In the bleak mid-winter

Today is definitely the bleak mid-winter! At 10 this morning I had to have the standard lamp on in our living room (which has big windows at both ends) to see to read and when I got back in this afternoon at 3, I had to put the light on. Bring back the cold, clear and sunny weather please - but no snow until after I have fetched Holly from college on Thursday. The number of Christmas cards on the side is growing, Nick will need to put the strings up across the room soon before we run out of (clear) flat surfaces - my pre-advent tidy didn't last long.
Yesterday morning was spent discussing the Start! course which we will be running in January at Dorridge Methodist Church and we decided that I should produce a flyer for it so that might be a job for this evening.

This is a tealight stand that I bought in a charity shop in Shirley yesterday. I try to get something 'new' each year to add to the decorations and I liked this.
Another thing to do is make some gingerbread biscuits - my sister bought me a set of russian doll measuring cups for my birthday and I need to work out if they are American (most likely) or English cups before I can use them - for various people for Christmas.

Hoar Frost!!!

The last two days have been very cold and very pretty. I managed to get to Mustard Seed yesterday but forgot the camera and then posted the parcel for New Zealand and bought stamps for the cards. When I got home, I stayed in for the afternoon. Today I got up later in the hope that the car might be easier to defrost (it wasn't) and when I could see out I moved the car to the road opposite where I parked it in the sun and took pictures of the trees.

I stopped on the way to Solihull and took more pictures including this one of the ford at Temple Balsall.

After aquafit I sat in the cafe at the leisure centre with a mug of tea and read my copy of Magnet (which I have had for at least a week) while getting together the energy to drive home. Stopped at Halfords to look for an ice scrapper as Isaac broke mine at the weekend but they didn't have any flexy ones :(

House group tonight and tomorrow really must be spent wrapping presents.

Ready for Advent

Over the last two days I have completed the pre-advent tidy up - upstairs yesterday, downstairs today. A little late I know but now I just need to finish the cards and send them out (before the last posting date for NZ) and wrap the presents!
As a break from that sort of preparation, I have a service at Lyndon on Sunday when we shall be looking at John the Baptist and preparing the way of the Lord. I'm thinking of the need to take time out in order to make sure that we keep Christ at the centre of Christmas, and the fact that we are to prepare the way ie make things easier for people to come to Christ, not put obstacles in their way.

Lots of tea and lots to do!

Today we awoke to a small dusting of snow - not sufficient to prevent Nick going to Buckingham. I was up and out by soon after 9 and heading for Warwick to get the church poster printed. There is a card cum stationery shop which has a copyshop in the back opposite Cafe Nero and they are good value. While waiting for the poster to be printed, I popped into Caffe Chai - a little independent cafe which does proper tea in proper mugs (and very nice carrot cake) - for breakfast. When collecting the poster I couldn't resist a pigmee card about Spine Flu.

(c) Peter Cross - The Great British Card Company

On (or back) into Solihull to Hobbycraft as Christmas preparations are being held up for want of tape pens (two ran out last night!!). On the way drove past a Severn Trent man using a metal detector - presumably to find a stopcock under the snow. Then to Tudor Grange to book into aquafit. Last week there were 27 of us and the pool was a little full so Jo told us to book in early. This week of course there were only about 10. Having booked in, I sat in the cafe with a mug of tea and watched the long-tailed tits in the trees outside whilst trying to pick hymns for my service at Lyndon on Sunday.

Into the town centre after aquafit for some lunch in Starbucks but also picked up a pair of PURPLE LEATHER GLOVES from John Lewis. I wanted some last year but all the purple ones went early on so this year I have got in first and spent my Christmas money before I have got it :0)

Now sitting at home recovering from all the dashing about with another mug of tea - is there a theme there somewhere?

Second morning in a row that Nick has had to defrost the drainage pipes from the bathroom. Yesterday I couldn't have a shower before I went out as he had to take the pipes off and bring them into the kitchen to defrost. Today he had a shower but left the plug in the bath until he had finished in the hope that the rush of hot water would clear any build up since yesterday - no. So it was outside again with the hotair gun! After I had my shower I put the plugs in the bath and sink to see if that makes any difference tomorrow.

Some progress is being made on the 'getting ready for Christmas' front - I have sorted a card list so I know how many stamps to get and have started to make some cards but presents still need wrapping.

I am begining to lose faith in David Cameron. I thought we might have a chance of common sense politics (if that isn't an oxymoron), yet when comments by Lord Young and Howard Flight make the headlines, instead of saying 'Well that isn't a very sensible or polite way of saying it but there is an element of truth in what you say', he makes out that they are living on the moon! Politics is not black and white, or at least mine isn't, and by dismissing what they said he is dismissing a lot of people in this country who think the same. How are we ever to have a sensible debate on things when there are topics - like benefits - which seemingly cannot be discussed. What happened to free speech?

So the government is going to turn education upside down again. Please let the teachers get on with teaching and stop moving the goal posts!!! Yes, I think it is a good thing to raise standards in education but you need to know about how the changes will impact in practical terms and the best way to implement them. I think the Education Minister should have to have been a teacher (a good one, however they define that) and preferably a headteacher. It is much more important that they have experience of leading schools than that they are an MP.  Sorry - end of rant :)