I don’t think I suffer from ‘Seasonal Affective Disorder’, but over the years I have grown to dislike the last couple of weeks of November and the first three weeks of December. It just gets darker and gloomier (and this year a lot colder). During those weeks I sometimes find myself counting the days to the winter solstice. Wikipedia says this year the exact moment of the solstice was 11.38pm on 21^st December. Since that moment, we have been heading back towards the sun - and I feel brighter already!

 There is nothing ‘New Age’ about this, it is simply that from then I can begin to look forward to Spring and Summer once again. I do love Springtime and Summer.

 The latest on my progress is that taste is getting back to normal. Wholemeal bread and marmalade (normally a staple for breakfast in our household) is back on the menu as from this morning. Gravey and other sauces with cooked meals have been a ‘No, no’ for months, but yesterday I tried bread and gravy for lunch (that takes me back to my childhood) and it tasted just fine. The odd pint of ale is also going down rather well. So I think I am on track to enjoy my Christmas Day - and I’m really looking forward to it!!!!!

 Other symptoms are taking a bit longer - my finger tips and feet are still pretty numb. I had to run a few steps on the way to Morning Prayer, to get out of the way of a car, and it felt very odd. Everything worked the way it should, but nothing felt normal about it - very odd in fact.

 A friend sent me a You Tube clip yesterday - the best digital ‘take’ on the Christmas story that I have seen so far. Take a look at:

http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=GkHNNPM7pJA&vq=medium

 I have been pondering the future of these Blog entries. The autobiographical journey through surgery and chemotherapy is over, and life is beginning to feel something like normal. I’ve been glad to log my progress for the past nine months, but I’ll probably stop regular Blogs sometime soon after Christmas.