Advent Calendar
One night when the November wind
has flayed the trees to bone, and earth
wakes choking on the mould,
the soft shroud's folding.
He will come like frost.
One morning when the shrinking earth
opens on mist, to find itself
arrested in the net
of alien, sword-set beauty.
He will come like dark.
One evening when the bursting red
December sun draws up the sheet
and penny-masks its eye to yield
the star-snowed fields of sky.
He will come, will come,
will come like crying in the night,
like blood, like breaking,
as the earth writhes to toss him free.
He will come like child.
This was written by Rowan Williams and it appeals to me.
Yesterday was brilliant! It didn't start off so well though. I got an email from the chap whose company is doing the bedroom to say 'A is outside and can't get in'
Well, he wouldn't as the chain was on the door, I was still in my bed things and no hearing aids in so I wouldn't have heard. I wasn't expecting him to come on a Saturday! So a quick dash around later I let poor Andy in. He was OK about it, thank goodness, and agreed to come back 45 minutes later to give me a chance to have my bath and get dressed - once the beds are out on the landing I can't get to my bedroom, you see.
My friends arrived at just after eleven and we set to, chatting, gossipping, exchanging news and views and generally rabbiting on as only fellow OU/OUSA students can do. In the end I flavoured up the pork mince with some more balsamic vinegar, some red peppers, mushrooms, petit pois and chilli and served it with home made pasta, garlic bread and grated Parmesan on the top and it really was very good indeed. My friends brought desserts so we had a choice of plum pie or strudel (or both) with cream. We ate like kings, believe me.
And while we were chatting, Andy was busy laying the floor and generally tidying up and clearing out all his stuff. The bedroom is now finished apart from putting the lights in and a few last minute things to do. I've just ordered the rugs and will get the bedside cabinets from Next, as and when. As soon as the painty smell disappears I have to move the stuff back into the new storage cupboards and generally restore the rest of my house to some sort of order again.
I'll post some photos in a separate entry!
So that was yesterday really - a super duper day thanks to Andy, Jen and Sue.
Today Beth and Alex come round and I will be using some of the remaining mince mixture to make a savoury crumble and dessert will be - bet you can guess . . . plum pie and strudel!
I have heard a whole raw onion, peeled and cut in half left in a freshly painted room will remove the smells. (whether the stink of raw onions isn't worse I'm not sure though :-)
ReplyDeleteI think I will get some neutrodol (or whatever it is called) which seems to absorb smells. It's probably cheaper than bicarb!
ReplyDeleteJ x