So that was Christmas . . .

Our visitor has returned to the big city (it was lovely to see her for a few days), the turkey and ham has been eaten (roasted, cold, in sarnies and in curry - entertaining nine hungry family members on Friday was a great way to use up all that food we bought 'just in case'!), the decorations have been taken down and packed away for another year and we're back to just the two of us.  

The early frost this morning cleared to a beautiful day, bright and clear but rather chilly.  We wrapped up and went for a walk along the front.  The railway line is being cleared and I think the trains may be running again by tomorrow.

We walked to the end of the pier and saw the catamaran leaving for Portsmouth

and soon after the hovercraft left en route for Southsea

I found Christmas a bit of a struggle this year.  It seems to have got bogged down in a spending frenzy, an obligation to buy stuff for the sake of it and to eat and drink to excess.   My Christmas spirit was sadly lacking and try as I could, I just didn't seem able to shed the feeling of sadness that threatened to engulf me on and off through the day.  We're not on Facebook, which meant we didn't do all the sharing of 'opening presents under the tree' photos on mobiles that seemed to continue all through the morning - that's something else that sets us apart from so many people, we don't have electronic devices in our hands constantly!  I worry sometimes that we are actually distancing ourselves from mainstream society but I just don't 'get' this compulsion to live life via social media.  Is it me?

On our walk this afternoon, N and I tried to find the answers to some questions that have been on our minds for a while.  Some of the problems are concerned with family issues that I choose not to discuss here, but they do, nevertheless, have a profound impact on our lives.  Then there are the perennial questions that raise their heads on a regular basis, usually beginning with "shall we move house?"
There is no doubt we are unsettled but we don't really know why.  However what is certain is that we need to do something.  Our lives have changed since we left work, and in many ways we could not foresee - not everything seems to suit as well as it did.  We need to find the answers, or at least have the courage to make changes, take risks and make decisions.  Life is too short not to.