Changing things and other stuff ( I can't think of an exciting title).......

Advent

Well, it is all Kelli's fault. The blog template thingy. I had forgotten that RCR needed a bit of seasonal change too, so I started off on Blogger who have got a surprising array of interesting backgrounds if you click on the picture template and then background, and then the little arrow next to the one in the corner, and woah, all the options start appearing.

However, they failed to have any decent winter / Christmas ones, and the ice and snow and trees were good, but the snowy look made me feel that I needed to light a fire and warm myself. Or bury myself under piles of those blankets, and that was just to read a few words here, so it had to go.

I have a few ideas re a header/banner thingy and may or may not do something about it. One day. Maybe. Perhaps. Probably not.

The most important thing is that you can read this and it is easy on the eye. Thanks for all the feedback! Good. It can stay.

Until after Christmas. Or maybe Spring.

Speaking of Spring, the garden still thinks it has arrived and more and more seedlings are poking their heads out of the soil. Poor misguided things. But then maybe our winter will be like this - vaguely tropical. Divine intervention with my heating bill would be a wondrous miracle, after all. And tis the season of miracles.

I had just started the blog change procedure when a friend called to chat and after about 10 mins of me patently not concentrating on either my friend (appalling, Linds) or what she was saying (I can't believe I did that), or the blog change (which was all wrong), we put down the phone. I loathe changing the blog. I am really terrified of doing something dire and irreversible. It took me all of 20 mins to admit to myself how badly I had behaved, so I made a cake and called her back - in Scotland, so the cake was for us, not her - and apologised and had a very good hour of proper chatting. Gone are the days of multitasking.

And then I had a piece of cake. And coffee. I was wearing my Christmas apron, you see, and it makes me feel all domesticated and mother earth-ish. I need to cook when I tie it on. The blog had to wait till the creative urge was gone.

This morning at church, I was asked to talk to the children about homeless people. Of course, I will, I said. No problem.  And then I started worrying about how to talk to 3-11 year olds without terrifying the wits out of them re how people become homeless. Did you know that one of the highest contributing factors is having served in the armed forces or the merchant navy? The figures are dreadful. But then, if you work away from a community where you become known and valued, who or what will be there to support you later? I could go on forever.

However, I talked instead about a house. I drew a stick figure and then I asked them what was important to them. Food. That was a good one. Their stuff. being safe. Having water (wash, teeth, drink). Somewhere to sleep. Somewhere to be warm. And with each idea, I drew a line around the stick figure and a triangle on top so we ended up with a house. And then I took the lines away and made the face sad, and we talked about how to stay warm, wash etc etc if you didn't have a home. And then I made them lie on the concrete floor of the church to see what sleeping on the pavement would be like. I was a little flummoxed when one 8year old with attitude told me it was really comfortable. I nearly trod on him. Oops. The others were a little more honest!

Ah well. Hopefully they will remember to think. They also came up with ideas of how to help, like the collection of food.

And now I am quite exhausted and am going to have a nap. Do not ask re the tree. it is not up. Maybe next week.

Day 27: For my home. The warmth, the water, the food, the security, the place to sleep, and the place for my belongings. My life. (And this is based on the Sunday School talk I gave this morning). Sometimes simple is best.