Marzipan and Mistletoe: Day XXIII

Daftness and Laughter

Today, we visited (most of) my immediate family at Stempster, in Caithness. We had a delicious meal, including meats and pies, pickles, and more baked goods than I could manage. The pickles included onions and beetroot from the garden, and a Stempster Chutney made with a little bit of nearly everything grown in the vegetable garden that year. We also left with a whole selection of cakes and biscuits, a whole Christmas Pudding (which Auri and I will enjoy on Christmas Day), and half a dozen fresh hen’s eggs.

We had an excellent time, with a lot of daftness and laughter. Diff had bought a game of reindeer antler hoopla, which caused much merriment, and the girls opened their presents from Granny, Granddad, and the Aunties Three. We sang carols round the piano, and danced round the Music Room, led by Elfi (who, at two, has better moves than I do). From the eldest to the youngest, there is an age range of eighty-two years - but, young and a smidge older, much fun was had by all.

Two of my sisters and my mother contributed to last December’s seasonal notebook, Daughter of Claus. You can read their entries here: Christmas in the Middle of Nowhere; Beasts of the Field, Birds of the Air; Magic in Transcience. Throughout the first twenty-four days of December, they have also been sharing 300 Photos for Advent.