Trash Towers Christmas letter 2009 EDITED

**EDIT**

This letter was written after reading a round robin letter from a friend overseas. What follows is my reaction to the apparent whirlwind excitement of their lives. This post has been edited with this scene setting because a trusted reader/intermittent commenter informed that it reads in a happy perky kind of way when in reality I was a light shade of puce while typing. It would seem that 2009 saw the writers of this page live lives that were fulfilling socially, emotionally, financially, sexually, educationally, metaphysically and photographically. My response was to outline just how 'normal' life here is on the Hill and to that end I have included (with the exception of the first picture) images that are snaps anyone might have taken rather than posed images of loveliness.

I felt so much better at the end of writing this that by the time I got to the fourth and third last sentences I was in earnest again. People of the blog world you guys ROCK!

dear blog friends,

Ho, ho, ho - Santa is coming! Welcome to a round-up of 2009 at Trash Towers. We have had such a busy year doing so many things it is almost tricksy to know where to begin.

Let me start with birthdays - December 28 sees my assistant turning one and what an interesting first year it has been. We faced Spring with several many half-eaten shoes dotted around the house, this has been superseded by a passion for plastic and so now we tread carefully as shredded drink bottles are sharp on barefeet.

As for the rest of us, we have also had birthdays in 2009, each one finding us a year older.

CK has had a daily workload involving meetings and typing short and sharp responses to the apparent idiocy of others. On the up side he had his first solo blog date and refuses to go on any more stating 'Having started at the top it could only go down from here.'

His daily commute continues to involve the car and a bendy road. Traffic sometimes even consists of tractors chugging along causing up to 15 cars to snake along behind.

2009 has seen both children attend school nearly every
day except for holidays and weekends.

Princess Curly-Wurly's hair is even longer now than it was in January whereas (strangely) destructoBoy's is shorter!

I have continued my daily work at Trash Towers on a somewhat hit and miss basis, however I have been highly successful at avoiding cleaning and dusting although the ironing pile is actually threatening to take over downstairs.

Both children have forsworn regular bathing instead choosing the puppywash on irregular occasions. This has resulted in much giggling and also several pounds of potatoes behind the ears of each child.

What with the crappy weather and decaying old dog and all we did not actually manage to get away this year
so the Summer was spent hiding from the rain clouds and mahoosive amounts of precipitation. Eventually the weather cleared enough that we were able to walk the dogs sans wellies, brollies and raincoats and what a memorable afternoon that was.

2009 was the year Maria Juanita Conchita Gonzalez came into my life. I do love her. A lot. Even when there was an incident with late night train journeys, no mobile access and a flat battery I still LOVED her. So I guess this year has had some sunshine in it.

My overwhelming 'sunshiney, happy-heart spot' in 2009 (obviously after the crackers mob I call family, including hounds) has been this little blog space. Rather than blog-averse (seriously, not much is better than a good pun) I have had many an hour wandering through the blogosphere, reading, commenting, being both awed and inspired. Y'all work magic with words and pictures. Perhaps 2010 will see me attain these skills.

Wishing all y'all a Merry Christmas. May it be merry and bright.