November freeze.....

30. Sitting in front of a wood burning stove with Jean and Mum working on our projects.

So I have come to the end of my 30 days of thankfulness. No - not to the end of being thankful, but to the end of listing something every day here. Now and then I will return to the subject, of course, and as always, you know I think of 5 new things every morning before I crawl out of bed. It has become a habit I love. Getting up with a grin is always good. It energises me!

Today, after braving the snow - yes, it snowed last night, and so help me, the little bit that melted during the day is now ice and lethal - and taking mother into town in a futile pursuit of more wool, we went to Jean's house. She said she was lighting her wood burning stove,and that was an excellent reason to pop in clutching our projects. An afternoon in the warmth, all cosy, with homemade scones, and jam, and endless tea and coffee was just perfect. There we sat - Jean and I were each quilting, and Mum was crocheting. I finished edging all my bunting before I quilted, and there was chatter, and companionable silence too at times. Just the crackle of the logs on the fires, and the really great sense of peace. We all loved it.

I left the slow cooker on at home, so we got back late this afternoon to a house which smelled great. And the lamb tasted good too. The snow down south has been falling all day. My boys have had to contend with public transport cancellations and disrupted travel around their cities, and there does not seem any end to the big freeze in sight at the moment. Schools are closed across the country. And our roads are seriously dangerous if not gritted. This is one time I am grateful that I have a manual car, because at least I can control it on ice better than I could an automatic. Amazing what I can find to be thankful for some days!

You will be happy to know that I actually found some leg warmers! Thanks, Bookworm - your idea was spot on, and I am now the proud owner of wonderfully unflattering woollen leg warmers. I think my latest look most closely resembles Nora Batty in Last of the Summer Wine. Just stunning. But warm, and warm is excellent.

November is almost over. I have loved the discipline of talking about random things I am thankful for, you know, even though at times it has been difficult to choose just one thing to focus on here. There have been days I have wanted to write about other things, but they are in a list, just waiting.

Life has many challenges for all of us, and at times, when things get really tough, choosing to focus on the blessings is a difficult, but really good alternative to wallowing in self pity. And now that we are in Advent, and getting closer to Christmas, it is even more important to stop, and look at our lives, and to be so so thankful for the people who matter to us. To be thankful that God loved us so much that he actually sent us His Son.

Whether we know it or not, we are all so incredibly blessed.