DECEMBER

Dear all,

Again, should there be anyone out there who reads this apart from my sister Anne and Young Stef, my apologies for the fact that the maintenance of this blog has grown as lax as my bowels as age descends upon me. What once seemed an amusing game of spotting the subtle changes now seems like a stampede towards the crematorium. Things you once read about as happening only to aging gits, nothing to worry about for yoinks, now seems  acceptable. Hello, that bit's gone, and something over there just fell off, but there’s lots of stuff left, still going sort of. My problem is that I don't feel or accept it, and I don't know anyone as old as me to talk this through with. Most of them are dead anyway. Always the jolly family doctor lady, but more of that later. I feel better when I think that Stef's blog was last updated around 2004, and that Adam's never got further than two words. Hi there, or something. I have lot of photos which my camera sorts by date, so I shall post them and try to recall what was going on at the time. And if my memory serves me incorrectly, I shall just make something up. I have set up entries with only the names of the month and shall fill them over the coming days, having promised Stef that I would do so.

December.

Lots of pics of snowy wastes, but the main thing that happens in December is Christmas. This year however, Christmas passed us by. High-jacked it was. Normally we have a house full of family and tables have to be brought in and laid end to end in a medieval castle scene. Days spent preparing the feast. This year, everyone went to Tineke and we found ourselves alone. Even Merel was off to Thijs. I can’t remember what we had. Egg on toast, or a hamburger probably. No crackers, funny hats, slaving at the stove. And no washing-up. It was wonderful. Next day, a great meal with Karolien and Bauka. 

The most important event to look forward to is the coming of Adam and family in January.  A house has been found for them in the Hogeweg, number 40. You can imagine what it feels like to have my son back here, and Carolien. And eventually Anna and Tony. The Sprenkelings and Ricketts's are coming home.  

Some winter pics to enjoy. Meanwhile I shall try to recall what I did in January.