The vagaries of time.

Time is playing tricks on me again. Not so long ago I was expressing amazement that there was so much Christmas stuff around everywhere. Now the big day is nearly here and I am frantically making arrangements. 

Yesterday, Saturday, disappeared completely. Okay, I exaggerate. I got up in the morning and, instead of running, walked into Uppermill to buy a newspaper and a couple of other things, only available there. As might be expected, because I was on the last minute, the bus back left a few minutes early and I ended up walking back too. Not that I object to that. A good brisk walk is good exercise, after all. 

I had barely been in the house two minutes, not long enough to organise a late breakfast, when our daughter rang. She was out and about, walking the little dog, and wondered if I might care to meet her in ... wait for it ... Uppermill. Well, actually, no, having just come from there, I did not want to head back that way again. So she came round here instead, assuring me that the little dog, who was muddy after his walk, would stay in the basement kitchen. The basement kitchen which I had deep-cleaned the day before, scrubbing the floor extra well. You know the kind of thing. One of those occasions when you look around your kitchen and think, "Goodness, what kind of housewife am I to let it get to this state?" So, of course, the little dog, and sundry grandchildren, came and successfully muddied up the floor once again. 

Having undone all my good work in the kitchen, we left it to fester a while longer (until this morning in fact) and went off to take the small dog home and then go and do some essential shopping. I wanted to lay in stocks of cheap fruit juice and alcohol and some rather good bread from the Aldi store. For that I needed use of a car or at least to be driven around by my daughter. My daughter had stuff she needed to do and the teenager had no clothes at all!! At least, that is what she assured us. The truth was that she had a couple of vouchers for clothes shops and wanted to spend them, as well as spending some of her hard-earned money on Christmas presents for friends. 

So off we went and managed to find most of what we needed and to deny the small boy's suggestions that we should buy a large model reindeer or a large model polar bear, not to mention an extremely attractive model bi-plane, about three feet in length. Just the sort of thing a nine-year old boy needs to hang from his ceiling! 

And suddenly, it was six o'clock in the evening and we had to head for home and start being domestic and making meals for people. In this way, time runs away with you. 

 Today has been much the same, although quieter and more domestic. The kitchen has been restored to its state of pristine cleanliness, plans have been made for meals to be cooked over the holiday period and lists of stuff that still needs to be bought have been made. I have also spent an inordinate amount of time on the phone, trying to coordinate all the various bits of my family so that I can get everyone together at various points over the next couple of weeks. 

It's hard work being the mater-familias! I just need time to slow down a little.I have only read small sections of the weekend papers and only done one sudoku puzzle!