Merry Christmas to you from me and my Merrythought Lads! It’s not going to be the Christmas that any of us were expecting or planning for, but there’s no doubt that keeping everything quiet and socially distanced this year is the sensible way to go. Then with any luck we can look forward to a more normal celebration next year.
Geoff Farley on the left was named Farley by his original owner. I wonder if he was called after Farley’s Rusks. When I acquired him I added Geoff in memory of a great gardener – Geoff Hamilton. There’s no doubt that he is stricken in years, as many of us feel after such a rough year of bad news in the UK with Brexit and Covid to contend with.
Armstrong McGregor on the right is dapper and young in comparison to his companion, but not very young, and he’s been named after two great-grandfathers. Jack had one whose first name was Armstrong, and I had one whose surname was McGregor. I like the combination.
Fingers crossed that we all feel a bit more like Armstrong McGregor looks this time next year! Come on, own up – does your home shelter a teddy bear or two?
Sorry, we have no teddy bears. We have ceramic, wood, and other types of lizards adorning our walls and floors, but no soft cuddly creatures.
Merry Christmas to you and Jack too, and a Happy New Year. 2021 has to be better, if only because we are somewhat prepared for it. I am looking forward to 2021.
tracybham,
Wow, a collection of lizards seems strange, maybe it’s a US thing. We don’t have actual lizards in Scotland and I can’t say I’ve ever seen any wooden or ceramic ones. We do have cuddly haggis though!
Happy New Year to you and your husband – when it comes. I’m almost too scared to be optimistic about 2021 in case it’s another disaster, but we also have Brexit to contend with.
Merry Christmas, Katrina.
The Day is drawing to a close here now.
I can tell you that at our gathering we spared a thought for those unable to meet as usual this Christmas.
Good wishes across the miles.
Valerie,
I hope you enjoyed your day. We just Zoomed and phoned people, it was definitely different.
Merry Christmas from Renton, Katrina, My wife still has a very large bear of equal vintage to her. He is called Puff-Puff after the sound he used to make when he still had the stamina. These days he takes Christmas in his stride, quietly, but knowingly and is perhaps a good influence on us all.
I have been counting the sleeps since Black Friday when I could have at least one day off and at home and it has now arrived.
Here’s wishing everyone normality in the New Year!
Jeremy Hugh Watson,
Puff-Puff is a brilliant name for a teddy bear. I’m glad you have him to keep you all in order.
No wonder you’ve been counting sleeps, you must be exhausted. I hope you’ve had a good relaxing time at home. At the rate the vaccinations are going it’ll be a long time before we have any normality. I hope the Oxford Astra Zeneca one speeds things up.
I have a very large Pooh Bear, does that count? Merry Christmas to you and Jack and all the family. Keep safe and healthy and let’s hope that 2021 turns out better than 2020!
Stefanie,
Definitely Pooh Bear counts! I also have a large Paddington. It sounds like hell in the US at the moment with all the Covid cases, it’s not quite so bad here. Surely 2021 will be better but then I know people who said that about 2020 and we know what happened then!
Merry Christmas! It’s not my normal Christmas either, but best not to take risks. For some reason I’ve never been very drawn to teddy bears, but I do have a panda and an elephant, if they count!
Helen,
I never had a teddy bear as a child and always wanted one so I treated myself to these ones eventually. Pandas and elephants do count! It has been incredibly quiet where we live, everyone seems to have stayed at home.
Katrina, I do hope you managed to have a merry Christmas, despite our travails. And a happy birthday for Jack!! Please wish him well for me.
I’m trying to plan projects starting January 1st because even though I’ve been managing up til now, I’m beginning to be at the end of my rope!
The cases in Warren County are rising like crazy at the moment, so we’re trying to be ultra-careful.
Hoping you are still managing well. Do feel free to complain to me if you’re having tough going. I will understand!
Judith,
We had a very quiet time on our own but managed to Zoom with family. We saw Isobel Skye for the first time just before Christmas when we were allowed to travel, now we are locked down again. She is of course beautiful! We watch CNN and it looks horrendous in the US. Stats are actually going down in Scotland but we’re worried about that new variant going crazy if we aren’t ultra careful now. I’ll email you soonish.
Katrina,
I can just imagine how beautiful Isobel Skye is. I’m so glad you had a chance to really see her.
It is horrendous here, although despite our rising numbers of cases in our county and in New York State, people here DO WEAR MASKS! Unlike other parts of the country where people are more idiotic. How else to explain it?
We are being super-careful, no matter what.
I hope you have some fun at home plans for the New Year.
Judith,
I have no plans at all for the new year other than hoping that we will be able to get out of the lockdown within three weeks but I’m not holding my breath! Only food shops are allowed to open at the moment, obviously we can’t go into anybody’s house. I think we can travel within our area/county but as the weather is cold and often damp, most people will just ‘coorie doon’ at home. I think I’ll get a lot of reading done!
Merry (belated) Christmas, Katrina, and happy holidays ! We don’t have bears, here, I don’t remember ever having one ?… But on the shelf on my right are dolls that my mother made (she was a seasmstress) and I cherish them tenderly đŸ™‚
Iza,
I hope you had an enjoyable time at Christmas. I didn’t have a bear but I had lots of dolls, they were all given away though. Dolls made by your mother must be very special and lovely to have. I would like to make one or two for wee Isobel.
Merry Christmas! I hope there was zooming with Skye and her parents. I had a quiet afternoon with my mother but although we kept masks on when we weren’t eating it was very pleasant (and she cooked, so that was a treat too when one lives alone).
I have a teddy bear from my youth named Anna Patricia. She came as a gift to my brother when he was born and I apparently appropriated her and named her (of course) after a book I was reading by Carolyn Haywood. There is a popular brand of stuffed animals called Gund (not sure if it is international) and I am amused that my sister’s new puppy looks more like a Gund plush toy than a real dog.
Constance,
That is funny, we have Gund here too. That’s great that you were able to be with your mother. I love that you called your appropriated bear after a book. We did manage to see Isobel Skye for the first time a couple of days ago but now we have a complete lockdown again for three weeks at least. She is beautiful but teeny wee, it’s decades since we handled a baby! I hope it won’t be too long before we can see her again. She is being called Izzy by her parents already but we are sticking with Isobel.
Belated Merry Christmas – hope it was a good one! My Edward the Bear had his 61st birthday on Christmas Day. Despite having been brutally attacked by one dog, one cat and one brother over the years, he’s doing well, thanks to some repeated emergency surgery by one sister! ?
FictionFan,
It was a very quiet Christmas, but we did meet our first grandchild the day before so that was great. Oh dear, bears do seem to be the target for attacks, especially by dogs. I had a brother who murdered dolls by leaving them at the fire to melt!