After my 4 cycles last week, this week's indolence is the payback. Must make an effort to get out tomorrow. It's gone all mild again - we had a lovely crisp, clear Xmas Day - perfect for a nice long walk, one that we didn't have. Jo and I managed as far as Dee Street and then just circled back. That was it as far as fresh air and exercise was concerned yesterday.
My excuse? - feeling a little stiff and sore after our first ever Xmas Eve walking football match. I hadn't dared go near a football since my replacement knee operation just over 5 years ago, but this sounded like a bit of fun and something that I thought I could manage to cope with OK - and, by and large, I did. It was a slightly weird feeling looking out my old sports bag and then hunting for my trainers. There they were, lying untouched and unloved in the cupboard under the stairs.
Gary and Luca surprised us by arriving a little earlier than anticipated for Xmas dinner, but we still waited until after 3 pm to sit down and eat. We were hoping that Jo's swimming buddy, Elizabeth, who lives alone, would come and join us, but she sent an apology message later that evening.
Ross was pretty much in charge of proceedings in the kitchen, with Jo taking a bit of a step back after doing all the prep work. Gary contributed too - in the shape of a couple of cheesecakes he put together.
We Facetimed with Kelly early in the morning and with Lucy later on, and Barry called too, although I never got a chance to speak to Dawn on the day.
The tree was back in its rightful position and fully powered up this time:
The Christmas/Anniversary flowers were also on display:
After dinner, it was the Luca show - aka the opening of the presents, one of which was a combination of his two current obsessions - Fortnite Monopoly. Mass participation was manadatory, but I did manage to get them all to spare a minute for a team photo:
Progress on my mini "projects" - the en suite woodwork is finished - just in time for Christmas - and so is the beer - I had to dump it as it didn't clear. As I suspected, it got contaminated when I overdid the yeast and had to deal with a virtual explosion of activity from the brew. I'll try again sometime.
To close, I took a wander down to see Gary in today's Fun Run. First of all at the Corsee Road crossing near the start:
Then, at the finish, Gary was coasting home when, all of a sudden, he was overtaken. Startled, he immediately burst in to a sprint finish in a vain attempt to catch the culprit:
