Some interesting links and some chatter.....

It is 9 December. 

And my garden seems to be on a time scale all of its own. It thinks it is spring. Or summer. Every day I think okay, it will go to sleep now. And each morning, there are more flowers in bloom, more roses coming out and the fuschia refuses to die down at all, and is still producing flowers. 

December. I should be posting photos of holly and berries and snow and twinkly lights. Not summer flowers. The winds have died down at last, and the skies are blue. It is chilly, of course, but not bone-rattling cold. Not yet.

I came across a really interesting article on Facebook this morning - it is definitely worth a read. Go here to read about how we are 96 hours from the Stone Age. I remember watching a TV programme about something similar , a docu-drama,  last year, and it absolutely fascinated me. Made me think a great deal too. What do we do when the power runs out? How many people still have wind up or battery radios? Will they be of any use? Analogue phones? The ones which do not require a power source? A way to heat or cook without power? How do we live if our power sources are gone?

I know my friend Cheryl and I came up with a survival pack which we regarded as essential, and it included sewing needles, because, if we are going back to the Stone Age, I am absolutely not going to make one out of a fish bone. Well, I would if I had to, but that would mean I need to catch and gut a fish first. I am sure I could learn how to. Of course. Anyway. Read it, and see what you think. It is interesting. There is an entire generation out there which has never had to learn to tell the time on a wind up watch too. Time. Would it matter what time it was?

Moving on, because I would rather talk about blue skies and a little sunshine and twinkly lights and hot coffee (the last two require power....I know), there is another really interesting article I came across via Heidi, also on Facebook - you can go here to read how we are over-protecting our children to unbelievable levels nowadays. A great deal to think about. I know that the perception of what is suitable when raising a child has changed radically during the 3 decades and more that I have been a parent, but, and you have heard me gnash my teeth about the ludicrous Health and Safety laws which seem to multiply here over night many a time, there HAS to be a halt to the WAY over-extended childhood we are subjecting our children to. Hello responsibility, maturity, calculating risk and making good judgments. Aka being grown up.

Ah well. It is Friday and I have spent the day on the move. Coffee out with Julia for her birthday, sitting in the Fairtrade shop for 2 and a half hours (doing more rippling), and oh joy, a family outing to the giant supermarket I loathe nearby, followed by a trip to the village and coffee with Jean, supper and HELLO, here I am.

My son wants to know when I am baking again. I may well sit in my rocking chair tomorrow and issue baking tips while he does some baking tomorrow. We will see what morning brings...............