I can handle it . . . . .

My dear ol' spade made but a short appearance this afternoon before just a few spots of rain began to fall (yes - the handle is held together with insulation tape!) We're forecast for some heavier falls in the Western Ranges overnight - hopefully nothing like we had last year. I'm certainly not complaining - we need the rain even though it's only mid-December. Without a good fall soon the local producers and farmers will be heading for troubled times.

And on a completely different matter - Christmas.

I intimated last year that Christmas this year might be a bit different. Well, it's shaping up that way. Not that I've consciously decided to ignore it, but my feelings have been slowly revealing themselves through my almost complete lack of care or action about it. I heard an advert on the radio the other day. The catch-line was "Make sure you get everything you want in your stocking this Christmas". I think this was my tipping point. So much focus on the economics, the present-buying, the focus on 'wanting' and measuring the value of Christmas by how much is received in the stocking. Where's the focus on caring? Where's the human or individual face of Christmas? Where's the focus on why Christmas even exists? Now I'm not a religious person, but I do feel that the day has been hijacked and so this year, I'm making a stand - I am barely going to acknowledge it and I am certainly not entering into the mass-market buying frenzy. I will find other ways to show my gratitude and love to those closest to me.

Yes - I can handle it!