The last few days of January have been grey, wet and windy - and generally uninspiring. Monday was mostly just grey (not all that rainy or windy). I slept late, but after lunch talked myself into walking into town for a few minor errands: Stocking up on tea from my favourite tea shop, some new crossword pens (with erasable ink) from the bookshop; and a bit of this and that from the pharmacy.
For some reason (a sign of growing old?), over the last few years I've developed quite an addiction to crosswords - in Swedish, on paper (as a change from so much else being online these days), and not too cryptic. I also really prefer them in books/magazines that also provide the correct solutions at the back... I don't really have the patience to wait to find the answers in a later issue! By then I'm likely to have forgotten all about whatever-it-was I got stuck on, and have just moved on...
The last couple of Christmases, this book has become a standard gift from my brother (here with my new crossword pens on top - just to have some illustration for this post...)
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| "The Big Crossword Book" |
In these erasable pens that I prefer, the ink cartridges (in various colours) can be replaced - but the erasers tend to get worn out after a while... As the book shop happened to have a "buy three, pay for two" offer, I decided to get three new pens this time.
Yesterday I set an alarm, and managed to get myself out of bed a bit earlier. It was raining, but the rain was falling pretty much straight down... I phoned my hairdresser to ask if she was able to fit me in for a long overdue haircut; and luckily she was. So I walked into town again (before lunch this time) and got that over with, at last. (There have been so many weeks of snowy and icy and slippery streets this winter that I've just kept putting it off...)
"Selfie" taken when I was back home again. And (in case anyone is wondering), in the background you can see a woven image made by my step-grandmother, I think some 45-50 years ago. Inherited from her by my mother, and then by me.
Today I haven't been out at all. Had the laundry room booked in the afternoon - always a good excuse to just stay in! - and outdoors, strong winds have been increasing during the day, and are now making quite a noise, rattling my windows... Remains to be seen how February will start out tomorrow!
I like crosswords, and will not wait a week or even days for the answers. Can you walk into town without taking a bus? I like your green sweater!
ReplyDeleteYes Ginny, luckily I can walk into town (~ 1 English mile). What I can NOT do is take the bus; because since a couple of years my bus only stops at what I'd call the outskirts of the proper town centre. Which really does not make it worth while for me to take the bus at all, as I still have to walk half the distance...
DeleteYou will laugh when I tell you that I only like to the Mini Crossword from the New York Times. I like to do it in under a minute! I like Wordle also! That's my favorite.
ReplyDeleteKay, on my tablet I do the NYT daily Wordle as well, and the Spelling Bee (only to the first level, but that I do usually manage). I've never tried their Mini Crossword before but I had a peek now from my computer. I tend to find crossword clues in English tricky (after all, it's not my native language). I did manage to complete today's Mini - but it certainly took me more than one minute ;-) (So not laughing!)
DeleteThat is a lovely photo of you. I always look so grim in selfies!
ReplyDeleteWe have two daffodils in flower in our garden. They think it is Spring already. Poor things are about to be very disappointed I think.
Thanks JayCee. I rarely like my own selfies either, but this one came out ok enough for me to persuade myself into posting it...
DeleteYou are now all set for spring with your fresh hair cut! (I know spring may not be just round the corner in your area, or mine for that matter, but still...)
ReplyDeleteWe've had a good series of sunny days, and there was a beautiful sunset yesterday as I left work (no time for a walk as I was at the office). Today, 1st of February, it is raining - the kind of steady, not icy rain, that is just what plants and the soil need before starting their growth spurts in spring.
Meike, I'm pretty sure I'll need another haircut before I can greet spring here!!
DeleteI like that you can walk to shopping and to hair cuts. but then I thought, you said it is a mile, and to the place I got that horrid haircut, it 1/2 mile so i could, but then i would have walked home with tears in my eyes and the horrid haircut for everyone to see.
ReplyDeletehope your weather is better today. we are cold but not your cold, bright sun our usual winter. except for the wild swing in temps day by day
Sandra, both on my way there and back from the hairdresser's I was wearing a hat + on top of that the protective hood of my winter coat + over that an umbrella against the rain. Well protected from anyone's opinion about my hair, both before and after! (LOL) Today it's not raining but on the other hand very windy, so my outfit going to the supermarket was the same, minus the umbrella...
DeleteI do Wordle with my breakfast and a cross-word (not cryptic) with my lunch. When I'm in hospital crosswords are my main occupation. For some reason I find reading difficult.
ReplyDeleteGraham, I think I'd find it hard to concentrate on reading books in hospital as well - there are usually too many distractions. (Luckily for me it's been a long time since I last had to spend the night in a hospital bed, though.) At home, before going to sleep, or when awake in the night, I listen to audio books, though.
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