Scene: Grocery store check out clearly labelled ‘Baskets Only’

Two men are in front of me, unloading their baskets. I join the queue. One man finishes and I unload my basket onto the belt. A woman joins the queue behind me. She has a trolley. I think about saying something and decide not to. Then I think, it is a rule, a store policy. I tell her that it is a basket only checkout. Her reply? ‘I know.’

So it is okay to break the rules and bite your thumb at society provided you know that you’re doing it.

Horatio is taking me to a Blank & White Christmas Ball on Thursday evening. My stupid stomach is so big at the moment [think 6-months pregnant] that I decided to get some shapewear pants to wear underneath. When I’m done with this silly steroid taking and I can exercise properly I will appreciate looking not 6-months pregnant. I have some beautiful thigh high stockings to wear. I asked my hairdresser for styling tips today*. I’ve been going through all my jewellery this evening and I’ve got two options set up. Wednesday I intend to put the whole thing on and double check that it all looks how I intend.

* My hair is shorter than ever! Only to compensate for the re-growth. New hair is getting longer, but they didn’t blend in so well with my previous haircut. Now they do. We also curled it all under this time! It looks thick! It is shiny! All is well.

I will try to get photos of us all dressed up and fancy.

Let me tell you about Thanksgiving Day. BlanketGirl and I got up fairly early. She was up before me, she had the turkey stuffed and I got there just in time to help put it in the roasting bag. In the oven it went. We made rolls, green beans, carrots, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes [with and without marshmallows], stuffing [regular and corn bread], pumpkin pie [made a few days earlier], two kinds of gravy… a real feast.

That was one of my favourite things about being with BlanketGirl, cooking with her. We are so similar in our methods and routines. So many things we did lined up and it was just amazing to see. She moved out when I was 14 and we weren’t very close then. I moved to the UK when I was 18 and we still weren’t very close. So I don’t know how we managed to be so similar. I adored every moment I had with her. I found myself going to her wherever she was, whatever she was doing I just wanted to be there with her.

Anyway, Mom & Dad came to help and I went off to have a shower and get cleaned up. We sat down to eat around 3. My entire family was there, both my sisters, Weasel, my parents, brother-in-law and nieces. We also had Miles [Doberman/German Shepherd mix] and Grace [Min Pin] keeping the floor clean under us.

The food all turned out perfectly. I was so proud and pleased. Everyone really enjoyed it I think. Afterwards I fell asleep on the sofa with Weasel.

This was my first Thanksgiving dinner in 10 years so I was very happy to have it. I was happy I got to share another family tradition with Weasel. I loved being able to cook with BlanketGirl. It was all so wonderful.

Miles & Grace are such wonderful dogs. Miles is daft but so sweet. I got to buy him a new squeaky hedgehog while we were there. He was so excited. Grace is a rescue dog, she was horribly mistreated. She has made so much progress in the time she’s spent with my sister’s family. She came to accept Weasel and I too. I got many lickings and snuggles. I miss them already. I want a dog so very badly.

Christmas this year. I have been thinking about it. Thinking about how we always agree with budget with family members and then they provide a list. So basically we exchange things that are not a surprise for a cost they already know. I didn’t like this. Lately, if I want something I just buy it. Everyone in Weasel’s family is in the same boat. Plus, trying to buy something that’s useful for Weasel’s 87-year-old Nan is next to impossible – she has everything she needs. The more I thought about it, thought about the stress it caused, the more I realised we could do better.

I suggested to Mal that this year we don’t exchange gifts. Instead we are going to pool our money together and donate to charity. The joy of having that day together as a family is more than we can ask for. We’ll play games, eat amazing food and maybe watch a film. It’ll be wonderful and we’ll create some lasting memories. We’ll also be able to help some people who are less fortunate than we are.

This is the sort of Christmas I can get on board with. The sort I can get excited about.

I admit I was influenced by seeing my family. I asked for a dinner out without the children [so we didn't have to watch what we said]. We went to an Italian restaurant and it was perfect. Everyone got along, we talked and laughed a lot, we had delicious food. Those two hours are more precious to me than any gift I could have received. My favourite ‘joke’ of the evening: I was rubbing my thighs after dinner [it is a textural thing] and BlanketGirl got ‘mad’ because my Mom was on her other side doing the same thing. We laughed and I said that I rubbed my feet too [this is when one rubs one foot against the other when sitting or lying down]. Mom was surprised as usual [I've told her I do it several times and every time she's surprised]. We started reminiscing about when we’d go camping and Mom & Dad would be asleep. We’d know when Mom was awake because she’d start rubbing her feet. Chance phrased this badly though saying, ‘they’d be going at it’. My Dad chimes in at this point and says, ‘her feet, not us!’.

Best evening I’ve had in ages.

So I’ve learnt my lesson – holidays are about spending time with people I love and creating memories.