And we're just about ready!

All the gifts are achieved (whether made or bought) and wrapped. The cats are still allowing the tree to stand. The game room table has been cleared, in case people want to play games. Arrangements have been made.

I even have everything I need for a special dinner on Sunday which will put me firmly in the LA's good books (and I'm not going to spoil it!)

We celebrate Christmas as a cultural thing. It's good to have a party when the nights have drawn in (although the sun never gets as low here as it does in the UK; I'm still feeling as though it's roughly October, based on the hours of daylight) and it's nice to give gifts.

I am a chauffeur.

The LA prefers to sit in the front seat. She gets a better view, she avoids motion sickness, and in my car, that seat has a heating grid under the seat squab and in the lower backrest, which she makes use of. Unfortunately, the front passenger seat of my car is currently out of commission. The seatbelt latch has given up the ghost.

Yes, you read that correctly. A part related to safety has worn out, on a Volvo!

Some people have been urging me to replace it myself. I'm not wanting to do that because a) it's a safety part, and I don't have that much confidence in my wrench-turning skills, and b) replacing it would require removing the seat, which thanks to the aforementioned heating grids is a task and a half. For the moment, she's riding in the back if she rides at all, but as soon as the shop opens on Monday, I shall be calling for an estimate on bilateral replacement of front seatbelt latches. After all, the passenger belt has had less use than the driver's belt, and the wear shown is very similar.