Monday, 04-12-23: Blogmas 4

 Morning, everyone.  The thaw (such as it is round here) has definitely happened now.  Rain through yesterday and a comparatively mild night plus a rather damp forecast for today.  Oh, well, that's the way it goes.

Today's Body Shop Advent calendar thing is a cute wee pot of shea body butter for very dry skin.
This is much more my cuppa than yesterdays oily skin toner (which I tried yesterday and, no, it's left my face feeling rather dry and tight) so I won't be using it again.  My aging (aaaaaahhhhhhh) skin tends towards dryness anyway, especially my arms and legs.  

The shea butter comes from a Community Fair Trade partner, Tungteiya Women's Association in Ghana which uses traditional methods passed down the generations.

Even if you take some of the info on the boxes with a pinch of salt, it is still a good feeling and the Body Shop has always been known for using and supporting small groups around the world by working with them and using their products.

While on the subject of Advent Calendars, does anyone have the Advent of Change one?  I saw it on someone's Vlogmas on YouTube and thought what an excellent idea.  You don't 'get' anything material but, instead, each day you open a door that tells you about a charity you have supported that day via the cost of the calendar.  I think that is brilliant and I've made a note on Nov 1st of next year's diary to get one - if I didn't, I wouldn't necessarily remember.

Yesterday morning was spent going back and forth, back and forth, taking things to the garden room storage.  I'm doing it 'mindfully' rather than taking stuff over willy nilly only to find I need to rearrange everything further down the line.
The room part is lovely and warm - even with the radiator turned down really low, but the shed part is damp with lots of condensation on the door window that is dripping down and onto the floor.  The insulation is so good that very little warmth seeps through into that area.  I looked online and have bought a little dehumidifier with an automatic cut off to go into the shed for a while until it dries out a bit more.  It is supposed to be arriving today so I will set it straight to work.

The afternoon tea was lovely.  Apologies for the poor photo - it was taken very quickly when I remembered, just before we all dived in!

Four kinds of sandwiches - chicken and stuffing, smoked salmon, egg and cress, and brie and cranberry and there were precious few left afterwards.

The scones were lovely - very fresh and just a little bit warm; there were two each but no way could I manage two!

Then the top layer was cakes with a festive theme.  

There was a glass of prosecco each and then tea or coffee plus party poppers and balloons, etc.  

All good fun and very cheering.  Thanks for organising it, Lindsey.

Today, I'm back on the exercise classes again.  It is the last week of this term's block and they restart in the New Year, although Lindsey usually throws in a few ad hoc classes when she has time.  I'm not sure I will go for any this time - I feel like I have so much to do at home and so little time to get it all done.

When I get home from circuits, Alex should be here to share a roast turkey dinner with me.  He loves his roast dinners - I do too and often treat myself to one on Sundays but, obviously, not yesterday.
It'll be nice to see him and I am hoping that he will help me carry the china from Mum and Dad's house from the garage to the garden room.  He's not in a position to use it yet and I am quite happy to store it for him at the moment.
I might start it this morning but no way will I get it all done.

So that's today and now I had better go and prep the vegetables for our yummy lunch before I have my bath and start the day properly.
Have a lovely Monday, everyone.  Do you still have snow/frost or has it warmed up your way too?  xx

Today's Christmas music is 'Love Came Down', written and performed by Nicki and Pete Sims, local pastors/singers/songwriters and all-round lovely people.  I just love it.