jul1et

I pay attention to this, my animal self has all sorts of smarts. Intuition? These things blend. The instinct, a feeling that something is... off? Wrong? Unshakeable. Had it for days. And yet everything else is marvellous right now, almost Spring-like for all the wuthering weather. It's just this strange undertow. Now I hear of a dear friend's difficulties and am concerned though relieved things turned out well. This morning, I found a bracelet sent to me by another dear friend when I first got my cancer diagnosis. I wore it every day then it disappeared for ages. Turns out it was in my bedside drawer all the time.

To anyone, including my valiant friend across the water.

Advent calenders! I will dig out Nakatomi Plaza again, but as an extra, got R a coffee testing calender. Today he starts with a silky Colombian. See, see how I resist the jokes! He got me a perfume sample calendar too, so my reviews will start early.

December has started off by giving me the gift of a peculiar dream.

I was with someone unknown/vaguely familiar in real life, part of a group who had hired a house. My companion was flapping wildly because a key had been lost, not to the whole house, but to part of it. Either the key or the room it opened was labelled '2'.

I couldn't see what the problem was; all they had to do was ask the landlord for a replacement key. The person gave me instructions indicating that I should take the basin out of the sink and pee in it. It was full of crockery. I did what they asked but looking at the urine sloshing around the plates, decided this had to be wrong and drained away the pee. Did I then clean the plates? I don't think so. I had it in mind to just throw it all away and let no-one know how totally I misunderstood instructions/ followed them even though they were clearly stupid. Then I was with the panicking person again, and we were walking uphill through a street. An uphill motif has been very clear these past few dreams. The person was going back to the house lacking the key, and talked about how the group as a whole was unhelpful, hadn't followed house rules, couldn't tidy, lost things. My own house was back down the hill, the person's furore was not my problem, though I felt sympathetic because they were extremely agitated. I was on the pavement to the left of this person, and knew we would reach the top of the hill, then they would have to turn right towards another road when we got there.

Bizarre.

But hello December! I promise not to pee on any plates!

It's like our government is absolutely determined to shoot itself in the foot.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cy7vdvrnnvzo
Nobody wants the jury system scrapped, in fact suggesting it is likely to bring out every Magna Carta blatherer in the land.

XXXIX
Nullus liber homo capiatur, vel imprisonetur, aut dissaisiatur, aut utlagetur, aut exuletur, aut aliquo modo destruatur, nec super eum ibimus, nec super eum mittemus, nisi per legale judicium parium suorum vel per legem terrae.

39
No free man is to be arrested, or imprisoned, or dispossessed, or outlawed, or exiled, or in any other way ruined, nor will we go against him or send against him, except by the lawful judgment of his peers or by the law of the land.

And yes, they can change the law of the land so that judges alone get to decide most cases, but this will just look like an assault on basic Brit principles. The horrendous backlog in court cases can be blamed on many different factors, but the key isn't to remove what is perceived to be one of our founding rights, even if it's been weaselled around many times.The key is to invest in lawyers and courts and infrastructure.

Talk about throwing red meat to the foe. This government is leaning way too hard on its majority.

Today we had our first real frost. There has been snow too, a light pointless sprinkle meaning little beyond jammed car doors, but today the wild weeds bend heavy under all that white sparkle, interspersed with cow parsley skeletons making disco shapes. The leaves crackled under my feet and when I looked at the meadow, everything was silver til the sun shone and all beyond was gold.

Yes very beautiful
And yes, time to stay indoors.

Next Summer we're busy with family, so R suggested somewhere a bit different for a possible Autumn break; Austin! I remember mallorys_camera telling us about the Texas Book Festival, but believe R's thoughts turn more to sunshine and live music. We could get a house and a car for a couple of weeks, maybe do some exploring. Today, there are pink warning clouds in an icy sky. It snowed, not much but by god I felt it. I have been miserably cold, even in the house, though now the thermostat has cranked up. Heat and music sound alluring.