Preparations

It’s a rare day today. I’ve nothing to do towards preparing the dinner. The Fox is cooking today, Moroccan Chicken & Honey. There’s not even any potatoes to peel as we’re having some Raisin Rice as accompaniment.

I’m taking this opportunity to look once more for holidays for next year, to see if I can locate a wheelchair accessible cottage in Burgundy for the spring. It will be a good time to go. The Fox will be celebrating his 65^th birthday then, so he will become an OAP (old age pensioner) & finally out of the vicissitudes of the benefit system in this country. At least by then, with his pension coming in, we are confident we should manage financially even if they cancel my disability benefits - & the way this government keeps trying I wouldn’t guarantee that they won’t have another go at doing so.

So this morning I’m going to look for somewhere to go to celebrate his official retirement, though quite how he retires from his caring role I don’t know.

It seems strange to be thinking of deciding on a holiday so far ahead. We’ve not even been to Amsterdam yet. We’re hoping by being so efficient we might find somewhere really nice, somewhere to eagerly anticipate going in the dark cold months of the new year, a source of hope.

We both agree February is our hated month. The days tend to be so dark. The weather is often at its worst. We will have endured a long winter by then without the festivities of Christmas or the arrival of the New Year to look forward to & spring still seems so far away, too far away. By March my spirits start to lift with the arrival of the first crocuses & daffodils, but February is most definitely still winter.

I’m trying to tell myself this year won’t be so bad. Certainly so far winter has been remarkably mild. It’s not been as wet as sometimes. Even the short days haven’t been too bad, though I will admit the last couple of wet mornings have made it very dark when I’ve got up. I hope the weather will return to dry & sunny if freezing. It’s better for my morale.