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The Christmas tree is down. I don't know how many times I have booted up my computer over the past couple of weeks, got distracted by things going on in the house, come back a couple of hours later and just shut it down without tapping out a word.
My brother in law's wife says she looks forward to my online analysis of her Xmas visit to Kenya with their three children. To be honest it was great fun and passed in a blur of beach, bush and back again with lots of girls playing 'lets pretend' games in between. We attempted to defy the credit crunch by lounging in beach houses and visiting friends, sitting on the roof of four wheel drive cars spotting game all compressed into the space of two weeks.
I was proud to have come up with some good credit crunch Christmas presents though. My eldest daughter got my old ipodnano, put back in its original box and loaded with her favourite tunes. She was thrilled but did ask why the face was a bit scratched. I still haven't come clean on that one. I did feel a bit guilty when she asked where my ipod had got to and I told her an outright lie, 'Oh.... I think it's in the car....' (I'm blushing at the thought of it).
For our three year old daughter, I washed the long since outgrown dressing gown of the eldest (that was hanging on the back of her door) then wrapped it, gave it to her and bought new ones for the older two. Now all three are 'dressing gowned' up for their early morning tv watching sessions and pleased as punch.
I guess as they get older it will all get a lot less simple. My husband and I gave each other nothing - but we had just splashed out on some new furniture so decided that was enough.
I've worried a bit about the media bill being passed by Kibaki. I hoped that the numerous Kenyan MPs who returned to their constituencies over Christmas were duly heckled by villagers and told off for being greedy or persuaded to change their ways for 2009 and put personal ambitions aside. (ie perhaps to agree to pay tax and stop thinking up money making schemes of their own).
My parents have arrived and are trying to explain how bad things are in England economically at the moment. They say that everyone is frightened of losing their jobs. We look back at them a little bemused behind sunglasses to cut out the African summer glare. 'Is it really that bad? I can't imagine it?'