Advent calendar

My advent calendar this year is a tea bag one from Oxfam. There are 15 varieties, two of each, plus a special one for Christmas Day.

Through the calendar I have discovered that I do like Earl Grey tea after all, so long as I have a slice of lemon and a little sugar in it. I'm yet to discover a way to make white tea palatable but it's the only one I have not liked. Even that I enjoyed in its tropical fruit variety!

I had been saving this for Blipping on a day when I had no other real options, and today is that day.

Whilst visiting my Mum in her care home earlier I took a few shots of their Christmas decorations but they didn't come out as I would have liked.

Mum was OK, though the carers said she'd given them a very hard time earlier when they tried to cut her nails. I think it had exhausted her as she was asleep most of the time I was there, even when they brought lunch. Eventually we managed to get her to wake up and once she realised there was food, she stayed awake!

I took some presents for her and bought some of the home's raffle tickets too.

When Brian picked me up we bought a little more food for Christmas day when Sophia, Grace and Zeph will join us. Grace had requested a Sainsbury's vegan Wellington, and Zeph wants ham so we've got those now. Just trimmings and veg to get now, really.

After lunch, Brian and I started the cleaning in preparation for the Girls coming to stay for a few days over Christmas. Kitchen and bathroom done, just living rooms and upstairs to go!