Into December

As it is Friday here are five things from this week

 The Calendar has turned to the last month of the year.

The four weeks of national lockdown ended on the 2nd December and we are now in tier three, so there are still many restrictions. Just as we could possibly go a little further afield than a nearby walk, although of course still within the city, the gas company who have been working in the area have reached our corner and will dig up the road outside our house, we will have walkways to get beyond the garden gate on foot but the car will have to stay put for a few more days.  The heating will have to be turned off for a while too, I hope it won't be for too long.

We received our first Christmas Card (hand delivered) on 29th November, so it's now time to think about Christmas cards and letters.  I started yesterday by writing the envelopes.  Today I will write the greetings inside the cards and put them in the envelopes then split them into three piles, local to be hand delivered, those than can be sealed with just a personal note on the card and lastly those that I will send with a longer letter which will probably be written over the weekend.  Of course the moment it is needed the printer has decided it has had enough and won't work, so  the letters will have to be hand written. 

 

Above a photo of an old postbox in Buxton taken in 2018.

 We have huge problems with post at the moment. Letters and cards are takng over a week to reach us.  We still haven't received a small parcel a friend told us they had sent over a week ago.  From comments on our local neighbourhood forum people seem to think that the explanation is staffing levels as postal workers are either off sick or self isolating as other family members are ill or have symptoms. They do work hard and have done through this year especially in difficult circumstances.

Christmas baking has been done over the last few weeks.  The cake first, then the pudding and lastly mincemeat made with the vegetarian suet we had bought for the Christmas pudding before we changed our minds and used another recipe with Spelt flour.  We used this recipe (halved) - here.

We've been stocking up on tea and coffee.  We are still using loose leaf tea to avoid tea bags.  I have English Breakfast tea in the morning and a combination of Earl Grey and Assam tea at lunchtime and in the afternoon.  Paul drinks fruit teas and one he purchased recently had a seasonal ring to it.  Partridge in a Pear Tree.  It has lots of lovely seasonal ingredients - pears, apples, rosehips, cinamon, cloves and figs but thankfully no partridge.

 

There haven't been many visitors to the garden lately.  The wet weather has put them off.  No foxes or badgers for over a week.  We are hoping that all the road works and heavy machinery haven't stopped them getting to us although it is the time of year when foxes do move around a bit more looking for mates. Up until last week the older fox we had treated for mange was visting at lunchtime for a few dog biscuits but he's not been seen for ages.  Several local cats, grey squirrels, collard doves, magpies, goldfinches, chaffinches plus great tits and blue tits make up the rest of the visitors.

 

It's going to be colder this weekend so stay safe and warm.