Deck the halls with boughs of holly.....

Tra-la-la-la-laaaaaa. Yes, the Yuletide season has finally come to this merry little Shire, M the eternal humbug relented and we put the tree and decorations up this weekend. Usually he wants to wait until his Birthday on the 18th. So on Sunday, we went to MK shopping centre to see the Christmas display, and then we came home and decorated the house. This year was quite a relaxed experience. No tantrums because the ladder needs a degree to extend it long enough to get into the loft where the decorations are , no arguements over tangled fairy lights, no lost important components for this that or the other and no stressy moments because one of the furry minions was insisting on 'helping'.

So the trip to MK? It was a beautiful day, really crisp and clear, with a frosty dusting covering the countryside and a brilliant blue sky. Even an office block in the town looked beautiful.

I don't know about yours, but my bloke hates shopping. However, I starved him beforehand so that he was content enough to graze his way round the shopping centre, eating this, that or the other. He is a bit of a fast food fiend at times though so although I tried to steer him to the more healthier option of either roast pork and apple sauce, or turkey in a roll from the seasonal stalls, he seemed to have a craving for Burger King and licorice sticks. Me, I don't do that sort of thing, I'm vegetarian to start with, and fast food just doesn't do it for me at the best of times. I usually try to find a place where I can get a jacket potato, or a sandwich made up for me as I wait. The Christmas display was as good as always, with the traditional Ye Olde Merry-go-round, all lit up.

This years display featured a fairy village, complete with ponds

Mushroom gardens

and Ent guardians. There was also an old steam train and tiny fairy shops, based on shops in the shopping centre and an enthusiastic but very amateur brass band belting out Christmas classics. We listened for as long as we could, then after sideways glances at each other, we sidled discretely away where our giggling wouldn't hurt anyone's feelings!

We did a little Christmas shopping, but we're not ones for chain stores merchandising. I found a lovely crystal star candle holder for my Mum and that was about it.

Look, progress with the 'Go for Baroque'! I can finally see how it will work. It's upside down here, but you can see where the armholes will be, and the back. I'm currently crocheting the lower back now, which you do from the waist downwards. It looks very sparkly and pretty and as we all know (Yarndancer!) belly dancers are all about the sparkle! The Hafla (belly dancing party with performances) is this Sunday and I'm really looking forward to it. It's always good fun, although it'll be rather more sober this year than in previous years due to my new medication.

I did my last TESOL class this year; we broke up Tuesday night and celebrated with an after class visit to the pub, finally rolling home at 11 o'clock. What a dirty stop-out, and on a school night too! I passed my Unknown Language Journal, regular readers might remember that we had to learn Gujarati, in Gujerati to experience what it's like to be taught in a language you don't understand. I have oodles of time left till we're back in January, so hopefully I'll be able to catch up with my assignments a little. We do our teaching practice in January, which will be nerve racking.

My school breaks up this week and all our overseas students will be travelling back to their families for the festive season. I still don't know who my secret Santa is, I've had three lovely little trinkets so far in my pigeon hole, all with a maths symbol on the paper, which I take to mean that my SS is a maths teacher. The only thing is that there's loads of maths teachers! Hmmm. Will have to think about it! I don't think my gift recipient has guessed me as their SS yet. Mwahahaha! College has another week to go although mentally the students have already broken up and it's a nightmare trying to get any work out of them!

I've also managed to persuade M to go to Birmingham this Saturday as there's a huge German Christmas market on and a craft market, and lots of entertainment. I don't really have much shopping left to do, but I just love the atmosphere. M will just love it if we're back in time for the football. *Sigh* Men eh?