The joys of the season

I am glad christmas is over. So much eating, exchanging of consumables, frantic shoppers crowded into small spaces, early morning or late night telephone calls from the other side of the world, high blood sugar, manic advertising and themed television programs running for weeks on end (I write mainly of SVT's 'julkalender' which has been dominating my son's mornings since December 1st when we began waking at 7am in order to watch the nonsensical antics of Alram and his puppet cohorts...I liked much more Håkan Bråkan last year just for the anarchistic gritty narrative of it). That said it has been a great Christmas (whatever that means) with no arguments among family members, great company with friends, collegues and family, myself having rested and managed to read a bit, and no fatalities among friends (although I was saddened to hear of the passing of Ubu Starbrow in Sydney, an acquaintance from 1994-5 and the drummer with the Mu Messons and The United States of Mind).
Now there is but New Year's upon us. It is more a festival for recollection and reflection for me and a sort of thanking to the Powers for the great plentitude that I have.