Friday, 01-12-23: Blogmas 1

Morning, everyone.  Another cold night with a frost this morning.  I'm so grateful for the blessing of central heating.

The BBC weather thinks that we might get a wee bit of rain at some point today - this will not be great for the roads so fingers crossed it has got that wrong!

Yesterday morning, amid sunshine and stunningly bright autumn leaves, I drove up and through Braintree to Suze's funeral.  It was heartbreakingly beautiful and sad.  Although it was a school day, a number of her ex colleagues were able to be there because there had been a burst pipe overnight and the school was closed while it was repaired.  I was glad for them; it really does help to have a 'formal' farewell ceremony to give something of a sense of closure'.

I didn't stay for the 'afterwards' bit but drove back home, changed out of my smart stuff (I wore Mum's kilt and felt extremely smart) and had a chat to the lads who had just turned up.  The cupboards are no finished apart from a couple of catches and today the freezer is going back out.  Then they are going to clear all their mess and turn it back into some sort of garden again although Seth explained that the walls can't be finished until the cold eases - so next week at some point, hopefully.

It really is pretty much finished and over the weekend I can start moving stuff around and in.   Eeeeeeek (that's a squeak of excitement, if you didn't guess!)

I also did a bit of washing, a bit of ironing and a bit of tidying up but generally took it easy - I am feeling very much better now but inclined to weariness.  I'll get over that by Monday, I'm sure.

Today is December 1st:  start-opening-the-Advent-calendars day, SW day, cleaners day and, excitingly, make-a -Christmas-Wreath evening.  Yes, it is the annual workshop with Victoria and Hazel this evening so tomorrow my front door should look nice and festive.  I usually go for red, green and gold but I think I will ring the changes and go for white and silver this time.  Why not?

Day 1 of my Body Shop calendar was this - a little tube of mango hand balm for dry skin.

I'll use this for sure.  I tend towards dry hands and get through a fair amount of hand cream.  I hate the feeling when dry skin catches on my knitting or crochet and always have a tube of hand cream/balm in my yarn basket.

This feels and smells lovely!

On the little box it came in it says that the Fair Trade mango seed oil it uses is sourced from India where the fruit is picked by trained women from local women's cooperatives.

Good start, Body Shop!

(I'll start my Jacquie Lawson one when I've sent this.)

As longer term readers will know, each December I do an Advent Calendar of my favourite Christmas Music with links so you can enjoy it too.

Today, being the start of December (although not really the start of Advent but let's not worry about that), I have to have that wonderful old Advent hymn, O come, O Come, Emmanuel.

And, being me, I've given you a buy one, get two free - all very different renditions and all lovely.

Enjoy.