Let's party!

 A Mad Hatter party!  What could be better now that the snow has gone and we're in the post-Christmas clear up?

 For a few hours the mopping up around the radiators could be left to others.  Cracks like these I've never seen in cast iron before ... the temperatures must have been just as low as the thermometer read.

So with a couple of good friends dressed as "proper" mad hatters I set off for my sister's.  There a company of family and friends had gathered to enjoy an amazing buffet.

 My hat was a personal creation ... covered in turtles and tied with lots of tacky ribbon, tinsel and beads.  A total mess and certainly "mad".

 And the Tee Shirt had its first outing!  However, one friend pointed out, "normal" is a setting on a washing machine!  That idea I like!  After all, who wants to be "normal"?

 Hats of all styles were displayed - fairy lights were used for some of them.  I wonder was it very naive when someone asked this guy if he was running on batteries?

 Two long since deceased mink graced one head ... I wasn't altogether sure about that.  The big red stars were much more to my liking.

 So dusk came all too soon and the glow of the lanterns gave a cosy light on the patio where the wood stove created a pool of warmth.  A pleasant end to the afternoon as I watched my great nieces make artificial snow!  Amazing stuff that swells to one hundred times the original volume.

There'll be fires in the rectory tomorrow!  We're without running water now and it sounds as if it might take a while for the supply to be restored. It's like being back in Kenya where you discover just how little water is absolutely essential.  Of course, the one thing we lack here is the "long drop".

Grant us, O Lord,
not to be taken up with earthly things,
but to love things heavenly;
and even now, while we live among things
which are passing away,
to cling to what shall abide;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen. 

The Promise of His Glory.