The Monday after Christmas, things were back to normal and I headed out of town to do the weekly shop, with LB accompanying me this time. She hasn't come with me for a long time now, but on this occasion she had reason, as she wanted to buy some things for an early birthday party she is planning on hosting.
I didn't need to get much shopping this week, as there is still so much food in the house. I just needed to get the usual bread, milk, some cold meats, fruit and snacks. I managed to get my usual expensive mouthwash on offer, with over £3 discount on each bottle, which was good as I'd run out. It was great for the shopping to come in at under £50 for once. I will probably do a small top up shop later in the week.
Towards the end of our outing, we had a bit of trouble with the car, as the boot would not lock shut and kept alarming. In the end we had no option but to drive home with it like that and hope it wouldn't fly open on the way. I was concentrating so much on keeping my speed low, that I missed our turning off the ring road and had to come home by a different route, which was no bad thing, as the roads that way had lower speed limits, making it safer. OH has subsequently resolved the issue for now, which is good.
On Tuesday, I had a lie in and read for a while. I needed to return the book I'm reading by New Year, but when I later walked to the library, it was closed until then and so I may have to go overdue. I don't like to, but they didn't tell me when I renewed the book that the library was closed between Xmas and New Year. I think the council have done away with fines, I hope so anyway, but even if they haven't, it won't be much.
After walking to the library, I then walked into town to get some bits I needed. I considered buying a magazine, but £6 - £7 was too much to justify. Luckily, on the way home, I looked in a Little Free Library and found this one which is current:
A perfect example of serendipity, if ever there was one.
I picked up a few birthday cards for January birthdays on my travels and also collected a prescription from the pharmacy and then it was home. I'd done over 7000 steps, so I was happy. When I got back, I treated myself to a toasted baked bean sandwich for lunch. I'm not loving salads at the moment. I'm just listening to my body and giving it a bit of variety from the norm. The rest of the day was spent doing laundry and packing away a few Xmas bits.
On Wednesday, I took down the bulk of the Xmas decorations. They come down much more quickly than they go up, that's for sure. This is OH's favourite day of the year. He loves it when the decorations come down. The house looked a bit bare, but at least it's done. I did a quick trip to Lidl to pick up a few bits and then pottered, doing more laundry, housework and more packing away of Xmas bits and pieces in the shed.
We had a very quiet NYE. LB went out with friends, we stayed in as usual. We did watch a really good film on Amazon Prime called Jeanne Du Barry about Louis XV of France's mistress, starring Johnny Depp. Worth a watch if you ever see it on TV or Netflix. I then watched Pretty Woman for the first time in years and really enjoyed it.
2026 started with a lie in and almost finishing my current book. Just the postscript few pages to read. Today's chapter was all about basket making. I found it really interesting to read about this ancient craft. I don't how many baskets I have in my house, but there must be upwards of 20, which I use for various purposes. I decided to count them and was shocked to get up to 34, without venturing into the shed, basement or LB's room, where I know there are more. I also have 5 pieces of rattan furniture, which is kind of basket ware. You can't beat a good basket for storage and they compost too, when no longer useful.
OH is cycling in South London today, so I am spending the day vacuuming and mopping the house after taking down the decorations yesterday. It will be good to have a reset for the year ahead. I hope that whatever you are doing today, you have a lovely New Year's Day.

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