Draws and drawers

Last night was the first night of the season that it was truly dark when I got home from work.

I don't like that.

It means that, very soon, all my hours of daylight will be spent in an artificially-lit office.

The other reason I don't particularly enjoy it is because I am forced to change my evening routine. No longer do I get home to spend a couple of hours pottering in the garden; I don't even get a couple of minutes. All my gardening now eats into my very precious weekend time (nay, forces itself there as there are many jobs which must - must be undertaken before winter hits and the ground freezes). Any jobs that I undertake have to be inside jobs. So to speak.

This isn't the major change - that occurs when the clocks change and I adopt an almost entirely new routine. But I suppose it does give another good reason behind the nesting discussed yesterday.

One of the things I do have to cheer me up though, is my new pyjamas. During the winter (after the clocks change) I shall use my long-legged pyjama bottoms with a nice, matching t-shirt. During the summer, however, I wear a shorts and t-shirt combo. My current sets of summer pyjamas are at the very end of their lifespan however, and have probably been kept alive by purely artificial means for a while.

The problem is that I haven't been able to find a satisfactory replacement. The shorts-and-t-shirt combos I have been wearing have been the very casual jersey type. What I have been looking for are the smarter cotton shirt-type top. With buttons. The problem is that you can't seem to find these with shorts. Well, I can't seem to at least.

The jersey-type material is nice and soft for winter, and casual for when you want to curl up in front of the fire (or modern, plasma equivalent). But I don't want it during summer. I want to look smarter.

As a result I have had to bodge it a bit, but quite successfully. I have bought some nice woven cotton, smart, check boxer-shorts; and matching shirts. The shirts are actually shirts that should be worn on a night out, but I don't care because the combination of shirt and shorts equated to the same cost as either a jersey-short and t-shirt; or a smarter long-pant and shirt. And I look smart.

I have also purchased a novelty 'onesie' for over winter. This is an all-in-one suit, in red jersey material. With tail and horns.

But for now at least, until the clocks go back or the weather changes for the cooler, I am revelling in my new summer pyjamas.

The only minor problem is that the shorts aren't quite long enough when I sit down. Still, it's not as though I get many evening visitors.