After the excitement of Halloween,and incidentally we had quite a few witches and the odd ghoul to help us celebrate, the morning found me rather sleepy. My son arrived home late and shattered,there had apparently been yet another systems failure at work and if I may express an opinion it is about time the company invested in some decent hardware instead of tinkering with the programming. It is one thing trying to run a company on the good will of the staff which I imagine by now in wearing pretty thin, but to run an outfit which is entirely dependant upon its computer systems with the vintage stuff they are using seem to me to be fool hardy in the extreme. But hey what do I know.
There was a scramble for the bathroom as Pa had an appointment at Ashford Eye Hospital, my son wanted to bathe before going to bed so rather than join the somewhat undignified scuffle I went to make some coffee,the day had begun. Parcels began to arrive thick and fast , a couple of small ones for us a and some bloody enormous ones for next door and I was hard pressed to intercept the delivery men before they hammered on the door. They seem to be under the delusion that we are stone deaf, it is a pity that they do not realise that we are disabled and cannot get to the door quickly. I have tried to explain this in the past but have now given it up as a lost cause!
Our meat box arrived this morning with about three months supply of fresh goodies, every thing in fact except the bronze turkey and the whole ham which will arrive on the twenty third of December, weather permitting. Mindful of the possibility of snow as our meat comes from Yorkshire at the moment I included a large duck which was delivered today so at least we shall have Christmas dinner what ever the weather.
The meat was all good and packaged ready to freeze and I must say that the steak mince looked excellent. I ordered a surprise for Pa's birthday dinner, I piece of fore rib roast, I would have preferred a good old fashioned nose end of brisket but these days butchers do not Ike to sell brisket unless it is rolled and boned. That is fine for a pot roast but for the best roast beef in the world a nose end of brisket with the fat tell on cannot be beaten.
I too had to go out for a while and I wanted to be back before Pa left in his taxi so after a fast breakfast of pancakes and lemon I cleared the kitchen in a hurry and set off,
I whizzed around Tesco's like a bat out of hell but still I was just a few moments late getting back and Pa had left.
The house was wonderfully quite as I unpacked the shopping and put the things away, I made myself a coffee and sat alone in the kitchen revelling in the unusual peace. How I miss the good old days when Pa went off to work and My son to school, college or university. I miss having the house to myself, I miss being able to get on with my chores and organise the day to suit myself and most of all I miss the quiet. No radio, no television, to one asking for a coffee every five minutes or shouting “Where's my shirt.”Those were the days.
I am one of those people who needs solitude in quite large doses, I expect because I was brought up in a very lonely place and got used to my own company. Do not misunderstand I do like people and I adore my family but the luxury of having time to myself is as necessary to me as air and if I do not get it I become crotchety and cross. Now that I live amongst people I cannot even escape company by going out for a walk by myself.
The other day, feeling frazzled, fraught and depressed I took the buggy out to get some air and to calm down a little. I had not gone a hundred yards when I came upon an acquaintance who proceeded to spent the next forty-five minutes regaling me with her problem and her families problems. And the fact that she had just had her dog put down. By the time she left saying incidental how much better she felt for the talk I was more morose than ever and had used up the little time I had and so returned home in a worse state than when I left !
This afternoon I made the most of my chance and got on with some Christmas present wrapping and the writing out of Christmas cards many of which need an accompanying letter, the annual one we all send to relatives fare away. At four thirty I treated myself to a G&T before preparing our evening meal, Home made pizza for my son and I and some oxtail stew for Pa who would be late back.
Thankfully The tests showed that there was nothing too serious the matter with his eyes and although there may be another test of two in the coming months there is nothing to worry about thank the Gods.
A friend from our conservation group telephoned and we had a lovely long chat about all sorts, she is one of the best people I know and has done so much for the wildlife in the area and runs bat walks throughout the summer months. The last one of the year was last night and it went very well I am glad to say. We shall be having a major recruiting drive soon and my son who has joined us is going to start a blog for us and a twitter site so that information can be freely passed between interested parties.
We shall also be involving the local press in our endeavours and it is our hope that our group will grow next year which will add to our “clout” with the authorities. My son had been concerned that his ideas would not be welcome but they have been and with open arms. The next step is very important for us and to have someone with his abilities has caused a good deal of excitement amongst the members.
One thing that may happen is that we shall need to have our spring fair in my orchard as the allotment site is too contentious. This will make the serving of afternoon teas much easier for all concerned and we could also have a barbecue. There is plenty of room for stalls too so that will be a help.
What a long waffley blog this has been, but there seems to be a lot going on at the moment,I am praying that I do not run out of steam before the meeting on Friday as this week is a busy one for me. Tomorrow is a bread baking day and if all goes well I shall have time to finish wrapping the parcels for my family in the north of England, I have several great nieces and nephews which is wonderful because it gives me an excuse to buy cuddly toys again.
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