We've just finished decorating our Christmas tree. It's just under 6 feet tall (a compromise between our two backgrounds!), and since we couldn't find a tree-stand on sale anywhere, it's standing up in an old tan-colored bucket packed full of dirt and wine bottles (yes, really). It's also covered with red, green and blue lights, ornaments from the Christkindlmarkt, my old penguin ornament from Michigan and a new ornament from our dream-village (where we'll be house-hunting over winter break), and it's topped by a glittery silvery Christmas fairy. It is adorable. Every time I look at it, I smile. Over the next few days, we'll camouflage the bucket with Christmas wrapping paper, but right now we're sipping port and just feeling happy and full of Christmas-y spirit.

Today I didn't write at lunch, because it was the day of my office's floor Christmas lunch (yum yum! I'm still stuffed, hours later). Yesterday, though, I inaugurated little Campion at the Borders cafe, and he hummed away happily as I typed 5 pages. Hurray hurray!

Christmaschristmaschristmas!