Well, here we are - Xmas Eve. And don't complain about me using the abbreviation of Christmas, because today I learned something interesting, as detailed here on ye goode olde Wikipedia:
The word Christmas originated as a compound meaning "Christ's Mass". It is derived from the Middle English Christemasse and Old English Cristes mæsse, a phrase first recorded in 1038.[4] "Cristes" is from Greek Christos and "mæsse" is from Latin missa. In early Greek versions of the New Testament, the letter Χ (chi), is the first letter of Christ. Since the mid-16th century Χ, or the similar Roman letter X, has been used as an abbreviation for Christ.[8] Hence, Xmas is often used as an abbreviation for Christmas.
If it has been good enough for others since Tudor times, then it is good enough for me :)
We are currently in the process of getting Sam to bed, at the same time convincing him that he doesn't have to be up in the morning before the reindeer are home. This not helped, of course, by Grandad encouraging (otherwise called getting his own back on his daughter) our early riser with tales from my own childhood. Thanks, Grandad. We'll call you as soon as we are up...
One of the funniest sights in this house so far over the holidays has been watching Sam covering peanuts in Xmas wrapping paper. For the gerbils. All 11 of them. So now they are under the tree, labelled and wrapped. 11 peanuts.
Being (ever so slightly) disorganised, we forgot about feeding the reindeer this year, and have had to resort to Using Our Initiative. In this particular case, taking the form of defrosting a pack of mixed veg from the freezer. The sooner Santa gets an engine, the better.
Now back to Purrnickerty. I promised a book - and the book is written. But we did have some technical difficulties, which mean that we have been unable to post it as promised. All I can say is that we are working on it - keep your fingers crossed.
Finally, we would like to wish you a very happy Christmas, that brings you everything you hope for.