Second Christmas Day.

It's officially another holiday, but I'm not going to let that bother me and finish up with the chores I have to do. But that's for later. Right now I'm sitting here with my cup of coffee and cigarettes slowly letting the day come to a start, not sure if I am willing and able to. It's always a question if I want to get the show on the road this early in the morning or if I want to go back to bed and sleep some more. I think sleeping some more will win out in the end. I feel in my bones that there are several hours of it left in me. So, I will eat breakfast shortly and climb back into bed. The dog will have to do with a piddle out back, because I'm not getting dressed yet. I mustn't even think about being outside yet, where it is a chilly 2C and even though it isn't freezing, that's quite cold enough for me.

I have slept well, and with the exception of having to get up once, I slept through the night and I went to bed on time too. These mini expeditions to the bathroom take place in a half awake situation and I barely open my eyes. I don't even know if I turn on all the lights to get there and I'm sound asleep again before I'm even under the covers again. I always have my little reading light on and when I go back to bed, I turn it off and the only light in the room is from the lighted branches in the vase on my bookshelf. The ones I've decorated for Christmas. This makes it quite cozy in the room and I like to fall asleep in the dim light of it.

I could have gotten a little Christmas tree to put on the dresser in the living room. I had the decorations and the lights for it, but then I thought about it drying out and the needles falling on the ground and I just thought, "No, I don't want to deal with that aggravation." I'm really not that into Christmas that very much, although I've enjoyed receiving the cards. I don't believe in the biblical story, so I don't celebrate it for that reason, but I appreciate the fact that in the middle of winter people want to have a festival of lights and good foods. It's just too bad that it gets so commercialized, although it's not as bad here, because we don't as a rule give gifts at this time of the year. Still, there's a mad rush of shopping to get all thess enormous amounts of food in the house. And drinks not to forget. Yet, I must not begrudge people their happiness at wanting to celebrate in style in the middle of these dreary days and make something special out of it.

In the meantime, I'm stuck with about 12 Christmas stamps that I hope to be able to use on my regular mail after Christmas, although they are less in value. I'm sure the post office will allow it, because they must realize that you have to use them up. They sell them in sheets of 20 stamps and there was no way I was going to use all of them. Unless I suddenly get more cards from people I have forgotten. Most of my cards went outside the country. It shows you that I know more foreigners than I do Dutch people, at least those I exchange Christmas cards with. I wrote two more cards yesterday and those I will stick in the mailbox today, although they will get at their point of arrival too late. It's the thought that counts.

Now I must go back to bed, because I'm getting sleepy again. I will be so nice to get under the duvet again and to sleep some more. It will be just what the doctor ordered.

I hope you all have a good day. It's Boxing day in England, isn't it? Isn't that when everybody goes to the stores to exchange their presents? The same should be happening in the States.

Ciao,
Nora