Winter Blogging

 At the beginning of January I wrote about Just-stay-in- January which is my version of 'hibernating'  and had a list of things to do to get through a difficult month. It's not always easy to find things to write about in January so I'd also planned to write some blog posts with words from the book - A Winter Dictionary  - that I bought last summer from abebooks after seeing it mentioned on Mary's blog . (Apologies to Mary for stealing book and blog post ideas!) 

Mary has already written about Hibernaculum.............. a winter refuge, originally for Roman Soldiers.

This is the photo I took of the sign that introduced me to the word Hibernaculum back in 2018. It's at the NT property Ickworth House near Bury St Edmunds.

But we're now halfway through January and so far I've only mentioned gramshoch  which is a word for the clouds that foretell snow.

So here's another word................... brumation which is wintertime sluggishness- a state of torpor. (coming from the Latin bruma, 'winter' and used for animals that don't  hibernate, but are semi- dormant)

That's me on dark mornings when I don't want to get up!

Back Tomorrow

Weekend, Winter Words and War

Very cold but without snow - that was the weekend weather here in Suffolk. Icy cold wind so my quick walk up and down the lane on Sunday was a hundred yards shorter than usual.

But I also know winter is definitely here as Ski Sunday was back on TV yesterday and there are several new crime series starting. On TV tonight  is one the BBC have done, a remake of the a TV series that they gave up on 20 years ago. It's Lynley made from the Elizabeth George books. Once again the posh  D.I. Lynley [an earl] is paired up with a working class D.S  Barbara Havers. Why are book/TV cops always complicated?

Anyway, paperwork sorting is finished, the shredder back in the cupboard, the folder empty ready for this year. Ironing done and  I made a quiche to use up eggs from before Christmas and then realised I needed eggs for the cheese straws requested by the grandchildren for today and decided I'd better make chocolate brownies too because I was cake-less and it's always good to have something in the freezer. 

I thought I might as well fill up the car with diesel while out and when waiting to get back out onto the road from the garage a car went by with the front and roof covered in snow, so somewhere up the A140 into Norfolk they had that white stuff and might have been able to use the word from the book below.

Back in the summer I came across details of this 2024 book [and later Mary at Trundling Through Life had the book too] and found a copy for under a fiver on abebooks....it's more than £10 now we're actually in Winter. 

For some  January posts  I thought I'd share a Winter Word.

Here's one we rarely get to use - if we even knew it -  in many parts of this country nowadays.

gramshoch - the kind of tumultuous appearance of the sky or clouds that suggests a snow storm is on it's way. (from Scots - where it probably gets more use!)

I had a shock when I did my end of year accounts - found out I'd spent almost as much on books, like that one above, as I did on clothes and shoes! Far Too Much even if they are never at full price and usually second-hand. I need to cut back, as most of the books I read are from the library anyway.

Bombing another country, seizing the leader - doesn't seem like a good idea for winning the Nobel Peace Prize- sounds more like starting a war, instead of the eight he say's he's ended. What next?

 

Back Soon