Holiday Note 2024
Every year, a few days after the family gathering at Christmas, the adults would come down with something the kids brought to share on the big day. Then this pandemic came along.
You may recall my wife and I developed a habit of going somewhere a modest drive away for an adventure with our dogs over Christmas.
We’ve spent the holiday at an alpaca farm, where we went for long walks with the dogs in typical British winter weather and helped feed the alpacas every evening.
We’ve spent it not far from Halifax, going for long walks with the dogs on the grounds of Shibden Hall.
A year ago we spent the holiday at a Welsh beach and nature reserve. We had fierce howling storms all but one day of the trip. We and the dogs had the beach almost entirely to ourselves most of the time. For some reason not many people wanted to be out in freezing horizontal rain. With the right gear, we were fine. The dogs especially loved it.
It’s great having a small adventure for the holiday, but it’s a lot of work and can involve unexpected tangles. Last year we had an air fryer, a burner and a microwave oven but no conventional oven. We had never used an air fryer before. Somehow we managed to cook Christmas dinner in it.
We like our home. We are comfortable in it. Cooking in our familiar kitchen with our familiar pots and pans is much less stressful than doing it in an unfamiliar place.
This year we stayed home.
The last Knit Club before the holiday was a yarn party at our house, courtesy of a generous friend. Knit Club no longer masks, but usually runs a HEPA filter. At our house, we run two. So far preventive nasal sprays, HEPA filters and members staying away if they feel “off” have kept Knit Club gatherings from becoming spreader events.
My wife and I took the dogs along for a good walk around the grounds of a National Trust place with a couple of new friends.
We made our holiday meal for just ourselves and ate on our own. In keeping with tradition, we ate too much and weren’t sorry about it. The dogs enjoyed an ordinary walk and delighted with treats from their special Christmas crackers, but they were displeased about having their own special dinner. They made it clear that next year they would prefer familiar food.
In the evening we joined a big family gathering. We wore FFP3 with sip valves. We had a good time. Even though I’m not much for board games or card games, a nibling got us on the floor to play a card game with her and her mum. I wasn’t good at it. I lost. It was fun.
Getting together with people we care about is supposed to be about exactly this—the opportunity to spend some time with each other, interacting in whatever way suits the group (yarn, tromping around outside, playing a game for fun). For us, air filters, tests, high grade face masks and preventive nasal sprays are enablers rather than burdens.
Whatever you’ve been doing over the holidays, I hope it was as good as our holidays. I hope the New Year will find you well and happy.
Sounds like a lovely time. I especially liked, "n keeping with tradition, we ate too much and weren’t sorry about it." Happy New Year y'all!