7th December.

What a palaver!  The Christmas Market at Granby Street on Sunday, was a total bust for me.  A mere £12.50 in stock sold.  Bah humbug.  Spent more on food, drinks, stall fee, taxi fees etc, plus what Rye spent for me too.  ("Muuum, can I have..."  asked over and over).   Then to top it all, stuck for 2 hours because there was a football game in Liverpool on Sunday, and all the taxis were there servicing the fans.  Bah humbug!

Ooh Monday, so, I had managed to get a super cheap room at the Travelodge, by the Toby Carvery, I knew Rye would love the experience.  He stuffed himself silly on the carvery, followed by an ice cream sundae, and then we went back to our room, watched tv - he ate more chocolates, and lazed. One of my plans had been to have a super long bath, in the warmth!  (Remember I live in a house without central heating, showering and bathing here in the winter is a tad brass monkeys).  Alas, no bath, but ooh the shower, wonderful large cubicle and a fabulous water pressure.  It was lovely.  

Oooh, and the Toby Carvery now offer limited vegan menu too.  

He was very impressed with the free wifi

Next morning, we enjoyed the carvery breakfast, and Rye availed himself of the free Wifi.

Then onto the Florrie for a martial arts session.  The Sensi, was very good, engaging the children beautifully, consequently Rye thoroughly enjoyed the session.

Afterwards, I thrilled myself by walking from the Florrie to B&M, which for me is a very long walk and accomplished without my walking stick.  

 Today, Wednesday involved a trip to the dentist.  A check up for Rye - all good, thankfully.  And for me, not all good.  The filling had once again fallen out of a molar, the dentist didn't want to refill it again, especially as the tooth was even more lose.   The final nail in the coffin, was the x-ray showing a large infection under the tooth.  So out it came.  I had an horrific experience as a child that for many a decade caused extreme anxiety and panic just thinking about dentists....toothache I couldn't ignore any longer, eventually made me confront my fears.  As I laid in the chair with the dentist loosened the tooth, I realised how far I've come along.  In past I needed Valium and a calming voice talking to me constantly, to stop the screaming panic from taking over.  Today, he told me what he needed to do, and did it.  I think dental nurses have a 6th sense for a nervous patients - as the dentist wiggled and applied pressure, she leaned forward and said quietly to me; "ok?"  I nodded and concentrated on my breathing.  It was over really quickly, and Rye was fascinated with the tooth,  I asked if I could keep it.  We will look at it under the microscope later.

The rest of the day, was spent at home, in front of the fire, feeling a tad sorry for myself, as the numbness slowly dissipated and the ache from the removed tooth set in.   In all honestly, I wasn't expecting the extraction today, there was a cancellation... which is good, I'm all for as few trips to the dentist as possible...the issue was I'd already told Rye we would put up the Yule tree this evening, which now was the last thing I wanted to do - especially as a bit of a tidy up beforehand would be needed.

He has been so patient though and my suggestion we do it tomorrow instead, went down like a lead balloon.  My initial grumpiness, quickly faded, and soon I was feeling excited too, we gave the living room a quick tidy, (had a move around and the energy and feel of the room is much calmer and relaxed) and then got the tree out of the box.  The tinkling bell sound from the box, had me hopeful Elfy the Elf (Rye is fairly literal when naming things), was hiding in the box..alas, it was a lone bell...and still no Elfy.  I'm at a loss as to where else Elfy could be.   Rye as always loved decorating the tree, and I only moved a few baubles.

It is starting to feel festive.  Rye received a lovely wee card from his friend O in Lincolnshire, with the felt bits to sew a robin 💗  and I have some bits for Rye to send to his friend.💗

Countdown to Yule has officially started here.