Santa run #3

It wasn't too bad in Waitrose.  It was very crowded, but not as crowded as I had feared.  We struggled to find some of the things we were looking for - they've recently completely refurbished the Salisbury store and they moved everything around.  We'll get used to it but of course we don't go in all that often. We found everything in the end, though.

It being quite a nice day - and remarkably mild for so close to Christmas - we went for a stroll in town.  The market was in full flow, with a farmers' market added to the side, so we went for a potter around there. And then we went back out to visit Gwen, who was feeling very much better, and looking a lot brighter.

So we kidnapped her :-P

We didn't really kidnap her.  We took her, by arrangement, out for a drive around the New Forest and then for lunch in The Bull in Downton. I was impressed with The Bull, because they had a specific menu for older people who might have smaller appetites. Gwen finished every mouthful of her chicken pieces, chips and peas!  And I think she enjoyed the trip out.

In The Bull

 When we went to visit Gwen in the hospital, I took with me my Farley dog. (Farley is  a character in a Canadian comic strip that I had been reading for years.) Gwen likes my Farley dog and was happy cuddling him while we were there.  When we left she suggested we might like to leave him with her.  We didn't.  But when we got home I looked to see how long it ought to take for a new one to come from Canada where they are made. Two to four weeks. That's enough time for us to get her one of her own for Christmas. We ordered one. And we waited for it to arrive.  And we waited.  And we waited.  Eventually, I contacted them to see if they could find out where he was.  I knew he had been posted. They emailed back, very apologetically. Although we had paid for him to be posted by air, someone had by mistake sent him surface mail.  No chance at all of him getting here for Christmas.

So we brushed up my Farley and made him look very beautiful and wrapped him in Christmas paper, and gave him to Gwen as we were leaving yesterday.  I think he will enjoy being a faithful companion to someone who is unable to get out and about much

(Although, I have to admit that as I was wrapping him, a little voice was saying: "But he's *my* Farley".  A sterner voice pointed out that I am nearly 60 and that it was a TOY that I was wrapping.  "Yes," said the little voice; "but it's *my* toy"  Tsk!!!)

Then we came home.  It wasn't a bad run, either, to say that we hit the Going Home time somewhere around Birmingham.  I think everyone must have been in the supermarkets!!

And now it is Christmas Eve.  I have ambitious cooking plans for today and tomorrow.  It will be a nice challenge for the new oven :-D

But perhaps I should consider the idea of getting up out of bed.

Oh - and the company that mistakenly shipped the new Farley by the wrong method has refunded all of the money we paid for him  by way of apology. I hope the new one doesn't decide to stop off en route and live a life of indolence on a tropical island somewhere!!