Thank you and Merry Christmas to you as well.

And to you Kath and everyone old and new at RP.
While you sit in the Aussie sun watching 'your' cricket team thrash us in the Ashes series, spare a thought for us in Europe who are suffering from an unusually cold December with too much snow and ice and bitter temps . . . 25F will be tomorrow's high.
I always live in hope of a book or two for a pressie; reading certainly beats the trash shown on TV during the holidays. ;-)

Merry Christmas everyone! Hope the day brings many blessings and many books.

Vee, I wish I could send you some warmer temps -- we're looking at mid-30's F and no snow here in Connecticut.

Astrokath, Happy Christmas i chi! (May I say 'ti' which is the familiar form? Known you so long) And to all my other friends - which takes it back to the plural 'chi'. Bless you all. And thank you for being there.

Dido

also a nephew of mine who plays in a rock'n'roll band wish you Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

Here is a link that might be useful: elf yourself

It is 6.30am and there is a promise of 38C later! My cards from the UK have been held up by the weather but there you all are, beaming good wishes from all over the globe.
Thank you and may you have an enjoyable day.

Actually Vee, we have had an unseasonably cool December too. Today is forecast to be 30�C but we have only had a couple of days that warm this month.
And as for the cricket, your fellows won the first Test, then a draw, then we won the third, so the Boxing Day Test promises to be very interesting.

Happy, happy, joy, joy... to everyone across the globe.

This is the first time that I have actually been able to log on to RP since I got a virus on my 'puter a week or so ago... I have been reading, but not able to comment. :-(

So happy wishes for a peaceful Christmas! (And good books!)

A very Happy Christmas to all! This morning I listened to the Festival of Lessons and Carols from King's College Chapel (yesterday too) and now I am listening to Dicken's Christmas Carol. In a short time I will be off to a friend's house for dinner, and then later on to work at the hospital. All in all a good day.

A couple of days ago someone observed that Christmas is such a big holiday that even people who don't observe Christmas have Christmas traditions, such as going out for Chinese food or making pizza or lasagne at home. So true - and so Merry Christmas to all!

Late best wishes to all of you from me, too.

We all got home to my brother's and my sister's, who since her husband's death early this year is now living in our old homeplace across the road from him, before a 3" wet snow fell overnight. We woke to a beautiful white Christmas with snow covering the fields and lying on the cedars and a redheaded woodpecker busy on a tree outside the kitchen window. We had 24 for a big country breakfast and 29 for a big early afternoon dinner. Although the roads were clear, huge snowflakes kept falling and frightened a few people away. Otherwise, we would have had eight to ten more.

We came home last night and after church today had a bowl of soup at Panera for lunch. Well, and then some Christmas-present candy later in the afternoon. Yesterday, I thought I'd never eat again. I'll be back to walking at the mall and a low carb diet tomorrow and am giving serious consideration to joining Curves. I wore a new sweater this morning, and some of the bulges showing through it were definitely not curves.

Merry Holidays - whichever one you're celebrating !

........ And -

Have many good stories in the new year ahead !

Belated holiday greetings from a frigid South! We had snow flurries here in Charleston, yesterday, and today it will only be in the 20's. Much of the South had a White Christmas, with record-breaking snowfall. Atlanta (my home city) had its first White Xmas since the 1880's.

Here in New York state...

The weather outside is frightful,
But the fire is so delightful,
So if you've no place to go,
Let it snow! Let it snow! Let it snow !

But in our case, it is more like : Let it blow! since the wind is howling incredibly with not much snow to show for it all.

A good day to hunker down with a good book ( just began the first book of Maisie Dobbs series and absolutely love it ) and stay in my jammies !

Heaven..........sigh.

We have been hearing terrible reports about E coast weather on the BBC. Hope all you RP'ers have battened down the hatches and are keeping warm . . . and that your central heating oil doesn't cost 62pence (what's that? about 50 cents) a LITRE . . .soon we will have to buy it by the teaspoonful.
At last our temps have crawled above freezing and the snow is beginning to melt . . . so floods are forecast!