Well, it's that time of year - once again I wear that smug grin as I sit back and watch the hordes of people still racing around to get the last present or stock up on another loaf of bread - just in case the shops don't ever open again!!
I'm one of those people who love Christmas but hate shopping, so all of my purchases have been made online - yes, I'm part of the vast majority responsible for the demise of the high street - and wrapped two weeks before the big event.
Aside from feeling extremely smug, the lack of pressure in the lead up to Christmas means we can start planning for 2019, which will probably be considerably less than 2018 as I think we overdid it this year.
Having said that, plans are already in place to visit Tom Way's fox hide, Neil Neville's Little Owl hide, the trout farm in Rutland for the Ospreys - all of which we can thoroughly recommend.
Other options, not yet booked, will include further trips to the Lake District, North Wales (sorry sis, we'll plague you again at some point) and a couple of trips to the Woodland Hide/Harvest Mice courtesy of Dean Mason - another superb venue.
However, the highlight of the year is likely to be the trip to the Isle of Skye in April 2019 - it will be new territory for us and will include 2 nights near Fort William on the way up, a week on Skye (thanks to Chris Rutter Photography) and 3 nights in Patterdale on the way back - so many opportunities on the wish list and, if we manage a quarter of them, I, for one, will be delighted!
Anyway, to anyone out there who stumbles across this site - many thanks for taking the time to read it and may I wish everyone a very Merry Xmas and a Happy New Year - hope you all enjoy the festivities.