tree

Our tree is up and I couldn't resist a bit of bokeh. It's so lovely to have the coloured lights and baubles and tinsel (no minimalist tree for us!) cheering up the corner of the room, and the fire blazing away and everything cosy. 

I've nearly written all my Christmas cards and now that Luke's birthday is past (yesterday) I can begin thinking about Christmas proper. Except of course that it won't be Christmas proper this year. It shouldn't really matter, since we are famously the family which does Christmas differently. We've always had to be flexible because of D's work, so we sometimes delayed the gift-giving until January (great bargains to be had in the sales). Being veggie (and now vegan and GF) we never stressed about the food, just choosing something we liked. Often it was a special pie, with Luke as the pastry chef. So long as it was something we didn't eat everyday and something which required a bit of presentation, that was ok. When the children were small, it was sometimes pizza;  we cared more about getting out for a walk than for having piles of washing up. As for relatives, they all live far away and don't like travelling at Christmas, so even less stress there. 

Some things are fixtures, of course, like Watchnight Service and Father Christmas. But otherwise it pays to be flexible. 

I've had two walks today, one with D and one on my own. 15,728 steps so far :-)