Friday - the end of the week..... I still have tidying to do in the kitchen, and it is only 7.43 p.m., but I hear my bed calling (only faintly to start with but it's bound to become more pursuasive!!! The house looks different this Friday night than it did last Friday night, as the Spirit of Christmas has descended upon me and caused me to haul out all the celebration's decorations. Which is lovely!!!! Today I rescued the Christmas Card List from the file where I had put it last January, and I opened the package of Cards youngest son had brought me from the pharmacy (which, like all pharmacies, sells many, many things besides drugs). All the sweet, old famliar names, but it tore at my heart to have to write deceased by far too many. And things keep happening to remind me that even though the spirit might be ready to celebrate Christmas chores the old body is all ears when it comes to the bed calling out!!!! For the last few years I have foregone the personal letter and written to one and all by computer, the same news of the year, adding to it my personal scrawl of love and remembrance. I think that is allowed when you hit ninety five, and if it is not allowed, well, I was always one for ignoring rules if they didn't make any sense. The drawer of Christmas ornaments also contains a whole pack of memories, and so when I open it I also let our all those remembrances. A mixture of sadness, gratitude, and some humour..... I notice that some of the ornaments seem to be showing their age, but it is a lovely maturing and in the candle light of Christmas Eve they look quite O.K. Youngest son brought home some mince meat from the store, - I may have mentioned before that I have given up "mincemeat from scratch" but I might add a few few apple slivers to add that final touch. And a raisin or two...... I am somewhat moved to make pastry, tomorrow, and tuck some tart shells away in the freezer until they are ready for mincemenat and lemon curd and maybe some strawberry jam. However, I say this in the evening, and who knows what the morning might bring that discourages me from baking again another day..... Which reminds me, - I still have dishes in the kitchen sink and I learned early in life that 'dishes in the sink' are not the thig to get up to in the morning.....so I am off to make order out of chaos!!