It is snowing!

I have just been at a birthday lunch for a friend, and left at 8pm, and discovered that it is snowing. Hard. Lots falling. There was no warning that we would have snow, but suddenly it feels like winter.

The studio is still a work in progress, but it is getting better slowly. The piano is moved, and I have considered a zillion different furniture layout ideas for the lounge (which included knocking down a wall and rebuilding it in another place, which is clearly a step too far) and my son told his aunt to keep all further rearranging ideas to herself, and give him a break. In the nicest possible way I hope. I will post photos when it is finished.

And so another weekend has whizzed by.

Yesterday morning, I came down to read my emails quite early and discovered that we had no water. As in the cold taps were empty. After a few heartstopping moments contemplating mega bills for burst pipes or the like, I called my friend in Scotland and asked what no cold water means. As one does. He said that it meant someone had turned off the mains and to go and check if the neighbours had the same problem. They did. What a relief. It turns out that a water main burst in the village square, and flooded homes nearby in the middle of the night, and so the water company turned off the water. This meant a dash to the local shop for bottled water. The prospect of no coffee was not an option. I collected bottles for some neighbours too, and it was about 5pm when it finally started running again. Complete with mud. Quite disgusting. Understandable, but yuk none the less. I had to clean the bath before I got into it. Life is never calm and peaceful around here.

The BBC's Children in Need appeal was on last Friday night, and they raised over £19 million on the night. A new record. Amazing. The UK has a wonderful record of giving, and usually the total for the night is doubled by the time all the money is in. Given that there is a population of about 60 million, it is a stunning total. The money is spent on children, especially those in need here, and the organisations which support them, and on children all over the world, who are in need.

Watching the film clips of children who are carers, or children with special needs, or children's hospices, or children with crippling injuries, and the people who work with them, is awe-inspiring. The love, the patience, the dedication, the never giving up spirit is a salutary lesson to everyone who thinks they have insurmountable problems. I heard one young boy, who is a carer for his parents, say, when given the opportunity to join a group of young carers on a riding camp...... "I love the camp, but I love what I do for my parents. My life is good. " He was 10. Wow.

So right now, I am looking at the mess (yes...it is still here) and I am thinking.... Hey....it is just stuff. You will get it sorted. Think just how much worse things could be. I need to remember that.