Serena

I am pulling my old Christmas tree out of the cupboard, and using the old lights and decorations, and have spent £2.50 on a red poinsettia plant for the hall. I found a small shop selling angora gloves in all colours for £5 a pair, and all my friends and family are getting one pair each. I have some old Christmas cards from years gone by which I will send second class post. I will buy any meat I need last minute Christmas eve to get a good deal, and will only buy a chocolate log from Iceland, and the rest of my food from there at the cheapest price. Misery?-No I love Christmas and really enjoy seeing the shops decorated, and the families, and the children so excited. It is great to meet friends and go to parties (in an old dress) but the cost years ago became beyond me and now I watch from afar. I think when you have little money the true meaning of Christmas occurs and the spirit of Christmas flourishes.

I have always enjoyed autumn/winter compared to summer, and have never been a sun worshiper. In the winter I get to go out in a winter white woolen coat, and hat scarf and gloves, and then when I get home I enjoy a nice bowl of hot soup, or a hot chocolate. I enjoy buying new woolens, and boots, and coats, and really enjoy the crisp days, and the golden leaves of autumn. However, the best part of winter is the day when you look out of your window and there is snow falling, and you see a tiny robin flying amongst the bare arms of trees. You look out of your window and here is snow falling and on the ground, and then you go back to your warm home, and snuggle into your duvet. I know for some people winter is awful, and people especially the homeless find it hard. However, in the summer I am always suffering from the heat, and I tend to hide away. In the UK we have more winter than summer, so I am in the right place for my preferences. My ideal holiday would be to go to a cold country to ski, or to go and watch migrating whales etc. My worst holiday would be to go somewhere hot and sit on the beach. Does anyone feel the same?

I have never been well off but I feel in some ways I have benefited from not being wealthy. I couldn't afford to go to hot countries on holiday, so I have kept out of the sun and look younger for it. I read of wealthy people who spend thousand trying to remove sun damage. I have never smoked, neither do I drink, cant afford it, so I am very healthy. I can't afford the gym, or a car, but because of that I get to walk a lot, and meet people. I have made a lot of street friends, who are lovely people, who I just get chatting to at the bus stop or just passing them regularly in the street. I am poor, but I look very young for my years, and I am fit, and have many interesting friends.

I have a TV but I never watch it. I get up in the morning and switch on my computer, and get all my entertainment and news from that. I remember watching the TV for hours in my youth, but nowadays never watch it unless there is an special event. TV seems to me to be a passive activity, and the computer is more interactive. OK, you can switch channels, and maybe vote for a song you like, but the computer gives you much more scope for decision making and choice. I have a TV license but I never feel compelled to watch it. Does anyone feel the same?

I know jeans are easy to wear, but are people living in them too much? I sat on the bus the other day and watched people, and all I saw for miles was people in jeans. People don't seem to dress up to go out anymore, and I am old enough to remember when people did. I have dresses in my cupboard, but I am reluctant to wear them because I would look odd amongst the sea of jeans and tops. I saw one woman in a dress, but assumed she was going to an event of some sort. I am guilty of the jeans obsession, as I not only have blue and black jeans, but jeans in varieties of colours.

I have just gone through my cupboards looking at last years clothes, and I have a lot of skinny jeans in pastel colours. I also have quite a lot of tops that are striped, and flowery t shirts. I keep seeing conflicting advice on fashion this year. One magazine will say neon brights are in fashion, and another will say that stripes are in, and another will say that pastels are in. Probably not the most important thing to be considering, but at nearly 50 I like to keep up with fashion, and not look left behind.

I have seen the latest fashion shows online, and again there are skinny models wearing sacks. With the average woman a size 16, isn't it time that we had fashion shows with larger models on the catwalk, and clothes designed to flatter a woman's figure? Yes shops do bigger sizes, but they are usually bigger versions of the tiny sizes, and do not look good. Isn't it time to celebrate larger women, with fabulously cut clothes, with beautiful patterns. I am a size 16, and find it hard to find clothes that look good.

I am going speed dating for the first time in a weeks time, and wondered what questions I could ask. I have 3 minutes talking with each guy, and need to ask the right questions. I have been told to avoid politics by friends, but what else should I avoid.

I have just bought two baby budgies from the pet shop, and was assured that they were very friendly. However, as soon as I brought them home they were fighting. The cage is rattling, there are feathers flying, and then the sound of a bird being beaten off the perch and dropping to the bottom of the cage. I don't know if they are male or female as they are very young. I was hoping by getting two that they would be company, and friends, for each other when I am out, but it seems that I have a budgie war going on. My questions are will this get better? and should I get another cage ? and is this normal? or should I divide them.

Today on the bus I saw a woman do a full make up; face, lips, eyes, blusher, everything, and no one was looking at her but me. I was slightly shocked. Am I old fashioned in this, and have times changed, or is she wrong even nowadays to do her make up on the bus. I had a 50s housewife mother who wouldn't even leave the bathroom without all her make up on, and fully dressed. She dragged me once back through the front door, because I had a small ladder in my tights. Are we getting too laid back?

I have gone to the shops in the last few days, and yes people are buying, but there are no smiling faces. People seems worried, or bored, or just miserable. I remember Christmas as a child, and there was a spirit about people, a happiness, and they probably had less then.

I am spending Christmas on my own with a pet rabbit, as my parents passed away many years ago, and my relatives live in other countries, or miles away. I have put up a tree, and I have plans to cook a chicken on Christmas day. It is such a family centered time of year, I just wondered what other people are doing if they are on their own.

I have had a fluey cold for about 2 weeks, now and I am feeling awful. I have heard a lot of people sneezing on buses and in the street, and wonder if we have a bit of an epidemic with this. I had the flu jab so it isn't flu.

I want to buy a perfume, but don't really know what to buy as there are so many to choose from. What is your most favorite?