YEA FRIDAY!
1) Slept a little late. Woke up very early, decided the bed was too warm to get out of, nodded back off. It's clear as a bell outside, and looks chilly - although not the sleet and wind the MET kept saying we'd have. There was no frost on the grass or any of the roofs nearby, so while it is definitely "coat" weather, it's not "coat, thermals, handwarmers, gloves, scarf, hat, and uggboots" weather! The daylight here is particularly kind on the eyes. I haven't had to wear my photogray glasses, except for a few days over the summer, here at all - just the "normal" glasses. No bright-light headaches, no perpetual squint... it's really nice! And right now it has a lovely sort of golden tone to it. Makes all the colored leaves that much prettier.
2) Have been debating going to the Gardens for a walking group they have there that starts at 10:00am. If I'd gotten up a couple of hours earlier, when I first woke up, I think I would have. But for now I've got my fuzzy bathrobe and a nice cup of tea and am feeling rather lazy. Perhaps I'll waddle out later, and go to the library. And come back via the garden. I might take a pocket full of unpopped popcorn, to feed the pigeons/squirrels. The Squirrels are particularly cheeky over there! And very cute.
3) I miss having a cat - we could get one (per the landlord) but I don't want to adopt one and then find we have to leave. So as soon as we have a bit more assurance we can stay, I think I need to get a cat. The Daughter has floated the idea of a small dog (they don't scratch the furniture) but cats use litter boxes and I have the feeling I'd be the one who had to take the dog out to walk five times a day! She's never owned a dog, and I have. They're lovely little animals, but cats are entirely more self-contained. Plus, we have a bank of nice sunny, wide windowsills for it to sleep on. But then we can't open the windows, as there are no screens on them here and we're several floors up? Still, it wouldn't hurt to investigate both options at some of the local shelters, I guess.
4) Parcelforce has cut checks for all three of the wayward "overnight" envelopes. Two have arrived and one is suposedly on the way. So, $200-ish worth of mailing fees coming back to me. As I was expecting to spend them on the Daughter's citizenship anyway, I'm sending her for a massage tomorrow (she really needs one) and will just stash back the rest for, perhaps, a day trip.
5) We had wanted to go to Inverarry Castle one last time in the fall to see the leaves, but the landslip closed the Rest and Be Thankful for the last few weeks so we could not get there by bus. Emailed them to see if the trees still had leaves and if the garden was still worth the trip and was told no, so we'll have to wait until Spring now. I believe there's some little town not too far from here that has a ton of shops selling old books. Might be nice to go for an overnight to that place instead. Pleasant bus ride, good supper, nice B&B, browse the bookshops, buy a few for the collection (I'm going to need another set of shelves!), have a nice dinner, then take the bus back home.
Happy Friday!
(PS Enjoy your show. The dramatic
Les Miserables (1998)movie was well-done. They took a lot of liberties with the text of the book, but one would have to do that, to make the transition to the screen. Hugo rambled all over the place. Liam Neeson was great, the part fit him well. Haven't seen the musical movie version, as I'm not big on musicals. But going to the theatre is always such a treat - dramatic or musical.
Trivia - did you know the Catholic Church banned the book, at one time? Ok, well, not actually banned, but it wasn't supposed to be read by the general public.)