It’s very easy to go stir crazy in this no-man’s land between Christmas and the New Year. Especially when the weather doesn’t help by being grey and drizzly. Next year, (and I’ve already made a note in my diary to this effect) I’m going to make sure this dead end week is better organised so I don’t fall into a miserable slump. Anyway, today Lord Malarkey and I scooted off to Shrewsbury for a bit of a mooch and rootle around the sales.
I spent my Christmas Waterstones gift card (thanks, Mum!) on these…
I’m especially excited to read the Terry Pratchett biography. I’m a huge fan of his novels and am currently re-reading ‘Lords and Ladies’ and being scared witless by the point in the plot where Magrat Garlick is being pursued by horrid elves…seriously, not something to read just before bedtime *shudders*
In ‘White Stuff’, which is one of my favourite clothes shops, I bought two pairs of woolly tights to add to my woolly tights collection. Now, the cost of White Stuff woolly tights has shot up this year and I think £15 - £17.50 per pair is a tad on the steep side even though they last forever. However, these were down to £10 and £9 which is better, so they came home with me.
The stripy ones remind me somewhat of the scene in ‘The Wizard of Oz’ when the Wicked Witch of the West is crushed by a falling farmhouse. She wore stripy tights just like these. Perhaps I should avoid wearing them in high winds. And definitely NOT pair them with my witch’s hat.
Next on my list was a trip to my favourite shoe shop - Moshulu. Being blessed with short, broad feet (inherited from my paternal grandmother, so I’m told) I don’t buy shoes or boots from anywhere else because Moshulu stuff fits me perfectly and they last forever! They are also wonderful colours. I bought these…
They are sooooo comfy and will be very good for proper and energetic walking.
I ventured into the M & S sale but lasted barely three minutes because a) women who shop in an M & S sale are ruthless assassins and I genuinely feared for my life in the meleé and b) I am convinced that sale stuff in M & S has NEVER been original M & S stock in its life. It is my belief they buy in specific sale stock which is made from 10% polyester and 90% static. Vile, and not my style at all.
Andy, meanwhile, purchased nothing. Then we went for lunch at Peaberry’s where he had a beef burger and I had a veggie burger. I don’t know what ‘Sauce of Acid’ they steeped the gherkins in but it fair took three layers of skin off my eyeballs. I was forced to inhale a not inconsiderable amount of mayonnaise in order to negate the effect and save my sight.
Back home, Andy hit the sales from the comfort of the sofa. He bought a pressure washer and a rowing machine. The pressure washer is for cleaning the cars and the patio, but is unsuitable for pressure washing a cat or a dog. Luckily, Bambino is meticulous in his ablutions and never looks less than very well groomed. I think the purchase of the pressure washer was partly due to our son-in-law servicing and valeting Andy’s car just before Christmas; he turned it from a mobile bio-hazard with its own fungal spore system into a car that looks and smells almost brand new. A guilt-complex pressure washer, then.
The rowing machine is for rowing without water. It’s a foldaway rowing machine for ease of storage. His Lordship said, ‘It’s quite expensive, but apparently they retain their value well so we can always sell it on eBay if it doesn’t get used much.’ Positive thinking there, then, for the ‘let’s get fit’ rallying cry of 2023. (Rolling eyes…)
I shan’t be sad to see the back of 2022. Whilst it’s had its bright spots, there’s been a little too much loss and parting of the ways for my liking. But these things happen for a reason and I’m sure 2023 will be much better for the changes that happened in 2022. There are a few plans in the pipelines, anyway, and some bits and pieces to look forward to. Onwards and upwards, eh?
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