Christmas Preparations Begin.

Grey and gloomy today.

This morning our roles were reversed. Peter was up early as he was due to go out in the boat (that got cancelled as one rower missed his train) while I had fallen asleep after after initially waking at 5.30. Not surprising as I hadn't got to sleep until after 2.00. He brought me a mug of tea which went cold as I carried on sleeping so he heated it up in the microwave when I woke at 8.00.

My plan for the day was to write my Christmas letter while Peter was out in the boat as my pc doesn't have Word. As he was going out again in the afternoon I wrote it then instead. It seems to have taken all afternoon as first I checked through my daily notes and then had to fit it all on one sheet of paper. The recipients grow fewer each year and some may even read this blog but I enjoy remembering and writing about the year's events. At least this year we've made significant progress on the house.

As I was scanning my notes I saw that I had put the spare duvets up in the loft. In the very damp loft? No !! Off I went to investigate, the first thing I noted was that the loft hatch which is in the bathroom, could do with another coat of paint. Up in the loft I found the spare duvets, brand new ones from the camper but I had aired them thoroughly before sealing them in plastic bags and then into a big storage bag. Next I was pleased to find that although cold the loft felt much drier than before. The cardboard boxes feel damp and could do with replacing at some point. Mostly it's paintings up there and they are securely wrapped in many layers of bubble wrap. Everything was all over the place after the builders had taken down the two glass doors which the paintings were leaning against so I thought I'd have a sort out. With only part of the floor boarded out it was hard to find somewhere to lean the pictures against but I created bays between the stacked boxes and though not sorted everything is at least accessible. Next step will be to re-home as much of the rest as possible. Things like wall lights that I had been keeping in case we wanted to use them here. I foresee more donations to Craft, a charity in town that resells furniture and household goods. A thought - when people talk about the decline of the traditional High Street they usually mention the increase in the number of charity shops as if it's a bad thing. So ordinary shops bring money into the community, but how much really filters down into the wider community? Surely in these days of encouraging reduce/reuse/recycle charity shops should be seen as one method of doing that. The donors benefit by clearing stuff form their cluttered homes (and feel good about it), shoppers can buy stuff at reasonable prices (and feel good about supporting a charity) and the charity benefits and funnels money to those that need it. Hmm, I think we should be happy to see charity shops in our towns. 

After that little musing I'll be off soon to choir. It might even be time for us to start practising Christmas carols.

The evening primrose in the mini meadow seems determined to keep on flowering.