Wednesday, November 25, 2015

November chore

Cracking nuts, debris strewn all round the bedroom floor. Our only room with evening heat, the flickering lightbulb is becoming more of an annoyance. As I sit near the window a small draft sends a shiver to my left shoulder. Crackly wood in the fire gives us false hope that we are warm enough. Winter came a few days ago. 
A yelp as Jana hammers her finger and the fortunate nut escapes to a far corner of the room. Not for the first time this month a bit of anguish and a few foul words are expressed.
Beautiful sunrises are only eclipsed by even better sunsets. Ground is now freezing and glittering into the moonlight, it is time for the land to relax. This is the time when some of our summer guests would be asking "so what you going to do now..?" This morning I was stumped for a few seconds, what can I do now? Wood is mostly cut for what we need, internet has gone slow and tea is in the pot, so what next? Fortunately my finger tips were not too frozen to have a go at cleaning and fixing stuff, tidy a few what-nots, rack up the apple wine (which means a quick sip and a bit more!) and generally keep myself occupied until Harik was after a walk. A quick survey of the woodland and a few more possible tipi pine poles are found. A deja vu of last winter's work look's like approaching.

Wednesday, November 4, 2015

Remembrance

Plastic colourful flowers are compared and handled sensitively by all the regular craggy faces in the town. It is that time of the year again for all to remember who is not here anymore. Even the 'Martin Skrtel' lookalikes are not afraid to show their softer side and take a fake bunch of alyssums to a distant relative's half sister's last resting place.
Bizarrely we were told by a neighbour where the best deals were to buy some 'made in China' creations to lay in the cemetery even though we have no family connections in our town's resting place. Sarcastically how thoughtful. But then it could be read as to how important the time of year is to family and friends and is presumed for everybody. We were thankful for the advice instead.
It is also that time when serious looking head-shotted political hopefuls are plastered on every car park's billboard. Each year there is more of an edge of casualness to these pictures. We lost the jacket and tie a year ago, this time another button is undone on the shirt, but still the smile is lost. Only a smugness has come to replace stiffness that existed before. Small words and big egos, what is their connection to who is walking below? Like the 1st of November, some traditions won't change here.  
Sleep well Dad.

Facebook

https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/2079083?guests=1&s=TJUe