Day out

Scroll down to the entry for 3 December for the Annual Ramblings

A pleasant drive down to Rye yesterday for Sue's birthday party.  We were among the last to arrive, so plonked ourselves down in the only pair of remaining seats.  I found myself sitting next to the business partner of a chap I serve on a committee with.  Her husband, sitting in the next seat along, is a friend and customer of a friend of mine with whom I work on another.  Small world, eh?  Lunch was good, but then the music started.  It was very good - pop songs suitable for a 60th birthday party - but I just can't converse against that kind of background, and become increasingly frustrated when others feel they can.  The drive home was beautiful: there was a fine sunset yesterday, and the skeletal trees looked wonderful against the spectacular colours.

The tree is up, the lights have been persuaded back into working order and the Christmas shopping is largely complete.  Our approach has been anything but systematic, though: we went to get a present for Sue's birthday, and came away with a duplicate to serve as someone else's Christmas present.  We've done another couple of buys on line, and think there are only a couple to go.  Greetings cards are beginning to trickle in, with the snippets of news of friends that I'm always so pleased to receive.  Ours went last week, in their  lurid yellow envelopes (must shop more carefully next year).

I had expected to spend Christmas Eve practising the hobby, but that has been cancelled.  I may pick up a cancellation in the meantime, but am not too short of sittings at this point, provided I don't lose too many from January to March.

The garden is looking a bit sad at the moment: a couple of roses by the front door are doing very well, as they generally do at this time of year - they obviously like the dry conditions and northern exposure!  They are partly sheltered by the overhang where the roof line follows the projection of the bay window and the garages.  A few pansies and primulas are showing colour, as are the old faithful penstemons.  Of the herbs, the rosemary and sage don't look too bad, but the thyme is getting rather bedraggled, the mint and chives are dormant, and the oregano and tarragon are now indoors - not that the latter has come to much.  One day in the week it was just dry enough for me to slither round the policies behind the motor mower, so the grass isn't looking too dreadful.  If the ground dries later, I'll get out and do a bit more dead-heading and cutting back of dead foliage.  We'll look for some flowering plants for the basket at the front door at some point.  Then I think that'll be it for gardening in 2013.