Christmas and the shortest day in one week. Good grief!

Glad all went well Joan. Brunch and present opening with 2 x DD + 3 X DGC went well here. DGC arrived in their pyjamas and have departed in 1) Jessie from toy story outfit, 2) red Christmas snowflake jumper and leggings, 3) kilt and Jacobite shirt over red striped onsies. Dinner at DD2's at 5.30pm when I expect they will have changed again . I am now off for a snooze tho' actually it is a lovely, mild sunny day today

Glad it all went well 'Joan*. You can relax and look back over the day now. I've got pigs in blankets, rib of beef and turkey in one oven, roasted root vegetables and accompaniments in the other, starter and fizz in the fridge, pudding waiting in the microwave, two alternative timers going off every few minutes.....so organised, I'm meeting myself coming back! Just need to set the table and light candles, and dinner is at 4pm. I'm bound to have forgotten something.........

Christmas went really well - all the family were here, plus friends, and everyone had a great time and got on so well with each other.

Phew!

Merry Christmas everyone!!

Good Morning Ariadne - Merry Christmas - Has Santa been to your house yet?

Think I might be dozing in the corner later too! Joan I do hope all is well, I can understand your apprehension.X

Ended abruptly as heard a noise at back door. Turns out to be one of our visiting cats, sharpening her claws on the door post. Not Santa or a reindeer after all. It is very strange to be chatting to someone on the other side of the world in real time. Hope the rest of your day is wonderful for you

Joan chin up - it will be fine. You are just having an attack of stage fright before the Christmas performance. I am also all prepared but cannot sleep - family will be here in 4.5 hours for brunch and present opening and I will be dozing in the corner. Why does restless leg always start up the night before something important - Ho Hum

I'm all lonely.

Well, not really, but we got up this Christmas morning and had a good clean up after yesterday's preparations. Then we had a nice lunch together, just DH and I. Then he took off to bed for a rest at 1.30pm - he's agoraphobic and has bad knees, and had just had a panic attack. Checked on him - he's OK.

It is now 3pm, the family is coming at 5pm ie two sons plus spouses, and some friends too. A cold feast is all prepared, including ham, roast chicken with stuffing, various salads, and I made trifle and mince pies for afters, with all the bits and pieces - cheese, crackers, nuts. Beer and wine are in the fridge, plus cold non-alcoholic drinks.

But right now I'm lonely, and scared. Last Christmas a family fall out meant one son and spouse were absent. I could not bear another 'do'.

The dog is licking my elbow as if to say "Don't worry, it will be OK"

I'm sure she's right.

For me, Christmas is about the people I spend it with and the climate is irrelevant. In Africa, I spent one Christmas in Zambia with relatives and loved it; several in Kenya with friends, and one year my parents came out. Christmas in New Zealand with my sister, her family and friends, was fun. Now that I have grandchildren, I'd be reluctant to leave the country at Christmas - but it's not about the weather, the tree or the presents.

It depends on you culture isthat... In Australia and NZ this time of year is the beginning of the long school holidays. So many people are looking forward to their main holiday.
If people have grown up with their tradition of barbequed bilby on the beach then that is what they look forward to (or not).(yes I know bilby probably protected species but could not resist the alliteration)
Our culture is to make a mega fuss that goes on for a long time. And women generally are the ones that make it happen. The ox roasting has got out of hand. What we do is not what other countries do.
Thank you for clearing up the spelling thing anno. I knew it looked wrong without the e (spellcheck, you were wrong!)
Have to say though Joan that when I was out there watching the cyclone coverage on TV and everyone being so brave after it - and then came back to an extremely gloomy UK, I thought whingeing poms indeed.
It was nice to see the Olympics cheering everyone up for a change.

isthisallthereis commented you've got no Christmas to look forward to in mid-winter.

Yes we do - we so much look forward to the c-o-o-o-o-o-l !!

We spent one Christmas in Australia - very odd experience for someone who loves the seasons just as they are!! Might be why we only stayed the one year.

But Joan you've got no Christmas to look forward to in mid-winter.

(I'm someone who looks forward to and enjoys Christmas)

Thanks, Bags. I must remember 'wheenge'.

When Aussies talk of whingeing poms I point out that whinge is an Australian word, rarely heard in Britain. I also point out that POM is an acronym meaning Perfection Of Mankind. When they ask me how I know this, I say it is self evident. At that point they usually realise I'm taking the Mick.

Chambers puts an e in whingeing and whingeingly, but apparently you can spell it wheenge as well

PS - Send me straight to Pedants' Corner.

I think that by rights it should have an 'e' after the 'g' to keep it soft. Singeing needs it to keep it distinct from singing. I get a red line under whinging and whingeing which suggests that the dictionary doesn't recognise whinge - ah yes, that gets a red line too.

Surely not Joan. Aussies? Whinging? I thought us poms had the monopoly on whinging. (the spelling of whinging just does not look right does it... whinging ? whinging?)

Not humid - just hot! It is often humid here, but right now we've had little or no rain for weeks.

I'm in Ipswich, in South East Queensland - about 50 k inland from Brisbane. But our little suburb is a sort of heat bowl - it gets so very hot.

The Aussies like a good whinge about the weather, though it is usually about the heat!

Hi Joan - that is blooming hot! Humid, too, where you are?
Sky is just beginning to lighten here in MK.
One of the things that strikes me is that no other country that I have visited at this time of year make anything like as much fuss as the Brits. No comparison.
(Spain, Ireland, US, Canada, Nz, AUZ)

JessM I'm in the Southern Hemisphere and was just out in the garden at around 39 c, and suddenly realised the shortest night was almost upon us. Phew - what a relief. It is too damn hot - my veggies are frying in the garden, the air con is full blast (thank goodness for insulation in the ceiling), and the dog can't stop panting.

We tend to stay in, just like we did in the past in England, except here it is to escape the heat not the cold.

And I'm too hot to put the Christmas tree up.

I want some cold weather......

Morning, A and B (and any lurkers!). If it snows, that will make it seem lighter . Always look on the bri-ight si-ide of life....!

The loch is dark, which means there's a wind. On still days lights are reflected on it.

Morning all, it's pitch black & raining. We'll be lucky to get any light at all today.

Morning, Bags! I was wondering if you were up yet - just finishing the first cup of coffee.