Happy Miserable Holidays!

For those of you that don't have a facebook account you probably don't know just how miserable I've been for the last two weeks.

First Wendy and I got stomach flue. Because of this I missed my last week of term. I also lost 9 lbs (4 kg) that week. Not a good time. Then I got a full day of feeling 75% before getting a nasty ear infection.

So bad that I can not hear out of my left ear, I had to go to the clinic three time and the A&E (ER for those in N. America) once, were they placed a wick in my ear. I'm not going to go into what is coming out of my ear. So I'm not having a great holiday season.

The kids however are having a good time.

Bronwyn has lost almost all of her front teeth within a week or so.


However she still figured out how to keep her whistle!

Here is an old picture that I got from Kathy.

That is about it. Tomorrow is Fiona's birthday so I should have a bit more news for you all.

December 1st, where does the time go?

Hello all.

Just want to take the time to wish everyone a wonderful holiday season. It might be a little early, but heck, it's freezing cold here (by English standards anyway!), the calendar says December, and I have of late heard old Bing crooning about a white Christmas (though we shan't see one in Oxford, only up North)

This blogpost will also have to serve as a proxy for the traditional card in the mailbox. This is difficult for me, for, as John will attest to, I LOVE doing the Christmas cards each year: selecting the right picture for the right recipient, going to the Post Office with a monstrous stack of letters. But a perfect storm of events has made not sending out cards the right, though unhappy, choice. Firstly, an incipient postal strike by the Royal Mail means they might not arrive in a timely fashion. Secondly, the falling value of the US dollar against the British pound means that postage alone is a mad extravagance, and in light of the previous factor, a foolish one since the golden postage might not even ensure the delivery of the card. Greener folk might also add the 'lower carbon footprint' of an electronic missive, though I can't honestly claim that impacted the decision in the least.

I think everyone has been hit by the credit crunch, and so perhaps this is a good choice for many. I may create a 'virtual Mantelpiece', printing out the electronic Christmas Greetings we receive and hanging them up as I would do traditional 'snail mail' ones.

At any rate, from our house in England to your homes all over, we wish you the very merriest of Christmases, all the joys of the season and a very happy and healthy New Year.

There will, of course be more blog posts before the end of the year, as John is much better than I at keeping up with this. But today marks the day I usually sit down to write the Christmas cards, and I so wanted to send my messages of love and joy to all of you at this magical and special time of year.

HAPPY CHRISTMAS TO ALL!