Smelly fish day!

Also known as the Mass of St.Thorlak! I must humbly beg my loyal subscribers and avid readers of this blog my neglect of it in the past week. The saying goes that time flies, but in my case it just completely disappeared. I came home past midnight on Sunday 16th and it's been caos since. It wasn't until this friday that I managed to sit down in front of my computer before midnight struck. I have been spending my days shopping, presents and delicious Christmasy food. I have been wrapping presents (for seven hours on Wednesday), I have been putting up and decorating the Christmas tree (I put the lights on all by myself ... and it shows!).
But it's Christmas time and I am loving this, all of the crazy stuff we have to do and have done, and I have been managing even though I am as bruised and battered as I am. I am sporting a huge bruise on my knee where I landed on it on Friday a week ago, but on top of that I sport a huge black and blue bruise on the right side of my bad knee from the fall as well.
And to day is the last day to go shopping and the first day to mark the Christmas period for real. St. Thorlak's Mass, also known as Smelly fish Day because some think it a good idea to eat a very bad rotten smelly fish, while the rest of the lucid and more logically thinking (I) dine on smoked lamb with potatoes and white sauce and leafbread. Much nicer and smells yummie. Then tomorrow is the big night. The main festive day of our Christmas. The family comes together for dinner. Smoked pork with potatoes, pinapple slices, brown sauce, red cabbage, pickled cucumber, and all sorts of wonderful yummie things. After dinner there is the rice pudding with a tiny mandle put in and who ever gets the mandle receives a wee present. When dinner is over and most of us have recovered from the feast we distribute the presents from around the tree and it's a free for all in ripping paper to reveal the surprise inside (if there is anything in the package, heheheh).
I will have to leave you here and tell you how it all goes in the next few days if I find the time or time finds me.