Over Christmas we took a break from the festivities and visited a local seaside resort, Sutton on Sea.
It was cold but a long walk with Timmy the Greyhound along the beach was very enjoyable for all of us.
Merry Christmas
On the Biking Blog “Ride it like you stole it!” which is sadly no more by Dave Dragon, there was a poem “The Biker’s Night Before Christmas”.
I have posted this before but as it is Christmas Eve I thought I was worth posting again.
Twas the night before Christmas, and all through the pad,
There was nada happenin’, now that’s pretty bad.
The woodstove was hung up in that stocking routine,
In hopes that the Fat Boy would soon make the scene.
With our stomachs packed with tacos and beer,
My girl and I crashed on the couch for some cheer.
When out in the yard there arose such a racket,
I ran for the door and pulled on my jacket.
I saw a large bro’ on a ’56 Pan
Wearin’ black leathers, a cap, and boots (cool biker, man).
He hauled up the bars on that bikeful of sacks,
And that Pan hit the roof like it was running on tracks.
I couldn’t help gawking, the old guy had class.
But I had to go in — I was freezing my ass.
Down through the stovepipe he fell with a crash,
And out of the stove he came dragging his stash.
With a smile and some glee he passed out the loot,
A new jacket for her and some parts for my scoot.
He patted her fanny and shook my right hand,
Spun on his heel and up the stovepipe he ran.
From up on the roof came a great deal of thunder,
As that massive V-twin ripped the silence asunder.
With beard in the wind, he roared off in the night,
Shouting, “Have a cool Yule, and to all a good ride!”
Long Walks with the Hound and Leisurely Baking
Its been a pleasurable start to our week off on the run up to Christmas. We have enjoyed some long walks with Timmy the Greyhound and lots of baking.
We are intending to visit the beach on Christmas Eve on our relaxing run up to Christmas.
For Christmas Day there will be the four of us, my mother, Caroline’s father not counting Oz the Snake, our four hens and Timmy the Greyhound.
Christmas Wrap
We have been planning to get the house re-rendered and painted, it was supposed to be in March 2017, but we got a call asking if they could come before Christmas so we said yes. So at the moment the house looks a little like a Christmas present all wrapped up.
Last day of work
I usually work up to Christmas Eve, but this year we finish today.
The blog is likely to be a little slow on the updates from now on but i’ll catch up by the new year.
Tonight we have the work Christmas party, then its no work till after Christmas.
Garden Rubbish
It was another weekend of tidying up the garden. Now that Lincolnshire County Council has closed the local tip to save money (wonder how much extra they have to spend on cleaning up fly tipping) its A bit of a fight now to get in and across Lincoln to the other tip.
On the Sunday we rested and had the parents round for the day.
Its been a little warmer recently as well so the Chickens have started to lay again after a short break, hope they do not think its summer or there in for a shock.
So a quiet weekend which was nice after the hectic and busy last few weeks.
Gardening
This weekend we spent a lot of time in the garden tidying up the east border which we have hardly touched since we moved into the property. A few weeks a go we did the majority of it but still had a couple of troublesome areas to sort.
It was cold but pleasant; we did invite Timmy the Greyhound out to help but even with his coat on he did not want to stay out and soon searched out his bed. With Timmy safely in the house it did mean we could let the chickens out of their run and give them the free run of the garden.
Concert at the Local Church
Last weekend was very busy with visits from all my brothers, meals out and we also went out to our local church where we heard a recital from the Lincoln Male Voice Choir.
They were very good and in the poor light of the church I took a quick panorama. Its amazing how good modern phones are at this kind of thing. The basic sub £200 compact camera is now quite outclassed and when you add to this the social media aspects of being able to edit and share direct from the phone, you can see why compact camera sales are falling.
Family Get Together
This weekend we had lots of family visits, my brother Peter from down south came to stay for the weekend, and we met up with my other brothers as well. I managed to see all my brothers within 24 hours, thats the first time in about twenty five years.
Lets hope its not that long before we get together again.
Hobbies – Too many and too expensive
Occasionally I look at things and think to myself that would be fun or that would make a good hobby.
The problem with most hobbies is they cost money and take time, and really you need to limit yourself to just one.
Many of my friends play golf or squash and this looks like a fine hobby, keeping you fit as well as looking interesting. But I think to myself that I would not have time for them.
Currently I dabble in IT, try to play the piano and banjo; photography is a major hobby, love reading walking (especially with Timmy the Greyhound) and run several blogs. Its a struggle to fit it all in. Recently I have been looking at doing more kayaking and sailing but again its the time.
The time for me is a bigger issue then the money, its just a shame I could not just give up on work and concentrate on all my hobbies, but then I would not have the money for my hobbies.
First World Problems!