The final frontier

Recently it has been made particularly apparent to me that there is a massive divide between family and friends. The two aren't necessarily mutually exclusive, but it is surprising just how often the two really don't mix.

Whether its trying to relate to your parents as an adult, or maintaining a relationship with an in-law who would never have been part of your social circle under other circumstances, the chasm between those you choose to have as part of your life, and those you are obliged to be kind and considerate to can be very deep and the leap very risky.

This year, the family circus seems to have successfully avoided a disaster. The acrobats didn't break anything, the trapeze artists made every catch (just) and the clowns managed to push everything along until the end leaving the audience relatively unaware of the undercurrents of fear. And then I escaped. Fled back to the nest of my home town, avoiding the truly awful circus of a family Christmas by hiding out with similarly Grinch-like individuals who like me, prefer to spend Christmas quietly, without any religious fanfare or commercial excess. Just some nice food, a few bottles of alcohol (eeked out over the whole period so that there are merely evenings of pleasant tipsyness) and some time off work to sit around and make the most of the air-conditioning on a hot, humid day.

I just bought my last Christmas present - a hand held electric mixer tp replace the 20 year old one that my mother has finally managed to kill. A nice functional gift that will be truly appreciated.

The internet here is somewhat unreliable, so I may not post too often before the new year. Also, nothing much happens in the backwoods, particularly when the aim is to spend as much time as possible sleeping and reading. I can recommend 'Rainbow Pie - a Redneck Memoir' by Joe Baigent, an insiders perspective on the American white underclass (ie. rednecks and trailer trash and the ignored and exploited minimum wage battlers that make up a large proportion of the American people).

Anyway - I'm off to do the chores for the day - ie wash the dog (a huge burden, I know). I love holidays!