A very merry and slightly belated Christmas to all and sundry! I had meant to post something earlier but I awoke last Sunday feeling a bit under the weather and by Monday afternoon found myself with a 102.5 degree fever and the worst chest and sinus congestion I’ve ever experienced. I’m only just now recovering after what in hindsight I suspect to have been a been a bout of pneumonia. Thank God for an unfilled prescription for antibiotics. Without it, I would have had no choice but to throw myself on the mercy of the local A & E (emergency room), which one never does lightly in the UK! I’m thankful that my first Christmas knocked out of commission should come a year when I had no priestly responsibilities! Still, it was hard to miss Lesson & Carols at the cathedral and midnight Mass on Christmas Eve (the first I’ve missed since about age 12). Enough whingeing…
We did manage to have a fairly good Christmas, despite my health. On Christmas Eve, I cooked up our traditional Christmas duck with apple and sage stuffing, mashed potatoes and parsnips, green beans, and the best gravy I’ve ever made. A fellow Augustine PhD student named Jeremy came over with his wife Jackie and their 15 mo. old son Nathaniel armed with a delightful blueberry crumble. We had a very good time.
We opened presents the next morning. The highlight here was undoubtedly Paul’s new Wii gaming system, a very generous present from Diane’s family. Paul hugged and kissed the package like it was a long lost lover returned, and needless to say he now can’t be budged from the TV. He’s suddenly quite popular with the local lads as well!
Diane is now in Germany visiting an old friend from her teens and will return Tuesday. Today, I will have a quiet 38th birthday, though I hope to make up for that Wednesday at one of the local pubs. Friday will be Diane and my 11th anniversary and the following day her birthday (I won’t say which one except that it is a milestone year!).
Thanks to everyone who has sent us cards this year. It was wonderful to catch up on the lives of so many. I hope and pray everyone has had a happy Christmas despite the hardships that many face in this time of recession. I pray also that 2009 will be a memorable and happy year for you all.
PS The above picture was taken during a recent walk in the Pennines on the Waskerley Way. The highlight of this walk for me were the numerous rabbit footprints in the snow giving evidence that there are, indeed, in the memorable words of Elmer Fudd, ‘Waskerley Wabbits.’
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