Sari Time

Had a really nice 23rd December both of my sisters, and Maggie, who is an adopted sister, were with me. Maggie celebrating the arrival of her first grandchild, a boy named Bryn. Can't believe she is old enough to have a grandchild. Sister 2 and I told sister 1 and Maggie that they could sit and talk knitting together as Grannies and we would drink the champagne for them!

Just want to wish everyone a very happy Christmas. We went to the midnight Eucharist at Holy Cross last night I served and assisted with Chalice too which was lovely. A nice start to the Day. Number 2 sister came and daughter number 2 came along with her friend too which was a nice surprise. I came out of the service to go for coffee and mince pies to find 3 texts from India which was nice too, they'd been having their Christmas Day early morning service at 4.30am! Wonder how many we'd get to turn up at that time!

I've had some fab presents and can't wait to get into reading some of the books I got, Dawn French, Ian Rankin, to mention but 2. lovely smellies and clothes too, you won't recognise the new fabulous looking Sally when next you meet her!

Tiem to get stuck into the final lunch preparations now, so once again Happy Christmas to all who read this.

It's hard to believe that yesterday was the last Sunday of Advent and Christmas is just 3 days away... only 3 more sleeps and 3 more chocs in the advent calendar... we got a Lindt one this year and it was just fab, starting with a choccie reindeer and finishing unless I am very much mistaken, with a chocolate Santa with delicious slabs of swiss chocolate in between. There are some secular things about Christmas which are just to good to ignore.
Yesterday was mixed day. we went to church first having dropped daughter #2 off at the hotel to work. After church we began again the long hunt for Christmas lights the week before Christmas. Some designer in a far away country seems to have decided that everyone in the UK should have blue or white LED lights this year, whereas I like multi coloured ones... and somehow, when I got out the lights on Saturday, they seem to have died between being put away last 12th night working and emerging this 20th December. C and I drove around Edinburgh fruitlessly on Saturday evening for around 3 hours looking for lights (I would almost, but not quite, have accepted blue LEDs by the time we got home). We decided we would head for the garden centres on Sunday after church. We'd only got about half a mile from home, when we came across two runners trying to lift the remains of a fallen tree off the road on Ravelston Dykes, while cars drove around them!!! I stopped and blocked the road with my hazard lights on and C took off his jacket and went to help. The upshot was the male jogger got a bit overkeen and pushed the tree back knocking C over too, then, just to make sure once he'd stood up again, he did it again! The road was cleared but C & I ended up in the Western and he has broken a bone in his foot! After dropping him back home an hour later, with multiple painkillers and a cup of tea it was off once more to the garden centre. Where yes, I was successful, however I got the last set, plenty of blue and white LEDs left though and even a purple set Ruthie! Back home once more and the tree is complete, the presents are gathering and we await the coming of the Christ Child, and Santa!
Our Christmas tree has never been an item of restraint and has bits of our life threaded amongst the greenery, there are dwarves from my childhood tree, my pink fairy which came from my godmother when I was about 5 - sister 2 has one in blue! One of my favourites though (apart from A's shuttlecock angel made in her first year at nursery in 1992 when she was only 3), is a walnut shell nativity which my Dad brought me back from the Holy Land about 20 years ago.

Today is number 1 daughter's birthday though, so I'll see her at luchtime, then she has to shoot off to Dundee where she is on night duty, she goes down to J's parents in Bolton for Christmas, so this will be my 2nd Christmas without her . At least I'm here this year though and not languishing in a hospital in South India not caring whether it is Christmas or not, except that I missed out on Carrie's special turkey biryani. I'll have C, #2 daughter and my younger sister though. This year F is going to her daughter in Hamilton for their first family Christmas so there'll only be 4 of us around the table this year, so lots of turkey sandwiches and extra crackers.
Must get the Christmas cake iced today and the mince pies made!

In common with many of my teaching colleagues, I started my Christmas holidays yesterday, such a relief. Now I feel I can actually get on with some of the Christmas preparations although of course it is elder daughter's birthday on Monday so that has to take precedence till then. However, on my way home from school yesterday in the gale force winds and driving rain I stopped to buy my Christmas tree! I didn't even get it unrolled to check it which those of you who know me will realise is a first... I am VERY picky when it comes to Christmas trees. (Nice to think that the one I bought last year is now in Methi's house twinkling away!)
I got home and rammed it into its log base and am now waiting the rest of my family's assistance to decorate it although we are running out of time before number two daughter has to go to the hotel to work.
Last night was my Christmas night out and it went fine although I have to say I really didn't want to go back out last night. C and A promised me a lift up town but left me panicking as they got stuck in traffic at Dalmeny on their way south. they arrived here at 7.02 and I was supposed to be at the hotel by 7! A drove me in though and I made it in time for 3 champagne cocktails (freebies) so that was very nice and cheered me up no end as I'm sure you'll appreciate. the table was, as the last time we were at that hotel, very crowded and I can't believe that we actually took away the chair of someone who couldn't make it, and were still so squashed. The meal was very good though with real turkey not preformed from turkey meat stuff. P and I did our best at the tables at Roulette with free toy money and chips, but I only managed to bring us to 4th place over all and there were only 2 prizes on the night so that was good but not good enough. Never done that before and was just starting to get the hang of it Vegas here I come!!

It felt very strange having my 19 year old daughter come into town at midnight to pick up her mum. I even had the good grace to get my stiletto caught in the door as I got into the car so she is now convinced I had over-indulged. Cheek, as if! I told her I just wasn't used to 3 inch heels but she just scoffed.

I'm able at last to announce that I got the job I was interviewed for last month. I heard the next day, but I couldn't say anything publicly before school parents had been told so... although a few folks heard by word of mouth, many did not! I start as Depute Head on 7th January, so a new challenge and a new year! I'll be non teaching for the first time and will be based in my own office... in the words of a colleague."How cool is that!"

Went down to see my Dad the other weekend in Hampshire which is a bit of a trek. He's getting old which is hard to see, but is generally content. My sisters and I are each going down for a weekend about once every month to see if we can help out a bit. Middle sis has taken down a lilo, but I think my size shape and extra years make that hard for more than one night so I spend one night in a B&B and the other on the lilo!

I heard today that I'm not going to be able to go and stay in my little house in Perumalpuram when we go to India next year . Sadly I'm going to have to look for somewhere else. I'm going out with husband and number 2 daughter for a holiday. They'll come back after two and a half weeks and I'll stay on to work in the school for the next 3 weeks.

C and I managed to break the back of the worst of the Christmas shopping at the weekend and C has gone north with the pressies for that direction to wrap and deliver and I'm getting stuck into the rest. Ribbon, sellotape and wrapping paper rule at the moment!