Monday 30th December

So it was seven this morning when I woke up, checked the thermometer in the hall and tickled the fire immediately into life from the remains of last night's fire.  I didn't linger long downstairs and headed back up to bed with my coffee and didn't come down again until the temperature had risen downstairs.  I was toasty in bed but morning duties were calling.

Breakfast was ham and cheese omelettes for both of us and no need to follow them with toast....they were big omelettes and saw us through until around three this afternoon when the cheese and biscuits came out.  I'd left the curtains drawn in the lounge.  There was a fine dusting of snow this morning and  an attempt to deliver more but it was pretty half hearted.  The wind has been lethal though with the last remaining leaves being ripped from trees and blown around the garden and the yard.  I only made one trip out to the wood store to top up the log carrier and drop it in the porch to warm, the wood through.  Outside temperature has only reached zero today and has now sunk to minus two...it's going to be a cold one.

Lovely afternoon....I saw that My Fair Lady was on and it's a film that I really love and it always brings a tear to my eye especially in the second half.  It finished at around six thirty my time so it was down to the kitchen again to get supper underway.  It wasn't too difficult...hamburger and home made chippies served with beans and a fried egg and that should do until morning.  I need bread from the van tomorrow, the remnants of my loaf had a few of the green spots so the cats will benefit in the morning.  I've got the feeling that we might still be house bound tomorrow...too cold to venture out.  LN....Suits me just fine....LN

Tuesday 31st December

Minus seven last night and it was cccccold.  Down to fifteen inside the stairwell but I'd closed the curtain between the lounge and the stairwell so the house temperature was OK.  I was awake at six thirty and got the fire going from the dregs of last night's and it was soon blazing away. I went back to bed with my coffee and snuggled down leaving the curtains closed but I opened them to the sun coming up but it took ages for it to start doing it's stuff and warming the place up.  More coffee, Outlander has only one hour left to read and it's oly taken me around four weeks to read it.  Such a long book.

My guest surfaced around eight thirty and the omelette was so good yesterday that he requested another for this morning.  I settled for scrambled eggs on toast and I cleared the kitchen up pretty quickly...I had things to do.  I collected everything together for a bonfire, it was such a lovely morning that I wanted to be out there so on with the woolly hat, work gloves and down to the bonfire with a couple of the cats following me.  If you throw anything at them they only think it's food so I've stopped doing that.  So the burning pit was empty, fully burnt out from last time so easy to get going.  It was burning so well that I cleared the beds at the bottom of the garden and got rid of the dead flowers including the seed head...I've collected all that I need for the coming year.  I also made my way into the little house and cleared up the lavender from three years ago and shook the seeds out and burnt the husks and stalks...another job done.

It was at that point that my visitors arrived....Zelinger and the daughter of one of my other older ladies.  They'd both brought presents which I really didn't expect but I accepted them gracefully and we sat in the sun for a while chewing over the fat and discussing a recent village death.  Such a shame she was only mid forties and it was due to cancer, but she'd gone down to skin and bone....god speed her onward journey.  Off they went, I tidied up the workshop terrace and put the leaves down the bottom of the wall so that they'll breakdown over the winter.

My afternoon was spent reading the book in between playing games with a nice end to the year.  There is a gathering tonight in Dhebel i the square to welcome in the new year but I don't think there'll be many takers....much too cold.  We've just had cheese and biscuits and I've put jackets in the oven with barbecued spare ribs from Lidl to see us through until morning.  We'll probably end up looking at the fireworks from the bedroom window like I did last year.  

May I wish you all a Happy New Year.  May 2020 bring you what you need not necessarily what you want and may your health sustain you to accomplish your dreams.  LN....Let's welcome 2020....LN

Happy New Year Elsa.

And to you Trevor....this could be the year that we actually manage to meet.....xx

Maybe....................