What a jolly, holly day!!

Tree and I are now recovering from our colds and the food onslaught that is the Yuletime meal. Pip and Murali came over for the day and Murali had his first "proper" Xmas dinner, even though it was veggie! He now understands the whole concept of eating till you feel you could burst. It was lovely to have them enjoying themselves with us at this special time of year.

We now have a week off work to relax and recharge the old batteries. We might just have enough energy to see in the New Year yet!!

Happy Solstice!!

Tree and I were unable to face climbing up onto the Malvern Hills for the Solstice sunrise as we are still recovering from the viral infection we have had for the last two weeks. In a way we have not missed anything as the sky is overcast and the horizon obscured.
However, we have just finished watching the live webcast from Newgrange in Ireland where the sun enters into the opening chamber and casts a ray of light up to the back wall 19 metres away. Even this was affected by the cloud cover and a simulation was shown in a real-time sync at the critical moment.
The important thing though is that we observe ritual and celebrate the coming back of the sun. We are arranging a special lunch at 12:04 to mark the solstice proper.
So Happy Solstice to everyone and may the sun warm your face and the cold stay at your back.

A merry Yule to one and all !!

Blimey ! Is it time of year again, already?? Tree and I have been so busy of late we haven't had time to notice that December has creapt upon us.
I started my new job on the 1st and within a couple of days came down with a horrible viral infection that had already put Tree out of action for a week. Not good when you are working in a high dependency unit! I am happy to say that, a week later, I am on the mend with just a nasty cough to shift.
Herbie is on the mend too and just looks a bit odd with a shaved face. Quite comical really.
We have also been working hard on the house and getting carpet put down in the bedroom so we can move back in to it.
Otherwise, not a lot has been happening apart from lots of wrapping up on the sofa with hot drinks and medicine. Exciting life!
Tomorrow we dress the tree which will put me in the Yule frame of mind. But in the meantime, I wish everyone a very merry Yule. May your wishes be fulfilled and your bellies too!

Two steps forward, one back.

Following on from the progress of Herbie and his heart condition, I have to report that he has managed to get into a scrap and come off the worse for wear. The first we noticed was when his face swelled up with a lump the size of an egg and he became quite subdued. We took him to the vets and he confirmed that it was an abscess as we suspected. Herbie had to be sedated under general anaesthetic to have it lanced and we feared he would not survive this procedure. But this is Herbie we are talking about and he bounced back from the operation. The only problem we had was that the site of injury had to be kept open to drain and this meant covering all of the carpets and furniture to protect it against the blood that was continually oozing out. The photo says it all I think. Anyway, he is back to normal now, the cut has healed nicely and the covers are off. I thought pets were supposed to be relaxing for their owners!!