Advent is here

I don't do anything about an advent calendar, but feel I can no longer yell "not yet" at Christmas preparations as today is officially the start of Advent, being the fourth Sunday before Christmas.  On the other hand, one can now say "five weeks and it will be over" with some sense of relief.  In between, there are presents to buy and wrap (allegedly), Christmas cards to design, get printed, write and post (new mortgage time), food to order and things to make.

The local council is very good at still doing Christmas decorations, and as most are LED, I don't think they break the bank to run.  Doing away with them would certainly be a bad message to send to local voters ahead of an election.  We have things on lamp posts, a banderol of lights across the main road between the mairie and the church, and a Christmas tree by the church.

 This time of year is really about greed I guess, or finding ways to get through the long, dark nights.  This week I made the Christmas cakes, packed full of sugars, dried fruit, fat, alcohol and eggs, and baked for two and a half hours.  They will be fed every few days until just before Christmas, when I put marzipan on the top and ensure that one makes its way over to Chinon.

Looking further forward than that, there is the new growing season to plan for and to work on.  Nature is already doing her thing, with the rosettes of lizard and bee orchids appearing in the Meadow, and cowslip leaves appearing literally everywhere around the vegetable beds, as well as in the Orchard.  I need to find and plant bulbs before it is too late, mainly in tubs as otherwise they get eaten by furry things or scratched up by chickens.  I have also managed to sow a full row of broad bean seeds before the end of November - always my objective.  I might do another row in December and they will catch the others up in the spring.

We have also moved away from the house and over to the vegetable garden the stock of giant bamboo John cut this year.  We don't use it as scaffolding, but it does make useful garden structures, such as the cristophine cage.  We now have two giant tripods, one guarding the water butts, and one in the garden by the house for no good reason other than they please us.  While Shirl in A Country Practice recommended sitting under a pyramid for mental relaxation (and how many remember that wonderful series?), I don't think it works with a giant tripod!

In theory, the coming week is calm and quiet, all the better to deal with the Christmas card issue, but I bet things arise to change all that!

Have a good week!