Getting off lightly

After the drama of the last few days - the cold, and then the wet - I felt that today was pretty normal for late November here, except for what we encountered on our walk in the afternoon. There was even a pretty reasonable turn-out at church - a lay-led service on a day of uncertain weather is often a disincentive, but we've so far held up well. There were some gorgeous hymns - some great words - and Di's sermon was a really good take on Christ the King, which is what today's designation was. By the time we left, we were frozen - I think it was colder inside the church than out - because we'd been chatting so long, which I tend to think is a sign of a healthy community. Di came in for coffee and lebkuchen , which felt at once sinful and very appropriate.

After a quick lunch, we went for the walk I'd so missed yesterday (I felt much better today, except for some strange headaches), choosing the old road at Puck's Glen because we thought it would be sheltered from the rising winds. It was, but it was also fairly comprehensively flooded in the mid-section; my photo shows the very start of the road where the ditch simply can't cope with the run-off from the hillside above. The water in the gorge that is Puck's Glen was roaring magnificently, and soon after that we had to pick our way over the mud and leaves that had been piled up at the edge after the drainage ditch was cleared. Our shoes were quite a mess by the time we'd done it twice, but it was great to get out. 

I came in and made a delicious casserole with some diced venison and a good glug of red wine for the gravy while Himself rehearsed with a singer upstairs in preparation for tomorrow's funeral of our old friend. I also did some more frenzied reading of applications as I prepared for tomorrow's preparatory zoom meeting - I think I find it harder to retain my own ideas these days, as if they fall off the shelf when I'm not paying attention. 

I'm struggling to keep track of Wolf Hall this time, even though I've read The Mirror and the Light - is this just me as well?