Saturday Snippets from the Rocking Chair..................

Well, thank heavens the wind is blowing this morning, because my garden was saturated with toxic type fumes last night, and it was starting to seep into the house too. The fumes from the plastic kind of rubbish that they burnt were obviously heavier in the air and they stayed. By midnight it was totally impossible to breathe outside. I checked, and started coughing so retreated back indoors. I sincerely hope this does not kill off my plants. And yes, I did try calling the Environmental Health people but they apparently do not work over nights or weekends. Which makes you wonder if environmental hazards only appear between Mondays and Fridays, 9-5. Or 9-3.30pm on Fridays, it seems.

But hooray for the wind.

Can you believe that I have just chopped down the dahlias? It is almost December and there are still buds on the plant, but with the weather getting chillier, it was time to do something or risk losing it altogether. I still have African marigolds flowering merrily in the garden though, and gazinnias. Bizarre. I have saved enough of their seeds to let them go on doing their thing for now.

So today, the mission is to clear the table in the kitchen and remove the autumn cloth. The last of the autumn things left out, and then make the table winter. Well, I would like to actually see the advent wreath by tomorrow and not have it buried under paraphernalia relating to other Christmas ideas. The Dremel may be a marvellous invention but it does not enhance the decor!

Have you all got your trees up and decorated? Somehow, I cannot bring myself to do it before December. I need a little breather before I introduce more chaos to the house. I wonder if the lights will work this year. I check before I pop them on the tree, and then if they go out once it is decorated, I just toss another string over the top. There is NO way I would go bulb by bulb to see which one is broken. Now Geoff would have got out his test meter and done just that. He would NEVER let a bulb  get the better of him. I can just see him now. He had way more patience than I did. It is so long since I put up the tree here. Years. If I am not here for Christmas, there seems little point to it. And I never ever thought I would say that, you know. I do know that I just love sitting in the light of the tree. There is something so peaceful and magical about it, with the candles burning too and the peacefulness. I love it. So this year it is going up, no matter what.

I must also find some bears for a friend. There is a tree exhibition running at the village church in December. Local organisations all do individual trees, and the little tots at church are called the All Bears, so they need bears for their tree, and they can't find any. I am absolutely certain I have some at the very least, if not dozens. I just need to find them.

Somewhere.......

The cowl. It is warm. It works. The end.

Day 26: For the wind, which may be cold, but which has blown away the revolting stench of burning plastic from the garden. For the son unpacking the dishwasher as I speak, and the chicken waiting to be roasted for supper. The coffee in my mug next to me and the crochet hook and ball of wool next to my couch. The fact that my hair co-operated this morning and the warm jersey.... the list never ends, does it?