Christmas Eve

 
It is Christmas Eve, a Sunday, and Mum was being entertained by Lilian today so we had the day to ourselves to get prepared for tomorrow.  Even though I have tried to prepare as much as I can in advance there still seems like a million things to do but we both felt able to tackle the day because we had all of it to ourselves so we started with a lie-in and safe in the knowledge that the second half of our Farmyard Thai takeaway was sitting in the fridge ready for us.

We decided that if we could get our chores done we would treat ourselves to a walk along the beach at Latchi and a coffee as it was a nice day.  In fact we were in two minds as to whether we should try a swim.  In the end we didn't because we could see white horses breaking onto the beach from up in Droushia and it was quite windy so we wimped out.  We mentioned to Gail and Pete that we were going down that way and they said they had planned to do the same with the dogs so if I was happy to walk with Hector and Dotty Dot we could walk with them and grab a coffee together.

It was glorious down on the coast and so we walked from just opposite the Eliofos Centre to the harbour and grabbed a seat in the sun and had a coffee and a muffin enjoying the sunshine.  What a bonus - the forecast is set fair for the rest of December which is good and means that we should get a little walk in on Boxing Day as planned which is a bonus.

I am getting better with Gail and Pete's dogs - it isn't that I don't like dogs, I do, but my previous childhood experiences have put me off.  We seemed to be surrounded by nutter dogs in my youth, dogs that were big, aggressive and unpredictable so scared the living daylights out of me.  Now I need to get to know a dog in my own time and make up my own mind how much interaction I have with them I definitely don't want to be jumped at or licked to death and I certainly don't want my leg humped!

John loves dogs - if it weren't for the cats we would probably have had one by now so he has to make do with Hector and Dot who benefit from him having a pocket full of treats to reward them for their good behaviour.

It was a lovely afternoon and as it was unexpected, even better.  We shall be seeing Gail and Pete tomorrow as they are joining us, Mum and Lilian for Christmas Day.

We returned home.  Took a look around the conservatory and lounge/dining room and declared we had done everything that we could do.  There was nothing left but for us to settle down with a good film - The Sound of Music which always makes me cry as it has such personal memories for me and my family - followed by the fantabulous remainders of the takeaway from The Farmyard and then finally watch The Great Escaper with Michael Caine and Glenda Jackson.  What a beautifully crafted film - I have wanted to watch that for ages and it was sheer joy to do so.  I hope Santa comes tonight and leaves some of his little helpers for tomorrow!!!!