trevor and linda were extremely kind and hospitable, so food and drinks were flooding at any time of the three days we spent at lofty's house. i managed to indulge without over-indulging on the edible goodies. we played tri-ominoes and bingo; watched gromit and the snowman; travelled across the world with google earth and played with the girls and their mini-pony's castle. we went to feed the ducks, had a walk in the park and proved ourselves at the playground, which, as my dad observed, looked more like a military camp than a children ground, like a metaphor of the obstacles in life... much more educative than the merry-go-rounds you would find in italy.
on xmas day the lounge was a sea of wrapping paper and toys. the girls were confused: they didn't know where to look at, so much choice they had. i received far too many presents myself. here the showing-off list as an occasion to say thank-you black on white to the doners. i received a lovely chunky bracelet which is unique because made of all sorts of vintage charms. i would define it baroque and sumptuous, delightfully decadent and bohemian. Steve commented that it is very me, and i cheerfully agree. thanks linda and trevor. my parents' generosity translated into heaps of little presents (including an electric broom, a table cloth, a pijamas, earrings, fancy socks, cristal candle holder, etc.) as well as useful money. Also steve's grandma's cheque, which arrived a few days before Christmas, turned out to be very handy. keven and lindsey bought me madonna's cd, confessions on a dancefloor, which has sit in my amazon wishlist for too long. steve covered me with little gems: amongst the books: the master and margherita in hard-cover; yoga for the elephants; perfume; gus and waldo's book of love; lost and found by oliver jeffers, featuring a penguin. the DVDs included the March of the Penguins; Charlie and the Chocolate Factory; Dogs and cats. see ya a common theme going on here? finally, two less expected gifts awaited me: a silver band ring with the double-meaning engrave reading: tu me fais turner la tete and, dulcis in fundo, a SPA day treatment in Bath, my favourite city in UK! The treatment includes use of facilities for four hours; a two-course meal; and an aromatherapy massage. my best friends from italy surprised me with more presents and cards: claudia and giacomo got me a red kitchen set of apron, oven gloves and table mats; vanessa got me a hello kitty set including socks, gloves and knickers; my cousins got me red underwear and two limited edition coffee cups with some good coffee; laura sent me a flowery belt; and today in the post i found a package from arianna and mao protecting an ethnic painting and a box of truffle chocolate. Finally, the present my insurance did to me was a casio camera which was delivered today as well. Excellent timing!
oh, and there were also presents from the tree on boxing day, tradition which i forgot from my last uk christmas. the tree offered me a mobile mobile charger. : )it was good to see that everybody looked good: grandma eileen was smart and in good shape as usual; lindsey and keven looked very relaxed, and the girls were adorable. my mum kept repeating *che carine* (how pretty) and *che educate* (how well-behaved) all the time. looking forward to seeing them tomorrow at the natural history museum for the dino exhibition.
so, it looks like i am sorted for the next six months: i have a new camera to take tons of pictures (i am a bit behind after five months digitless); two paid SPA days; and, thanks to my boomerang presents, a billy elliott musical ticket (i am going with linda on 16th january) and six free cinema tickets (part of steve's joint cinema membership). in my priority list there are the last king of scotland, babel and, of course, the science of sleep.
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