Monthly Archives: December 2015

I went into town today to get some last-minute inessentials, picking my way round and/or over quantities of miserable children who were being dragged (literally in some cases) around the shops by mothers whose stressometer needles were hovering dangerously between … Continued

I don’t know how he does it. Twenty four hours after being groomed, his coat is full of seeds and there’s something suspiciously unpleasant-looking in his beard. And he’s barely left that sofa… Several people asked me yesterday about the … Continued

…a little as though I’m getting on top of the whole Christmas situation. Of course, bragging about it amounts to tempting fate…. Did I order the turkey…? This morning R and I took Arthur to the groomer for a pre-Christmas … Continued

I took this on the same piece of road as yesterday’s sunset shot, though obviously facing in the other direction! It was a really stunning dawn, and very much the best part of the day. There are some more views … Continued

Someone on the news this morning pointed out that this time next week it will be Christmas Eve. I immediately had to go back upstairs and lie down in a darkened room. The only time I’ve ever been less prepared … Continued

I’ve had another day of not really managing to do very much. The next time the rheumatologist informs me authoritatively that tiredness and stress do not affect RA itself but merely my perception of it, I must remember to ask … Continued

R and I went to Oxford today, to see Titian to Canaletto: Drawing in Venice at the Ashmolean. There were some nice pieces in the exhibition, but it didn’t wow me – unsurprisingly, probably, as I’ve never been a huge fan … Continued

It wasn’t very mobile when I photographed it, though the wind was ruffling its wings. It had arrived overnight with an friend, drawn to our Advent light, and they had settled on the sitting room window; when I spotted them … Continued

I was talking yesterday about December 2007, the month of the Motoring Incident. It also happened to be the month in which Child One turned 18, and I reached 50. R had realised some years prior to this that adolescence … Continued

Actually, this isn’t the least festive I have ever felt while trimming a tree. That dubious distinction belongs to 13th December 2007, when I spent part of the evening hanging baubles to take my mind off the fact that R … Continued