Decorating the tree
Dec. 22nd, 2013 09:01 pmA gentle start to the day followed by the arrival of my sister and the nephews, come to finish dressing the Christmas tree. As ever the results were somewhat eclectic combining lights and tradition elements — baubles, bells, puddings, skaters, and Fathers Christmas — with Russian, Chinese, and Vietnamese objects either given as gifts or picked up on one of pater's tours of duty.

In between dozes my sister helped my youngest nephew go through his spare advent calendar in search of unopened doors, uneaten chocolates, and unread snippets of scripture. The poor boy seemed to lose his enthusiasm towards the end, either due to an overdose of religiosity or an overdose of sugar — I'm not quite sure which.

My sister's lot pushed off in late afternoon — determined to fit in some last minute shopping and a visit to Santa's Grotto. We tidied up the remains of the decorations, following the children's activities, and went for some rather unseasonal lentil rissoles for supper — probably the last healthy thing any of us are going to eat this year.

In between dozes my sister helped my youngest nephew go through his spare advent calendar in search of unopened doors, uneaten chocolates, and unread snippets of scripture. The poor boy seemed to lose his enthusiasm towards the end, either due to an overdose of religiosity or an overdose of sugar — I'm not quite sure which.

My sister's lot pushed off in late afternoon — determined to fit in some last minute shopping and a visit to Santa's Grotto. We tidied up the remains of the decorations, following the children's activities, and went for some rather unseasonal lentil rissoles for supper — probably the last healthy thing any of us are going to eat this year.