The beautiful colours of autumn have now faded as most of the trees stand bare, there's just a few leaves still clinging on here at the end of November. The month started off rather mild but the cold weather has arrived bringing with it a sprinkling of snow on the 19th, and there's no doubt that we're now crossing over into winter.
We've still had some enjoyable days out. We visited a fabulous Christmas fair at Harewood House, there were about 160 stalls in total, and for the £3 admission you could explore the wonderful grounds of the estate too. We had a day out in Masham, visited Northallerton, and even had a mini-break away which I'll tell you about in my next post.
It's very rare that we spend a lot of time shopping, for one thing, we just couldn't leave Archie home alone for long periods when he was here, and that feeling of having to hurry up is still with us. We'd pop out for an hour or two but our eyes were always on the clock, we knew Archie would be waiting for us. It's still taking some time to adjust to life without him but one Saturday this month we visited Monks Cross and Clifton Moor Shopping Centres in York. If we go shopping it's usually with a purpose, we're in and out again in no time at all, but this Saturday we took our time and had a really good look round the shops. We didn't get to look in them all but we'd enjoyed it so much that we decided to go back again on the Sunday to look in the ones we'd missed. It was a miserable weekend anyway, wind and rain, so we wouldn't have gone anywhere outdoors, but this was such a novelty for us, it was as good as having a day out, haha. We managed to pick up a couple of Christmas gifts along the way and we had lunch out too.
We had a lovely meal out last week. A local pub restaurant reopened after being refurbished and we were offered half price meals in return for our opinion on the new look and new menu. On arrival we were given vouchers for free drinks too, so it turned out to be a very cheap night out. I like what they've done with the place, it's now split into a room for live sports and a family room where meals are served, the food was very good.
I've read three books this month.
I'd heard such great things about The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah and as Eleanor had bought it for me as part of my Christmas present last year, I thought it was about time I got it read. What can I say, I absolutely loved it. Set in France during World War II, it follows the lives of sisters Isabelle and Vianne. A harrowing tale of what life was like for ordinary people and the hardships they suffered as well as the extraordinary sacrifices they made for others. If you haven't read this book I can thoroughly recommend it.
The Night Hawks is part of the Dr Ruth Galloway series by Elly Griffiths. I can honestly say that these books just get better and better. The stories are fast paced and interesting and they keep you guessing. What I love the most though are the characters, each of them so different and yet they fit together perfectly. This is such a great series.
I loved Jamaica Inn by Daphne du Maurier. A dark tale set on the moors in Cornwall, I wasn't sure it would be for me but it absolutely was. A real page turner, it has suspense and intrigue, and the bleak atmosphere of those lonely moors is created in the wonderful writing. I've read Rebecca but I shall look out for more books by this author.
It was only last month when I was telling you about the lovely warm jumper I'd knit for Jack ready for the winter months. Well, somehow he's managed to pull a hole right in the middle of it, there's a tear on the hem too. Jacob was looking after him at the time and hasn't a clue how it happened, he was just playing with his toys so he must have got it caught on something but we really don't know what. I've tried to mend it the best way I can but it's only really fit for wearing around the house now, it'll still be cosy to put on in this cold weather.
Thank you for all your comments on my post about A Forthcoming Spending Spree. I did indeed purchase a Hotel Chocolat Velvetiser, though I just haven't had the time to try it out yet. A certain little someone is taking up quite a bit of my week just now, but I'm looking forward to getting it out of the box and making myself a delicious hot chocolate. It came with a selection of hot and cold drinks so it will be fun trying those out. We're still considering our other purchases.
I'm very behind with my Christmas shopping this year so I need to get a spurt on. I'm hoping that there'll still be time for some fun things in the lead up to the big day amongst all the preparations. I'm just hoping that I'm well in the month ahead and that I don't succumb to the dreaded lurgy as I did last year.
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