Tuesday 15 November 2016

Drawing in

as in 'the nights are drawing in' - one of my mother's favourite expressions.

At a quarter past one this afternoon the watery sun went behind a cloud and it looked as though it was about to get dark.   It didn't of course, but suddenly we are in the dark days and there will be nothing but short days until a few weeks after Christmas.

They were putting up the Christmas lights in our little town this morning as we sat in the window of our cafe drinking our morning coffee.   Perhaps it is as well - all the glow and twinkle of the market square festooned with fairy lights, plus the Christmas-dressed shop windows, will add a degree of light to what otherwise would be a gloomy week or two.

 My visitors have gone, my cleaner has been this morning, I have done the washing and ironing for the week and I am back to normal.   Perhaps it is a sign that I am really getting old in that I do love the routine of day after day of doing the same things -Tuesday coffee morning, Wednesday exercise class, Thursday hair appointment, Friday meeting the 'gang' for coffee, Saturday - when the farmer is shooting then W and I go out for lunch.   And so the weeks pass by.

Now it is on to Amazon to start ordering a few Christmas presents - that will be another Christmas job done and another thing to tick off my list.

20 comments:

donna baker said...

Pat, you make your chores sound like fun. The routine is from your teaching days. My sister was a teacher too - I can spot them a mile off. I'm cleaning the carpet; I'd almost rather have a root canal.

Frances said...

Dear Pat, I like the way in which you've described this time of the year when the drawing in arrives.

Having the addition of Christmas lights does help me to deal with the additional darkness. I guess some sorts of celebrations featuring lights have been going on for many centuries.

Today is a dark and rainy day here. Even though I have many indoors projects to interest me, I expect to get cabin fever by early afternoon and will be grabbing my umbrella and venturing outdoors.

Yesterday, I got my flu shot and this morning the injection area of my upper right arm is a bit sore. I'm glad that the nurse at my doctor's office could tell by the watch on my right wrist that I am left handed! xo

jinxxxygirl said...

I think there is comfort in routine Pat... I find that too... I like to visit and travel but oh how lovely it is to come home again or just have things go back to 'normal' ...

If you have a moment Pat could you let me know if my card/letter arrived a little while ago with the stickers in it?? Just wondering if the stickers made it to you across the pond. :) Hugs! deb

Elizabeth said...

I actually love this dark time of year
cosy and comforting.
Not doing too well lately with the current horrid current events here
so sending much love to friends and family
and knitting a lot!

Derek Faulkner said...

Here in North Kent today it has been very mild but grey, gloomy and very damp everywhere. It is now 16.10 and almost half dark and something I find very depressing. If this was July we'd have another +5 hours of daylight! I always find the next 2-3 months very hard to get through and miss the long summer days and evenings very much.
In some ways having daily routines that you stick to helps the time pass quicker, Daphne de Maurier swore by such daily timetables and called it her "routes".

Wilma said...

Today is gorgeous and sunny here after a mix of sun and rain yesterday. The laundry is gently flapping in the breeze and will be dry in a couple of hours.

Heather said...

It was dark here before 5 this afternoon and the days to come will be shorter still. Never mind - the weeks and months fly by and we shall be noticing that the days are growing longer in no time at all.
I too like a routine to my life and it will possibly save me having to buy a newspaper just to find out what day of the week it is!

Gwil W said...

I can see my grandmother drawing the curtains and muttering about the nights drawing in, as I sit at the table tucking into bread and jam.

Tuesday is swimming day. From now until April they have the water a bit warmer than usual at our local baths on Tuesdays. We have to pay a little extra for the warm water but I feel it's worth it.

Sue in Suffolk said...

The problem is that the days go quicker even without a routine. How on earth did 10 and a half months of 2016 vanish so quickly?

Joanne Noragon said...

Even my granddaughter commented on the shorter days. I told her she sounded like an old fuddy duddy, and she said because she lives with one.

Rachel Phillips said...

A few months of shorter days are fine with me and early nights in a warm bed are no problem. I love routine and have it in my life and it is good for good health. I am not a teacher.

Sue said...

I am definitely a creature of routine. I find it reassuring. Blue sky this morning in Sydney but in four weeks' time I shall be coming back to the British winter. Brrr.

JoAnn ( Scene Through My Eyes) said...

I like the everday-ness of things too - love to have the house in order and my routine running smoothly along. It brings a cheeriness to life. I'm ordering from amazon too - greatest way to get things quickly.

coffeeontheporchwithme said...

I like your idea of ordering from Amazon for Christmas presents. We live so far from the big stores, maybe it would be easier. -Jenn

Cro Magnon said...

Lovely sunny days here at the moment, but it's pure luxury to step into an electrically warmed bed in the evening.

Jocelyn is Canadian Needle Nana said...

Dark today here by 5 pm as we move closer to the shortest day of the year. I too love the routine of domestic life and Hubby and I are real homebodies. And I too use Amazon for gifts. So far apart but much alike, Weaver.

Librarian said...

I like my daily and weekly routines, they give me comfort and stability. But I also like to break out of them every now and then. It's all a question of finding the right balance, isn't it.
Dark and wet here now, too, but that's OK - I spend the days at the office (always near the radiator) and evenings either at home or somewhere with friends and/or family. Christmas Market starts here next Tuesday, and I am looking forward to that. It runs through all four Advent weeks and is one of my sources for Christmas presents.

The Weaver of Grass said...

Thanks everyone. Lovely, breezy day here today.

Yorkshire Pudding said...

I know what you mean about the comfort of familiar routines. In my youth I appreciated randomness and the unexpected. Now I have coffee from one particular mug, tea from another and hot chocolate from a third. Am I becoming autistic?

Derek Faulkner said...

No, YP, more like somebody who doesn't like washing up mugs one at a time and so uses them all up and washes in one go.