The Weather

    It continues to be cold but still a bit above seasonal averages. And, unbelievably, we have gotten well into the New Year without significant snowfall! You may wonder why I am so jubilant to have none of the white stuff but that is because last winter's heavy soggy snow was almost impossible to move and leaving it lying would have resulted in the possibility of not being able to leave my house until Spring!

   So far this winter I have only had to get my winter boots on once (long may that continue). I have managed my daily walks in just my joggers and I notice all my fellow walkers are similarly attired. I don't really mind having to wrap up well before setting out and usually work up some heat if I walk briskly. One can always strip off a layer or two when necessary! 

No Heat Again!

    I woke up to a very chilly house again this morning. It's less than a month since I last had to call the repair guys so let's hope this time it is well and truly fixed. The techie (female again) arrived with her manager so perhaps between the two of them they will be able to diagnose and fix the problem. It's no fun being chilled to the bone when you step out of bed in the morning but the sun is out for the first time in what seems like ages. No snow yet!

    Anyhoo (no that's not a typo, that how it's pronounced here, in a jokey way), time for an end of year update as I have been so busy clearing up the debris from Christmas and getting rid of all the year's cobwebs last week that I have been neglecting my blob. Christmas Day went off well with a lovely meal and fun and games chez moi. As usual I cooked a capon as I'm not much of a turkey fan but we like to have a bird. There was very little in the way of leftovers but I did get two more meals eked out with some fresh veg. By Wednesday there was just stuffing left but I managed to make a meal of it.

 

Just six of us this year but lovely to have the three generations all together. I should have got a photo of us wearing our party hats but at least youngest grandson deigned to remove his baseball cap.

The festive table before the meal. Blogger loaded the photos backwards again. Next time I will load from back to front just to confuse things!

   This week is still holidays but, fortunately, my Bridge group met on Tuesday and today is Book Club. Next week the Seniors' Centre will be back in business and the fitness classes start up again.

   The heat has just come back on, hallelujah!

Winter Solstice

    The last of the early dark evenings although I doubt we will notice any difference for a few weeks. Strangely, we are having quite unseasonally warm weather here and will definitely not be having a white Christmas. Freezing rain overnight which will make my early morning shop tomorrow for the last of the Christmas meal essentials tricky.

   We had one last fitness class this morning and Alison had chosen Christmas music for us to work out to. It was way faster than her usual CD so we had a rather brisk workout! Since that will be it until January it was good to get the blood coursing and the muscles active. I will work out at home for the next two weeks but less enthusiastically than with the group. In January I am adding Yoga to my timetable. Can`t wait to get started on that!

   Here`s my favourite Christmas tune from the movie, `Love Actually`.

Finally Getting the Christmas Spirit

    Today was the Probus Christmas party and 40 of us went to a Greek restaurant, `Flogo Estoria`, for a convivial meal. I had Spanakopita and others at my table had Moussaka, Souvlaki and Greek Salad, all delicious! One of the best parts was that my meal wasn`t too filling as I have definitely been overeating this month. Even this week I ate out two other times (both on Tuesday, unfortunately), a pot luck lunch at the Bridge group and Swiss Chalet for the `Festive Special` dinner with the family.

   For the pot luck lunch I made sausage rolls but as Covid has hit that group recently, the turnout was a bit reduced and I actually brought some rolls home. I'll have them over the next few days with salads. I`m ever mindful that there`s a big meal coming up soon!

   Earlier this evening I started to dress the Christmas tree and the fireplace mantel. I had to steal some greenery from my neighbour since my Blue Spruce which I normally use has long since died and been removed. The branches were slightly overhanging the fence so, technically, on my property! I don`t think she`ll notice.