Am looking forward to tomorrow. The stove man should be coming to clean and check my pellet stove. To actually have someone inside my house for more than five minutes will be a novelty. I wondered if I should give him a Christmas present…..but as I don’t have anything that’s not going to happen. I am assuming it will take longer than 5 minutes to dismantle bits and pieces clean and then put them together again. (A little heart 💕 just appeared on my phone when I wrote ” together “. I can see an interesting relationship developing with this phone.)

I was thinking about keeping warm and heating today. The gas fire is okay but a bit soulless.

When I lived in Perth years ago I remember one winter when there was snow. I had a big old black pram. ( bought it at an auction for £1 and was extremely proud of it.) I had been out somewhere and then came in and parked it in the hall. There was snow on the wheels. 3 days later the snow was still there. It was that cold inside.

I had never been used to living anywhere where space that was not lived in was heated. I grew up in a big old farmhouse where the kitchen was warm. At night the fire was lit in the sitting room . And that was it. I hardly recognise the house now and and a lot of that is because it’s warm.

My studio is composed of two village houses side by side and in winter I live in one side. My workroom and gallery/summer bedroom are not heated unless I am actually in there working….and mostly I bring paints through into the warm side and work at my table.

If I ever become rich I might get a heater for the shower room…but I probably still wouldn’t heat the other side of the house.

Church music is playing again outside. I must remember to go uptown one evening before lockdown and see the tree and the star lit in the piazza.

I will be staying home from Christmas Eve .

I went shopping this morning again. It feels very spendthrift to go shopping more than once a week. I bought 🍆 and mozzarella 😋 ( I am ❤ this phone with all its helpful emojis).

I think that although I can go shopping during this lockdown I might not.

Bells and what sounded like fireworks 🎆 outside now.

It has felt like a long day. It will be good to get back to work.

Now it’s wine time…hurray!!!!).