A Wintry End to November

Someone is finding perfect camouflage in the freshly fallen snow - can you see him/her?

(Yes, it's a magpie.)

It had stopped snowing this morning, but it's still cold, so the snow that's come down is staying put. I decided to take the opportunity to defrost my freezer - which is best done in cold winter weather when I can put the contents out on the balcony while it goes on.

It's still always kind of a messy job that takes its time. One difficulty is that my freezer is a "half size" one that is placed above another cupboard. So one can't just place a bowl on the floor to gather the water in, but has to find other tricks to go about it, and keep a close eye on the process to make sure the melting ice/water doesn't go where it's not wanted...

When the wet and messy part was over (and while waiting for the freezer to get cold again), I went out for a short walk taking some stuff to the recycling containers; and on my way back stopped to buy some fruit at a neighbourhood convenience shop, which specialises in fruit and vegs. I kind of rediscovered this shop back in the summer, when they had quite an "exotic" display outside. (See photo below.) And now they still have quite a lot to offer in their very cramped space inside. They're only a 5 min walk from home for me, so a good alternative when it's just some extra fruit & vegs I need between my usual home deliveries from the big supermarket.

Photo from July (display outside the shop)

 

And It Kept Snowing

It kept on snowing more or less all day today. For my own part, no need to go out... Had the laundry room (in the basement) booked anyway, so for exercise I just walked down and up the stairs a few times (only took the lift when I had a lot to carry). - Looking out my windows, I happened to catch the postwoman (I think!) on her rounds, and zoomed her in with my camera... Reminding myself of my privilege as a pensioner to more or less spend my time as I please, and not being obliged to be out and about it any kind of weather!

Let There Be Light

 

Monday afternoon walk

Wintry weather this week inspired me to get started with my Advent decorations a few days earlier than planned. (Looking at the dates, not really earlier than usual though, as Advent comes "late" this year, with the 4th Advent Sunday coinciding with Christmas Eve.)

Anyway, it struck me that I would have more time for decorating on Monday-Tuesday than I would have later in the week. So I started with the kitchen and bedroom yesterday; and continued with the living room and study today. 

Kitchen

 The kitchen is always the biggest project because there I also change the curtains.

Bedroom

Study

Living room

Balcony

Back in my childhood, as well as in my first flat back in my 20s, we/I just had one window star, in the kitchen (the same kind and colour of paper star as I still have in the kitchen), and one electric candlestick, in the living room. 

Ever since I moved into the flat where I live now, though (15 years ago), I've had the setup that I do now.  (Except that I've had to exchange one or two candlesticks over time. But this year - so far! - I did not even have to play "find the faulty light bulb" with any of them...)

Glad to have them all back up once again, to brighten up the December darkness.

(As usual, I will be adding my other Christmas things week by week until Christmas.)

 
In honour of the freshly fallen snow (so far only a very light layer) and outdoors temperatures now around -7°C (19°F), Barbie and Skipper have donned matching winter jackets + knitted hats (all made by my mum back in the 1960s). (Skipper only had summer shoes in her wardrobe, though, so I had to make her a pair of snowboots out of cotton pads and surgical paper tape...)

 

Today, just a short walk outdoors before lunch (photos from around 11:30 am).

Shadow Shot Sunday

Days are short here now, and even in the middle of the day the sun does not rise all that high over the horizon... Which also affects when and how it shines in through my windows, and what objects it hits when it does.

The bookcase in my living room

Two items on the wall in my study... The cross was a gift from an elderly relative of a friend of mine, with whom we + another friend spent a night on a holiday trip way back in 1977. (She gave each of us a different gift from her "collections".) The picture below the cross is my own framed photo of someone else's artwork on an outdoor exhibition, probably over a decade ago now. (One of several stone slabs with words on them, in the lawn in a park). 

My own outdoors shadow today at 2 pm

Linking to Shadow Shot Sunday

Tea, First Snow & Last Leaves

Wednesday through Friday were mostly staying-in days here, with windy and rainy weather going on outdoors, and various indoor routine chores to deal with at home anyway. Today I woke up to a thin layer of powder snow on the ground - but dry, and no ice underneath, so I decided on a walk downtown for some minor errands.

Not really enough to constitute a "Christmas market", but a few extra booths and stalls have been put up along one side of the square (as usual this time of year). 

My main errand today was to my favourite Tea Shop, though. I've been buying loose-leaf tea blends in this shop ever since I first moved to this town to live - 38 years ago in January! (They sell coffee too - but I don't drink coffee.)

Buildings and trees across the square reflected in the windows

 

 I also popped in at the Bookshop, recently reopened again after a fire in that building back in the summer. I didn't buy any books, but some stickers and stamps - as I realised the other day it's time to get started on my overseas Christmas cards. (I already had enough cards at home, but I wanted to show my appreciation of the bookshop being back in business...)

 I received the first Christmas card and letter myself this week - from a penpal in the US.

Looking back towards town on my way back home - the sun breaking through from the south, but still dark skies in the background.

Crossing the old cemetery closer to home - here you can see the very thin layer of powder snow on the ground.

The trees are all bare now, except for just a few leaves lingering here and there. In the cemetery I've noticed that some low branches on birch trees growing right next to lamp posts seem to tend to hang on to their leaves longer than the rest... Must be to do with the light from the lamps at night!

Santa is Tired Already

Today I had to go the shopping centre "across town" for an item I could not buy in the city centre. (A spare filter for a specific device.) After I had got my main errand over with, I also went for a bit of a stroll in one of the enclosed shopping malls. I didn't buy anything, but I snapped a few photos of their Christmas decorations...

Santa's sleigh was parked in the middle of the complex, but Santa himself and his reindeer were nowhere to be seen...  Perhaps gone shopping??

Oops, there's Rudolph - looking a bit lost ... Did he come down the chimney on his own?!

And here's Santa, snoring away on a bed in the next room... Shopping can be exhausting!

As I had nothing heavy to carry, I walked all the way back home. Good weather for it in that there was no icy wind blowing - but it was a very grey day, so the only photo I took was this one (below) of a mural that really stands out all the better on just such a day as this: overcast, all the leaves gone from the trees, and the river still like a mirror...

In case anyone is wondering, the "device" is an air purifier I bought back in spring; which proved helpful for my asthma, especially during the worst allergy season. (It has a very quiet night mode, which means I can have it turned on in my bedroom during the night without being disturbed by it. And yet at the same time it also serves a bit like a fan.)

Yesterday it started beeping, though - which is its way to say "My filter is worn out!"

Old filter, new filter

Christmas is Coming

 

The Christmas Tree in the main square has been put in place. It's huge - perhaps to make up for some other places in town getting less decorations this year, due to municipal cutdowns (according to the local newspaper).

 I was glad to see the usual decorations put up on the bridges to/from the town park, though.

The river was still like a mirror.

Below: Image turned around,
and "lomo-ish" filter applied

 Linking to Weeekend Street/Reflections

Eye to Eye

 

My appointment with the optician on Tuesday had a different outcome than I expected. What I had taken for a slight change in astigmatism in one eye turned out to be a cataract (which had not crossed my mind). So instead of new glasses (just now), the next step is a referral from the optician to an eye doctor for more testing. A bit further down the line probably surgery. (No point yet in guessing when.)

On the whole, my eyesight (with glasses) is still quite adequate - I've just been feeling lately that my eyes seem to get tired a bit more quickly (especially from reading etc).

"Science has not yet mastered prophecy.
We predict too much for the next year
and yet far too little for the next 10."
- Neil Armstrong -

(Images by AI)

Lights in the Dark

 

Out for a short walk around 4 pm today (just after sunset, but the sky overcast) I noticed that they had put the Christmas lights up in the playground park.

 

 
A bit earlier in the afternoon, between turns to the laundry room, I had also fetched my own little tree from my basement storage room and put that up on my balcony. 

I'll probably keep it "off" most of the time until December; but I know from experience that it's best to put it up on a dry day with neither rain nor snow going on. We've not had snow yet - but actually, when I was out on my after-sunset walk a bit later, there were a few tiny white grains in the air... So probably just as well that I grabbed the opportunity.

Some of the branches on my little tree do not light up any more, but enough of them still do. And unlit, in the daylight, the bulbs look like little white berries, so it still serves as a winter decoration on the otherwise very empty balcony.  

It's All in the Details...

Since I bought the new phone back in spring, I haven't been using my separate camera as much. Yesterday I brought the Sony on my walk, though, and one thing i'ts definitely better at is zooming. I would not have been able to zoom in the fruit on this (crab-) apple tree with the phone...

 

 

 
Framing skies is another thing the Sony camera is better at.

Today both cameras got to take a rest, as I had a haircut appointment, and did not have time to stop for photos on my walk into town.

My fringe is shorter and the rest of my hair alas also a bit thinner - but on the whole, not a bad effort from AI to illustrate my visit to the hairdresser. (At least this time more flattering than weird!) :-)

On my way back home, I popped in to book an appointment with my optician; and got a time for that tomorrow. I have a feeling that at least one eye has changed a bit since my last checkup a couple of years ago. My eyes seem to be getting more tired lately from reading and "screen time". And as that is rather a big chunk of my life, if new glasses can help, it may be worth it... (I did not stay to try out frames today, though, but will await the result of the eye examination.)