Decked

 I was so pleased to be woken by ~Ellie at 6:30. "Grandpa, my TV is all snowy", I was informed. I staggered across the landing and pressed 2 buttons (the same two I had shown her before) and the TV burst into life. I returned to bed, but I was now awake. I managed to force another 20 minutes in bed before the call of a caffeine infusion became too much and I went downstairs

I had my usual call with the cousins at 9:00. It was an interesting mish-mash of facts and fun. When it was over I grabbed the keys and opened up the garage. It was time to retrieve the Christmas Decorations and allow Diane to "do her thing". 

Once all of the boxes were ensconced in the Orangery and I had erected the Christmas tree, I went around to Zoe's so that we could do the booze cruise around the islands of Sainsbury's. It was fairly frantic in the store but walking around with the Deputy Manager meant that staff were very eager to go and get things for us. This was particularly helpful when we reached the wine aisle and wanted cases rather than bottles.

Back home, I unpacked the fruits of our raid on the shop and then returned to the decorations. Diane and Ellie had made a good start on the Christmas tree, and I knew that I was only trusted with the external lights. I grabbed the step ladder and set up the lights around the bay window and then through the shrubbery. everything was triggered to start soon after 16:00 and would run for 6 hours before switching off.

We are meeting with Denise, Dom, and Becky tomorrow and Ellie is coming with us. I managed to set up the WiFi hotspot in the car so that she could get Internet coverage while we travel. Hopefully, this will keep her entertained on the journey.

Ellie is staying with us overnight tonight.