And so this is christmas...

From 0612Xmas_Home

At this time of year, one notices the distance from friends and family more than ever (and not just because of the nightmare trying to fit so many bloody long distance phone calls into such a short timezone window.) For those of you we managed to reach before our "respectable phone time" expired, it was great hearing your voices... You should know what we've been up to, so there probably won't be any surprises below... For the others, better luck next year - you were in our thoughts. We probably did try calling you at least once, and here's a consolatory summary of what everyone else heard anyway, so you don't feel as though you've missed out.

We've had a busy but fun lead-up to the festive season. We were in denial about the whole festive thing for a while there as all our spare time was being gobbled up with so many jobs around the house. Eventually we gave in and played some cheerful chrissie tunes while we dressed up our yucca potplant.

On the home reno front, Jeannie is becoming a master painter as she obsessively attempts to expunge all traces of orange from our doors,

I now know more than I ever thought possible about how to change toilets, and I even managed to install an extra stair-rail for my ever graceful but increasingly unbalanced wife.

On the baby front, we had another scan of Widget (working name) last week and he's still storming along - all his bits seem to be present and accounted for, in their correct places, and growing at pretty much the expected rates...

From 0611_BumpPhot...

On the work front, things have been crazy, but mostly positive. We're obviously doing something right as it looks like the team will be doubling in size next year...

Oh, the weather... We missed another opportunity for a white xmas this year as the Belgian Winter is still pretty much AWOL (global warming is going to be kinder to Belgians than to Australians methinks - all the stranger that Australians still haven't made their politicians ratify the Kyoto Protocol yet? C'mon what is all that about guys - seriously?!? Get with the bloody programme Australia! Stuff like this (and Iraq! Grrrr) makes it difficult for intelligent Aussies abroad to remain patriotic and think about returning one day.

Lucy, Max and Ollie are doing great, as are the fish - we've finally acquired a second tank and have separated the boys and girls - hopefully that will help control the overpopulation for a while...

The family grew again yesterday as we welcomed Sam and Joey the chirpy christmas budgies to the Osborne menagerie. (We were originally thinking of calling them Noel and Chris, but it just didn't feel right.)

They've settled right in fine, much to the chagrin of Oliver... As if it wasn't bad enough having to deal with fish on his territory, now has these two noisy buggers right in his face. Since their arrival, we've been treated to some classic Sylvester and Tweetie moments. Ollie has been getting himself into some impressively ridiculous contortions in an attempt to "get closer" to his new brothers. Last night we found him stranded on top of an open door, having leapt over a metre after a difficult climb up one bookshelf, entirely too unbalanced to make his next two metre jump to another bookshelf containing the birds... :-D

So, anyway, having stuffed ourselves to appropriately festive levels on a beautiful roast chook with couscous and pistachio stuffing
it is time to start winding down and getting ready for bed. I must work tomorrow unfortunately :-( and it is looking like another busy week at Chez Osborne... Shane arrives tomorrow night and is staying until new years day. Esther and Jeroen are arriving soon after from Utrecht (NL) to spend a few days with us. Then before we know it, we'll be in Sancerre, France for our anniversary week, then, the following week, the Kings and Meston-Buntings arrive (to help us with the renovations ;-)

On that note then, I guess it is time to say goodnight - we hope that everyone we know had as truly fantastic a festive season, and 2006 generally as we have.

Much love, Jamie, Jeannie, Widget, Lucy, Max, Oliver, Sam, Joe & the all Fish.

BTW - In case anyone was thinking my finger slipped, that was a deliberate lowercase 'c' in the title. I'm halfway through Richard Dawkins' well written, compelling, and I suspect, rather important new book The God Delusion which is helping to revitalise and empower my atheism (scared into hiding during my time in the most fundamentalist religiose country on the planet...)