A woman phoned while we were away, asking if we could spare some of our big pine cones.  She was welcome to them, but she didn’t leave her number so I had to wait until she phoned again.

If you’ve visited us, you may have noticed these huge pine cones that are dotted about, wherever they’ve fallen.  My brother in law brought seeds back from North Africa about 50 or 60 years ago and there used to be several of the trees in the garden, although only two are left now.  We’ve often given the cones away, they’re very attractive.  I’ve always understood the trees to be umbrella pines but, having just looked them up, apparently they’re actually stone pines and the rounded shape gives them the colloquial description.  Pine nuts come from their seeds – over here, it needs a very hot summer for them to set seed, but then that’s what we had this year.

She phoned again a few days later, and came over to pick them up on Monday.  She wants to use them as a decorative project at a local museum.  She was lovely, we had a very enjoyable chat, though I was given more advice on several matters, ranging from a tree to buy to inheritance tax planning, than I usually am given within half an hour of meeting someone in a social setting.

I haven’t done more from the to-do list today, I don’t think, though i have ordered quite a lot of Christmas presents.  Mail order (internet mail, that is nowadays, of course) or local is all I can do nowadays.  I am going to Norwich at the weekend, as it happens, but that’s for a different purpose, which includes lending my car and babysitting too; both of which are a pleasure, of course.

Tim cooked a particularly delicious mushroom risotto tonight.  There are leftovers, which I have generously suggested might be kept for when he’s home alone on Saturday night.  If he were to look hesitant, then I’d leave him with eggs and take it for myself.