The Big Easy

What can I say? It's been busy, but somehow outrageously dull at the same time, down in this corner of the world.

Kids and I fly to Borneo in five days' time to spend Christmas with my mother and stepfather (Spouse joins us a week later). This is Spouse and self enjoying a bit of luxury last time we went, 7 years ago.

And Kid 2 also clearly having a terrible time; Kid 1 enjoying the sunset.

There, now I've got myself in the mood for it.

Kid 2 is obsessed with elephants so the timing of this story was a bit off.

The list of things that Must Be Done before we get on the plane is staggering. I have made shortbread and caramels and chocolate truffles and bought gifts for all those people it's important not to forget (piano teacher, band teacher, tutors, woman who helps the kids cross the road - it's a long list). But I'm about to concede that it may be the first year in about 15 that I have not handmade my Christmas cards. Sometimes one just has to let go ...

AND, my clients apparently have sixth sense - they don't see dead people, they see people trying to get away on holidays. Turns out my laptop will be enjoying a trip to Borneo too, lucky thing.

Apropos of not very much, I had a birthday a few weeks back, and we went away for a weekend with some friends. Auspiciously, the weather was fabulous. We played badminton and drank champagne and ate duck with quince and pistacchios. Since then, it has rained more or less non-stop. We have had the coldest start to summer in 50 years. I am almost looking forward to the steamy heat of the tropics.

Surviving Christmas

How much do I love these boots? So much that I am SAVING UP for them (they're not insanely expensive, but they're not cheap). Saving up is a strange concept these days. I didn't have a credit card until my late 20s (funny thing about finishing uni in a recession - no full-time jobs to be had, and back in those days they were much stricter about giving out cards). So before that it really was a matter of saving up for things ... And of course I won't actually be able to wear these boots for another six months because it is Too Darn Hot. So waiting is good.

I told Spouse it can buy me this:

this:

or this:

for Christmas. It politely declined. Apparently it wanted to get me an Hermes cuff, but they don't have the exact one I want in stock (gold with orange enamel). It's the thought that counts. AND I am getting tix to see Madama Butterfly in February, which I'm very excited about.

Christmas is in 10 days. We are hosting 22 people (14 adults, 8 children). Our house is very small, so all festivities will have to take place in the garden (also small, but bigger than any of our rooms). As we've been having insanely bad weather - rain, floods, pestilence - we've taken the cautious step of getting a pop-up marquee. We popped it up for the first time on the weekend and it takes up most of the backyard.

Paving is underway so that there is somewhere to put the buffet table.
Baking has begun. Three batches of shortbread have been despatched. 60 chocolate truffles have been rolled in cocoa. Plans have been made for the building of a gingerbread house, which will probably collapse in the dire humidity. I made caramels (80 of them) for Kid 2's schoolfriends: they looked like this when we'd wrapped them.

I want to live somewhere where I could have eggnog and mulled cider and fondue and enjoy heating up the kitchen with baking. Like New York?

Again, there is controversy around the tree. I begged to be allowed an artificial one - and my wish was granted, but Spouse doesn't like it.

So we got a small living tree as well. Before you know it, I'll be like Martha Stewart and have several Christmas trees in every room of my house ...

In other news, Kid 2 won the school's annual Creativity Award and was so happy it was almost levitating. I managed to miss the ceremony - after eight years of sitting through these terminally boring 'Presentation Days', where every single child in the school gets an award for breathing and there are about six awards with any significance, I bailed on this one. Sod's law, right?

Elf

Kid 2 takes it upon herself to be as kid-like as possible, at the same time as she's telling me she can't wait to be a teenager. Sometimes I can't work out whether she does it to humour the parentals, or because part of her wants to hold on to childish things for a little longer.

This morning before school she wrote a very polite note to Santa, asking for a microscope for Christmas. 'You know Santa's on a budget', she told me. 'It turns out he went to New York as well. The Elves told me.' Indeed.