Christmas Day Report

Well, Christmas Day may be over but (Sorry, Scrooge McRawlins) Christmas is still with us!
We were just setting off to slide our way out to Christmas Dinner yesterday when Carl turned the engine off, shrieked (in a very girly fashion) and jumped from the truck shouting, "Oh, no!  I've run over a cat!"  My heart sank as Sam and I tumbled out with visions of a flattened Smudge.  Limping off into the hedge was a small tabby kitten which Carl leaped upon just before it disappeared.  It must have crawled up into the engine compartment when we returned from church and fallen out as we went out the drive.  Sam raced back for the cat basket and, as we were running late anyway, we took it with us and put it in Mum' shed to recover. When Sam went to Landrover Man's this morning, to feed and clean out, the mystery of how it got up the hill was explained.  It was one of his and must have hitched a ride in his Landrover when he visited on Christmas Eve - he didn't want it back!  It is now curled up in the hoover box with, I think, a dislocated leg and a very fat tummy from all the turkey it has been eating.  For a wild cat it purrs an awful lot and loves to be cuddled - I have defleaed it!  Carl is not a big fan of cats but he felt so guilty about hurling it from the truck he feels we should keep it so it looks like a trip to the vet to get it checked over.

We still have lots of snow, temperatures below freezing and an icicle from the roof of the house to the ground!  The animals are all doing well despite all this but I did see Lily shaking today which is not good.  The thaw is due to start tomorrow and it will be good to see grass - snow is still 6 inches deep all over the fields and the road outside is just compacted snow and ice.  The post Lady hasn't made it for ages but leaves the post with Mum in the village which is really handy.  I have had a lot of very nice presents - a wonderful kit for making your nails look metallic, a kit for making snowballs (the drink variety not the throwing variety), a Scottish Pre65 Trials CD (Carl has been watching it constantly shrieking for me to look every time he spots himself), socks and many more.  Sadly, I have been unable to tackle the chocolates too much as my tooth flared up again last night.  Sam has thoroughly enjoyed Christmas - he wanted to go to work in the morning but they had fed extra he night before so he was denied that pleasure!  I made Carl go out on Christmas Eve and sprinkle the Fairy Dust outside his window (it is what Father Christmas drops from his sleigh when he flies over) but he tripped and it landed in a big lump and just looked like rabbit wee in the morning - I think Sam is a little old for it now anyway.