A day at home.

I've spent today at home, doing some jobs on my list, and making preparations for Christmas and our trip to Berlin.

Keith gave the oven a good clean this morning and I cleared out the cupboards and chucked away some foods that were out of date. When jars and packets languish at the back of the cupboard, we tend to forget about them! At least the birds had an unexpected treat!

I also asked Keith to get one of our suitcases down from the wardrobe so we could start thinking about packing. We've arranged for a hold bag for our flight so the three of us have to get all of our things into one suitcase! I made sure we had plug converters as I will never forget the weekend we had in France when we forgot! Putting the stuff in the case, I thought back fondly to when we drove and we could take whatever we wanted! I didn't much fancy driving to Berlin, though, so there's not much we can do!

Being at home all day made me miss Monty terribly. He could be a pain at times, but I kept wondering where he was and then remembering. I found out today that my cousin Beverley's cat had also passed away this week - she was 17, so a year older than Monty, but this must have been a hard week for her as it's the anniversary of both her Mum and Dad's deaths.

In the afternoon I had a long bath and then relaxed. Sophie was out with Laura and went straight to the pub in Yardley Hastings from work. Keith started watching the BBC Sports Personality of the Year while I grappled with the sample of a book I'd downloaded about world history from the point of view of the family. It's over 1200 pages and I found it hard to keep up with all the different names of Pharaohs, so I think I may opt for something a bit easier!

Keith and I had dinner and then he watched the rest of the programme. Sophie arrived home at about 9pm and was a little subdued. The first thing she normally does when she gets home is cuddle Monty, so it will take time to come to terms that he's no longer waiting for her. Mike had texted me today and offered me one of his cats, Trixie, but it's far too soon to think about another cat. I have to say, it was tempting though. I do miss a little furry about the house!