Is it just me, or does anyone else get a bit sad after Christmas is over? I think I just get myself so geared up for Christmas Day/Boxing Day that afterwards, it’s like there’s nothing to look forward to until next Christmas! We don’t really celebrate New Year (although we just about manage to stay awake to see it in), and when the decorations come down, everything looks so bare. I can almost (well, almost almost) understand those people who keep their decs up all year. When I filled in my new Filofax insert for 2009, I see that there are lots of notable dates, but no events to go with them ie big birthdays but no parties, etc.

I’m hoping to hear from my web designer in the New Year, and I may redevelop the site - either that or it will disappear completely!!! For all I know, only one person reads this site…or no-one does, and I’m doing the internet equivalent of talking to myself!

Off to spend some time, curled up on the sofa, with my doggy-girls. They’re all flat out at the moment, and I think I’ll be joining them soon!

Post-Christmas greetings to you all, and I hope that you had a pleasant time. Santa was very, very good to me (so it was worth being a good girl all year, although I had my doubts at the time). Now being the proud owner of a baby laptop, I have no excuse not to resume writing as a hobby. Combined with a new pen and note book, there really is no reason not to write. I may have myself a LoNoWriMo of my very own (Local Novel Writing Month) since I wasn’t well enough to participate in the more well-known version.

Hubby and I, our friend, and three dogs, struggled out of the house at 7.30am, when my sister arrived to take us on the short journey to my parents’ temporary Christmas grotto. After extensive prezzie opening, bacon sandwiches and cups of coffee, we added my grandparents to our number, and headed off out for Christmas lunch. It was nice to see lots of families spending time together over three courses of yuletide fayre, laughing at ‘in’ jokes and enjoying each other’s company. Hubby was much amused by the fact that the warning about the crackers was contained within said cracker, and there was also an incident with my sister and a stuffing ball, which wouldn’t be funny to anyone but us! The afternoon was rounded off at my parents’ place, where we struggled to stay awake. Defeat was admitted early this year, and we enjoyed a stroll home with the dogs, in the crisp, clear night.

The day was rounded off as is traditional in our house: taking the cellophane off the dvds and the tags from the clothes, donning new fleecy pyjamas and opening one of our many boxes of chocolates, before settling in front of the TV. One series of The IT Crowd later, it was time for bed. I think all of us (human and canine) slept a contented sleep as soon as our heads hit the pillow, and we woke on Boxing Day, ready to do it all again with the in-laws.

It was expensive, tiring, chaotic, and busy, but it was all worth it. Only 364 days til Santa comes…

What’s the difference between a Washeria and a laundrette? That’s not the beginning of a joke - I really want to know. Perhaps washeria is another word for noisy sweatbox? We spent our morning in a local washeria, trying to catch up on five bags worth of things we needed to wash, but have nowhere to dry.

It’s a miserable place, complete with lots of typed and handwritten orders: no food or drink to be consumed; no alcohol or food allowed; no pillows or feather duvets to be washed; no pet blankets (I bet they’re cheap to have as pets - I don’t think a blanket needs to be fed or watered). However, it’s a bit of a writer’s dream. The characters that came and went as we sat were great. There’s a friendly old woman who knew everything there was to know about the washers and dryers, and was happy to pass on her wisdom to newbies. There was the chatty middle-aged man who didn’t realise you had to bring your own powder, and was too impatient to follow the instructions on yet another sign. Harrassed mothers, bored children and us, sitting there concealing our takaway lattes. I wish I’d brought a notepad, rather than Scrabble on the DS! It was almost 3 hours before we heaved our bags out into the welcoming fresh air, and it made me so grateful we don’t have to do this every week.

Speaking of gratitude. I’ve been feeling a bit low, and lacking in Christmas spirit this year (which is quite unlike me). I feel bad because I’m not able to buy everyone the things I’d really like to get them, and haven’t been able to keep on top of all the work involved at this time of year. Sitting in the not-so-beautiful laundrette gave me some time to reflect, and Christmas isn’t about gifts, or banquets, or drink, or decorations or perfection…its about people. It’s about family and friends and, in our case, pets. It’s about people who are here, and about people who aren’t. It’s about making the most of what we have, and being grateful. So I was able to put some things in perspective: maybe my trip to the laundrette wasn’t such a waste of a Saturday morning after all…

Apologies if this post is littered with errors but, as well as the laptop, I have a puppy and a dog on me knee - the other dog is asleep beside me.

On Saturday, I finally got out to do something fun: a trip to see Steve Coogan at City Hall. If you’ve read this blog for a while, you’ll know I used to be a huge fan, and met Steve in London (and very pleasant he was). However, he later described some of his loyal fans as ‘bunny boilers’: I was unimpressed, and lost interest in his work. I decided to give it another chance, and my mam kindly bought me tickets for his first tour in years.

My first concern came via Facebook, when one of my friends commented on the show, mentioning that he forgot lines and seemed unrehearsed. I decided to look at the reviews online and saw that many people had felt they had not got their money’s worth, and indeed a number had walked out. How do you feel about online reviews? Do they affect what you buy/see or where you go? I wanted to go to the show with an open mind, but I was less enthusiastic about going than I had been.

Did Steve prove them wrong? Yes and no. The show was funny, though less impressive than his previous offering (which I saw at three different venues). Yes, he fluffed his lines, but it didn’t affect our enjoyment - he’s only human, if a well-paid one. There were too many musical numbers for my liking, but I’m just not a fan of musicals (though I loved Boogie Nights 2). Generally, it was a good night, and judging by the laughter around us, other people agreed.