Simply a moment in November

It's 8pm.  We are all feeling full after a dinner of roast chicken, chipolata sausages, mashed potatoes, carrots, baby broad beans and gravy.  For some unknown, but universally agreed reason, a bottle of white wine which was laying chilled on its side in the bottle holder section of the fridge, waiting to be drunk, was opened.  I think we had all had 'one of those days'.  It is now empty and ready to be put into the recycling box outside the front door.
I am browsing through blogs on the laptop in the dining room and through the double doors leading to the lounge, I can hear a recorded Jules Holland TV programme being played.  My husband is sitting in the brown leather armchair watching it, although I suspect that if I got up and went into the room, I would find him 'listening with his eyes closed' (asleep!) 
The dog has obviously been up to no good in amongst the curtains at the patio doors that lead to the conservatory.  I just looked across the room to see what she was doing and she is fast asleep with the voile fabric draped around her.  All that is visible is her shaggy haired face.  From time to time I can see a slight move of the curtain as she twitches her paw - obviously dreaming.  She, too, enjoyed an extra supper of mashed potato and chicken, despite having already tucked into her own food at 6pm.
My daughter is upstairs, removing and replacing nail varnish and washing her hair as she is meeting up with friends after work tomorrow.  I can hear the swishing noise of the shower as the water hits the tiled walls of the bathroom.
It is pitch black outside.  The fog that we woke to this morning never really cleared and it has been a miserable, damp day.  The street lights are casting an eery yellow glow in the misty cold night air. Winter is really upon us. This is my moment in November.

Hello Monday

Hello Monday - and hello back to work after a week of half term holiday
Hello Monday - and hello aching muscles in my legs - we must have walked MILES in our three days in Edinburgh
Hello Monday - and hello bath for the dog who ran through every single muddy puddle on our hour long walk in the countryside this afternoon
Hello Monday - and hello to employment for our son.  This time last week he had no job up in Scotland, today he has two!  A part time job with John Lewis until Christmas and a full time 'proper' job that he was interviewed for on Thursday, starting in December.
Hello Monday - and hello to seeing the new James Bond film on Wednesday
Hello Monday - and hello to firework night tonight.  Hope the noise doesn't upset little Coco too much, we will have to keep the tv turned up loud!

Hello Monday

Hello Monday - We have Children in Need at the end of the week,we need to think about what choose for the office theme for 'non uniform day'
Hello Monday -  I can upgrade my phone this week, I really hope that it is going to also be hello to an iphone 5 (I've loved my iphone 4 and have high hopes for the 5) 
Hello Monday - and hello to picking up the new Portmeiron pasta bowls that I ordered
Hello Monday -  and hello to having an excuse to try out lots of new pasta based recipes
Hello Monday - will the weather co-operate and let me continue my new Monday routine of a keep fit 30 minute long power dog-walk with my friend Lynda after I finish work?
Hello Monday - only two more days until the 2nd episode of the new season of Grey's Anatomy.  Last week's episode left me in tears, what more surprises do you have in store?

It was a dark and stormy night ...

... from inside the building they could hear the torrential rain lashing against the windows and the wind howling outside.  It had been dark for some time and the temperatures had dropped considerably.  Even so, it was far, far warmer inside than out and just the sounds of the horrific weather was enough to chill you to the bone.  The trees in the area just outside of where they were sheltering creaked as the force of the gale hit them and when the noise of the gusts dropped they could hear branches snapping and falling to the ground.  Even without looking outside, they knew that there was much debris accumulating around them and in the morning the landscape would look quite different to when they had last seen it in daylight. 
A rumble of thunder in the distance was becoming noisier as the storm travelled ever closer.  The lightening increased in intensity as the storm approached.  A flicker of the lights brought a scream from the youngest of them and sent the older woman into another room to search for candles and a lighter in anticipation of an inevitable power cut.  It was bad enough being inside listening to the storm with lights on; to be plunged into darkness would heighten their anxiety and preparation was key to survival.
As the minutes clicked by on the clock, they knew that soon a decision would have to be made.  They had a mission to complete and failure would lead to consequences which none of them wished to contemplate.  Things could get very messy indeed.
But who would take responsibility for the mission?  Each had their strengths and each had their weaknesses.  This was going to have to be a stealth mission.  The deed needed to be done and then they had to return to the sanctuary of their current safe place.  They looked from one to another, each hoping that someone else would offer to take the role of leader.  They looked at the unwilling participant without whose co-operation the mission could not be completed successfully.  Their look of trepidation was mirrored in her eyes.  Was she ready for such activity?  Could she complete the mission and return unscathed?  Only time would tell.
All eyes fell on the elder man.  He knew it was time to step forward and be a hero.  He locked eyes with their co-conspirator.  They moved to the hallway where they found the protective clothing they had prepared earlier.  The man knew that his safety depended on this, without it he would be exposed to the elements and make his task much, much harder.  When he was completely covered, he turned his attention to the person responsible for this mission.  Without whom he would be comfortably seated in his armchair at home.

Yes, there are times when NO ONE wants to be responsible for the last dog walk of the day and pre-bedtime 'comfort breaks' have to be made. Neither do they want to have to be the one to clean and dry her on her return ...


Now pop on over to Sian's blog for some more Storytelling Sunday entries!

My month in numbers - October

Overheard in Sainsburys car park from a man pushing a toddler in a buggy on phone to his wife: 'It's Halloween tonight and I can't believe they've sold out of pumpkins.  They had 100s yesterday, whatever's happened?'  {it's half term - most people have kept their children quiet for the last 3 days by buying their pumpkin in advance and carving it in readiness for tonight!}

Having just seen Julie's blog post come up in my reader, I realise it's time to reflect on the month!

2 - amount of crops I attended.  that's double my normal amount!

9 - number of days the car pound held onto my daughter's car before they owned up to the police that they had it

A gazillion - number of tears cried by my daughter when she believed her beloved mini to be stolen

31 - dog walks

3 - number of new items of clothing I bought

2 - number of new items of clothing my husband knows about ;-)

3 - new books downloaded onto my kindle

4 - number of times I've met up with friends for tea/coffee/wine this half term (and it's still only Wednesday morning!)

1 - doughnut, 1 slice of chocolate cake and 3 rock cakes eaten during my half term healthy eating week (and it's still only Wednesday morning)

1 - number of times we woke up to snow

But enough of my month, hurry over to Julie's and see what everyone else has been up to!

Weather woes

Everyone knows that us Brits like nothing less than a good old moan about the weather.  Most conversations with people we meet start with a comment about the weather.  Whatever the weather is at that moment in time, we wish it were something else.
But today as I watch the news from America I realise that our weather isn't that bad after all.  Mother Nature is throwing some pretty powerful things against the East Coast and there is nothing anyone can do expect take every precaution possible and hope for the best. 
A number of blogs that I follow are written by people in the affected areas and I am monitoring statuses on facebook, twitter and new blog posts with such hope that any damage is minimal, that no one is injured and that everyone is able to return to their normal lives as soon as possible. 
Suddenly the prospect of only 6 degrees Celsius and rain for our trip to Edinburgh seems pretty insignificant.

Hello Monday

Hello Monday - It's 8am and I'm still in my PJs.  That can only mean one thing.  School holidays! 
Hello Monday - And hello to the new job in London that our daughter starts today.  A slight feeling of apprehension is in the air.
Hello Monday - and welcome back to daughter's car.  Turns out that it hadn't been stolen but towed away.  The the company that took it denied having it when the police started their search and waited a further 10 days before putting it on their systems.
Hello Monday - not many more sleeps before we go to visit our son
Hello Monday - and hello to catching up with friends on my much needed week off work
Hello Monday - there's some pretty scary weather forecasting going on today, I hope that any blog friends in the affected areas of America keep safe.
Hello Monday - not to mention Hello November at the end of the week.  That can only mean one thing - Christmas isn't far away!