Somehow – and at this stage of the day I am no longer quite sure how it has happened – somehow our world has become wonderfully, contentedly perfect.
There is an enormous pile of Christmas presents underneath the tree. The sheets are clean and fresh and everywhere is dusted and hoovered. The turkey is sitting in the fridge, next to a leg of mutton.
There are chocolates in the wooden tubs and a bottle of single malt is sitting on the dresser. The stove has been glowing scarlet all day, and the house is warm.
It is very nice to be me this evening.
It isn’t really evening. It is two o’clock in the morning. It has taken all day to get to this stage.
Mark had got to go to Kendal because after all the fuss we made to get the taxi through its MOT and engineer’s report and Council examination, we promptly forgot that the object of the exercise was to get it some new taxi plates, and they have been sitting in the Town Hall ever since. Eventually the Licensing office wrote to us on Friday, desiring that we came to pick them up and pointing out that a taxi needs to be wearing plates in order to be legal.
I gave Mark a shopping list in order that the journey was not wasted.
The fridge is now absolutely bursting. We could barely fit another thing in it. I have got to start cooking tomorrow, and frankly if I make cheesecake, which was my plan, I have got no idea where I am going to put it.
Oliver buzzed off in the other direction, to the farm in Coniston to collect our turkey. I am no great admirer of turkey, but this is the sort like a Russian doll, with one bird inside another and a couple of others inside those, and I thought that it sounded rather nice..
I do not have the first idea how you are supposed to cook it and will be hunting through the mighty Internet for advice tomorrow.
I did not go out, apart from briefly up to Booths this afternoon, where I forgot the very thing that I had gone for in the first place, and will have to go back tomorrow.
Instead I stayed at home, wrapping Christmas presents, which took me absolutely all day.
There were a very lot of them, because of there being ten people, and they have all got more than one present. Also I had had several requests from more junior members of the family who had wondered if I might helpfully wrap some of theirs as well, so I did.
I had just realised that I had forgotten to eat anything when Lucy and Jack arrived, so we all sat down and ate a huge pork pie and some sausages.
They have brought the cats.
I was very pleased to see the cats, because I do not know if we have yet sorted out our rat problem.
Every single plug socket downstairs has a thing plugged into it that is supposed to make a noise that rats don’t like, but obviously I don’t know if our rats don’t like it. I have not seen so much as a whisker or a trace of a rat poo for ages, but if I was a rat I would probably prefer to stay in the conservatory even with a horrible noise, because outside has been so dreadfully cold and wet.
The cats are apex predators.
They settled in immediately, digging holes in the flower beds and wondering if they could get on the work top to lick the butter, which it turned out they couldn’t, some activities have violent consequences.
They have buzzed off out for the night now, which is their preferred activity when they are here, fortunately I don’t suppose there are any baby birds anywhere. I am going to have to hunt out a cushion to put on my office windowsill tomorrow. This is their favourite vantage point upon the world, they can not only see everything, they can also drink my paint water and make interesting things happen by standing on the computer keyboard.
I am feeling very contented indeed. I like having the cats here.
I like having Lucy and Jack here as well, obviously.
Cooking day tomorrow.
