The day improved with keeping

 I've been feeling very down the last couple of days, especially so this morning.  After Keith had had breakfast, I sat down with the Archers Omnibus in the background and wrote out a few Christmas cards.  They had been nagging me for too long.  Some had a brief note in.  I wrapped Emma's gifts.  Just have half a dozen to do for family - we have kept it a very low-key Christmas.  Some things I have bought locally from the individual traders in Builth, helping the local economy.

I secured the box of books going to my dear friend G in Dorset, and then spent a frustrating 15 minutes of so trying to purchase Royal Mail postage (that I could afford!) and to get it picked up from the house tomorrow as I don't want to use the car unless I have to.  So many alternative choices of sending it, prices etc, but I prefer not to use Evri and the like if I can help it.  I printed my own label in the end - you can chose for Royal Mail to bring a label for no extra fee.  I will be glad to get it on its way anyway.

As I was wrapping a gift, I heard a "can-you-spot-me - look up HIGH?" miaow from behind me and turned to find Pippi doing a headstand by my favourite bits of  china on the top shelf of the dresser! How to give your human a heart attack!!!  This his her having abandoned the headstand and thinking about coming down as I'd told her to!  The little pictures you can see usually adorn the back of one of my display stands when I'm at a Fair.  They are good-amateur scenes (the buildings) and a scenery one from a 1960s calendar. The white ceramic horse is a Unicorn with a lock of my horse Fahly's mane by him (not cracks on him!)

This afternoon, here she is - butter wouldn't melt in her mouth would it?

Anyway, then I spent ages preparing and cooking our main meal of the day in what turned out to be the only dry spell, and by the time we'd eaten, it was chucking it down again.  Another storm (Fergus?) coming through tonight.  Glad we don't live near a river or on the Somerset levels.  By the time I'd done a huge pile of washing up, I was happy to relinquish the idea of a walk anyway and instead Keith and I watched an old Ealing comedy - The Titfield Thunderbolt, which really cheered me up and made us both laugh.  Made in 1953 and filmed just outside Bath.  

I had a phone call from "Little" Lin which also cheered me up no end.  We go back a long way (senior school days) and she reminded me of the first time she came to see the ponies (Trish, Rosie and I had young New Forest ponies) at Mr Stark's.  She was grooming a pony, still very much learning as she went along, and it stood on her foot.  She reminded me that when she said, so-and-so is standing on my foot, I just told her, never mind, he'll move in a little while!!  Wasn't I cruel?!

I've just send for another death certificate, this time for Herbert V. who was a first cousin of mine (two generations ago anyway).  He died young, only 38, of Kidney disease - Nephritis euraemia - in the Workhouse Infirmary.  Makes a change from the TB which too so many in the family trees of Keith and I.  His "wife" seems to have carried on without him at the end of his life, as she had two babies when he was clearly very ill - and they were her boyfriend's (who she eventually married, 14 years later, having had all her babies out of wedlock but with the benefit of a sham wedding ring).

Tomorrow morning I am up early to take delivery of the sand and cement for my greenhouse base.  Then, weather permitting, it will be put in place on Wednesday, and the greenhouse get erected once it has set.  Progress.