Lights

Well, hang on there, that took a while. I didn’t mean to be lost in action for so long. Goodness, the time has flown. Best to plunge back in on the last week before Christmas, as if I’ve never been away from this space. Happy Solstice! I’m honouring the shortest day by going with the word “lights” to sum up my week.

Sunrise

We’ve had a few good sunrises and sunsets this week. I rushed out first thing, still in my nightie, to capture this sky. As I turned round, I missed the best shot with the silhouette of a pheasant flying over. It landed in the garden and squawked. Who knows why. Probably just rubbing in my poor timing. We have a regular posse of pheasants that spend time in the garden, avoiding the guns in the local woods. I counted ten, this week. Pheasants. Not guns. Now we are chicken-less, I especially love seeing the pheasants wandering around. It fills the gap.

Christmas Bouquet

Due to my husbands allergy, I can’t have flowers in the house. He once discovered my hyacinths in a little used cupboard, where I was secretly forcing the bulbs, and had left them a bit long. He is that sensitive. So, no flowers are allowed. This week, I discovered a compromise. Each Saturday, I see the Wells Saturday market setting up. In the last few weeks, the flower stall has transitioned from flowers to non-flowers for the festive season and I’ve been yearning to buy one. It occurred to me that there is no pollen involved, therefore no sneeze risk.

So, I bought one. Totally pleased with myself, I almost high fived everyone down the high street, as I saw others carrying away their bouquets too. Like we were all part of the same gang. I didn’t, you’ll be glad to know, but by the time I reached my eldest daughter at the other end of the street, she said I was beaming and almost skipping.

I split the bouquet in two. One for the kitchen and the other in the hall. The kitchen one has lights threaded through the stems, while the hall one is surrounded by beeswax, pinecone candles. The eucalyptus smells divine and the pussy willow has opened in the warmth of the rooms. I am very happy and this is my new Christmas tradition.

Dance

It was our last dance class of the year, this week. We’ve been working on a Christmas jive, which I’ve loved. It’s such a great group to dance with and I often leave with aching cheeks due to smiling and laughing so much. For the last session, we were encouraged to dress up in festive outfits. I’m putting this down to working from home and having no festive dressing up days, but I had nothing suitable. Not even a jumper.

On the search for a solution, I popped into a Wells charity shops and found two possible t shirts for a couple of pounds. I’m not sure what to make of the festive shop window. It is very creative, but honestly, if the Snow Queen had moved, I was ready. Her eyes followed you. I wonder what it looks like with the lights on at night. Anyway, the t shirt fitted and the class was fun.

Concert and lights

Everyone is home from Uni now. To celebrate, we went to A Georgian Christmas Carol concert in the Pump Room in Bath. The building is between Bath Abbey (photo at top) and the Roman Baths. I went there for my 6th form Summer Ball and have fond memories of swanning round the baths in a ball gown after dining in the Pump Room. All very grand.

The concert did not disappoint. Bath is celebrating the 250th birthday of Jane Austen this year, so the concert was themed. The choir was impressive. They also had a very talented, young, solo violinist, which was a highlight for me.

Before hand, we went to a new French restaurant and had a mezze. Absolutely delicious and such a lovely cosy place. The waiting staff were so good to us. I hope we have a chance to go again.

That was my week. Lots of fun and lights, making everywhere festive. I’m joining in with Anne’s word of the week linky. Hopefully, I’ll get back into the swing of writing again and I’m looking forward to catching up with all the other linkers. My word is lights.