Fowl Festive Season!

My enjoyment over the festive season has fluctuated over the decades - great enjoyment as a child, sufferance as a young adult returning home and not being with my boyfriend of the moment, appreciation in my own home and doing all the activities for my parents and sister, sadness from my dad then my mum not being with us, acceptance with just my sister and us doing it together and of course visiting the girls on the allotment! I always seemed to have two christmases being a teacher - and there was weeks of preparation for gifts and cards for the children to give to their parents, the christmas play to rehearse and perform 3 times, concerts and of course decorating the class. We always had a grotto and more singing, dancing, light up toys than Hamleys and santa and his sleigh, stars, shooting star, net and rope and strings of lights! Other classes always booked times for their classes to visit and for one behaviorally challenged young boy our class was a treat if he had been good each day!  Everyone thought I loved christmas which would make me howl with laughter! But if a things worth doing ( has to be done!) it's worth doing well! 
I'm back in the sufferance of christmas this year - finding it very hard to summon the festive spirit. I've been putting off decorating the house but finally decided the no needle drop tree had to be taken out of it's white net and put in water. A shower of needles met my efforts! I couldn't be bothered to find the lights and decorate it even though I knew once it's been done I will love it!
In an effort to summon the elusive festive feeling I decided to take a photo of Tilly and Polly with a defunct toy destined for the tip. All 3 figures are supposed to dance and the handbells Rudolph and the Snowman are holding supposed to light as Father Christmas belts out a christmas song. Well only one handbell on each character lights up, no one moves but father Christmas does sing! 
So said defunct trio were scattered with dried mealworms and put in the conservatory. For the next hour I waited for the girls to peck the mealworms off the characters and make a cute photo. No way were they going to oblige! The trio freaked them out and they would not go near it! It's true - pets really do take after their owners!
The evening with Friend was an emotional rollercoaster. She said she felt her death was imminent and she didn't know how she was going to go - would she die in her sleep as she is sleeping for most of the day now, or would her chest infection and possibly pneumonia ger her. She said she was hoping to make it to when her eldest came down - thats this coming wednesday. If she made it to christmas day would it be fair to go on Boxing day? She said she knows she can't chose the date but she so wants to make it as less hard for the girls as she can. They have decorated the downstairs living room / kitchen where she sleeps on her huge new bed. Looking at their tree I see decorations I have given her over the years - christmas trees are memory trees and I realised why I really wasn't in the mood for doing mine.
We had already had  our moment  to say all we wanted to each other but we had another moment and cried together. I then cooked dinner and kept her awake by giving her a running commentary on my cooking. She had gone for the citrus halloumi,roasted  sweet potato and red onion with fresh  tomatoes in a  coriander and lime dressing!  We then ate it watching Strictly which she is now a fan of. We then had waffles with maple syrup and blueberries and cream and then helped her go to the toilet and back and gave her the shedload of evening tablets. By the time youngest came home she was asleep.
Youngest hadn't eaten as by the time the light shows were over the eating places had nothing left she fancied. So I cooked her what friend had had - just needed to reheat the potatoes and fry the halloumi!
Tomorrow I shall decorate the tree - I may not feel festive but the lights will look pretty.