One Over the Eight

I think these signs at the top of the street have been celebrating a little too early!

It's nearly that time of year again. I've just been out for a walk in the rain (with brolly) and thoroughly enjoyed it; time for thinking and watching the little rivulets of water running down the hill into the village by passing all the gutters still blocked with leaves. Fortunately, we are well above sea level here but the ground is saturated and even my garden has pools of water on it.


There isn't much preparation for Christmas, we're breaking with a fifty year plus tradition and this year, we're having steak instead of turkey which I am so looking forward to. Boxing Day consists of being with family and a short visit to a friend to say hello in the morning. Sadly, back at work on the 27th but as most people take Christmas off, the phone and e-mail should be very quiet until the New Year!

I haven't done a list for many months and I thought I'd do one that's seasonal and relates to the financial position at home - certainly mine! 

10 things that tell you you've overspent at Christmas:

1. American Express calls and says; "Definitely leave home without it."
2. Your idea of a 7 course meal is taking a deep breath outside a restaurant.
3. You think of a lottery ticket as an investment.
4. You give blood everyday, just for the cup of tea and biscuit.
5. You finally clean your house, hoping to find loose change.
6. McDonalds supplies you with all your kitchen condiments.
7. The wolf sends you food parcels.
8. You go back for seconds at communion.
9. Dried turkey is all you have for the twelve days of Christmas.
10. You rob Peter and then you rob Paul.

I hope you have a great Christmas, if you don't celebrate it - the seasons greetings to you.

Chat soon

Ta-ra

Glorious Montana

Clematis Montana

 

The picture above was taken whist I was hanging out of the bathroom window (not literally you understand), but I thought it gave a better view of the Clematis Montana, one of the most prolific and pretty early flowering hardy Clematis around.

I was reading the Met Office (UK) blog today and a guest blogger gave this valuable warning 

Charlotte Fionda of the Karen Clifford Skin Cancer Charity wrote:

"Last week was Sun Awareness Week, even though the sun did not appear to be aware of it in many places. This weekend, however, the sun is set to return and most of us will want to get out and make the most of the good weather. It is important to remember that although it may not feel that warm despite the sunshine, the sun is very strong at this time of year."

Goof advice although I guess most of us require treatment for rust. It is interesting to note that East Yorkshire - my part of the UK is no longer considered in drought conditions as all the rain we have had over the least few weeks has filled all the water boreholes which were 20% low.

I hope you've all had a good week, wherever you are.

Chat soon

Ta-ra

Pitter-patter, pitter-patter, can you hear the rain?

There are miserable days and there are miserable days. Today is a miserable day. It began to rain during the night and we woke up to a steady down pouring and it's got heavier as the day has gone on. Weaver, a fellow blogger has snow further up in the Yorkshire Dales and on the television this afternoon, there is snow on the pitch at Elland Road in Leeds. Making it more miserable is the chill and dark grey skies.

The photo above taken this afternoon is a bit cliche but just how it feels.

How do you describe rain? I wrote on someones blog today that it had been 'chucking it down' all day. 'Belting down' is another phrase I use along with 'persisting it down,' trying to be polite.

My mother, a cockney, says 'It's raining cats and dogs.' The derivation of this is almost certainly the experience of heavy rain in olden days (17th/18th century) washing dead dogs and dead cats down the gutters in the streets - yuk.

The northern phrase we'll be used to up here, is 'it's raining stair rods.'

It's amazing how much liquid precipitation (which includes rain) dominates the topic of conversation and it's more often than not taken as a negative context at this time of year - too much too often. The poet WH Auden once said that his face "...looks like a wedding cake left out in the rain." And yet after a drought - we pray for bloomin rain. Can't win.

This poem is a common one from my childhood:

It's raining, it's pouring,
The old man's snoring.
He banged his head, he went to bed,
And he couldn't get up in the morning.
Anon

I hope you are keeping warm, dry and cosy today.

Chat soon

Ta-ra.