December 2025 Week 52 New Year's Eve After midnight Still up. Not sure why. She's watching something on the television with a lot of shouting and counting. George is asleep on the chair, which means I'll have the No.1 bed again which is the only genuinely good thing about tonight. There were apparently fireworks somewhere outside at midnight, but George slept through them. I've decided not to mention it. No point. New Year. Right. Everyone very exercised about it. Same house. Same bird bath....

The days since have been a specific kind of quiet I find either deeply restorative or mildly concerning depending on the hour. Mack has barely moved in three days. He is either hibernating or conducting research. He says he is conducting research.

I want to begin by saying that Christmas morning was, overall, a success. The chicken was a proper one. The allocation, when it came, was adequate. It was technically adequate. Mack has declined to comment on his portion.