Random ramblings

 

My last post was all about November gloom, and it appears that my cactus heard me whining and decided to help out. “Why bloom at Christmas,” it thought to itself, “when the whole house is covered in bright red decorations and glitter?” “I will cheer the silly woman up,” it crowed, ‘and bloom now!” And it did.

 With the orchid that some friends gave me also doing its best to disperse the greys of November, I have a fine and mood-lifting bunch of flowers here.

 (Although MY husband did not supply me with roses as someone’s did (Sue, wow!)).

 We have not had any snow yet, either, and the grass in the field is still green. All the leaves, almost, are down and mulched up by my obsessive and hard-driving husband. The shadows cast by the low November sun make beautiful patterns on the grass. Note the one stubborn maple still hanging onto it leaves. 

 And the poor old oak has shed and is standing there stark and stubborn. I do hope the [censored] caterpillars stay away next year and give it a chance.

 I bought Christmas cards this week. Whether I will actually get out a pen and The List and write them is another matter. Somehow the long, sleepy days of November become the short and even shorter hectic days of December without me noticing. I do have a few early Christmas things to do, besides looking at the pile of cards (Now where IS the dratted list?). I have to negotiate with the ED as to whom (Note the proper usage there. I hope you are impressed. Unless you are Nancy and then you just expect the ‘m’.) is cooking the Yule Bird. I have to think about (whimper) Christmas gifts for all and sundry. (Although sundry may not get anything if he does not keep telling me he wants towels. Towels, for goodness sake!) JG and I have to sort out the pile of demands and decide how to allocate the Christmas donations. And, I guess we are having a tree, as JG has already located it. (Note YD. Get home here early enough to get on the ladder and put up the lights.) And I have to dig out the wrapping paper.

 It is a good thing that the cheerful cactus is doing its thing.

 I note that the US English setting on my keyboard will not allow ‘gray’. It underlines it in red and stares at me until I change to ‘grey’. I prefer the UK English keyboard for spelling, but it will not, stubborn thing that it is, put the quotation marks in the proper place for my brain – and where my keyboard, unashamedly American, has them marked. Double quotation marks on the UK keyboard are exchanged with @. Among other annoyances. I would show you the pattern, except I figure Blogger would not let me.

 Is Wordpress better behaved, she wondered in passing.

 Now I have to quit this and go and make dressing for the Sunday bird. A Chicken. Not, please note, a turkey.