Blogmas day 8

Morning, all!  We've had another very blustery night and it's still windy with a fair bit of banging (fencing, mostly) but there's no damage as far as I can tell.  Bins, pots and egg chair are all still where they ought to be although the chair is a bit of a funny shape and when the wind has calmed down and things have dried off, I need to take off the cover and see if the bit that holds the basket seat has twisted out of shape.

If the drizzle dies off, I hope to use the residual wind to dry some clothes on the line but I suppose that's not going to happen today, seeing as BBC weather promises us gusty winds and rain.  Oh, well . . .

I really hope you are all OK after this weekend, wherever you are.

I did my personal training yesterday, not terribly well but I did it and that is the main thing.  Then I came home and chilled for the rest of the day instead of getting on with housework, etc.  Part of that was tiredness which is fair enough, but part was sheer laziness and I need to snap out of it.

I'm a bit miffed that my doorbell has ceased to work.  I've changed the battery but no luck.  So I've ordered another one that you can either screw on or stick on so if the holes are not right for the new bell, no problems.

One (among many) nice things that happened yesterday was . . .  Backstory is that since Wednesday or Thursday, my right hearing aid has been refusing to charge up, no idea why, so I was wearing my spare aid in my right ear.  It's not a bad aid, just not as good/clear as the posh one and the other one wasn't terribly happy, trying to connect up to the one that wasn't there.

If you see what I mean . . .
Anyway - I went up to bed last night and there, in the charger, was the aid, shining green as if it had never had any problems.
I have no idea what happened but I am very relieved because I don't have a big enough window of time to get into town (on the bus as parking is shocking over December) to drop the aid off at Specsavers.  Yes, it obviously needs looking at but, assuming it charges up tonight (fingers crossed, please, everyone), it can wait until the New Year.
So I was/am happy!

I found today's puzzle surprisingly hard.  Maybe my brain hasn't properly woken up yet.  

Today's Advent of Change supports Sand Dams Worldwide, a charity that seeks to empower dryland communities to transform their own lives and land.

It says: 

Today you have given a mother in Africa drought-tolerant seeds, used to grow a reliable source of fresh food for her children.
Isn't that great!

https://www.sanddamsworldwide.org.uk/

Today's M&S calendar has produced a good one - it's from Cowshed and is a 'calming bath and shower gel' which I will definitely love to use.  I might save it for Christmas Eve - I usually bath/shower in the morning but, maybe, I will indulge in the evening after Carols from Kings.
Sounds nice, doesn't it?

Today, as mentioned earlier, is the day I get my act together.

There's nothing major to do but I have made one of my Little Lists because when I do that, I get it all done.

Have a good day, everyone, and take care.  xx

Today's Advent Calendar music is a most beautiful and thoughtful song, again from Graham Kendrick, entitled Thorns in the Straw.  It's from his Christmas Album, 'Rumours of Angels' (1994)

Edit:  Cherie, here's a link to that scarf pattern and I will give it another go - I think maybe the starting chains should be 11 and then 9, not what it says - fingers crossed.
It's probably me making some sort of silly mistake.  xx

https://theunraveledmitten.com/2024/11/22/wildwood-patchwork-scarf-crochet-pattern/