A Glass Half Full

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The wind-up to Christmas seems attenuated this year - I might add that our default position is that the sooner we can get Christmas over, spring seems so much closer (grumpy, ain't we?) - and the air seems to have been sucked out of it all; not even the usual Gadarene commercial scrum seems to be much in evidence. Somehow, the static freeze of the last few days, winter blues and mortality's siren call have frozen proceedings as firmly as the ice-rime that still grips the garden, notwithstanding the cost of living and fuel crisis, to boot. But if I hear anyone blaming all this on the current clutch of strikes, I'll swing for them: strikes are the result of external economic and political causal factors brought about by the government's abject mismanagement of it all. Period.

One certain redemption from the clutch of the cold and the dire state of the world as it stands, is the beauty of Snowdonia: pictured is Menai Bridge from Llanfair PG, across the strait, with the mountains beyond. Winter sunshine on such a landscape is almost diversion enough from the ills of the world, albeit momentarily. We're OK in our hilly fastness, despite family and friends dying or yet; but I can't feel guilty at our good fortune, thus far. We've had our fair share of ups, downs, sideways moves and catastrophes, but I think, because we've always stayed true to ourselves, things have averaged out pretty well for us. It's pretty cold still here in Fairview Heights, but we're managing to trundle on and enjoy ourselves, so here's to the next phase of our lives, or at the very least, to spring and next summer...

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