December days

The river three o'clock today

It's still grayer than gray, and wetter than wet here. The temperature is said to drop, so we might get some clearer days.

Yesterday it was time for my darlings annual trip to the vet, to get his shot and to hear that he is a beautiful cat in good shape. So I managed to fetch the darling in the morning — and kept him inside, in spite of his protests — I had everything under control, until I was to start the car. It didn't start!
Instead I managed to finish my Christmas cards, and wrap a few parcels. The only problem was that without a car I couldn't buy stamps for the cards as planned. And yesterday was the last day to send them...

With the cards ready to send, I'm about through with the preparations for Christmas — I'm not the kind who scrub floors, change curtains, decorate and bake unhealthy stuff just because it is Christmas. This year we have an "adventsgran" (advent fir tree) — a small fir tree with four candles, standing on a table in the room we spend most time. But that's about it.

In our family we only give each other books, which we do ever so often the whole year, so I'm not sure if we can call them Christmas gifts. As my mother can't walk any longer, reading is about all she can do. She just finished Village School by Miss Read — a book Nan recommended. It was great to hear how she chuckled while reading, so now I have ordered more books by the same author. I'm sure crossword puzzles and reading in English, German and Swedish is an excellent exercise for the brain — my only problem is to find enough books. I'm grateful for suggestions for books you think might interest my mother!