Year-end activities

Yesterday we had some system upgrades here at the Lodge. The girls were gracious--and curious--hostesses to the technician, who was working indoors and out. At one point Jewel noticed he'd left his knit cap on the floor in my office and she picked it up. I pried it from her mouth in time to prevent any destruction!

At church this morning, we had three baptisms! An infant and her much older sisters.



At Christmas our family received a waddling, wing-flapping, clucking mechanical chicken. Its effect on the girls has been fun to watch. Here, Jewel bows down to the power of the chicken.


Lola is bemused as it marches past.



Ruth thinks she's herding it.



In accordance with the superstitions by which I was raised, I had to take down the tree today. It's supposed to be out of the house before New Year's Day, ad since I didn't care to be atop a very tall ladder while the Chap is away tomorrow, I completed the task this afternoon. It only took a couple of hours to remove all the ornaments and lights . . . . We try to get it in place nice and early so we have a good long while to enjoy it. I do notice its absence--somehow the upstairs sitting room seems less large without that enormous green shape and all the colourful decorations.

I repotted my little camellia plant, budding up very nicely. Also a tiny lavender plant grown from a cutting--I've managed to sort of bonsai it by twisting the two main stems together. The lavender cuttings taken at Hampton Court are still in a hopeful condition.

If you're a Patriots fan, all thanks for the momentous victory is due to the residents of the Lodge. We watched a film Once instead of the game. I was thoroughly distracted by all those scenes of Dublin's Grafton Street, and kept erupting with comments like, "Oh, there' s Laura Ashley store where I always shop! Look, Dunnes Stores!" As well as other familiar landmarks: "St. Stephen's Green!" "The Aer Lingus ticketing counter at Dublin airport!" Both the Chap and I grew quite nostalgic, not only for the city by the Liffey, but for our radio station mates.

At bedtime I checked in briefly for a football score. At that stage is was a nerve-wracking 31 to 28. And yet--I turned off the telly and headed for the Land of Nod. It took me a while to get to the Border of Nod, so sometime before midnight I switched the telly on again to determine the outcome. By that time the Post-game Victory show was on.


For the past month, if it's a Thursday or a Sunday, we can brace for a snowstorm. We've got another one on the way, just in time for New Year's Eve Day.