lately...

So here's the thing. We have been without the internet for some time...why does it seem like weeks, it's only been a matter of days... And apart from the stress of having to go to friends' houses and the library to work I have to admit it was quite nice not to have it. In the meantime there has been much Christmassy activity here. We have decorated the house from top to toe - lots of sparkling lights and holly and the tree is a most welcome addition to our home. We had a big family lunch with lots of visiting babies and got a mammoth job finished in the garden in time for planting in the Spring. We are looking forward to Christmas day itself but the countdown is so exciting, don't you think...and there's plenty more fun to come!

endings

Yesterday was Little Christmas, a day usually set aside for Irish women to be looked after by their menfolk. It's also the day that marks the end of the festive season - it's the day to take down the Christmas tree and put away the decorations for another year. Oh my, the end of the tree and all things Christmassy. It's always a little sad and it wasn't helped by the gloomy, squally weather...however we have managed to retain a vestige of Christmas Spirit thanks to fairy lights...

So light the last of the pine-cone shaped candles, lift out all those boxes filled with age old tissue paper and

 admire, for another while at least, the glass decorations brought back from Belgium so many moons ago

and, when the deed is done, be grateful that the tree provides a source of heat as its branches burn in the stove