love to do. But at around £100 for a couple of hours it is quite pricey.

Tonight, once the cats were out, I gave the window shelves in the kitchen a coat of white gloss paint. I'll see what they look tomorrow to see if they need a second coat.