My new second hand winter coats

Hello. Did you see the beautiful sunset last night? Wasn't it fabulous. I was hanging out of my bedroom window for this shot.

Then I thought, if I run to the church I might get another one. Five minutes later and it was gone. I love it when the sky turns red. Such an amazing sight.

Yesterday, after the Christmas Fair, I went to see my friends J & T, and their dog Bella. Poor Bella is not feeling so good, she has had her lady bits seen to, and was a wee bit sad. Nevertheless, she found a burst of energy when I rang the front door bell and came charging towards me when she saw me through the glass. Bella is a gorgeous white labradoodle, and so pretty. After an excited greeting, she went back to sitting in her chair again, where she let me whisper sweet nothings in her ear. Poor Bella.

It came up in conversation with J, that she has three jackets which she no longer needs. She has either gone off them, or they no longer fit. She asked me if I would like any of them. I tried them all on to see if they fit me, and Bingo, they did. J mentioned that they would be good for dog walking because they are warm and thick. My goodness, they are far too good for dog walking  This one is a Per Una from Marks and Spencer. It's dark green with a knitted back and sleeves, and a cord fabric front. Nice and long, it's more like a coat than a jacket. It will keep my bum warm.

This jacket has a Crew Clothing label. It's got a fleecy lining, plenty of pockets, and a fleecy lined hood with fake fur trim.

And this one is the icing on the cake. It's a really thick long jacket, quilted lining, fake fur lined hood, with a Fat Face label. It's snuggly and warm. Don't you think it's just fab.

I am chuffed to little mintballs with these lovely gifts, they will last me another five years or more. My friend is chuffed because they have been given a second life. There are some lovely people in my village. I don't mind at all if someone offers me their preloved, no longer needed clothes. I say hand me downs are the best kind. I always wore my aunties clothes when they were passed down to me when I was a child, and my younger sister always wore the things that I grew out of. I guess the habit hasn't left me. It's silly to feel embarrassed about wearing something that someone else has worn before. I certainly don't.

This morning I was awake early, it was bright and crisp, and I had the urge to go for a brisk walk. I had a coffee and put a banana in my pocket to eat while on the move, and set off along the hills, high above the River Trent. I met a couple of runners and a cyclist, and I even broke into a little jogalong myself now and again. The ground was still hard from the frost, but it isn't ideal for running, there are a lot of pot holes and slippery slopes. I am happy to stride along at a fast pace in my walking boots, don't want to bugger my knees up or break my ankle.

It was a there and back six mile walk, and I was timing myself. This went out of the window as a man walking his Rotty dog struck up a conversation with me at the halfway point as I was eating my banana. Then on the way back two more dog walkers stopped to chat. It took me almost two hours to complete it. I could knock 30 minutes off that if I wasn't such a gas bag, ha ha.  

This afternoon I spent an hour in the garden doing some hard digging, I've been to visit two lots of friends, just had my dinner, steamed veg as usual, now I'm going to play with some scraps of fabric. Got to get something ready to take to Craft Club in the morning.
Catch you tomorrow. Toodle pip.