Wednesday, 06-12-23: Blogmas 6

Good morning, everyone.  We're well into Blogmas now and I'm well into preparations.  Yesterday's trip into town wasn't just to look at the Range.  I had a list of this and that; some gifts and some smaller things for my festive jolly.

The Range was  - big.  Very, very big.  If you're from round here, you will know how much floor space Debenhams had and the two floors used all of it.  It was really busy so it was hardly a restful visit but I'm very much looking forward to going back there when things have calmed down in the New Year.  There was quite a lot I would like to look at more carefully.
I got some gifts, I got some crackers and I noted where the coffee shop/cafe was.  The Christmas dept was splendid and I could have spent a fortune - but didn't.

I then went into Boots and managed to find everything that was on my list.  Nothing very exciting - some makeup pads, a mascara, stuff like that.  Oh, and a couple of gifts.

Then it was on to The Body Shop where I found a larger pot of the shea body butter, a toner for dry skin and other bits and bobs - and a nice gift for someone.

I looked in Primark, Next and New Look but really wasn't tempted at all.

And just as I got to the bus stop, along came my bus.  Wasn't that fortunate?

Once home, I dug out wrapping paper, cards, tags, sellotape, etc, and had a wrapping session so the foot of the Christmas Tree is starting to look quite exciting.

All of that, plus Groove class and doing some more clearing and moving about, filled my day quite nicely - most satisfying.

Today's Body Shop calendar gift is something I will definitely use (with yesterday's gift!), a coconut shower cream for dry skin.  Nice!

Guess who is having a shower rather than a bath this morning!

The bumph on the box says that the coconut oil is sourced from Samoa where coconut harvesting os a family business; gathered by hand (is there any other way to gather coconuts?) the locals do all the cracking, pressing and filtering of the oil before exporting it.

I'm going shopping again today.  However, before you think 'What?  Again?', I have a detailed list of places to go for gifts and I am hoping that by this afternoon I'd have pretty much finished my gift shopping and by this evening it will be all wrapped up and ready for giving.
Time was, when I was working, that it was a family joke that I had all my Christmas stuff sorted during the October half term.  That was because I had to - being the music person on staff meant that there was an awful lot of extra things going on on December and I just didn't have time or energy for much else.

Anyway - Matalan, Homesense and Longacres, here I come!

Later on, there's my personal training session with Lindsey and then, in the evening, I have a wine tasting 'event' on Zoom.  I've never done anything that before and am hoping it won't be too daunting.  I'm not any kind of expert but it just sounded like fun.  The wines have arrived (just 100mls of each) so I'm all set.

Bet I sleep well tonight!  🍷🍷🍷

Today's music for Advent is an old favourite that I expect lots of you will know.  It's 'For Unto Us a Child is Born' from Handel's Messiah.  It's one of those choruses where you can just let go and give it all you've got and, because of the nature of the style, the alto part is as interesting and singy as all the others!  Superb music.

It's sung by the incomparable Choir of King's College, Cambridge, with the Brandenburg Consort, conducted by Stephen Cleobury.