Christmas!

I'm so glad it's Christmas. I received a card this week which said 'Time Stands Still at Christmas'. It was exactly what I needed to hear. I love the idea of everything being frozen, to give us a chance to hug, share food, sing, and just be.

It is only now that I've stopped that I realise how hard I've been working. I need to wrap up warm and rest, however, first I will visit a stable. My friend owns a beautiful horse called Harry, and on Christmas Eve I love to listen to him munch and watch the steam from his breath puff out of his pretty nose. I imagine what it was like for Mary giving birth in a stable, and every year I am struck by what a wise choice it was. Animals don't fuss - they gaze, chew and give comfort with their warmth.

I need that peace and silence today. The shopping is over - my fridge is packed full of sausages, cheese, wine, juice, rashers, cellery, carrots, potatoes, custard, cream, and everything else my husband and I imagine we might need to get us though to December 27th.

I am disappearing into this magical time, when all industry stalls. I hope you get lost there too. See you on the other side. Happy Christmas!

Booklets on Sale!

The booklet of short stories are gorgeous. Colourbooks Ltd (based in Baldoyle) did a brilliant job. The cover is smooth and glossy, and the inside smells like a new school textbook.
Producing the booklet was an absolute doddle this year in comparison to last. Two of my adult students, (Barbara Coleman and Carol Lee) did all the editing, and another (Maria Manueco) typed up the corrections. Last Christmas I was so tied up with editing, printing (and pulling my hair out) that my friends barely saw me, and I missed my quota of at least ten Christmas movies. This year is, oh so, different - I've already started watching Christmas movies. Today was the first - The Holiday with Kate Winslet and Cameron Diaz. I love when Kate Winslet's character arrives in L.A. and runs around the house squealing with delight. I would do exactly the same. Oh, the sunshine and swimming pool! What a perfect place to chill.
Perhaps, when one of my novels is made into a movie and I'm invited onto the set in L.A, I can run around a mansion in Beverley Hills too..... A girl can dream!