Since returning from Malta I have tended to be a bit listless and can't seem to motivate myself to look forward to Christmas. This is especially so since I have been unable to get the family to come together around my dining table this year! So what's the point of it all?
I am reminded from this sad circumstance of another life time where my first wife, and to my shame I supported her, engineered a major break in the family so that we would not have to share Christmas together. It was entirely contrived and should not have been allowed. Much like this year. That Christmas was to my mind "trostlos", as the Germans would say. I left her in the January to divorce her later.
Consequently I have not written any Christmas cards either. I have made about 30 cards from photos I have taken, but I can't seem to find the words needed to write them. I have received a few and I dare say that I must at least send out some cards to my friends who are not on-line, but even that seems a daunting task. It has been made more so since I have received a card from a good friend whom I had forgotten to inform that Hanna has passed on!!
I am reminded from this sad circumstance of another life time where my first wife, and to my shame I supported her, engineered a major break in the family so that we would not have to share Christmas together. It was entirely contrived and should not have been allowed. Much like this year. That Christmas was to my mind "trostlos", as the Germans would say. I left her in the January to divorce her later.
Consequently I have not written any Christmas cards either. I have made about 30 cards from photos I have taken, but I can't seem to find the words needed to write them. I have received a few and I dare say that I must at least send out some cards to my friends who are not on-line, but even that seems a daunting task. It has been made more so since I have received a card from a good friend whom I had forgotten to inform that Hanna has passed on!!
When walking around town I have stopped for a Glühwein in the Christmas Market. But other than a feeling of nostalgia, eating and drinking alone in public has never turned me on. Thankfully I have many good friends and so I am not sinking into an abyss of melancholy and despair, but Christmas cheer is still missing in my house.
I did bake my Christmas muffins which I distribute to all my neighbours on St Nicholas Eve and enjoyed playing St Nick for now the 11th time.
One of my undoubted highlights of the pre Christmas party scene, though, has been the Phileas Fogg Club Christmas party. A, a stalwart member of the group, kindly hosted it at her house again. We played silly games and sang Christmas Carols until the wee hours of the morning. It helped that A had a piano and that P was able to accompany us on it. M, in an effort to prove he could cook too, made a delicious East German soup which gave us a solid base to drink the Glühwein, almost until the cows came home. V, one of our longest serving members, presented us all with a self made guardian angel piece of jewellery. Mine now adorns my new Pilgrim's rucksack. Some of those who were unable to attend this party met one evening in the Christmas Market for a Glühwein or two, which I also found pleasant. Then my former English Class in Kempen surprised me by inviting me to their Christmas Party which was also a very nice affair. It was good to see that this group is also staying together.
I have decorated my house for Christmas since I do have a reputation as a Christmas Freak to maintain. See http://karmavoyager.blogspot.de/2011/01/christmas-freak.html#.VJPvxsAAA
I shall not be alone either at Christmas spending it with friends, so I dare say it is time I did motivate myself to get into the Christmas Spirit. To my mind it will not come until I have attended the Christmas Mass on Christmas Eve.
I shall put my Christmas Tree up today, which will help put me in the mood, though I will no longer be able to keep it till Candlemas (2 February) for two reasons. Firstly I shall be holding a dinner party in January for 10 friends and need the space to put up the table and secondly, that without Hanna's garden rubbish bin to use, I need to put the tree out for the tree collection on 17 January.
So it leaves me just to wish all my friends and readers a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year filled with good health and happiness.
I did bake my Christmas muffins which I distribute to all my neighbours on St Nicholas Eve and enjoyed playing St Nick for now the 11th time.
One of my undoubted highlights of the pre Christmas party scene, though, has been the Phileas Fogg Club Christmas party. A, a stalwart member of the group, kindly hosted it at her house again. We played silly games and sang Christmas Carols until the wee hours of the morning. It helped that A had a piano and that P was able to accompany us on it. M, in an effort to prove he could cook too, made a delicious East German soup which gave us a solid base to drink the Glühwein, almost until the cows came home. V, one of our longest serving members, presented us all with a self made guardian angel piece of jewellery. Mine now adorns my new Pilgrim's rucksack. Some of those who were unable to attend this party met one evening in the Christmas Market for a Glühwein or two, which I also found pleasant. Then my former English Class in Kempen surprised me by inviting me to their Christmas Party which was also a very nice affair. It was good to see that this group is also staying together.
I have decorated my house for Christmas since I do have a reputation as a Christmas Freak to maintain. See http://karmavoyager.blogspot.de/2011/01/christmas-freak.html#.VJPvxsAAA
I shall not be alone either at Christmas spending it with friends, so I dare say it is time I did motivate myself to get into the Christmas Spirit. To my mind it will not come until I have attended the Christmas Mass on Christmas Eve.
I shall put my Christmas Tree up today, which will help put me in the mood, though I will no longer be able to keep it till Candlemas (2 February) for two reasons. Firstly I shall be holding a dinner party in January for 10 friends and need the space to put up the table and secondly, that without Hanna's garden rubbish bin to use, I need to put the tree out for the tree collection on 17 January.
So it leaves me just to wish all my friends and readers a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year filled with good health and happiness.
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