Christmas Day

Best Present
Originally uploaded by girl_of_bats.

"And don't forget the presents," said the Chair of Indefinite Studies, as if reading off some internal list of gloom. "How... how full of potential they seem in all that paper, how pregnant with possibilities... and then you open them and basically the wrapping paper was more interesting and you have to say 'How thoughtful, that will come in handy.' It's not better to give than to receive, in my opinion, it's just less embarrassing."

"I've worked out," said the Senior Wrangler, "that over the years I have been a net exporter of Hogswatch presents-"

"Oh, everyone is," said the Chair. "You spend a fortune on other people and what you get when the paper is cleared away is one slipper that's the wrong colour and a book about earwax."

Terry Pratchett, Hogfather.


With this in mind, I feel extremely glad to have at least one present this year about which I honestly can say "how thoughtful" and mean it, so well done James who gave me a packet of my favourite type of tea, and a "tea-egg" which will enable me to drink it without getting a mouthful of tealeaves.


I am pleased to report that my sister wasn't too noisy for me to cope with after all. This was due to the fact that she had her boyfriend there and she had to keep stopping talking in order to kiss him. There were a couple of points when I felt like reminding them that there were other people in the room as well, but I did a good job of keeping my mouth shut, which is just as well as it probably would have been construed as jealousy due to Steve's absence.

Steve is one of those people who avoids Christmas as much as possible. He goes to stay at his mum's holiday flat in the Alps (she isn't using it because she is in the UK doing family/grandchildrenny Christmas things) and skiis. He invited me to join him, but I don't do well with the cold (it got to minus 23 degrees C there last year before the thermometers went off the scale), I don't do well with travelling for long periods (almost 24 hours to get from his house to that flat), I'm hardly likely to be able to join in and ski, and if I'm going to spend large amounts of the Christmas period sitting in a flat by myself feeling cold, sore and knackered then I'd prefer to be in MY flat, which at least has all my stuff, a phone, an internet connection, friends and family living close by... He phoned me though, which I kind of needed. I miss him hugely and I miss being able to talk to him on the phone every day.

I spent most of the day with my parents, including a bloody lovely Christmas dinner cooked by my stepdad, and then Pip came to pick me up to spend a couple of hours at his. Littlun has his first train set, a Thomas the Tank Engine one, Pip sets it up and then Littlun is in charge of flicking the junctions, pulling the lever that makes it stop at the station, that kind of thing. Amazingly the child is NOT more interested in the boxes.

Plenty of naps, and an early night, but now it's Boxing Day morning and I am shattered. I have an open invite to mum's for lunch again, which I'll probably take up on the basis that it's a lot easier than cooking for myself. There's a few hours yet though, which is good as I can't stand up properly yet this morning. Still, at least at this time of year it's not just me...