Hey – I finished all my work! All of it – every deadline has gone swooshing past, and I made them all: two essays and one presentation have been done in the past week and a half. Now I'm just putting my feet up, sitting in front of the telly, oh yeah, and
cooking!

First off all – the whole work lark? Seems to have paid off – a nice couple of marks to boost my average pre-exams (it's very simple really, the final module mark is based on an average of your coursework – an average of all the work you have to hand in – and your exam, which is often weighted 60/40). At any rate – I'm happy with the results, and amused by the comments elicited. For example, on the classics essay about Tacitus' speeches: 'you might like to reread the 'Dialogus' in the light of this,' I’m sorry, but you think I've read it already? How did I manage to bluff something I didn't even mention in the
essay? I don't get it – but apparently I have to talk more in classes next semester since I obviously have things to contribute. Obviously. Yes Professor Smith.

So work is finished and it is nearly Christmas. My mummy – who is currently toddling round in the Gambia – sent me an Advent Calendar. It is keeping us all amused – it's one of these 'recyclable' things, a pocketed wall hanging, and the giver fills the pockets, and it can
be reused each time. Well, this year I have – wait for it – Finger Puppet Nativity! So I have Mary, the Archangel Gabriel, the Star, a Wiseman, a Shepherd/Joseph (we're not sure on this), a donkey, an inn door, an innkeeper/Joseph/shepherd (not sure about that one either) and a crib. Each day has a wee Christmas tree decoration too, so I hopped off and got a two-foot tree, all our house can fit!

I mentioned cooking didn't I? Well, now the stress is over and I can relax. In my freaky world it involves cookery – particularly for Clare and myself. So on Sunday we had Christmas dinner as a house. The house atmosphere has warmed rapidly in recent days, and we actually seem to manage to hang around the dinner table chatting randomly after meals (believe me, this is progress). I volunteered to cook, and went bird shopping. Found a 'duckling' – which was so huge that Jack decided it wasn't even a duck, but possibly a genetic mutant.

It was my first solo, full roast dinner cooking. And we have a tiny oven. Aforementioned bird cooked fine, but vegetables proved more tricky, trying to get a good few trays on two racks of an oven where only the top shelf is really good for cooking. However, we sat down
at the planned time – about 9:30pm after hiking, orchestra rehearsals and carol services were taken into account (so we went to sleep unhealthily full) and then did the whole presents thing. It says everything about our house that the most warmly welcomed presents
were a garlic crusher, a pestle and mortar, and an extendable plastic jousting rod-thing! We're now in the last week of term, and I suddenly find myself with no time to do nothing in the evenings. I had to skive a rehearsal for the HMS Pinafore concert (I'm in the orchestra) to write this – I forgot earlier, too busy introducing Clare and Jack to The West Wing. The concert itself is tomorrow night – I have to remember to go, then on Wednesday I'm playing for a carol service, then on Thursday I have another Christmas dinner, and on Friday I have to pack. In between all this I have to write all my Christmas cards, and
attempt to catch up with friends – inevitably eating too much in the process. I think I was planning on getting up and going swimming tomorrow morning. I'd better set the alarm.

Swiv

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