A New Beginning for the New Year

I AM starting the New Year with a new venture, and - despite my inability to deal with modern technology - am building on my successes with Facebook by attempting to create a blog. So far, so good!

Here I am, sitting on the sofa, with my trusty laptop, feeling somewhat sorry for myself as I have a dreadful cold which I cannot shift (it is now in its third week) and a broken toe which, surprisingly, is excrutiatingly painful. As I cannot bend the said digit, or put any pressure on it, I cannot drive, and it makes walking in the ice and snow more than a little difficult - on Friday I slipped and hurt my back when I struggled through the elements to sign on at the Jobcentre.

So, for the time being, I am housebound.

But the weather is slightly warmer today and through the widow I can see patches of grey slates showing through the snow on the rooftops, like holes worn in an old blanket, while the mini-glacier in my birdbath/birdtable (pictured in its full witer glory last week) is slowly shrinking.

Snow on the pavements has turned to a dirty white, slippery slush and people, faces hidden beneath layers of clothing, walk gingerly past, clinging to walls for support.