At some time over the past two days this blog had its quarter of a millionth hit. That's eight years and eight months worth of retirement writing, in nearly two thousand three hundred posts.
I started a separate blog to record my first long locum duty in Summer 2012, and another to record the December I spent in Sicily that year. Altogether that's another 13,800 hits. With hindsight, I regret doing that. Having that set of posts all in one place would have meant passing the quarter of a millionth mark about three months ago, but never mind. I wonder how many of those page hits turned into pages read? The diagnostics of that are too complex for me, though its nice to think that it includes a proportion of hits from all over the world!
We went to St Catherine's Parish Eucharist this morning. Peter, our newest St Padarn's ordinand on placement preached thoughtfully about Mary, at the center of today's Advent theme. Getting started as a preacher is a bit of an ordeal, but I think he was enjoying himself, and will continue to do so as his ministry develops.
Clare has spent a lot of time lately carefully preparing for Christmas, cooking preparations to reduce the workload on the big day, and decorating the tree yesterday. I haven't been a great deal of help, with my affliction dominating life at the moment, except for cooking lunch, a few trips to the shops, and taking care of the Christmas letter and greetings, both digital and snail mail. After lunch today, she set up the crib scene in its customary kitchen window space, using the figures our children made when they were in primary school. We seem to have lost a shepherd or two over the years, and the angel is chipped, but never mind it's a small domestic treasury of happy memories.
Owain arrived in time for supper, glad to relax after a high pressure month of work. He moves house just after Epiphany and is fretting about furnishing his flat. But nothing more can be done until the New Year. At last a place of his own. He's more happy than worried.
Kath, Anto and Rhiannon arrive tomorrow, then the day after they leave, Jasmine, over from Arizona with her Dad, arrives to spend New Year with us. Unfortunately the two cousins can't meet this time around, but Uncle Owain will return next weekend after a day on call at work, to spend time with her. He's fond of his nieces. He'd make a lovely Dad himself. We live in hope of this happening one day!
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