A Red Sky in the Morning

'The calm before the storm' is not applicable in the Dower House today. 'The storm before the calm" is more appropriate I would say.

The trouble is, we leave the Dower House for our Christmas extravaganza in a day or two, and while we are elsewhere, Cairo boy and his wife are coming to stay in the flat..
That means we can't slink away, leaving things in disarray, but have to see that there are clean sheets on the bed, fresh towels in the bathroom and everything is just perfect for the discerning eye of son #2.
Washing, ironing, dusting and cooking, while preparing for our neighbours to come in for drinks this evening was the order of the day.

However we did manage to slope off at one point for a bus journey to the land of flowers to partake of their delicious cakes and buy some nibbles for the evening soiree.
Since most people travel to this place by car, there was yet another icy minefield to negotiate getting on and off the bus, this time without my Yaktrax. They have been stood down since most places in town are now walkable at a normal jaunty pace.

It was a hive of activity inside the centre with manic present buyers and families taking their children to meet a rather long haired, untidy Santa Claus.

I remarked somewhat ironically that it would be the very thing for his Lordship to play Father Christmas at children's parties The thought of him being child friendly enough to make children enjoy the encounter made us laugh so hard (his fan club will understand the mirth) that we very nearly choked on our cakes.

However we did regale each other with our first remembered visits to the man in red: how his Lordship innocently asked him 'have you got my letter?' and how I cried at the sight of the man, but then bravely whistled. ( I whistled at a very early age, so much so that my grandmother was wont to say that ladies didn't whistle. I expect that's the reason my title is a complete misnomer).

So it's a little time off from duties to blip. I only took two photos today and have decided to post the blip of the sky on fire before the sun rose. The one of his Lordship tucking in to a strawberry tart, I deemed might frighten the sensitive amongst you.