So how was it for you?

 Christmas, I mean. Good, bad or indifferent? The last minute restrictions didn't make any difference to me; I had planned for a quiet day at home with plenty of food and a few treats.  My youngest son and his family live about 6 miles away and they invited me to join them for Christmas dinner. Although I appreciated the lovely offer, I had decided it was safer to stay at home. I have missed the hugs and kisses but it would have been almost impossible to be in the midst of the family without hugging, especially the children.  I explained that I'm perfectly used to living on my own and was well stocked up with everything I could possibly want or need, so I would have to decline until it was safe to do such a thing. I have been self-isolating since March so with vaccines becoming available I'm looking forward to the day when we can lead a more normal way of life, with interactions and the chance to enjoy the outdoors once again.

So I enjoyed a leisurely day with some surprise gifts to open, plenty of good food (too much, if truth be told!) and a couple of glasses of red wine. There wasn't room for the Christmas Pudding and cream, so that was eaten much later in the evening. Benji thoroughly enjoyed HIS Christmas dinner and when I gave him a couple of the 'pigs in blankets', having removed the bacon, they lasted him as long as his dental chews!  (They don't take long to cook, do they?  Ooops!!!)   I received several phone calls and emails from family and friends. Incidentally, it has turned into a 'Booky' Christmas; I ended up with a total of 12 books!!!  Oh what a decadent life I shall be leading - no time for housework and the like, eh?

Boxing Day was a VERY quiet day and I may have nodded off in front of the TV.  In between, I made phone calls to a few friends - it was good to catch up with them too.  When the world was a normal place, I would have been out on Boxing Day, taking my dog to Seaton beach to join the crowds there for a mass walk, followed by a warming mug of hot chocolate in the Beach Cafe; it's been a tradition to do just that for many years. Hopefully, we'll make it next year. Even more hopefully, next year will be a huge improvement on 2020.  We can do without any more disasters, thank you. 

HAPPY CHRISTMAS!

 Oh, the difference a bit of sunshine makes after weeks and weeks of heavy rain.  This morning I woke to the sun streaming through the bedroom curtains and within minutes of getting up and about I had the back door and several windows open; lovely to let the somewhat chilly air in to freshen the whole house.  It stayed open until a large grey cloud appeared, hovering above and hiding that welcome sun; time to close the hatches and turn the heating on. 

Still in my dressing gown, I answered a phone call from my eldest son, working from his home in Hampshire and we had a wonderful 90 minutes of chat and catch-up, reminiscing about times past and generally putting the world to rights, as one does.  I think this time of year encourages thoughts of Christmases of long ago and stirs memories of random things long forgotten but brought to mind again. We covered lots of wide-ranging topics.

It's raining again - looks as though that will be the order of the day but the washing is done, just the tumble drier still in action. A final whizz round with the Vac and maybe flick a duster round too and I'm done, all clean and tidy for Christmas Day. 

May I wish everyone who reads my blog as happy a Christmas as you can manage, despite the restrictions; let's be so grateful for the ways we can communicate with our familiy and friends even if we have to postpone giving actual hugs.  With the advent of the vaccines and the protection they will bring, the day will surely come when we can set foot outside with some semblance of normality to give and receive those wonderful hugs - and really appreciate what we have. 

Happy Christmas and sincere wishes for a safe and healthy 2021. 

The Bethlehem Star

 I'm sorry to say that the sight of 'the great conjunction' of Saturn and Jupiter will be hidden from my sight this evening, thanks to heavy rain clouds . . . . so it's a good job I was looking skyward on Saturday when the stars twinkled in a clear and cloudless sky.  The rear of my home faces southwest, so from the back door, looking quite low in the sky there was a wonderful view of these two planets in very close proximity. They didn't appear to be any brighter than the surrounding stars but they drew my attention because they were seemingly almost touching.  Obviously, they are nowhere near each other as they circle the Sun, but for several weeks they have appeared to be steadily drawing closer together. And tonight's the night when their trajectories coincide to form the Great Conjunction, thought to be the Bethlehem Star. 

https://www.livescience.com/how-to-watch-great-conjunction-jupiter-saturn.html 

What to do in January?

 It's over a month since my last post, mainly because I've been nowhere and done nothing of interest. With the coming of the dark evenings and horrible weather, I've hibernated! I'm grateful that I have a roof over my head (I hope it stays there throughout these fierce winds) and that I can keep warm and cosy inside. But I also look forward, with the advent of vaccines to treat the dreaded coronavirus, to the days when it will be possible to venture forth into a near-normal world, or at least my little bit of it. I can only dream of walking on a Cornish beach again, feeling the sun on my face and hearing the sound of the sea. 

But first, there's Christmas - a very different Christmas where it isn't safe to hug and kiss my beloved family members and share the day with them; indeed some are out of reach physically during these Covid-restricted times. In these cases, I am grateful for telephones, emails and Skype to give some comfort and a semblance of being together. The Royal Mail and the plethora of delivery firms will hopefully transport Christmas presents and cards to those who live at a distance.

And so to January - and a confession that I have treated myself to a couple of books I fancied reading if we face a further full lockdown in the New Year (these are separate from the books I buy on Kindle Unlimited, which don't count as expenditure once I paid the annual fee!!!)  

And then - a parcel arrived . . . . a Christmas present of 2 more books.  Oooohhhh, that's 4 new books to read.  🙋 

And in the next day's post . . . . another Christmas present.  FIVE new books, all placed under where the tree would be if I had put one up! 

Roll on January, that's what I say. 

 I guess if we didn't have lots of rain, we wouldn't have such a beautifully green county - and judging by the amount of rain that fell on us in recent weeks this theory should be well and truly proved over the next year or so.  

The view from the kitchen window, the front window and just for a change, from the car window.

So, what with the weather conditions (we've had fierce winds as well, bringing down branches and even whole trees) plus the current lockdown restrictions, it's been a stay-at-home  time with little or nothing to blog about and to photograph.

I seem to be falling to bits and my home along with me!  I'm still unable to wear enclosed shoes, so if I go out it's in my summer sandals and in home I wear slippers to avoid pressure on my still-blackened big toes. There's very little 'going out' as most days we have fierce winds and heavy rain showers, though it's reasonably mild.  I was due to have a cataract operation and I was looking forward to much improved eyesight - it's all blurry and out of focus at present - but that has been postponed. I was told that I'm still 'on the list' but I'm guessing a new date won't be forthcoming until after lockdown has ended, whenever that might be.

What with arthritis (made worse by all the wet weather), diabetes, a general lack of fitness due to not exercising and all the usual creaks and twinges, I am feeling like an old crock! 

The house is coming out in sympathy and is determined to have issues of its own: the bathroom light, a central globe thingy, pinged when I pulled the cord switch and has died.  But there are 2 lights above the sink, on the shaver point . . . . well, there WERE 2 lights - now one of them has also died!  So I take my showers during daylight hours, just in case the remaining little light decides to pop its clogs.

Speaking of the shower - it is the type with a waterfall shower head directly above and a directional shower hose - the one I prefer. And would you believe?  That one has split so water comes out of the split instead of the shower head.  

So I went online and bought a replacement.  When it came, I was unable to work out how to fix it in place.  Grrr!  Then I found it had the wrong 'ends' for my shower; it is not a standard fitting. 'sigh'

When buying online, it's impossible to tell from the illustration or the description if any hose has the fittings that I need - so that can't be sorted until the shop is open and trading again.

The waterfall shower is rather useless when trying to rinse shampoo from my hair - and impossible to use to give my Bichon his fortnightly shower.  He hates rain and to him, that waterfall is definitely rain! 

(He usually stands perfectly happily to have a shower and has no objections to the directional hose removing lather from his curly coat.)

Outside, the paths need jet-washing, particularly the one that leads from the garage to the garden; it is on the north side and receives no sun, so algae turns it into a skating rink.  I found that out a few days ago when I was putting the recycling out for collection - one step on to that section of path and I fell, luckily against the fence so I didn't crash to the floor.  Phew! (I just had a thought - I wonder if my toes would object to wearing my wellies rather than sandals, then I could do the jet-washing????) I will try that out. 

Well, enough of my woes and enough of the dark days.  I am looking forward to The Shortest Day, or rather the days that follow.  Roll on, December the 21st. After that, the days will lengthen and the darkness will gradually lift - YESSSS! With a bit of luck, the lockdown might be ended as well AND we can surround ourselves with pretty coloured lights for Christmas. 

The first photograph is of Crantock village; almost every house, business, tree, fence - basically anything that didn't move and some that did, was beautifully decorated with lights.

And this last one is of Mousehole's Christmas lights last year. Sadly, they are cancelled this year.

(Photograph from the internet; no copyright infringement intended.)

"Let There Be LIGHT!"

And thanks to Andrew, who comes and cuts the hedges of 6 neighbouring bungalows, there IS light at last! The low-in-the-sky sun can reach down on to my patio and nurture the plants in that area.  My line of sight from the back door now reaches as far as the horizon and the Moorland hills to the south, instead of the untamed wild hedge you see in this first photo. 

 

Since returning from Polzeath, I have determined to build up some sort of fitness by walking daily; it was apparent to my niece that I was struggling to walk, thanks to my confinement to home and garden over the last 7 months, so her concern and pep talk encouraged me to do something about it. 

BUT . . . the walking in Polzeath, particularly the steep hill down from the car park, had resulted in two injured toes - both big toes had blackened nails despite wearing good walking shoes, so since then I have not been able to wear 'normal' shoes and I have had to revert to my sandals, so as not to put pressure on those poorly toes. 

However, I am happy in my sandals; it just means that muddy lanes are best avoided!

So despite the constant drizzle, Benji and I set out from home and walked the lanes - he gave me such a look (he hates going out in the rain!) as if to say, "Do we HAVE to????"

I snatched a few photos along our route -

There were alternating sunshine and showery periods throughout this walk, which enabled me to catch this rainbow in the valley below.

Once more in the Tokenbury lane - with sunshine to look at and a dirty big black cloud hanging over us!

Turn right for home - and a very welcome cup of tea or two!

Local Folk Lore - a Ghost Story

 A short walk from my home brings me to the Tokenbury Estate; access is via a tarmac surfaced drive which is open to walkers . There are signs saying that cycling is not allowed, dogs must be kept on leads and a request that you clear up after your dog.  Fair enough, as the drive, its boundary walls and surrounding fields are kept in immaculate condition. The views from there are beautiful, as I hope these photos show. 

A Cornish Hedge on the left, dividing the drive from the village cemetery; this one is topped with beech hedging and a few wildflowers -

 

On the opposite side, a neater Cornish Hedge topped with turf which is always trimmed short.

Looking north-west with moorland in the far distance.

And here is where the folk lore begins . . . .

As you stand beside the entrance to Tokenbury Manor you see a grove of beech trees.  In the 17th century, at the time of the Civil War, the Cavaliers were marching up the main road to Caradon (this is the one that leads into Jimmy Goodman's Lane)  At that time, it was the King's army's practice to force any able bodied men they encountered on their march to join the Army. Three of the recruits tried to escape but sadly they were caught and hung from these trees as an example.

The story continues -

In November 1976 Mr. Bill Stapleton of Pensilva had cause to visit the manager of Tokenbury and after their business was concluded, he remained and they played cards.  It was after 11pm when he started to cycle home. It was a crisp, frosty night and the whole world sparkled in the moonlight. When he reached the gate opposite the grove he stopped and looked at the beautiful view. A man appeared beside the gate and Bill assumed he had walked behind him. 

He said: 'It's a beautiful night' 

'Yes,' replied the stranger, 'but there will be a heavy frost in the morning.' 

'Do you live around here?' asked Bill. 

'Yes,' replied the stranger. 

'Have you been here for very long?' The stranger threw back his head, laughed and said 'I have been here for a very long time!'

It was then Bill saw the vivid red weal of the hangman's noose. As he stared in amazement the man faded but the last memory Bill had was of his manic laughter.

He never traversed that drive again after dark !!!