An Englishman, an Irishman and a Scotsman went on holiday to Megeve. They did a lot of skiing, and a bit of eating and sleeping too. Oh and they drank the odd beer as well. It was a total blast.
Megeve is seriously upmarket. They were selling wine for 1,500 euros in the local supermarket and there was a visiting supercar event. Our wallets didn't really fit amongst the Prada ski crowd, but we found our way to some less pricey spots whilst still enjoying Megeve's beauty and many charms. And we really lucked out weather wise - it was Bluebird days every day, with the snow in almost perfect condition.
Skiing is such a good holiday - really good for the soul in the heart of winter. Thanks to my 'walking joke' companians - Liam and Gordy. And sorry to poor old Colin who missed out at the last minute yet again.
The start of this year has been cold. Frost, ice and sprinkling of snow. But with that has come some lovely clear skies, perfect conditions to finally get my brothers telescope out for a trial. For the astronomers amongst you its a Meade LX90 EMC. Google describes this as a “high-end, versatile catadioptric telescope with a 10-inch aperture and compact form factor, featuring an advanced Autostar II GOTO system for quick object location and centering, containing a database of over 30,000 celestial objects.” However after not being used much in recent years it was feeling a little damp and sorry for itself and not quite in its former glory. Undeterred though with a bit of playing around and giving it a little TLC, I managed to get it working after a fashion. And wow, it blew me away. We actually saw the rings around Saturn and the patterns on Jupiter which were incredible and really do exist (they don't seem real till you see them), but I think the best of all was the moon. The definition of the craters completely took me aback. The photo doesn’t do it justice as it was a mobile phone pointing down the lens but you kind of get the idea.
And all this frost and blue sky means we’ve been out and about a bit. Blue, the neighbours dog, has joined us for a bit of snow fun in the Campsies and Tanya has been endeavouring to break the ice and go swimming.
All this blue sky has meant I’ve been feeling very positive at the start of the year, with no real slump after the festivities which is nice. My resolution this year was to try and approach everything with more positivity so we’re off to a good start. And there’s more blue skies forecast for my ski trip to Megeve this week. So here we go 2025…fingers crossed for clear, blue skies all the way.
Well as the festive season ended, Iooking back it seemed that we indulged in plenty of dancin’, definitely a little prancin’ and even a spot of carolin’ to top it all off. We loved the festivities – the family coming together for much food, merriment and good cheer. There were at least six ladies dancing and four lords a-leaping. We went international with a Vietnamese banquet (thank you Ly), a trip to the local Japanese restaurant and a touch of sunshine watching Moana 2. As well as the more traditional with carols at the neighbours, plenty of turkey and trimmings, sweets galore, games a-plenty (yes the boys won Cranium) and a few gulps of fresh air to walk it all off. Importantly though we had fun. Whether dancin’, prancin’ or carolin’ we pushed the depths of winter away and shared in much joy and laughter.
And with barely a pause for breath we had a number of evenings with friends including a wonderful Hogmanay at the Gilmour's trying out their new music room with some patchy Rooke (sorry Gilmours) karaoke and dancing. And when we did pause for breath there was jigsaws to be done, lego to be built, mince pies to be finished, an Escape Room to be puzzled, and yes, a few more gulps of fresh air to keep us sane.
Phew, I do love the festive season, but unbelievably I also think its nice to get back to a little routine and sanity afterwards.
Thank you all for your indulgence and participation in our inner dancer, prancer and caroler festive madhouse. And may 2025 bring all our friends and family much love and many blessings.
