December 21at, 2021 Ribbons and bows, - ribbons and bow.... I have been knee deep in ribbons and bows this morning, but it is time to leave them for a little lunch, Too early for a small glass of sherry but a little lunch time respite would be nice! I am gradually contributing to the 'filling of the bags' but there does seem to be an awful lot of them. Part of the pleasure of having a large family. There are all sorts of books stacked beside me, awaiting Christmas wrapping, and the scarves I wove this fall are disappearing into Christmas boxes to spend the rest of their lives around others' necks. It was great fun making them, and great to have family to give them to!! The sun is shining today, - lots of blue sky. A change from the mild but dreary days that mid-December has brought us. I was up in the night and lingered to look at the high moon of this winter solstice. We have had snow, and will welcome a white Christmas, but I know that underneath the snow the little scarlet stubs of the spring bulbs will soon be pushing their way through the frozen earth.... I think the cookie making is a done-for-job this year, and there is a lovely big tin of shortbread available for cookie snatchers who pass through the kitchen. No pudding this year, but it was never a favourite really, and just got made for tradition's sake - my grandmother's recipe, passed through to me from my mother..... I have fond memories of Christmas at Grandmas, but they don't include the pudding or the six year old's sulking when she didn't get the "dime" Grandma hid amongst the fruit and raisins..... I find myself confined to home, - not only because it is a recommended thing to do but also because the icy paths are not favourable once you get past ninety - or maybe even eighty. Oh dear, - time is always with us, and I watch the fancy ice skaters with great pleasure, but also with memories that make me sigh when I recall the community skating rink on Alberta Avenue (still there) and the many happy hours we spent twirling around on the ice.... Well, that stack of Christmas presents isn't going to get any smaller unless I move them from the unwrapped pile to their proper place in a Christmas bag, duly signed and recorded.... As the afternoon wears on the possibility of raiding the sherry cupboard grows sweeter, so I must get on with it!!! I hope you are all enjoying these days of activity that lead to a happy Christmas, - I guess that only a housewife and mother knows the joys of preparation!!!! When I open the fridge door it does my heart good to see the little jars of lemon curd waiting patiently to turn into tart filling. And the candied cherries, dancing to decorate the shortbread - unless you are really traditional and prefer your shortbread just nicely pricked with a fork..... I hear the sherry, calling from the cupboard. Plaintively. I just know it wants to be part of the preparation!!!!!