Ten days before Christmas and the panic sets in. Is the house clean? No, but it will be as clean as it’s getting after today. Are the gifts bought and wrapped? No! About 10% are bought and none are wrapped, but some will be after today. Christmas dinner? Nope. I’ll be cooking turkey and all of the trimmings as usual, causing power cuts in the anciently-wired kitchen here, as usual. We will be either ten people, this Christmas Day, or 14. I’m not sure which, yet.
Decorations? We have a tree and not much more, yet.
Beautifully decorated by the girls.
Mince pies? Someone bought some from Morrison’s. Cake? No. I used to make them in the long and distant past but haven’t had time since. Pudding? Will be purchased and not lovingly made by me or anyone here, but will be steamed while we eat our main course and served with brandy sauce.
Crackers? Yes, we will have Christmas crackers and, by Christmas day, I will probably also be Christmas crackers, although with every year that passes I am happier with increasingly less and less perfect Christmases.
But ask me again at 3.30pm on Christmas Day, when dinner is due to be served at 4pm and the power has cut out for the third time that hour.
As for the book, I don’t really have to do much work on promoting it just now. Even sorting out the Audible problem is on the backburner for the time being, with visitors due this weekend.
I’ll be back at it next week, with whatever hours I have spare, and then a fresh look in the new year.
Merry Christmas, everyone! May your spirits be high, however you take them 🥂