Back to (Thinking About) the Future...

Kamala has no CLUE what I'm on about.

What a difference a week makes! Or perhaps that should say, what a further continuation of last week's COVID rules, a week makes. Does that even make sense? Probably not. To be honest, my head has stopped caring about such writing basics as clarity, coherence, and sense. I'll be forgetting full stops next

As I predicted last time (well, me along with everyone else), the rules have changed again for some parts of the country. Those parts include mine, my parents', one sister's and two brothers' local areas. At the moment, only three of the nine Bonds with whom I once shared a house, are living under the national rule of six. The rest of us have similar albeit slightly differently worded restrictions that keep getting more complicated or further clarified depending on what tweet you see. It's no wonder I'm forgetting how to spel. 

Last week I bemoaned the fact that I was a planner that was unable to plan. I laid out a few sketchy ideas about how I could satisfy that part of myself, whilst everything was up in the air. Reader, this was not enough. I began last week feeling untethered and distracted. My usual surge of joie de vivre that kicks in with the weather change, was muted and hard to pin down. After living through the Summer hell (I know, I know, some of you LOVE it) I was getting concerned that my favourite time of year was passing me by without me being aware of it. Corona took my birthday, my holidays, and my freedom to have an impromptu pint. I'd be damned if it took my lovely Autumn and Winter glow too. After mainlining seasonal movies on Netflix (Autumn Dreams, Harvest Moon, October Kiss... yep all real!) I realised I needed to bring out the big guns. It was time to plan Christmas.

When I run the world, I'll make it mandatory for
every blog post and article - both journalistic and 
academic - to include a When Harry Met Sally 
reference. Even when it's as tenuous as this one.
(I typed FALL into my US Gif finder and I got this.)

What I said last week still stands. Like everyone else, I have no idea what Christmas will look like. If the local restrictions are lifted, I'm guessing it'll be to the national rule of six. That still means a big rethink from the usual Christmas get-together in my house. But not knowing who I'm going to be with, if anyone, does not stop me planning. Oh no. My kind of planning - the kind that makes me feel happy, excited, and secure - is all about the little stuff. The tiny thrills that can be dropped into an otherwise standard Winter's day. Compiling this list over the past week, has tethered me down once again. It's rooted my mind back to looking forward, instead of floating in a fog. Making plans that will ultimately be cancelled is rubbish. Making such low-level plans that they can be fitted into any spare time that opens up, is healthier I'd say. But stop listening to me rambling on. Take a look!

• Winter walks with hats, scarves, gloves, and coats. Hot toddies on return

• Buy poinsettias

• Make stollen

• Evening drive to see people's decs with Christmas music

• Make Nigel Slater's figs with maple syrup and anise liqueur. (For hot toddies after walks.)

• New Pjs

• Make Norwegian apple cake

• Candles lit everywhere

• Cook Scandi caramelised potatoes 

• Fire in the garden - cook jacket potatoes

• Nigella's 24-hour ham with mustard and wraps

• The Radio Times with highlighter

• Read Christmas books - Hercule Poirot's Christmas by Agatha Christie, or Whiteout by Ragnor Jónasson

• Watch Wonder Woman 1984 that comes out on Christmas week

My version of Nigel Salter's fig liqueur.
Stevia, maple syrup, white
wine, figs, vanilla, spices
and vodka. In 4 weeks
time I can strain, heat, and drink!

Those were the activities that made me feel good by simply typing them on a document. Imagine the power of experiencing them in the flesh. I'm simply giddy and glowing at the thought. I did have a few other additions to my list. They were to do with the likelihood of not seeing anyone outside my home on Christmas Day and Boxing Day. They included 'Christmas dinner but only the foods I like' and 'Champagne for breakfast!' Perfectly valid ideas should they be needed. Who wants veg anyway? I've also pencilled in every single Christmas film that was ever made, as well as the instruction of 'Make a boss cheeseboard for constant picking'. It's fair to say that overall, food features quite highly.

I'll be honest though, I had a mental wrangle with myself about posting this in October. Is it too early to be thinking about late December yet? Probably. Is there even any point thinking about how the season will pan out? Not really. But has making this list over the past week made me feel upbeat and positive? HELL YES. If nothing else, my mind is back. I'm excited about something. Anything. The greatest joy about planning ahead is how it provides a lovely build-up period as well as the eventual thing itself. Looking back over the 'ease' of the late Summer, the fun things that happened - meals out and mini breaks, for example - couldn't be gleefully and giddily anticipated until the day they arrived. For those of us that enjoy the delay of gratification, that's a bit of a head frig. So to those that are annoyed I've dropped the C-bomb so early, I'm sorry. But by making my list of Winter Fun, I've rebooted my brain. I can enjoy a bit of build-up once again. And with that fixed, I know my ability to make sense, spell words, and use basic punctuation as standard, will be robust and secure once more.

Have a lovely week, folks.