Today is my least favourite kind of day. After a promising start it quickly deteriorated to being cloudy and for the last few hours there has been a quite strong Northerly wind and it is steadily raining quite sharply. As I sit here in the North-facing window the sky is a uniform grey and large drops of rain are running down the window. I certainly have no inclination to go for my customary walk - that will be another day - not a single walk of any length this week so far.
I have however managed a few chats in spite of this. First my carer of course - a quarter past seven to half past eight (extra for my shower); then the builder who is coming to rebuild my outside drain under the kitchen window. It is badly cracked and is an eyesore. And now that the dark nights have arrived (with a vengeance if I may say so) I worry that a caller after dark might trip and fall. Then A who does a bit of local shopping for me - mostly fruit - brought today's bananas, grapes, oranges and a small brown loaf. In addition I have had a chat to my son on the phone - so I have not done too hadly.
Now it is twenty to four and beginning to get dark. How depressing these days are. It seems especially so this year, maybe because it seems to have gone from Summer to Winter with no in between. But with Christmas on the horizon now I suppose I must begin to think about that although one of the advantages of being at my advanced age is that everyone forgives me for just slipping a cheque in a card rather than trailing round the shops looking for a gift. Our little town is in any case chaos at the moment because they are altering the road and putting a traffic island in and also starting a resurfacing programme. There are times when I am happy that I no longer have a car. It is now more than a year since I have driven a car - I wonder if I still can?
Until tomorrow dear blog friends.
Further to your comment about sending cheques - I must remember to order a new cheque book. There are so few in a book these days that, after dealing with all the nieces and nephews at Christmas plus a few assorted December and January birthdays, the book is soon empty. It also seems to take an age to order and receive the replacement book. Oh for the days when you could fill in the slip at the back and get a new one within a few days.
ReplyDeleteFret not about staying inside and away from the cold rain. You and Priscilla can walk around indoors on days like this!
ReplyDeletePerhaps your handyman can put a motion detector light outside your front door so your walkway and porch will be illuminated when a caller approaches after dark?
I don't anyone who doesn't love a check, cash, or a gift card for Christmas so give these to your loved ones with assurance those gifts will be welcomed.
Hugs!
Very chilly when I got out for a walk this morning so I think you were wise to stay confined to barracks. I don't think I've written, or cashed, a cheque for at least four years.
ReplyDeleteJohn I can't get into town unless someone takes me and then I find movement in the town difficult so cheques are the easiest way for me to pay
ReplyDeleteBarbara - checks or gift cards have been the way for the past few years - nobody complains.
Anon. Agree.
Well you got your conversations in, so it doesn't sound like such a bad day after all! Hope you get some sun tomorrow so you can take Priscilla out!
ReplyDeleteI didn't think people still used cheques these days, especially as there are so few local banks where you can still pay them into.
ReplyDeleteIn weather like we have at the moment I think back to those lovely summer days that people also complained about.
The change in light from fall to winter is always so disheartening. The darkness arriving so early in the evening and staying long after we want it to in the morning. We set our clocks ahead this coming weekend. I wish we would stop doing that stuff. Standard time is my favorite. It surprises me we still do this crazy trick with time.
ReplyDeleteI hope you get some outdoor sunshine time and enjoy every moment of it.
Since retirement, just over a year ago, my husband has taken over most of the driving. It was my choice because I love to daydream and enjoy the scenery while in the car. Unfortunately, I'm loosing my driving confidence. It's been on my mind lately that I must get back behind the wheel.
ReplyDeleteMy boys have been delighted with money gifts for the past few years. Christmas has become simpler and less wasteful but I sometimes miss the old days with great piles of gifts under the tree.
It‘s really decades since I last saw a cheque - I am not even sure our banks still accept them. Everything is done online these days!
ReplyDeleteI did not have time for a walk yesterday (walking to and from the train station hardly counts) and tried to fit one in during my lunch break, but it began to rain five minutes into it and so I cut it short.
Christmas presents will be few this year; my loved ones all have way too much stuff already anyway, so it will be mostly edible or drinkable gifts - always the most welcome ones if I have a choice, not something else to collect dust.
I have given cheques for Christmas and birthday presents for many years now and find it easier than having to try to keep up with current trends or everyone's favourite items. At least they don't have to thank me for a gift they dislike.
ReplyDeleteI think I'd be terrified to drive a car now and do quite a lot of online shopping for things I can't buy locally. I can walk to the doctor, hairdresser and chiropractor and only need a lift to the dentist.
Yes Melinda I miss the gifts under the tree but now that I live alone I really can't see the point any more. Last year during lockdown I spent the day alone and I must say I rather enjoyed it. My carer brought me a lunch round, I read, I dozed, I watched TV, I went to bed early with one of the books I had been given - what's not to like. I have so many happy memories to look back on.
ReplyDeleteRobin Andrea - I am old enough to remember during the war when we had Double British Summer Time and as a small child it-seemed to stay light for ever and then it was still dark when I woke for school next morning. I also remember a few years ago going to a midnight concert in Tromso cathedral on Midsummer's Eve - children still playing in the street - all very strange. But at least that was the natural 'ordinary' time unlike our messing about with it.
ReplyDeleteI don't think you need forgiveness for slipping a cheque into a card Weave. My lot would surprised if they even got a card. Avuncular eh?
ReplyDeleteSeptember and October were unusually warm this year. Now that the cold has arrived, we are all feeling it. The darkness and dampness of the winter months affect everybody to some degree. Adding extra light seems to make a difference for me. Also, when I put up my large Christmas tree it will be filled with ornaments and bright white lights. I hope you will have a well lit and beautifully decorated tree! Christmas checks and a card sound like perfect gifts.
ReplyDeleteThese November days really are the rainiest, darkest and dreariest of the year.
ReplyDeleteWinter closing in is such a dismal thought. You are lucky you can still use cheques, in New Zealand they were phased out a while ago, as so few people used them. I have given plastic gift cards instead, but a cheque is much nicer, and the recipient can spend it wherever they wish.
ReplyDeleteI had washed and packed away all my winter clothes, but today is so FREEZING cold I've got payers of Merino and wooden tights on again. I hope your weather takes a milder turn so you can get out and stretch your legs.
I shall buy just three Christmas gifts this year, for my wife, my oldest son, and his girlfriend. A cheque would be welcome, but personally I like to give 'consumables'; once either drunk or eaten, they are finished with.
ReplyDeleteSeems you all celebrate the festive season in different ways. Light and heat seem to be high on everyone's list. Thanks for calling by.
ReplyDeleteMy small family look forward to the money donated to their various accounts because they can spend it on what they want. There is already talk in the household of where everyone is to sleep when they come down. But everyone does test daily, and in the immortal words of my youngest grandchild. 'cos I got a granny at home'
ReplyDeleteBut I must admit Pat, the thought of solitude is a dream on the horizon. Christmas is such a worry but it lifts us from that dark gloom of winter and spreads light for a couple of days.
Why on earth is Christmas such a worry Thelma? The thought of solitude is a dream on the horizon. What does that mean? Book yourself into a room somewhere else for a week. There's solitude for you.
ReplyDeleteI suppose Rachel it is a worry, because of card writing, food, and pressies. But I shall not book a room anywhere in an alien environment because I love my family and they are quite used to me. Actually if I had to book a room it would be a cottage in the Lake District for the whole three months of winter. Its gorgeous up there.
ReplyDeleteNot one of those things would I worry about. If you never send a card again you would be surprised that nobody would take the slightest bit of notice. Try it. I can see the attraction of a cottage in Lakes for you.
ReplyDeleteIt's always fascinated me that people get so stressed out about Christmas and worry about it - why? It's a bit like getting married and a couple wanting really a nice quiet wedding with few guests but still go ahead with a big and expensive wedding because people will expect it. I packed up Christmas decades ago.
ReplyDeleteIf anyone complains because they've only gotten a check, please feel free to send me one. Your thank you card from me will be in the return mail.
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