a note for first-timers

If it's your first time here and you're new to blogs, the first post you'll see is the most recent so that's where you should be ending, rather than starting. Otherwise, carry on...

Please, feel free to comment - you know you want to.

it's Christmas time,and there's no need to be afraid

Yes, it's Christmas Day. Yes, I'm online. But: it's about half eleven and the family have now gone and I'm back to being bored. There's stuff to tidy up but I really can't be bothered just at the moment.

Imagine my surprise today when I got an otter figurine thing from my mother as one of her presents. I knew she knew about the whole baby otter thing but I certainly wasn't expecting to have otter ornaments. Note the plural there. A few hours later - when I'd been to pick my dad up for dinner - I opened one of the presents he'd bought me and found yet another otter figurine! And I really don't remember ever mentioning anything at all about otters to him.

See, you're all probably thinking I have an unhealthy interest in otters or something. Or that I'm a bit of a nerd who goes about taking photos of water-dwelling mammals. Or collects otter-related memorabilia. I'm really not. I've explained the reason for the Baby Otter thing to you all here and I hope that's proof-enough that I'm not an otter-loving freak. If, however, this is not your first visit to this blog I'm not sure the same can be said of you.

Anyway, I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas Day and Santa did his business under your trees last night, as it were. If I had a chimney, I suspect he'd have squeezed his rotund form down it to deliver me a porcelain otter. As it was, Santa didn't deliver me the present I really wanted - she's spending Christmas Day with, for some reason that's beyond me (not really but I'm making an effort to be dramatic here so let's just go with it), her family!

And now, before I go, a musical snippet from a film that bears a significance for me. So this is especially for the one I love (though the rest of you can "listen" along too):

[Jack] My dearest friend, if you don't mind I'd like to sit by your side Where we can gaze into the stars [Sally and Jack] And sit together, now and forever For it is plain as anyone can see We're simply meant to be