Friendly festivities

One of the great things about being in town for Christmas is having the chance to connect with friends – lunch with Jenny, dinner with Ann and Shaun recently – and attend holiday parties. Seven this year! My company dinner, the book club party, brunch after walking the dogs yesterday at the Thompsons' (Dec. 21), wine and cheese today at neighbours Eric and Fiona's house, the choir party on Christmas Eve, and the New Year's Eve party. I have made amazing strides in the past year developing my social life. Partly thanks to Paddy, given that much of my crowd are dog walkers. And partly due to the choir. Having these connections is such an important dimension of my life. When you work at home and your husband doesn't excel at communication, these neighbourhood links are really important to my sanity.

Dec. 22