Mulling it over

Saturday before the Christmas weekend... time to sort out the decorations. We do not believe in putting them up too early and 1st December is way, way, too early. We always aim for the weekend before the festivities, and then take them down by twelfth night.

The Gorse Fox started off by attacking the windows. It's a while since he has cleaned them as the old Karcher had packed up. Yesterday he bought a new Karcher window vacuum and this morning attacked the windows with a degree of vigour. It didn't take too long, but it did make a significant difference to the Orangery and kitchen windows. (Later he would also take care of the front room and the bedroom).

Now the windows were clean the decorations were retrieved from the loft and the garage and the work began. This is predominantly a task in which the Silver Vixen excels so the Gorse Fox works round the periphery doing stuff like the electrics and so forth. When the tree went up it became clear that the light wasn't working. (This is a light that illuminates the fibre optics throughout the tree... so fairly important). The Gorse Fox tried to take it apart but couldn't find a screw-driver small enough to fit in the recesses in which the fastenings were hidden. Without that he couldn't remove the light, and without removing the light he couldn't get the details to replace it.

A trip to B&Q was next on the agenda. A very fine screwdriver was required. In the end the Gorse Fox found a selection of screwdrivers that provided a wide range of options... and only cost a few quid more than a single tool. Done. He headed home and took the unit apart and removed the light. He then returned to B&Q to get the right bulb. Done. The Christmas tree is now up, the lights are in the window, the lantern is in the porch, and lights are scattered through the lavender on the approach to the front door. We don't do bright and brash... we do restrained and subtle!

As it started to get dark, the Gorse Fox switched on the various lights and the Silver Vixen finished decorating the tree. A saucepan was put on the hob and some mulled wine started to warm up. It seemed like and appropriate way to celebrate the day of decorations.