Nice Christmas things

I truly look forward to and appreciate time with my family. I always try to encourage our children to interact with us, tell us how school went, etc. I have most liked the periods when I was able to work from home; now I largely can't, I try not to linger away at work. More recently I have noticed myself valuing family time more highly: I wonder if it is a combination of my parents having passed, our eldest child having submitted college applications and, though it is hardly imminent, my not knowing what fraction of my family might return to the US with me. In a few years' time my home life is likely to be very different. For the meantime, the holiday season affords more opportunity to spend time together.

In terms of gifts I am not the easiest to buy for: among that which is reasonably available for purchase and giving I already have much of what I want. I am even becoming an old person who needs to put their reading glasses on to see their gifts then take them off to see others' across the room. Still, I read of the modern young people's experience gifts and I see some of the attraction: while apparently not what is meant by the term, I like to eat and drink and I deem such consumables to be a kind of experience gift. This year I have therefore been pleased to have received selections of beers and whiskies for my birthday and cheeses-by-mail for Christmas. In past years other such gifts included a series of teas-by-mail. Yesterday I enjoyed eating salmon and venison, both smoked here in Scotland.

As usual here we did not have a white Christmas. There had been some heavy frost on previous days and at this time of year the sunshine never threatens to touch our North-facing front yard. Still, yesterday saw cloud cover and enough warmth to melt the ice. Mention of ice reminds me that this Christmas it was nice also to receive a bottle of whiskey from a single pot still: living in Scotland I do not tend to get much Irish whiskey and at cask strength I do sometimes add a little ice.