Elemental

A pale sliver of moon hung over the last vestiges of light and  clouds raced ahead of the wind as I battled, bent double, to walk a dog.

Christmas has passed, with New Year just over the horizon, and after a period of mildness the weather has taken a downward turn. The temperature has dropped and the wind picked up, the skies are grey and it is miserable. It is so nice to have the woodburner to light, and it is comforting to watch the flames devour the wood. There is something about flame which is mesmerising be it candle or fire, and it has a hypnotic quality. Fire is also a bit of a contradiction. It destroys, yet it purifies and renews (think of the phoenix); it consumes things and yet we use it to make something to eat; it is a symbol of rage and yet love is described as an eternal flame and it has been used as a beacon to guide sailors safely into harbour.

I am in the process of trying the envigorate the house. I am almost finished decorating the lounge, and have just bought a small aquarium which is yet to be filled with fish. Hopefully, tomorrow the water will be at the correct temperature and I can go shopping. I am tempted by the beautiful Angel Fish, but if I go for those, I can't have other species because they do not play well with others. So, a decision has to be made about whether I go for a mixture of compatible fish, or the one species. The aquarium will double as a cat television. The creatures are already sitting watching the bubbles rise to the surface of the water, so their reaction when there are fish swimming about in it will be interesting.

Time Thief

Well, a week to go to Christmas and I am still not ready and if I am honest I probably won't be. I have not even written my cards.

I don't think that I can ever remember time flying by quite so quickly. I know that it is said to be a sign of ageing when time seems to fly but really, where has it gone? Has some horrid little time thief stolen great chunks of time and buried it somewhere? At this rate, I will be in my dotage before next week and I do not like it, not at all.

I still feel like I did when I left school, (although I have a few creaking joints) and still trying to figure out what I want to be when I am a grown up! The world has changed to such an extent that I hardly recognise it, but I feel pretty much like I have stood still. Does everyone feel like that? 

Life Cats and Other Things

Here we are hurtling towards the end of another year with little change to the last one. The things I had intended to get done have all fallen by the wayside and the dissatisfaction of life in general continues.

The finances are still in an appalling state, and there does not seem to be an end to that. The house needs a great deal of work doing to it, the ovens died a few months ago and I have not got the money to get them fixed and the television is on its last legs. 

Winter is here and with temperatures falling, it is great to have my wood burner to curl up in front of. Today, for the first time, I set the heating to come on to warm the house before getting up. I dread the cost of the bills, so I have held off for as long as I can. Luckily it has been mild until now, but if the doom-mongers are right, then we are in for another cold winter which I am dreading. I don't do well with cold. I have only one log at the moment(they are stored at Mum's) and so I took myself to bed early with the laptop and a cup of coffee.

I have not even thought about Christmas let alone done any shopping, not even a card has been bought. Panicking? You had better believe it.