This is short because I have been drinking.
I made the mistake of having a glass of wine before we started on the cheese-and-crackers, which was a lovely feeling but not terribly practical for diary writing. After that we had another glass, in the way of drunk people who are already feeling a bit uncomfortably dizzy but somehow seem to think that it would be a good idea to get worse. Now I am completely fuzzy round the edges and would rather like to go to bed, but I am determined. I will leave an account of my day here first.
I might just write a little bit and then go to bed.
We have had a whole day of holiday.
Neither of us has worked from the moment we opened our eyes right up until now.
Obviously I mean in an earning money sort of sense. Actually we have been completely occupied with barely a teabreak for the entire day, but have not earned anything so it does not count.
I have been doing my secret Christmas project, which has been making Advent calendars. I make these every year, but do not talk about them on here because they are supposed to be a surprise and of course my family all read this, so I can’t mention them.
Today I would like to tell you all that I have messed up, and if you are expecting your usual Advent calendar from me it will be late. Advent is going to start late this year. You can either open two or three doors at the start and catch up with yourselves, or you can open everything a couple of days later and have Christmas on the 27th, pick your favourite.
I have been doing these for days and days, and since the time is drawing near, I thought I would have a whole day at it today and get them finished so that the glue had dried before I had to post them.
It is a massive project involving lots of cutting-out-and-sticking. I save pictures all year round and then stick them on one sheet, and then cut lots of doors in another sheet with a picture painted on it, and stick that over the top.
I cannot tell you how much spatial awareness this uses up. I do it every year but it is still very difficult to work out which way round to do everything. I make a template out of a bit of wallpaper and then have to work out how to manage everything so that the doors open on to a picture and not a gluey bit of backing cardboard. It never gets any easier. Sometimes Mark helps but I don’t encourage this because he just doesn’t everything really quickly and efficiently. I don’t understand what he has done then, and it takes me ages to catch up with myself.
After the technical bit comes some detailed picture painting, which I like doing but which takes ages. I have finished the first couple now, and this is where the problem started.
Everything was going very nicely indeed until I realised that the new paint I have been using is much, much better quality than the last lot. It has made a special layer all of its own over the front of the calendar, and all of the carefully cut doors are stuck shut.
They are completely stuck shut. Some of them might as well not be doors at all.
It was at this point that I gave up, which happily coincided with Mark opening the wine.
It is going to take me hours and hours to sort it all out.
If you are expecting a calendar you will have to wait. I am not likely to catch the post tomorrow after all, and quite possibly not even the day after.
Christmas will be just as nice on the 27th.
The picture is the Mrs. Number Two Daughters, who left for Canada yesterday. They sent me a message today to tell me that the plane had crashed and they were struggling to survive, but it wasn’t on Radio Four so I suppose they have arrived all right.
What a beautiful family.
