Blogmas day 6

Good morning, everyone.  Welcome to a pretty windy Friday morning and I notice next door's bin has already deposited some rubbish outside my front door.  Oh, well, not to worry, it is easily sorted.

Yesterday, Chris came over and we had a good old chat and sorted out arrangements for tomorrow and for next Thursday.

Tonight is the Shimmy 'n' Groove festive afternoon tea and Chris' husband, Steve, is taking us there while Lindsey is bringing us home, bless her.  It is nice not to have to worry about where to park.
Next Thursday, she and I are out for lunch together - another festive thingy!  You can see why, if I have to have a cold, I am glad to get it done and dusted now.

Then one of my SW mates, David who organises our walks, came over for lunch and brought a grow-your-own amaryllis so I will get that planted at some point this weekend.  That was so kind of him.

And I finished the gonk apart from sewing the bell on her hat so I'll get that done today.

I had another go at that scarf pattern and still couldn't make any sense out of it - I followed those instructions meticulously but it just didn't work.  Very frustrating.
Anyway, I am making a scarf for my friend but I will use the trusted and tried granny squares which I know work really well.  So I started that.

And that was yesterday done and dusted.

Today's M&S offering was another nail varnish so I will be gifting that on.  It's nice, the sort of colour I would go for.

Today's Advent of Change says:

Today you have helped give urgent mental health support by text to someone feeling depressed, anxious or suicidal.

The web site says:

Shout is the UK's first and only free, confidential, 24/7 text messaging service for anyone who is struggling to cope.

As a digital service, Shout became vital during Covid-19, as one of the few mental health services able to operate as normal at this time. We have seen the need for our support remain high through the UK's cost of living crisis.

Shout is powered by the charity Mental Health Innovations, which also powers The Mix, a service providing free, anonymous online advice about the important issues in young people’s lives.

https://giveusashout.org/

Well worth supporting.

I pondered on the Sunday trip to the Christmas market and decided that, as I was obviously worrying about it quite a bit, maybe that was an indication that I shouldn't go, the reasons being
I'm not feeling 100% yet and, while I know there's a few days to go, I didn't fancy being out and about for six hours.
The weather forecast for Sunday is still not great although it seems to have improved since yesterday.  Even so . . .
Once I decided, I stopped worrying.
It's a shame and I am sad but it isn't the end of the world and it's not putting anyone else out in any way.
And I guess it is money not spent now - because I would have . . .

Moving on to today and we start with Slimming World.  Why is it you 'feed a cold'?  I have definitely nibbled more this week.  Oh, well, time to face the music!
This evening is the Shimmy 'n' Groove Festive Afternoon tea.  As already mentioned, I'm going with Chris and several other friends, including Diane, will be there so it should be a lot of fun.  Five till eight so not too early, not too late and it fits in with my own meal times reasonably well.

Apart from that, I have a few things to get from Morrisons, including a freebie bag of easy peelers and I will do some housework which has been sadly neglected this week.
Then I can sit down and get on with that scarf!

Today's Advent Calendar music is my favourite version of In Dulci Jubilo (because I sang it in the school choir, almost - but not quite - half a century ago), arranged by Robert Pearsall and sung by the great Choir of King's College, Cambridge.

and a contrasting version from Mike Oldfield, now a classic in its own right and very dance-y, setting my toes a-tapping.