Last colours in the garden.

The last bits of colour in my garden.

An old granite trough full of baby Cyclamen.

A very early Camellia.

and a bowl full of Winter pansies.

Happily, the bulbs that I planted are beginning to show green shoots, so soon there will be colour again.

Happy Thanksgiving.

To all my dear American friends....

I think we should have Thanksgiving in the UK also.

Thank you letters.

Do you remember those days when a thank you letter was considered obligatory? I was reading Ciel's post on 'Surrounded by the Spirit'yesterday, saying that when she was a child no presents were played with until the letter was written.

My mother sat with a notebook and made a list as we opened Christmas presents from Aunts, cousins, friends. I did the same when my children were young. Yes, it was a chore to get those letters written, but we tried to do it within the week.

Out of interest I Googled 'thank you letters' and found that there were at least ten sites showing you how to write a thank you letter. I thought that was a bit sad. You can get ready printed cards, cards with half the sentence on , as in Thank you for the....., singing cards, photo cards, and so on.

A simple letter from a child, even if mis-spelt, saying thank you for the lovely present means more than any pre-prepared card. I still treasure little missives from grandchildren.

Sadly it seems that e mail has taken over and the joy of receiving a handwritten envelope through the mail is dying out.

What do you feel about thank you letters?

Weathery Ramblings.

Our weather is so temperamental.

No sooner than I had put washing out on a sunny , breezy morning....the hail came clattering down.

For a while the garden was white. The washing went in the Dryer,

and now, the sun is out again.

What does one do!

Looking up at the roof of the Sunroom.
Patterns on the glass!

Yesterday our Oil fired Boiler decided it had had enough and needed a day off. This isn't good news as my husband needs a warm house, so off he went to the sitting room, rug over knees and an electric fire on.

We have a wonderful service from our Oil supplier and their maintenance man came out by midday and put a new water pump in the boiler.

At a cost of over £200. Ouch.

Today the house is warm and comfortable.

We laughed when we remembered what we did to keep warm as children. With no Central heating in those days, the maxim was 'Put another sweater on'.

I have memories of grabbing my vest and school shirt and warming them under the blankets before I got up!

On a very cold day my Mum would hang our school clothes in front of the fire to be warm.

And then we walked the mile and a half to school.

I do wonder if my generation was hardier than today's.

Wintry things.

My friend tells me that her cat is putting on his Winter weight and extra furry coat.

He is a pretty big cat so must be preparing for a hard Winter.

The birds in our garden seem to be stocking up, eating their fill to give themselves a layer of fat to combat the cold.

I think I'm doing much the same, wrapping up, layering, Winter coat, woolly scarves and gloves are all coming out of the cupboard. 

 A fire burns in the evening bringing memories of childhood...the times we sat around the hearth and saw pictures in the flames, told stories, toasted bread on a long fork, and later even roasted chestnuts.

Warming drinks, hot chocolate.....

....warming meals.

There is nothing quite as good as the smell of a beef stew slowly cooking in the oven.

And of course, the ultimate warmer, a soft lap rug.

So whilst we aren't exactly adding any furry pounds on, we seem to be moving towards all the things that say 'Winter is nearly here'.

Are you preparing for Winter? Unless of course you live in Australia!

Stephanie's mug exchange...and a big thank you.

Firstly I want to thank you for the very kind and thoughtful messages wishing me a swift recovery from pleurisy.

I had no idea that one's strength and energy levels could simply disappear into a black hole.

However, I'm climbing back up again. Slowly and carefully.

The pictures below show a delightful package of gifts sent to me through Stephanie's annual Mug and Cup exchange. My partner was Jaana from Sweden.

Besides the mug she added some 'real' tea, ie not teabags, in my favourite flavour of Lapsang. There were delicious biscuits, a notebook, more tea, a pretty table mat.....

See how pretty the mug is, and made in Sweden too.

Blue, my favourite colour!

The round tin (are those Moomins?)contained the mug, and I shall use it for storing biscuits.

A calendar,  all in Swedish.  A useful little mat with a picture of Stockholm. 

 Such a sweet notebook with a matching pen. That will stay in my handbag for shopping notes.

This has become my daily Coffee mug.

Somehow the cookies are no longer with me. Wonder who ate them?
Thank you Jaana for such a thoughtful exchange parcel.!
And many thanks to Stephanie who arranges and organises this swap. It takes a lot of time as there are over a hundred participants.

Valery Anne, to whom I sent my gifts, replied with this beautifully handmade card. Each teacup is separately cut.
She makes the most professional cards.

Now, into a new month. Winter creeps nearer, but thankfully we are still enjoying sunny days.