On Christmas Eve morning I cleaned the birdcage. I would be having visitors later on that day so I wanted my house, including the birds’, to look immaculate. I had finished all my wrapping at exactly 2.00 a.m. (i.e., really Monday morning) so I didn’t have any more to do, but I did spend the rest of the morning tidying up so that nothing lay scattered on the floor. Then I sat back and watched “White Christmas”, my favourite movie of all time.

I arrived at my mother’s place at 4.30, and Grant and Evelyn came by only a short time later. We had hors-d’oeuvres as we usually do and Mark came by later. This would be a Christmas first for us: all of us would be sleeping over at my mother’s on Christmas Eve. Last year all five of us were together yet because Evelyn had to work on Christmas, we did not all get together till the early evening.

Here are some pictures from Christmas morning: