sort of getting to be Christmas

I have derelict in my duties this week because like everyone else I got caught up in the Christmas pressure. You wonder why we do this to ourselves and then comes a day like this. I Hear Music is playing fantastic versions of Christmas Carols and Robert Harris in his usual mellifluous way is explaining them to us.

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He?s got taste running out of every pore. It?s urged me on to fluffing the house which is becoming almost as gorgeous as it is outside. Or it will be in a few hours with aubergine, silver and a hint here and there of green as the theme.

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Who knew I had a theme?? not me. It happened because, like everything else gardeners do, serendipity plays a huge role in our lives. I found all this stuff in boxes and drawers, and it all kind of pulled itself together. Not unlike some of the borders I create in the garden.

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I?d like to say I decided that this would be how I?d greet my family, but about ten minutes ago I saw that was what was happening more or less let it unfold in front of my eyes. I?m almost positive that if I had planned it I would have been dissatisfied with the results. But this method of decorating:? well there is no downside.

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Our grandchildren have decided that they do not want to sit with us but continue one more year to sit at their own table with their own d?cor and their own feeding timetable.? I agree for one more year but soon they will be sitting with the rest of us and take on the patina of civilized behaviour.

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I am now going into a three-day marathon of Christmas music, cooking, baking and staring at the masses of birds who are whipping through the garden. Yesterday there was a cardinal family noshing on the hips dangling from the Rosa glauca.? In the back garden there were masses of little creatures straight off a Christmas card nipping away at grasses and the berries found all over the place.? Big competition for Laurie?s bird feeder next door (squirrels are getting in there).

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I am awash with happiness at all of this and still looking forward to the work of Christmas.??