So this was Christmas…
…and what have I done? It’s tough to swallow that it’s come and gone already! Work didn’t leave me with much energy in the run-up to Christmas, to decorate our home, get presents, or to organize a get-together with the whole family. I don’t know how we managed to put up the tree last Sunday! But we did, and sitting by the lights of the tree and numerous candles, things did seem to take on calmer, brighter hues… that, and probably the fact that my vacation leave finally started last Wednesday!
Our Christmas tree, finally in place!
So many weeks, months – the whole bloody year! – passed by so quickly, it’s frightening. It’s been a very intense year, with so much going on that at times I’m wondering whether it really all happened in one year! Probably it would have been more appropriate to title this post “So this was 2009…”
- Vacation in Bulgaria…
- …and Istanbul
- Missed our flight back (!) and were forced to spend four extra days in Istanbul. They turned out sunny and fabulous after a whole week of rain, proving the truth of the saying, “everything happens for a reason!”
- Broke my wrist at the end of my first working week…
- Celebrated my fiftieth birthday
- Went to Nuremberg with hubby, where we met many online friends of Kathy’s awesome chatroom – and, of course, Roger Hodgson…
- …who dedicated his new song to me during the concert, leaving me speech- and breathless!
- Kempinski web workshop with some great colleagues in Munich, which lay the groundwork for the new-website-madness that followed.
- Wedding of little sis in Berlin…
- …including a frightening little car accident, luckily without any bodily harm to anyone
- Acquired my new Canon EOS 5D Mark II (and by now already released the shutter over 2,000 times!)
- Work, work, work… culminating in the new website of the Kempinski Hotel San Lawrenz – which I admit I’m quite proud of, even if the design as such isn’t mine! At the very least, there’s something tangible to show for all the maddening stress…
And now, it’s fast forward to Christmas… Whenever the occasion arose in recent weeks, I took “Christmassy” photos but I never got to upload them to my blog, although I posted some on facebook, which is a convenient way of sharing photos quickly. Yesterday, I put together a little video, nothing earth-shattering, but it gives you an idea of my Christmas in Gozo. The snippet of the adorable stray cats was taken the day before Christmas Eve on our way to the car through a public park in Victoria, after our last Christmas shopping spree. As such, I feel they do belong in this clip! I felt like taking them all home with me…
Music: Silent Night by Molly Pauken & Rob Brumfiel
From the album Six String Christmas. More info on Molly at SirensMusic.com.
Strangely enough, there’s still a lot more to come in 2009. On Monday we’re flying to Ireland. After spending the first 4 days in Dublin (and celebrating New Year’s with my Garden Gate Gang friend Mick and his girlfriend Sharon!) we’re going to hire a car and travel up to Belfast, Antrim Coast and Londonderry. Thanks to an extremely kind and caring Irish person, what was planned to be a “cheap trip to Dublin” (we’re flying Ryanair, I hope we won’t live to regret that decision!!), is going to become a very exciting holiday. I’m certain you’ll hear all about it, very soon!
But just in case I’ll be too busy to blog… I wish you all a very happy, healthy and beautiful New Year twenty-ten!
xox
