I'm dreaming of a...

...minimalist Christmas!

Okay, so after my last two un-festive posts, I made myself do something about it. I cleared off the lounge table, spread over the Christmas cloth and got out my 3 ft Scotch fir tree. Assembled said tree and placed it on said table. Liked it the way it was and just added the parcels my friend Susan has sent for me to the base. (Thank you Susan, Adam, Lucy and Dave - I can't wait to open them up!!!!!)

Now, with less than 8 hours to go, it is beginning to feel Christmas-y. I've been humming songs, watching movies on telly (some of which have been quite delightful), reading blogs and leaving comments. I made tomato relish yesterday (I know this has nothing to do with Christmas but this is my blog) which put me in a festive, spicy frame of mind, even though I had to mop the sticky floor after! This morning I made a Strawberry and raisin loaf, which is simple and delicious (Kelv has to work later this week so we needed some baking in the tin), and I'll be making Jellied cucumber salad later on for tomorrow's family dinner. I have some lovely red tomatoes and green basil all ready to go for another simple and fragrant salad as well. I'm still working on my gifts - I have actually succeeded in making something for everyone, but in one of those ironic twists, it's the first gift I started making way back in February that will be the last gift made! I've had the pieces made for months, just waiting around to be put together, but there's a lot of 'end weaving in' to do and attaching the smaller bits to the larger bits and more 'end weaving in' to finish. Mum is going to love it; I just have the feeling that there will be last minute stitching on this one (my Peculiar Aristocratic Title should have been the Procrastinator instead of the Precocious! )

So anyway, I'm feeling a lot more festive now, and thanks to comments from Susan and Pauline, I'm feeling a lot more sanguine about not having any children (or a car, or a mortgage...). I've even made a New Year's Resolution already:

these little white tabs of Splenda are the last of my stock. I'm not going to have any more sweetener after these are finished. I used to take 3 teaspoons of sugar in my tea and coffee and when I was diagnosed with diabetes I switched to artificial sweetening. I tried Equal and Splenda (and even had a crack at Stevia). Equal is cheaper but I prefer Splenda - I think it is a bit less 'artificial' than others, less 'harmful' I guess- so Ive been using Splenda almost exclusively in my bevies over the last couple of years. However, the price has crept up, and it now costs about $7.50 for 200 tabs. Now, 1 tab = 1 tsp sugar, right? Says it right there on the pack. My taste buds disagree, and I'm finding that 1 tab is nowhere near enough, 2 tabs are not always enough, 3 tabs are about right except with iced coffee, in which case 4 just does the trick! Now while I don't believe Splenda is as 'bad' as some other products, even I have qualms about my dosage, and I'm even more alarmed about paying through the nose for these sweeties. So I'm quitting. Starting yesterday. I actually had an iced coffee this arvo with NO sweetener whatsoever (okay, some vanilla, does that count?). I got it drunk, it wasn't as awful as I imagined, I can do it. Once those 16 tiny tabs are gone, they're gone from my life. AMEN.

Wow, there are less than 7 hours left till Christmas now. All there is left to say now is a big, warm THANK YOU to my readers, and also to the authors of the blogs I read. I so enjoy what you all have to say, either in your comments or your blogs. I hope to continue posting and reading, and maybe even learning a few new things, in 2008.

meri kirihimete

love, peace, joy, courage & strength to all

xoxoxox