Cats in the Kitchen, Flora in the Garden

Where are all the hours and the days spinning off to? Time just seems to be flying by, I feel as though I could use the whole twenty four hours, every day to get everything done. I feel as though I am finding it hard as Christmas gets nearer to get round all the blogs as much as I would like to, also my computer has taken against anyone with a typepad blog, and is at the moment refusing to let me comment on them. Please be aware if you have typepad, I have been visiting you I just am not able to comment. I have also been trying to find time to put up a new posting on the blog since yesterday. I would imagine that I am not the only one, who feels this pressure of time at the moment, and if my comments and postings are briefer than normal, don't worry everything will be back to normal once the Christmas preparations are in place. Plus we still have the Christmas Memory postings to look forward to [see the end of the posting], don't forget.

Well, at the moment I have a beautifully clean front living room and one large naked tree standing in the corner of it. The living room is supposed to be ready for Christmas now! ha ha! I am busy tomorrow, so Friday is the new date. I was going to decorate it yesterday but it was one of those days numerous phone calls to answer, people knocking at the door. I knew I was out today so I asked my husband, who was at home would he mind getting all the Christmas decorations down from the 'niche' in our bedroom.



An explanation of the 'niche'. In one corner of our bedroom about four foot from the ground there is an opening from there to the top of the wall. This stretches back over our stairs and over the stairs of the cottage next door to which we are attached. Apparently, I have been told it is a space that a mattress would be put in for either a servant or for child to sleep. Its size is about four foot high, by two foot six wide, and about eight foot deep. We keep a lovely curtain over it and use is as a type of organised gloryhole, it does have a light switch and light fitting in it now.

Now the man tale, does anyone else experience this, lots of people I know do, that the minds of men work in a very strange way at times. As I said I left my husband getting the Christmas decorations down from the niche. When I came home, he told me he had got them down, and done as I asked and lined them up against the wall in the upstairs corridor, so I could sort. He said, if he had missed any to say and he would get them. Please bear in mind that all these boxes are labelled. I went to start sorting and there in the corridor is one large cardboard box and a plastic basket. We have three trees in our house and all the other decorations. I couldn't stop laughing when I told him he must have missed about ten more boxes of decorations in the niche. I had to ask him did he seriously think we decorated the house and three trees out of one box and a basket. Maybe, he thought I just cast a spell over them to multiply them! I do often feel that men never look properly for anything and are never as thorough as women. So that is why my tree is still naked.

For the first time in weeks, it has been a lovely sunny morning, although the rain is pouring down again now. I took my lovely country bus ride into town, as there is an outdoor Continental Market there for a few days. What a lovely morning I had wandering around it. Browsing every stall thoroughly before making a few choice purchases. It is so lovely hearing all the different, French, Italian and German accents around the market square.



So what did I buy? Mainly food, some beautiful freshly baked loaves, one of tomato bread and a wholegrain one, three different kinds of yummy cheese, goats cheese with herbs and garlic, an edam type cheese shot through with mustard seeds and some lovely yellow cheese shot through with walnuts. I also bought some beautiful vine tomatoes and some of the sweetest clementines I have tasted, some even had their stalks and a leaf on them. My only non food purchase was some beautiful soap from Provence, that I chose from so many wonderful fragrances. The more you bought the cheaper in price it became.

I had a lovely package from Robyn, the other day, which contained one of her beautiful angel hangings, that she featured on her site and an exquisitie handmade Christmas card, I will be posting them on the site in due course, as I also have to organise photographing and posting my decorated house nearer to Christmas. It is such fun when the postlady starts to deliver Christmas Cards and parcels.

Tonight I shall be sorting out my Christmas cds and dvds that I want to watch, when all my preparations are complete and I want to chill out. First on my list will be a viewing of The Wizard of Oz, essential Christmas Viewing to me. What are your favourite pleasures, when Christmas finally arrives, what are the personal treats you look forward to in the holiday time? I just love chilling out, watching the new dvd that one of us is bound to have, also listening to any cds that I am lucky enough to have had as a present, and I always treat myself to a great book to read.

Although not religious, I always listen on Christmas Eve, in the afternoon, whilst I prepare food to the BBC programme of carols from Kings College Cambridge, those voices soaring to the heights really make Christmas kick in. I am sure you must be able to listen to it on your computer anywhere around the world. Try it, it is fantastic, real Christmas magic.

Don’t forget to join in Daisy Lupin's
Christmas Story or Memory Posting
Post a Christmas memory, story, even a ghost story
Or poem you would like to share,
More than one if you wish ,
Anytime between 17th and 24th December
Just let me know it is your contribution
I will transfer them to a temporary site
There they will remain for everyone to enjoy
Until the end of January.
Come on lets have a Giant Christmas Story Circle