Seasonal Routines

I suppose the most noticeable aspect of this week has been the fact that I've had a cold.  I deny outright any suggestion of  'man-flu' but, having suffered many a chest infection in the past either through self-neglect or after a premature profession that 'it's over now', at the first proper signs of a cold these days I take medication and try to rest a little more than usual, with plenty of fluids.  Normally this is easier now that I'm no longer office-tied, but this week I had booked to attend a couple of talks in London, and it was touch-and-go whether I would have to forgo this pleasure.

However, there have been many blessings to compensate for what is, after all, a minor - if snuffling - inconvenience, beginning on Monday with my first official regular inspection of the church premises in my new guise as Health and Safety Officer.  I did question whether this was wise, given my state of health, but realised that little would involve being out in the cold, so I went ahead and was then pleased to have this landmark achievement behind me.

Tuesday was, of course, St David's Day.  Not being Welsh, I wore neither leek nor daffodil, but there were plenty of opportunities to exercise my growing understanding of the language.  People on Facebook were wishing each other 'Dydd Gŵyl Dewi Sant hapus', (some with the 'w' accented, some with the 'y', and some with no decoration at all!)  Eventually, I resorted to the dictionary for some authority in the matter!  And one thoughtful friend sent me the first verse of Calon Lân in both languages, which I very much enjoyed.

Then came the trip to London on Wednesday.  The talks I'd booked into were being held at the Society of Genealogists, so I went prepared to do a little research whilst I was there.  That was fine, until I discovered that I'd misremembered the time of the second talk, and found that it was half over by the time I was about to get ready to attend.  Giving up on this, I made for home, and began to make myself ready to attend the weekly supper and discussion group that is the church's mid-week highlight during the season of Lent.

Yesterday was a housekeeping day, but with shopping and laundry done, I set about recording the entries I had discovered in my examination of the parish register fiche the previous day.  All too soon, however, it was time to attack some of the food items I'd purchased earlier in the day.  I'm trying to learn a few basic recipes so as to avoid eating too many manufactured meals with their high levels of inadvisable ingredients, and this week's plan was to restock the freezer with several helpings of goulash.

The day was rounded off with a family history exercise with a definitely original twist.  In readiness for Mothering Sunday this weekend, I decided to compile a pictorial 'collage' of the five 'mother figures' in my life, these being my mother, two grandmothers, and their respective mothers.  I was amazed how difficult it was to persuade my simple Microsoft program to accommodate five pictures with borders and captions but, by bedtime, I'd achieved an acceptable result ... even if this was less sophisticated than I'd hoped for at the outset.

Tomorrow sees another seasonal tradition, as the men of the church gather to man a 'posey production line' in readiness to present the outcome to all the ladies present in church on Sunday morning.  We're looking forward to exercising our growing expertise with foil and kitchen roll, foliage and sweets, and - of course - the indispensable daffodils!