That Between Christmas and New Year time.

Busy, busy, busy. They call it a holiday period but I don't seem to have stopped. We have had a permanent houseful for the last few days. We have no objections at all. It's splendid to get family and friends together. 

And yet, here we all are with coughs and cold and winter sniffles. So much for flu jabs! Or maybe without the flu jabs we would all be so much worse. 

However, we do not let such things get us down. The smallest member of the family, who also has a cough, cold and winter sniffles even though she is not yet a year old, has been a focus of attention for all and sundry. 

Yesterday we set off for a good stomp around the local reservoir. Except that we didn't get all the way round, offspring number one and his wife wanted a trip into Manchester. They ummed and ahed quite a bit about whether to go there and then or wait until this morning and set off early. They needed to be back in time for lunch today as we had invited old friends round. This is the problem when you try to pack too many things into a short space of time. 


In the end they went for the Sunday shopping option, giving them a chance to go round first thing this morning to meet my daughter's crazy little dog. We had all decided that it would be too much excitement for everyone if we had a grand reunion at our house involving an overexcited puppy and a very small child. Especially as the very small child is just about mobile and would no doubt want to climb all over the overexcited puppy. 

Consequently, I phoned Phil yesterday, when offspring number one and his family went to Manchester, and arranged for him to meet me half way back from the reservoir, thus extending my walk and making sure he got out into the sunshine as well. It all worked well. It really was a beautiful day.

Today by contrast has been a day of cold fog. It started clear but by 10 this morning the fog had come damply down, making it feel even colder. But it was fine. We weren't going anywhere. We fed the family and old friends today. The left over turkey has been made into soup and turkey hotpot and is finally over and done with. 

Tomorrow we head off to visit even more family in Southport. And eventually, we will resume our quiet existence. I shall stop buying copious amounts of food and cooking huge meals. Just as well. If we continued like this we would be fat as pigs in no time. 

Misheard song lyrics. At one of the family meals over the last few days, the eldest granddaughter, 17, commented, " I've got a song in my head, you know the one I mean. It goes: Bourgignon, gaviscon, tiny dancer, tiny dancer, What is it?" Here's the answer: "Sur le Pont d'Avignon, l'on y danse, l'on y danse". 

All I can say is that she must have had a rubbish French teacher!